Wyoming Area swept the 100m high hurdles with Usama AlAnsari, center, taking first place with a winning time of 15:50.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Setting a Wyoming Area school record in the 4x800m relay with a time of 9:59. Members of the record setting relay team are, left to right: Samara Campenni, Nina Angeli, Ella McKernana, Madelyn Keating.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Samara Campenni, left, takes the baton from Ella Mckernan, for the second leg of the 4x800m relay. Wyoming Area took first place setting a school record with a time of 9:59.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Wyoming Area has won past Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 titles in both boys and girls track and field.
This time, the two teams did it together.
The Wyoming Area boys claimed their third straight title with Tuesday’s 105-45 victory over Lake-Lehman and the girls joined them on top of the division standings by winning a battle of unbeatens from the Lady Knights, 92-58.
“This is the first time in my 24 years and I’m going to assume probably the first time ever that we’ve won boys and girls conference at the same time,” Wyoming Area coach Joe Pizano said. “But, I don’t know for sure.”
Both teams completed 6-0 seasons in their divisions.
The title was the first for the girls team, a frequent contender, since the 2015 season. The boys went in having already clinched no worse than a tie for first place and easily handled one of the other two remaining contenders.
“We knew the kids we had coming back from last year and I knew what was on the junior high team, so we thought we had a chance to go win boys and girls this year,” Wyoming Area coach Joe Pizano said. “But, you never know what’s going to happen with injuries and numbers.”
Freshman Ella McKernan posted four wins to help the girls win their championship and Madelyn Keating continued a record-setting season after missing last year with injury.
For the boys, the title is almost becoming routine.
“What a lot of people don’t know is that these seniors have never lost a track meet since seventh grade,” Pizano said.
That group won junior high titles in their seventh, eighth and ninth grades. By then, some were also contributing to what was the first of three straight varsity championships for a class that missed out on having a 2020 season because of COVID.
“The boys have been strong,” Pizano said. “We have good numbers. It’s a great group of athletes.
“The girls, we knew we needed to get a few kids to fill in certain spots and they did.”
Wyoming Area started the day on a high note when McKernan, Samara Campenni, Nina Angeli and Keating set a school record while winning the opening 3200-meter relay in 9:59.
Keating has also set 1600- and 3200-meter run records this season.
McKernan added wins in the 400 in 1:03.7, the 800 in 2:31.8 and by running a leg in the 1600 relay victory.
Rosalind Tart won the shot put (29-3), long jump (14-10) and triple jump (33-1) while taking second in the high jump (4-4).
Keating and Adreanna Cunningham each won two individual events and one relay. Keating won the 1600 and 3200. Cunningham won the 100 and 200 dashes and anchored the 400 relay win.
Angeli and Hannah Stoss were each part of two relay wins.
Rocco Pizano led the Wyoming Area boys victory by winning the long jump with 40-4 and the 200 dash in 23.7. He also led off the win in the 400 relay.
Drew Mruk won the shot put and javelin.
Niko Sciandra won the 300 hurdles and was on the 400 and 1600 relay teams.
Usamah Alansari (110 high hurdles) and Aaron Crossley (100 dash) each won an individual race and were part of the 400 relay victory.
Hoka-Henderson Invitational
Wyoming Area continued its success Friday night when the boys 400-meter relay team finished seventh in the Hoka-Henderson Invitational at West Chester after going in as the 24th seed.
Rocco Pizano, Usamah Alansari, Aaron Crossley and Nico Sciandra formed the team.
