After years of having boys compete on an individual basis in conjunction with its Wyoming Valley Conference girls swimming meets, Pittston Area has officially added a boys swimming program.
The Patriots will compete in the Wyoming Valley Conference this season and be eligible to pursue team titles, including entering relays, on the district level.
Heather Clancy, the girls head coach last season, is now operating both programs with continued assistance from Samantha Scalpi and the addition of diving coach Sarah Robinson. Clancy said that Scalpi is sharing duties with her on both teams and there has not been a final determination on whether their roles will ultimately be defined differently in terms of a boys and girls coach.
“This has been in the works for 2-3 years,” Clancy said of the addition of a boys team. “It’s been in the works since the boys got to have more than six.”
Clancy said she expects to enter the season openers Tuesday at home against Wyoming Seminary with 32 girls and 10 boys.
Of the 10-swimmer boys lineup, nine were part of the program last year.
Senior Tom Dessoye, juniors Zack Gregory and Michael Talerico and sophomore Billy Bonzack all qualified to compete in the District 2-4 Class 3A Subregional last season. Gregory was the team’s top finisher, taking 17th in the 100-yard freestyle and 18th in the 50-yard freestyle.
Peter Fox, who competed in the 2017 subregional meet, also returns.
Jake Gregory, Zack’s younger brother, is the only newcomer.
Senior captains Kaitlyn Connors and Kiersten Grieco are back to lead the girls team.
Junior Olivia Norwillo and sophomores Madaline O’Hearn, Morgan Gromelski and Peyton Spindler are some of the other top returnees from a team that went 7-4-1 last season.
“Olivia Norwillo is very versatile,” Clancy said. “She can swim many different events.”
O’Hearn is the only representative of Old Forge in a cooperative sponsorship of the sport by the two schools.
“She shows a lot of promise and dedication coming over after school from Old Forge every day,” Clancy said.
The Lady Patriots add a freshmen class that includes Kacie Fiske, Ella Hoban and Emily Dunn from the Wyoming Valley Catholic Youth Center program.
“They’re going to make a great impact, right from the start,” Clancy said.
