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YATESVILLE — The second pole vaulter for Hazelton Area wound up first.
And his efforts helped the Cougars raise their hopes high again.
Matt Houser captured three individual events including the vault Wednesday and the defending Wyoming Valley Conference Division I champion Hazleton Area boys recovered from a difficult season-opening defeat to down Pittston Area, 108-42 in a high school track and field meet at Charley Trippi Stadium.
“We got ourselves back on track,” Hazleton Area coach Lou Gunderman said.
The Pittston Area girls were never off track.
Behind four victories from Madison Mimnaugh and three by Liz Waleski, the Patriots kept their WVC unbeaten streak rolling into a second straight season with a 90-60 win over a Hazleton Area team that finished second to them in Division I last season.
“They get pumped up for Hazleton,” Pittston Area girls coach Joe Struckus said of his team. “Usually, the Hazleton meet is the big meet. We have Dallas at the end of the season, but right now, Hazleton’s the big meet.
“Going forward, we should be all right.”
The Patriots certainly aren’t going backward after completing a 7-0 season that sparked a District 2 Class 3A championship for the Pittston Area girls in 2014.
And they’re off to a 2-0 start this season, thanks to Mimnaugh & Co.
Despite a biting chill in the 40-degree air Wednesday, Mimnaugh captured the 400 dash and 800 run, led off the winning 3,200 relay team and anchored the winning 1,600 relay to help the Patriots pile up enough points for a comfortable victory over their closest division rivals a year ago.
“I wish I knew her secret,” Struckus said of Mimnaugh, a state qualifier in the 800 run last spring. “She’s just one of those special athletes.”
The Patriots also got key victories from Waleski, who captured both hurdles events and teamed with Mimnaugh on the winning 1600 relay.
Hazleton Area stayed close for awhile, thanks to a pair of sprint victories by Emily Malone in the 100 and 200 dashes and her winning leap in the pole vault. But Samantha Mayers came up a winner for Pittston Area in the 1,600 run and on both winning relay teams; Taryn Ashby pulled out a tight javelin battle with Kayla Merkel; and Olivia Giambra won the triple jump to help the Patriots pull way.
“Taryn Ashby in javelin, Liz winning the hurdles was very big for us, Olivia in the triple jump that she won,” Struckus said. “We just have to take it one meet at a time.”
The Hazleton Area boys were just looking for one to put in the win column.
Their goal of a second straight 7-0 season in the WVC Division I was crushed by Coughlin in the first meet the season.
“We lost our first league meet,” Houser said, “we won’t have the undefeated title.”
But thanks in large part to Houser, the Cougars still have visions of a title hunt.
The junior captured both boys hurdles events, then was a surprise winner in the pole vault. That’s because he was left holding the pole for Hazleton Area after the team’s top vaulter, senior Sean Pilecki, pulled out of the meet to attend an academic competition.
“That’s why I took first,” Houser said. “He’s in front of me, he jumps a few feet higher than I do.”
But the second vaulter for the Cougars picked up his third victory to help spark the team’s first win of the year.
“He’s a great athlete,” Gunderman said. “He could do anything from the 110 hurdles all the way up to the 3,200 (run). He’s our best cross-country runner. When it comes to track, he sacrifices the long runs and does the hurdles and the pole vault.”
After Wednesday, the division title hopes of the Cougars received a little lift. In a division where two losses during a seven-meet regular season would likely spell doom, Hazleton Area at least gave itself a chance to stay in the fray during the early going.
“It keeps us on track,” Gunderman said. “Until Coughlin loses one and we keep winning … but I don’t see Coughlin losing anything right away. Personally, I think Valley West is the team to beat. It all depends on Coughlin, they’re not going to try to lose. We still have to compete just to have a chance to win the league.”
Boys
Hazleton Area 108, Pittston Area 42
3,200 relay — 1. HAZ (Lombardo, Watt, Lohr, Steiner) 9:42; 110 hurdles — 1. HAZ, Hauser 17.7; 2. PA Guillaume; 3. HAZ Perez ; 100 — 1. HAZ, Batista 12:00; 2. HAZ, Scalleat; 3. PA, McDonald; 1,600 — 1. PA, Havrilla 4:50; 2. HAZ, Balogh; 3. HAZ, Malloy; 400 — 1. HAZ, Cosatis 53.2; 2. HAZ, Lombardo; 3. PA, Lombardo; 400 relay — 1. HAZ (Scalleat, Sutton, Steiner, Batista); 300 hurdles — 1. HAZ, Houser 43.5; 2. HAZ, Perez; 3. PA, Guillaume; 800 — 1. HAZ, Lohr 20.6; 2. HAZ, Watt; 3. HAZ, Steiner; 200 — 1. HAZ, Cosatis 24.6; 2. HAZ, Scalleat; 3. PA, McDonald; 3,200 — 1. PA, Havrilla 10:33; 2. HAZ, Cunningham; 3. HAZ, Malloy; 1,600 relay — 1. PA (Barbieri, Harth, Pliska, Mikkish) 4:01.
High jump — 1. PA, Moska 6-0; 2. PA, Pliska; 3. PA, Barney; Pole vault — 1. HAZ, Houser 9-5; 2. PA, Erfman; 3. PA Suzumski; Long jump — 1. HAZ, Keegan 19-11; 2. HAZ, Koscuk; 3. HAZ, Matricino; Triple jump — 1. PA, Pliska 36-11 1/4; 2. HAZ, Gregory; 3. PA, Havrilla; Shot put — 1. HAZ, Sutton 35-11; 2. PA, Lynch; 3. HAZ, Serfoss; Discus — 1. HAZ, Marola 99-8; 2. PA, Gollmer; 3. HAZ, Ngiangesechei; Javelin — 1. HAZ, Bonin 99-4 1/4; 2. PA, Strucke; 3. HAZ, Ngiangesechei.
Girls
Pittston Arez 90, Hazleton Area 60
3,200 relay — 1. PA (Mimnaugh, Johnson, Boccardi, Mayers) 10:51; 100 hurdles — 1. PA, Waleski 17.4; 2. HAZ, Petrone; 3. PA, Psaila; 100 — 1. HAZ, Malone 13:00; 2. HAZ, Wech; 3. PA, Chisdock; 1,600 — 1. PA, Mayers 5:42; 2. PA, Boccardi; 3. HAZ, Everdale; 400 — 1. PA, Mimnaugh 62:00; 2. HAZ,Walser; 3. HAZ, Reed; 400 relay — 1. HAZ (Wech, McCann, Trimmingharr, Martineck) 52.3; 300 hurdles — 1. PA, Waleski 50.5; 2. HAZ, Miller; 3. PA, Ruby; 800 — 1. PA, Mimnaugh 23.4; 2. PA, Mayers; 3. HAZ, Pataki; 200 — 1. HAZ, Malone 27.5; 2. PA, Chisdock; 3. HAZ, Reed; 3,200 — 1. HAZ, Everdale 12:36; 2. HAZ, Buehrle; 3. PA, Johnson; 1,600 relay — 1. PA (Barber, Mayers, Waleski, Mimnaugh) 42.1.
High jump — 1. PA, Cain 5-2; 2. PA, Sheerer; 3. HAZ, Walser; Pole vault — 1. HAZ, Malone 9-0; 2. PA, Norwillo; 3. PA, Senese; Long jump — 1. PA, Williams 15-8; 2. PA, Giambra; 3. HAZ, Dedics; Triple jump — 1. PA, Giambra 34-3; 2. PA, Williams; 3. HAZ, Dedics; Shot put — 1. PA, Davis 31-7.5; 2. HAZ, Merkel; 3. PA, Mikus; Discus — 1. HAZ, Merkel 97-2; 2. PA, Myers; 3. HAZ, Crawford; Javelin — 1. PA, Ashby 110-9; 2. HAZ, Merkel; 3. HAZ, Davidson.