COVID constantly altered and reduced athletic schedules in 2021, but that could not stop the top Wyoming Area athletes and a Pittston Area graduate from major accomplishments along the way.
Jaden Pepe won a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 2A state wrestling championship for Wyoming Area to cap his sophomore season.
The Wyoming Area baseball team reached the state final and the field hockey team advanced to the state semifinals in Class A.
Pittston Area graduate Brandon Matthews set himself up for 2022 when he finished first in the 2020-21 PGA Latinoamericas Tour point standings. Matthews has full exemption to play 2022 on the Korn Ferry Tour, one step below the PGA’s main tour.
Pepe battled Gavin Bradley from Athens in the Northeast Regional, the East Super Regional and the state championships, winning two of the three battles, including 3-2 in the state 113-pound championship in Hershey.
The state title was the first for a Wyoming Valley Conference wrestler in 14 years and the first ever from Wyoming Area to win a title.
Pepe’s three state bouts were decided by a total of four points, including 3-1 and 1-0 decisions, to finish 19-1.
Wyoming Area got hot at the right time and made a surprise run to the school’s first District 2 baseball championship, then an appearance in the PIAA state Class 4A championship game.
At Penn State, the Warriors jumped in front, 3-0, before eventually falling to New Castle, 7-3.
Juniors J.J. Hood and Jake Kelleher, both preseason commitments to NCAA Division I programs, helped lead the run along with Evan Melberger and Hunter Lawall, who joined Hood in the 1-2 pitching combo.
Wyoming Area’s field hockey team lost only to eventual state champion Wyoming Seminary before falling to Oley Valley in the Class A state semifinals. It was the second appearance in the state Final Four in three years for the Lady Warriors.
The Old Forge boys basketball team had a losing record before getting to overtime on a buzzer-beater at the Mohegan Sun Arena in the District 2 Class 2A final, then using that win to spark a streak that also took the Blue Devils to the state semifinals.
Matthews, a 27-year-old from Dupont, twice went more than 20-under par while winning tournaments with first-place prize money of $31,500.
