First Posted: 2/2/2015
KINGSTON – Wyoming Area lost just two wrestling matches in the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 season.
The Warriors got a second shot at both of those teams during the District 2 Dual Meet Championships Jan. 31 at the Kingston Armory.
Wyoming Area avenged one of those defeats and cut into the margin in the other on the way to a third-place finish in the district tournament.
The consolation final came down to a rematch with Lake-Lehman. The Warriors took third with a 39-36 victory after falling to the Black Knights, 33-30, in a regular-season meeting that knocked them out of a share of the division lead.
Meyers, which won the division title and went on to win the district championship, eliminated Wyoming Area from title contention with a 43-31 semifinal victory.
The Mohawks had crushed the Warriors, 59-20, just eight days earlier.
“We turned it up a notch,” Wyoming Area coach Steve Mytych Sr. said, “but not quite everybody.
“We needed one or two more guys.”
While Meyers filled every weight class, often with multiple options, Wyoming Area forfeited three classes giving up 18 points in the 12-point loss.
“The forfeits kill you,” Mytych said. “When you have 30 guys versus 10, there’s not much you can do.”
Wyoming Area opened the tournament with a 54-24 romp over Valley View and bounced back from the loss to Meyers with a 39-33 victory over Scranton Prep.
Charles Johnson, Tyler Vince and Jude Polit-Moran all went 4-0 in the tournament.
Johnson had three pins in under a minute and picked up a forfeit. Vince had two pins and two forfeits. Polit-Moran had a pair of first-period pins.
Patrick Heck, Kendrick Beyer, Zachary Briggs, Adam Buczynski and Frank Yurek were all 3-1.
The Warriors put together four consecutive pins twice against Valley View. Johnson, Heck, Beyer and Briggs made it 24-6. Buczynski, Polit-Moran, Justin Joseph and Yurek made it 48-12.
Wyoming Area took a 10-0 lead against Meyers on Johnson’s 43-second pick and Heck’s major decision.
The Warriors opened a 27-0 lead in the first five bouts against Scranton Prep.
Vince’s pin at 106 gave Wyoming Area a 33-18 lead over Lake-Lehman and, because of impending forfeits, clinched the victory.
Scranton Prep finished tied for fifth, going 1-2 with Thor Balavage from Avoca finishing the day 3-0 at 220 pounds.
District 2 Class AAA Duals
Pittston Area dropped its first two matches to finish tied for seventh in the eight-team field at the District 2 Class AAA Dual Meet Championships.
The Patriots fell to Delaware Valley, 49-17, in the quarterfinals and West Scranton, 43-24, in the first round of consolations. The Warriors and Invaders eventually finished second and third as the Lackawanna League swept the top three spots.
Jared Williams posted a pin at 120 pounds to get Pittston Area off to a 6-0 lead against the Lackawanna Division 1 champion Warriors.
Dave DeLeo had a technical fall at 160 while Dan Gambini (152) and Jake Vaxmonsky (220) won decisions against Delaware Valley.
Carmen Falcone (148) and Jason DeBoard (170) had first-period pins and Vaxmonsky (220) also won by fall against West Scranton. Gambini (152) and Matt Romanoski (195) won decisions.
Wyoming Area 45, Berwick 30
Patrick Heck (132), Kendrick Beyer (138), Zachary Briggs (152) and Jude Polit-Moran (170) all posted pins to lead Wyoming Area to a 45-30 victory over visiting Berwick in a non-league match Wednesday night.
Heck’s pin started a stretch of five straight winning bouts to end the match after Berwick had taken a 30-15 lead.
There was no contest at 145 and the Warriors also picked up a forfeit in the closing run.
Briggs clinched the victory with his pin.
Tyler Vince added a decision at 106.
Wyoming Area 42, Honesdale 39
Frank Yurek’s pin at 220 pounds lifted Wyoming Area to a 42-39, non-league victory Thursday night at Honesdale.
The Warriors trailed, 33-30, and each team was assured of a forfeit in the remaining two bouts when Yurek took the mat.
Patrick Heck (132), Kendrick Beyer (138), Zachary Briggs (152), Adam Buczynski (160), Jude Polit-Moran (170) and Frank Yurek (220) also had pins.
Looking ahead
The final week of dual-meet competition includes a meeting of rivals when Wyoming Area (14-6) travels to Pittston Area (4-13) Thursday night.
Wyoming Area coach Steve Mytych Sr. said Friday that Charles Johnson, who missed the Berwick and Honesdale matches with minor injuries suffered in an automobile accident, is expected back before the end of the season. Johnson, a defending District 2 champion, is undefeated.
The District 2 Championships are scheduled for Feb. 20-21 at the Kingston Armory.
Pittston Area competes in Class AAA where it will try to advance wrestlers into the Northeast Regionals in Bethlehem Feb. 27-28. Wyoming Area is in Class AA and looking to move wrestlers to the Northeast Regional in Williamsport the same weekend.
Those that make it through regionals advance to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Championships in Hershey March 5-7.
