Wyoming Area’s dominance of Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 track and field is being put to the test early this season.
The six-time defending champion boys team escaped Tuesday’s opener at Northwest with a 76-74 victory.
The Lady Warriors began pursuit of a fifth straight title with a 99-51 win over Northwest, matching their closest meet from a year ago.
Northwest finished 4-2 in girls’ division and 3-3 in boys’ division a year ago.
Wyoming Area travels to Lake-Lehman on Tuesday to take on the two teams that finished second in the divisions last season with 5-1 records.
“This week is going to be rough against Lehman,” coach Joe Pizano said. “We have our two toughest meets right at the start.”
Wyoming Area boys 76, Northwest 74
Nicholas Kondrosky won three events, and Wyoming Area dominated the throws to pull out the close victory.
Kondrosky won the long jump by nearly two feet with a leap of 21-5. He pulled out close victories in the triple jump with 43-2 and 100-meter dash in 11.4 seconds, along with taking second place, coming up a tenth of a second short in the 200 in 23.7.
The Warriors outscored the Rangers 23-4 in the throws.
Jack Gravine, Josh Mruk, and Chase Krogulski finished 1-2-3 in the javelin. Mruk and Ben Gravine placed first and second in the shot put. Ben Gravine won the discus.
Kondrosky and Luke Kopetchny went 1-2 in the triple jump.
Gavin Feeney provided the other individual win in the 300 hurdles, then Hudson Sharpe, Lavell Brock, Riley Pierce, and Braeden Scott combined for the win in the closing 1600 relay.
Boys season outlook
Tuesday’s win improved the Warriors to 38-0 since returning to Division 2 from Division 1 between the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
The strength of the throwers, led by Tuesday’s three winners and Krogulski, a returning district silver medalist in the javelin, is one of the keys to those hopes. Mruk finished third in the district in the shot put. The Gravines each won titles at the Wyoming Valley Conference meet.
Kondrosky is a threat to continue to produce across multiple events as a sprinter and jumper. He was a district silver medalist in the long jump.
Jack Gravine adds sprints to his throws.
Feeney, in the hurdles, and Elliot Stoss, in the middle distance, are among the other team leaders.
Wyoming Area scored at least 95 points in every dual meet last season while winning by an average of more than 78 points.
The Warriors were fourth overall in the conference at the championship meet and tied for fifth out of 18 teams in District 2 Class 3A.
Wyoming Area girls 99, Northwest 51
Isabella Costa and Talia Pizano each won two individual events and were part of a winning relay in Tuesday’s road victory.
Costa won the 400 in 1:02.0 and the 800 in 2:40 while also running a leg of the 3200 relay. Pizano won the 100 in 13.5 and 200 in 28.3, along with running on the winning 400 relay.
The Lady Warriors swept the relay.
Jenna Sancho won the 300 hurdles and was part of two relay wins. Shannon Kearns, Kinley Park and Julianne Potter were also part of two relays.
Taylor Gashi, Adriana Fanti, and Sarah Mizenko gave Wyoming Area a sweep of the wins in the throws.
Sofia Menta and Kierstyn Orlandini were on the 3200 relay team.
Girls season outlook
The versatility of Gashi and Costa leads the way for a team on a 25-meet winning streak.
Gashi, the team captain and an Army West Point commit, is a returning state qualifier in the triple jump who excelled in the summer as a decathlete. She is a past medalist in throws, jumps, and hurdles.
Costa “can run everything from the 100 to the two mile,” according to coach Pizano. She was part of the conference championship 3200 relay team last season.
The Lady Warriors can again score across every event category.
Talia Pizano and Potter lead the sprinters. Park and Madison Doblovaski handle sprints up to the 400 meters.
Orlandini and Briella Wallace are middle-distance and distance runners.
Sancho and Kearns are hurdlers. Sancho was second in the conference and fifth in the district in both hurdles last season. Kearns was on the conference championship 3200 relay team.
Menta contributes to the hurdles and running events.
Fanti and Mizenko lead the throwers.
Sara Peeler is a high jumper, and Sofia Farrell leads in the pole vault.
Wyoming Area placed third in both the conference championship meet and the District 2 Class 3A Championships last season.
