Drew Mruk’s throw of the discus of 105 feet for the Warriors was good enough for first place against Nanticoke on Wednesday. He also scored a first in the shot put as well.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Wyoming Area’s Nicky Scalzo jumps 8 feet, 6 inches in the pole vault against Nanticoke on Wednesday. The boys defeated the Trojans 116-34.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Wyoming Area’s boys track and field program relied heavily on a young group of athletes during the 2019 season when it won the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 title and gained experience by competing on the Class 3A level at the District 2 Championships.
When competition resumed this week, many of those athletes were back on a team that is now part of Class 2A after the latest two-year review of enrollments.
“We have a lot of young kids that we brought up as freshmen two years ago,” Warriors coach Joe Pizano said. “They ran in Triple-A two years ago.
“This year, we’re down to Double-A and all those kids are juniors now and they’ll be the nucleus of our team.”
Wyoming Area also gets a boost from distance runners who were part of two successful cross country seasons since the last time spring sports were conducted.
Michael Branley was a state qualifier in the fall while Jacob Katulka joined him as district medalists in cross country.
The team also features a strong group of throwers, led by Drew Mruk in all three events and Blaise Sokach-Minnick in the javelin. Michael Brown, a junior who is a newcomer to the team, is showing promise in the discus and javelin.
Usamah Alansari, Nico Sciandra, Rocco Pizano, Nick George, Branley and Katulka were all freshmen contributors to the team that went 7-0 in WVC Division 2 two years ago.
Alansari, Sciandra, Pizano and George work together in several events. Alansari and Sciandra are hurdlers.
Pizano leads the jumpers and sprinters. He is joined by George in both, Alansari in the jumps and Sciandra in the sprints.
Coach Pizano expects Branley and Katulka to show the way for a young group coming up in the distance events.
Season opener
Wyoming Area opened its season Tuesday at home with a convincing, 116-34, Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 victory over Nanticoke.
Michael Branley led the way, showing his endurance by winning the 3200- and 1600-meter runs along with running a leg of the 3200 relay. He won the 3200 in 10:34 and the 1600 in 4:51.
Nico Sciandra won the 300 hurdles and was on the winning 400 and 1600 relay teams, which also included James Gallagher and Rocco Pizano.
Usamah Alansari won the 110 high hurdles and high jump while Drew Mruk won the shot put and discus.
Kyle Emsley won the 800 and anchored the 3200 relay win. Tyler Sciandra won the 400 and ran a leg of the winning 1600 relay.
