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The wait for three Wyoming Valley Conference wrestlers is finally over.

It’s been nearly a year since Hanover Area’s D.J. Erickson, Lake-Lehman’s Bob Long and Tunkhannock’s Tommy Traver walked off the floor at Giant Center without a state medal.

The quest to get back to Hershey and the PIAA Championships begins Friday for those three, and every wrestler in District 2 for that matter, when the whistle blows for the individual tournaments at the Kingston Armory.

From the Lackawanna League, Scranton’s William Evanitsky (fifth) and Scranton Prep’s Ivan Balavage (seventh) are the only two returning state medalists from last year in the entire district. Wallenpaupack’s Tyler Neglia and Western Wayne’s Cole Fuller return as state qualifiers from the league up north.

Below are a few highlights in each classification to keep an eye on this weekend.

The case for the defending champs

Hazleton Area and Hanover Area pulled out victories last year in the team standings of the individual tournaments.

This year, both squads look much different. While they have experience returning from a year ago, repeating is a big task due to other teams getting stronger.

The Hawkeyes in Class 2A return to the Kingston Armory with a new coach as Mike Griffith has taken over the program. But they also come back with a trio of district medalists. Joining Erickson as medalists from the past are Joe Rowley and J.J. Hooper.

As for the Cougars in Class 3A, they have six freshmen and five returning district medalists to make up 11 of their 12 entries. Charles Everdale, Stephen Martisofski, Jayson Brielmeier, Jake Marnell and Shane Noonan were district medalists for Hazleton Area last year.

Returning champs

Wyoming Valley West’s David Krokowski leads the pack of returning district champions as the junior will be shooting for his third district title this weekend when he toes the mat at 126 pounds in Class 3A. Scranton’s William Evanitsky is also going for his third title in Class 3A, while Valley View’s Brandon Judge is looking for his third Class 2A gold.

Eleven wrestlers are returning district champs looking for their second gold medal. In Class 3A, Valley West’s J.J. White and Tunkhannock’s Gavin D’Amato both won as freshmen last year and are going for No. 2. In Class 2A, Berwick’s Nick Yule and Wyoming Area’s Corey Mruk were victors as ninth-graders last year.

Other past champions back looking for gold again are Noonan, Dallas’ Steven Newell, Scranton’s Jacob Burgette and Delaware Valley’s John McCarthy in 3A. In Class 2A, Ivan Balavage (Scranton Prep) and Cole Fuller (Western Wayne) are looking to repeat.

Toughest 3A weight

Every weight this year poses it’s own toughness. But to show how hard some weights are expected to be, look no further than 132 pounds. That’s where returning state qualifier from Tunkhannock Tommy Traver is seeded second. It’s rare to find a state qualifier being a No. 2 seed. Coughlin’s Jake Brown edged Traver for the top spot in the bracket. Also there is Hazleton Area’s Charles Everdale, who was district runner-up last year. Throw in West Scranton’s Garrett Walsh, who has 25 wins this season and any of the four can come out victorious, which can’t be said about any other weight class.

Going streaking in 3A

The two top teams in the Wyoming Valley Conference in Class 3A also happen to have two of the longest championship droughts when it comes to team titles.

Coughlin (1995) and Tunkhannock (1985) haven’t won a district team championship in quite some time. The only other team in between the two is Crestwood, which hasn’t won districts since 1989.

It certainly won’t be an easy task for the Crusaders or Tigers to claim team titles because Delaware Valley and West Scranton both have tough squads.

Toughest 2A bracket

The most competitive weight in the entire district in either classification resides in Class 2A at 126.

That’s where Lake-Lehman’s Bob Long, Valley View’s Brandon Judge and Montrose’s Joe Hester all compete.

Long is a returning state qualifier. Judge is a two-time district champion and a three-time finalist. Hester is undefeated with a mark of 27-0 and is ranked higher in the state than his two counterparts.

Going streaking in 2A

Four of the six WVC teams in Class 2A have strung together impressive championship streaks at the district tournament.

Lake-Lehman is the WVC team that holds the longest current streak of crowning a district champion, having an individual winner every year since 2001. Meyers is next with a string of titlists for eight straight years dating back to 2009. Wyoming Area hasn’t been held without a district winner since 2009 and Hanover Area has had a D2 champ for three straight years. When Nick Yule won gold last year for Berwick, he helped snap the Bulldogs’ eight-year drought of producing an individual winner.

The longest such streak in Class 2A now belongs to Nanticoke. The last Trojan to win a district title was Jason Mitkowski in 2003. He also won regional and state gold that year.

Hanover Area broke a long drought last year when it won the team title. Wyoming Area now has the longest stretch for WVC teams in Class 2A going without a team title; the Warriors last won in 1987. Nanticoke, meanwhile, has never won a district team title.

Lake-Lehman’s Bob Long (top) qualified for the PIAA Class 2A state tournament last year, but finds himself in a very tough District 2 Class 2A bracket at 126 pounds.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020118D2-2AWrestlingDuals_1_CMYK.jpg.optimal.jpgLake-Lehman’s Bob Long (top) qualified for the PIAA Class 2A state tournament last year, but finds himself in a very tough District 2 Class 2A bracket at 126 pounds. Bill Tarutis file photo | for Times Leader

Tunkhannock’s Tommy Traver (top) is seeded second in the District 2 Class 3A 132-pound bracket. Traver qualified for the PIAA Class 3A state tournament last year.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_wvcw4_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgTunkhannock’s Tommy Traver (top) is seeded second in the District 2 Class 3A 132-pound bracket. Traver qualified for the PIAA Class 3A state tournament last year. Fred Adams file photo | for Times Leader

By Dave Rosengrant

For Times Leader

District 2 Individual Wrestling Championships

When: 5 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday

Where: Kingston Armory, Market Street, Wilkes-Barre

Admission: $6 for adults and $4 for students; cost is for all day

At Stake: The top three medalists in Class 2A and the top four in Class 3A advance to next weekend’s regional tournaments

Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLSports