Pittston Area will have a chance to show off its improved track at Charley Trippi Stadium when it welcomes the bulk of the Lackawanna Track Conference schools May 6 for the 65th running of the Jordan Relays.
Scranton School District is not hosting major track and field events at Scranton Memorial Stadium this year because of COVID-19 concerns.
When Pittston Area head girls track and field coach and assistant athletic director Joe Struckus heard that Wednesday’s Lackawanna Interscholastic Athletic Association meeting left the Jordan Relays without a home and on verge of a cancellation for this year, he went into action.
Struckus sought input from principal Jon Haas, who in turn consulted with superintendent Kevin Booth. They gave the go-ahead and Struckus made contact with all the Lackawanna athletic directors by the next morning.
The LTC accepted Pittston Area’s offer and will make adjustments for moving the meet from an eight-lane track to the six-lane track at Trippi Stadium, which was resurfaced last summer.
As of Friday, LTC president Ted Anderson, the Scranton athletic director, had confirmations from 14 schools. Pittston Area competes annually in the event, which otherwise is made up entirely or largely of Lackawanna schools. Anderson and others from the LTC will run the meet with Pittston Area simply offering its facility.
“The kids love it,” Struckus said. “And, if the kids love it, we’re going to do everything we have to make sure they have that event.”
Struckus said in general his athletes enjoy the larger invitationals over dual meets between two schools. The Jordan Relays has the added twist of running the three relays that are part of every high school track meet and adding three medley events that mix runners competing in different distances.
The result is usually a fun meet that also works for the top competitors, who often push each other to better seeding times heading into the district championships.
“When we told them (Thursday), the Jordans were going to be there, they were very excited,” Struckus said. “When you get that kind of reaction from the kids, it’s definitely something worth saving.
“It’s an event where you get some good times. In regular league meets, you’re not going to see that kind of competition.
“It’s a perfect opportunity for our kids to compete and it’s also a great event.”
DISTRICT 2 MEETING
District 2 of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association conducted its annual meeting Tuesday in a virtual setting.
The PIAA staff, led by executive director Robert Lombardi, was prominent in the meeting, combining efforts to inform member schools of the happenings within the organization.
The meeting served primarily to spread information, but there were also some limited actions taken.
As the PIAA staff moved through the district meetings, it sought feedback on the availability of neutral sites for spring state tournaments.
Neutral site hosts have been difficult to find during the pandemic. The PIAA would like to use them throughout spring state team events in order to conduct full tournaments after running smaller-field events during the fall and winter.
Melissa Mertz told District 2 members that the PIAA is motivated to conduct full spring events for athletes who lost their entire 2020 season.
“I think everyone on the Zoom can appreciate the hardship our spring athletes went through last year,” Mertz said.
Mark Byers said a full state track meet in on schedule for May 28-29 at Shippensburg University, with single-occupancy dormitories and meal service available for athletes from District 2 and other locations far from Shippensburg. There will be two tickets available per qualifier because the stadium can host 5,000 people, including athletes, workers and specatators.
Pat Gebhart reported that the PIAA continues to see a reduction in the number of available officials.
