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WILKES-BARRE — For the first time in 10 years, one school rules the pool.
Dallas won both the District 2 Class 2A boys and girls swimming and diving championships Saturday at the Wyoming Valley Catholic Youth Center pool. The Mountaineers are the first 2A school to win both district titles since at least 2006.
Carrying just a one-point lead heading into Saturday’s competition, Dallas notched the district title in the 100 breaststroke when brothers Reid and Porter Luksic finished third and fourth, respectively. The Mountaineers topped Scranton Prep by nine points, 283-272, for their first district title since 2013.
“I talked to them this morning before we got here. I said this is what needs to happen if you guys want to win this title,” Dallas coach Romayne Mosier said. “And they said, ‘OK, we’re doing it. We’re doing it.’ The drops in time they had… they were unbelievable times.”
The Dallas girls title was all but secured and never threatened throughout the championships. The Mountaineers shared a 93-point victory over second-place Abington Heights. It marks Mosier’s first district girls championship.
“They were very supportive of each other,” she said. “They knew what they needed to do. They were getting each other excited to do the job.”
Mountaineer freshman Annalise Cheshire won her second individual gold with a 100-yard backstroke win in 1:00.31 Cheshire sensed Tunkhannock junior Morgan Manglaviti creeping on her lead just after the halfway mark and barreled through the final 50 yards to win by a full second. In a welcoming display of sportsmanship and camaraderie unexpected of a freshman, Cheshire encouraged her competitors to join her at the top of the podium during the awards ceremony.
“Morgan is definitely a good competitor, and I love her,” Cheshire said. “She was right there, and I could see her kicking the whole time. I just thought I need that edge off the wall.”
Cheshire anchored a winning 400-free relay that drew loud cheers from the crowd. She, Kaylin Augustine, Lauren Finnegan and Abby Zolner pushed through to a 3:40.14 finish that was 9.32 seconds quicker than second-place Wyoming Seminary. The Dallas relay came in to the race seeded third.
“Kaylin Augustine swam the 200 free well,” Cheshire said. “We wanted to go to states as a relay as a thank you to her. She’s a good teammate to everyone in that relay. It was awesome.”
Holy Redeemer junior Connor Thole had two come-from-behind, upset victories on the day to claim the first gold medals of his career. He won the 100 free in 49.08 second, overtaking Berwick’s Mike Rehrig on the turn and shaving three seconds off his seed time.
“They might have me the first half, but you have to catch me in that second half. I’m taking off on you,” Thole said. “I was happy with (my time). It kept my heart rate up, kept my mind going. You have to keep working for this.”
Two events later, Thole was back at it to take the 100 backstroke in dramatic fashion. Thole sat in fourth place after 50 yards and was even with the pack on the final turn. The Royal rose from the water and hurried his way past each gassed competitor. Thole passed Scranton Prep’s Michael Robinson with five yards remaining, clocking in at 55.9 seconds and 61-hundreths of a second ahead of the Cavalier senior.
“Most 100s are all about the second half,” Thole said. “Everybody prepares themselves for the first 50. It’s all about the back half. That’s how I do it. I train so hard for that last 50. That’s where I explode.”
Despite winning the district title, the Dallas boys will have to wait a day to find out if they earn any of the at-large bids to the PIAA state championships. The Mountaineers’ 400-free relay team of Jared Krawetz, Dylan Lisnow, Porter Luksic and Ezra Moore came in second in a time of 3:25.68. Moore took second in the 500 free at 5:04.2.
Berwick sophomore Becca Decker placed third in the 100 free (59.96) despite not swimming in the final heat.
After a disappointing fifth place in Friday’s 100 fly when her goggles filled with water, Manglaviti will make her third straight appearance at states with a second-place finish in the 100 back. She finished in 1:01.32.
Wyoming Seminary junior Paige Kupsky will compete at PIAAs in the 500 free following her second-place showing with a 5:21.51. The Blue Knights’ 400-free relay team of Paige Kupsky, Kaylee Sminkey, Nicole Rose Lukesh and Tara Kupsky will appear at states in the 400 free relay.
Holy Redeemer’s Nick Dubinski legged out tough competition to a second place in the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.08.
District 2 Class 2A Swimming Championships
Sunday
Team Rankings
GIRLS
1. Dallas 271; 2. Abington Heights 178; 3. Scranton Prep 157; 4. Holy Redeemer 145; 5. Tunkhannock 134; 6. Wyoming Seminary 132; 7. Valley View 82; 8. Hanover Area 81; 9. Berwick 61; 10. Holy Cross 40; 11. Elk Lake 38; 12. Coughlin 28; 13. Wyoming Area 15; 14. Lake-Lehman 14; 15. West Scranton 7; 16. Honesdale 5.
BOYS
1. Dallas 283; 2. Scranton Prep 272; 3. Tunkhannock 156; 4. Holy Redeemer 131; 5. Wyoming Seminary 122; 6. Berwick 75; 7. Wyoming Area 70; 8. Valley View 63; 9. Lake-Lehman 54; 10. Elk Lake 50; 11. Holy Cross 42; 12. West Scranton 30; 13. Hanover Area 28.
Swimming Finals AA
Girls 100 Free – 1. Catherine Donlon (SCRP) 54.24, 2. Leah Byman (AH) 55.33, 3. Becca Decker (BER) 56.96, 4. Bailey Babarsky (VV) 57.10, 5. Julia Baur (LL) 57.19, 6. Lauren Finnegan (DAL) 57.49, 7. Anna Moffitt (TUNK) 57.60, 8. Amanda Lopez (DAL) 57.92, 9. Clare Sebastianelli (VV) 58.20, 10. Bryanna Eichler (HAN) 58.43, 11. Carly Ray (CGH) 58.60, 12. Amy Alder (WA) 58.63, 13. Emily Blaum (HR) 58.74, 14. Joy Nave (DAL) 1:00.37, 15. Amanda Wozinski (HR) 1:00.76, 16. Kaylee Sminkey (WS) 1:01.05, 17. Corinne Smith (HR) 1:01.36, 18. Elissa Stretch (TUNK) 1:02.24, 19. Aleza Selznick (AH) 1:02.44, 20. Melina Good (HAN) 1:03.28, 21. Sara Fetter (TUNK) 1:03.37, 22. Jaclyn Leighton (HR) 1:03.95, 23. Cami Perry (ELK) 1:04.20, 24. Emily Mchale (HC) 1:04.70, 25. Vicky Remley (WA) 1:05.20, 26. Courtney Sminkey (WS) 1:05.40, 27. Audra Everitt (ELK) 1:05.44, 28. Louise Thompson (ELK) 1:05.64, 29. Sydney Rentsch (MEY) 1:05.69, 30. Natalie Sederovitz (WSCR) 1:05.71, 31. Lia Sminkey (WS) 1:07.56, 32. Ashley MacDavitt (VV) DNF.
Boys 100 Free – 1. Connor Thole (HR) 49.08, 2. Ryan Franchak (VV) 49.86, 3. Joseph Bushta (SCRP) 50.20, 4. Mike Rehrig (BER) 51.16, 5. Owen Kiluk (DAL) 52.52, 6. KJ Han (WS) 52.85, 7. Dylan Lisnow (DAL) 53.04, 8. Connor Motley (DAL) 53.15, 9. Trevor Dunning (TUNK) 53.48, 10. Mike Pettit (ELK) 54.11, 11.Chris Evans (HR) 54.92, 12. Alex Langel (VV) 54.93, 13. Drew Magda (HC) 54.94, 14. Brian Martin (WSCR) 55.01, 15. Daniel Schnable (DAL) 55.45, 16. Jake Spencer (TUNK) 56.14, 17. Matthew Marshall (WS) 56.16, 18. Connor Murray (HR) 56.66, 19. Joseph Gaudino (WS) 57.48, 20. Chase Orlandini (ELK) 57.62, 21. Johnny Qiu (HAN) 58.41, 22. Jeff Smicherko (HC) 59.42, 23. Zach Niemiec (WSCR) 59.54, 24. Austin Dolaway (ELK) 1:00.21, 25. Ryan Frisbie (VV) 1:00.55, 26. Ignacio Sacristan (WS) 1:01.21, 27. Andrew Simspson (WSCR) 1:02.22, 28. Alex Chronowski (WA) 1:04.80, 29. David Lutchko (WSCR) 1:06.45, 30. Michael Terrery (SCRP) 1:09.26, 31. Reid Skiro (CGH) DQ, 32. Justin Mattise (VV) NS.
Girls 500 Free – 1. Katie Voitik (SCRP) 5:08.85, 2. Paige Kupsky (WS) 5:21.51, 3. Emily Easton (HR) 5:31.94, 4. Rachel Smertz (AH) 5:35.91, 5. Amanda Schwerdtman (DAL) 5:38.18, 6. Alicia Saltz (HAN) 5:39.04, 7. Megan Hayward (TUNK) 5:44.21, 8. Hannah Burlein (HON) 5:45.46, 9. Amy Alder (WS) 5:48.59, 10. Lauren Lazendorfer (SCRP) 5:51.41, 11. Danielle McCole (HR) 5:55.91, 12. Morgan Williams (WSCR) 5:58.03, 13. Lindsey Williams (HR) 5:58.88, 14. Becca Sisson (ELK) 6:03.92, 15. Dana Kuffa (TUNK) 6:10.84, 16. Gwen Murray (TUNK) 6:11.16, 17. Flynn Jones (VV) 6:11.28, 18. Emily Cook (MEY) 6:13.04, 19. Phoebe Ritsick (HR) 6:16.09, 20. Hannah Conahan (AH) 6:20.49, 21. Tessa Stegura (NAN) 6:24.32, 22. Gabrielle Keating (HAN) 6:26.40, 23. Sammie Dyer (BER) 6:29.73, 24. Catherine Diapaolo (SCRP) 6:46.27.
Boys 500 Free – 1. Nico Lastauskas (SCRP) 4:50.29, 2. Ezra Moore (DAL) 5:04.20, 3. Jared Krawetz (DAL) 5:11.58, 4. Conor McCall (SCRP) 5:19.76, 5. Mike Pettit (ELK) 5:23.93, 6. Garrett Pall (WS) 5:25.54, 7. Tony Caravaggio (DAL) 5:27.63, 8. Colton Smith (HR) 5:33.32, 9. Trevor Dunning (TUNK) 5:39.20, 10. Sean Connelly (HAN) 5:43.22, 11. Frank Weaver (DAL) 5:45.10, 12. Justin Grosvenor (ELK) 5:47.03, 13. Connor Dileo (WS) 5:48.72, 14. Austin Smith (HR) 5:49.01, 15. Nash Hartley (BER) 5:53.85, 16. Alex Bushre (TUNK) 5:58.09, 17. Ben Tidball (TUNK) 5:58.54, 18. Austin Alder (WA) 6:02.09, 19. Bryce Weaver (BER) 6:17.70, 20. Joshua Escalante (NAN) 6:21.10, 21. Romey Washo (ELK) 6:24.39, 22. Andrew Herrick (LL) 6:34.46, 23. Daniel Shannon (TUNK) 6:50.11, 24. Ryan Powell (SCRP) 7:13.04.
Girls 100 Back – 1. Annalise Cheshire (DAL) 1:00.31, 2. Morgan Manglaviti (TUNK) 1:01.32, 3. Nicole Lukesh (WS) 1:04.29, 4. Kayla Kruk (HR) 1:04.64, 5. Amanda Lopez (DAL) 1:04.79, 6. Madison Hurst (DAL) 1:04.81, 7. Madeline Neville (HC) 1:05.04, 8. April Sokalsky (AH) 1:06.30, 9. Amanda Wozinski (HR) 1:07.87, 10. Emily Donlon (SCRP) 1:08.32, 11. Corrine Smith (HR) 1:08.37, 12. McKenna Zeller (HR) 1:08.37, 13. Hannah Redding (CGH) 1:09.15, 14. Abby Hoban (HC) 1:09.89, 15. Catherine Simakaski (AH) 1:10.25, 16. Taylar Schultz (TUNK) 1:12.00, 17. Cami Perry (ELK) 1:12.34, 18. Kylie Levan (BER) 1:12.41, 19. Jill O’Brien (LL) 1:12.78, 20. Sydney Rentsch (MEY) 1:15.17, 21. Cassie Merrill (WSCR) 1:18.03, 22. Lily Young (NAN) 1:18.03, 23. Hannah Eck (HAN) 1:19.10, 24. Leontopoulou-Cochran (SCRP) 1:33.64.
Boys 100 Back – 1. Connor Thole (HR) 55.90, 2. Michael Robinson (SCRP) 56.51, 3. Matt Bean (WS) 57.31, 4. Ryan Sebastianelli (SCRP) 57.36, 5. Yonah Wasik (LL) 58.60, 6. Mikal Krochta (DAL) 59.28, 7. Mitch Fowler (TUNK) 59.37, 8. Troy Reinert (DAL) 59.66, 9. Jake Spencer (TUNK) 1:04.23, 10. Connor Murray (HR) 1:05.59, 11. Chris Evans (HR) 1:06.51, 12. Bryce Babarsky (VV) 1:07.99, 13. Jake Demler (BER) 1:10.91, 14. Forest Nguyen (MEY) 1:11.04, 15. Shane Bloxham (NAN) 1:12.51, 16. Cole Orlandini (ELK) 1:12.51, 17. Owen Brewer (ELK) 1:14.26, 18. Andrew Christian (VV) 1:14.44, 19. Ryan Powell (SCRP) 1:16.33, 20. Matt Gilbert (BER) 1:16.50, 21. Kevin Kozerski (CGH) 1:19.02, 22. Ezio Valeri (BER) 1:20.13, 23. Daniel Shannon (TUNK) 1:33.46, 24. Ryan Clarkson (WSCR) DNF.
Girls 100 Breast – 1. Sydney Gualtieri (AH) 1:09.01, 2. Bailey Babarsky (VV) 1:12.78, 3. Tara Kupsky (WS) 1:10.45, 4. Laura Hartman (AH) 1:11.87, 5. Emily Blaum (HR) 1:13.31, 6. Audrey Campo (SCRP) 1:14.37, 7. Cheyanne Kasmierski (TUNK) 1:15.54, 8. Symantha Simmons (TUNK) 1:16.15, 9. Krista Vivian (DAL) 1:16.47, 10. Sarah Fasuklka (DAL) 1:16.48, 11. Steph Parker (BER) 1:16.59, 12. Bailey Disler (WS) 1:16.87, 13. Michelle Devaney (HR) 1:17.12, 14. Natalie Wasilchak (VV) 1:17.46, 15. Carissa Wozinski (HR) 1:17.76, 16. Caitlyn Kraynak (WA) 1:17.81, 17. Carly Tomaine (HC) 1:18.65, 18. Anah Bozentka (HR) 1:18.75, 19. Lydia Ofalt (ELK) 1:19.94, 20. Ariana Lizza (TUNK) 1:20.10, 21. Veronica Shoemaker (BER) 1:20.31, 22. Shannon Keating (HAN) 1:20.77, 23. Katharine Lanning (CGH) 1:24.65, 24. Kathleen Brown (DAL) 1:26.76.
Boys 100 Breast – 1. Ben Evans (SCRP) 1:00.09, 2. Nick Dubinski (HR) 1:02.08, 3. Reid Luksic (DAL) 1:02.32, 4. Porter Luksic (DAL) 1:02.69, 5. Stefan Sehne (TUNK) 1:06.81, 6. Chris Michael (BER) 1:07.43, 7. David Sadvary (CGH) 1:08.06, 8. Michael Murphy (WA) 1:08.13, 9. Vito Scocozzo (HC) 1:08.56, 10. Alex Langel (VV) 1:09.27, 11. Scott Roper (HR) 1:12.10, 12. Daniel Schnable (DAL) 1:12.41, 13. Connor Hemme (TUNK) 1:13.03, 14. Tyler Manzoni (LL) 1:13.72, 15. James Langan (MEY) 1:14.75, 16. Marc McCarthy (VV) 1:16.38, 17. Stephen Dule (HAN) 1:18.77, 18. Jason Palauskas (WSCR) 1:20.26, 19. David Mash (NAN) 1:20.44, 20. Daniel Miller (BER) 1:22.53, 21. Liam Nee (WSCR) 1:24.55, 22. Issa Dahdal (DAL) 1:25.05.
Girls 400 Free Relay – 1. DAL (Kaylin Augustine, Lauren Finnegan, Abby Zolner, Annalise Cheshire) 3:40.14, 2. WS (Paige Kupskiy, Kaylee Sminkey, Nicole Lukesh, Tara Kupsky) 3:49.46, 3. HR (Emily Easton, Emily Blaum, Danielle McCole, Kayla Kruk) 3:49.87, 4. TUNK (Anna Moffitt, Megan Hayward, Cheyanne Kasmierski, Morgan Manglaviti) 3:50.55, 5. VV (Ashley MacDavitt, Flynn Jones, Bailey Babarsky, Rebecca Connor) 3:59.72, 6. HAN (Melina Good, Kimberly Pericci, Bryanna Eichler, Alicia Saltz) 4:00.40, 7. AH 4:03.19, 8. ELK 4:06.74, 9. WA 4:24.62, 10. SCRP 4:36.80, 11. WSCR 4:36.80, 12. BER 4:46.03, 13. CGH 4:48.01, 14. MEY 4:58.69, 15. HC 5:01.62, 16. NAN 5:46.09, 17. LL DNF.
Boys 400 Free Relay – 1. SCRP (Michael Robinson, Nico Lastauskas,Ryan Sebastianelli, Ben Evans) 3:20.48, 2. DAL (Jared Krawetz, Dylan Lisnow, Porter Luksic, Ezra Moore) 3:25.68, 3. WS (KJ Han, Matthew Marshall, Connor DiLeo, Matt Bean) 3:35.82, 4. WA (Ryan Murphy, Zach Lagrue, Austin Alder, Michael Murphy) 3:39.58, 5. TUNK (Alex Bushre, Jake Spencer, Connor Hemme, Trevor Dunning) 3:39.83, 6. VV (Alex Langel, Bryce Babrasky, Marc McCarthy, Ryan Franchak) 3:45.52, 7. ELK 3:48.16, 8. HR 3:50.38, 9. WSCR 3:58.57, 10. HAN 4:07.98, 11. BER 4:22.66, 12. HC 4:41.84.