Two familiar faces will be the new leaders of Wyoming Area sports teams when winter practices officially begin Monday.
Steve Mytych Sr. has returned to once again serve as head coach of the wrestling team.
Ken Bryden, the school’s diving coach for the last nine seasons, will now serve as head coach of both the boys and girls swimming team. He was promoted to that position earlier this month.
Mytych led the Warriors 2013-16. He said a change in his job status allowed him to return to serving as head coach on the varsity level.
Brian Hines, who guided the program through the end of the 2018-19 season on an interim basis, will serve as Mytych’s assistant.
Tristan Vanderlick will be the junior high head coach and Matt Manganiello his assistant on the revamped staff. Jeff Pepe and Chris Harding are volunteer assistants on the varsity.
Jason Prokopchak had replaced Mytych in 2016 and served as head coach through the start of last season.
The Warriors went 1-3 in Division 2 of the Wyoming Valley Conference and 5-19 overall last season. They placed ninth in Class 2A team standings during the District 2 Individual Tournament.
“We’ll pretty much just be getting back to basics,” said Mytych, who is also the Wyoming Seminary softball coach. “ … Wrestle hard from start to finish, scoring a lot from the top position, a lot of tilts.
“Just getting back to hard-nosed wrestling.”
Bryden, a 2009 graduate, was a swimmer and diver at Wyoming Area for four years. Two of his divers have qualified for the state championship meet. He has also worked with divers at the Back Mountain Dive Club.
When practice opens Monday, Pittston Area will also have a new head coach for boys basketball.
Al Semenza, the former Old Forge and Wyoming Area head coach who most recently led a turnaround at Western Wayne, is entering his first season leading the Patriots.
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association allows boys and girls basketball teams, boys and girls swimming teams, and wrestling teams to begin scrimmaging against other schools Saturday after they have had five days of practice.
Non-league play is allowed in each of the winter sports beginning Dec. 6.
