The District 2 winter sports postseason will move into full swing Tuesday with the start of basketball tournaments across multiple classifications.
The only winter district competition to be held to date was the Dual Meet Wrestling Championships.
Swimming and diving, boys and girls basketball and the individual portion of wrestling, which also has a team scoring component, are all scheduled to be conducted over the next two weeks.
BOYS BASKETBALL
The Class 5A tournament, which includes Pittston Area, gets underway Tuesday with quarterfinal games.
Pairings and schedules had not been released as of press time, but Pittston Area seemed almost certain to come in as the fifth seed and play fourth-seeded Dallas.
The teams are both 13-9 and split their two regular-season meetings in Division 1 of the Wyoming Valley Conference.
All games are on neutral courts.
The quarterfinal matchup carries extra significance because in Class 5A, District 2 gets three state qualifiers. Therefore, quarterfinal winners get two chances and can make the state tournament by winning either of their next two games.
The Dallas-Pittston Area winner will likely face defending district and state champion Abington Heights in Friday’s semifinals.
The final is scheduled for 8 p.m. March 1 at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Pittston Area qualified by being among the top eight Class 5A teams out of 10 in the district.
Wyoming Area did not qualify in Class 4A, which also had 10 teams. The Warriors went 2-20 and finished ninth in the ratings, beating out Berwick, but finishing well behind the final qualifier, Meyers.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Again, pairings are unofficial, but Class 5A seemed just about locked in as of press time.
Expect sixth-seeded Pittston Area (9-13) to open with third-seeded Wyoming Valley West, one of the district’s hottest teams with wins in seven of its last eight games to improve to 14-8.
District 2 does not have a third state qualifier in girls because there are only eight Class 5A teams. That means a trip to the finals will be required to make the state tournament.
Pittston Area and Wyoming Valley West are likely to be on the same half of the bracket as Wallenpaupack (15-7) and Crestwood (3-19).
The final is scheduled for 6 p.m. March 2 at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Wyoming Area went 6-16 and finished last of the 12 Class 4A teams that were chasing eight district tournament spots.
DIVING
Diving, which is a scored event for the swimming championships, will be conducted Saturday at the Wyoming Valley Catholic Youth Center in Wilkes-Barre.
Class 2A is scheduled for 10 a.m. with Class 3A set for 1 p.m.
However, there is a chance the competition could be merged if the number of entries is low.
SWIMMING
The swimming events will be conducted March 1-2 at the Wyoming Valley CYC.
Class 2A, which includes Wyoming Area, begins each day at 11 a.m.
Pittston Area is entered in Class 3A, which starts at 5 p.m.
WRESTLING
The District 2 Individual Tournament has moved this week with both Class 3A and 2A being conducted at Hazleton Area Friday and Saturday.
Pittston Area competes in 3A. Wyoming Area is in 2A.
