joby fawcett, the times-tribune, scranton, pa.
·4 min read
SCRANTON — Despite all of the chaos around him, Scranton's Jack Roberto stayed focused.
At the scoreboard end of Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium, which is where the races all finish on the track, Roberto competed in the high jump. He didn't realize how close the team score at the District 2 Class 3A Track and Field Class 3A stood with only two events remaining.
Scranton needed a boost, and Roberto pulled through.
Tunkhannock's Will Lupinski won the event with a clearance of 6 feet, 1 inch. Nantico*ke's Zach Fox finished second at 5-11. Roberto grabbed a bronze medal by also clearing 5-11, and he contributed six points that gave the Knights a lead with the 1,600 relay left to run.
Scranton finished fourth in the final race of the two-day meet and secured the team championship on Tuesday with 72½ points. Hazleton Area finished second with 70, and Wallenpaupack finished third with 61.
"At first, I was just jumping," Roberto said. "I didn't know that we were losing or how close it was. I was just jumping. I was not nervous and did my best. I kept my concentration.
"This feels great. It makes me proud that I was able to help my team get this win."
In the girls Class 3A meet, Dallas rallied in the last 100 meters to win the 1,600-meter relay and win the team championship with 113½ points. Abington Heights finished second with 110½, and Pittston Area had 55 points to finish third.
Overall, Scranton had only one gold medal performance in the meet when Aidan Graff won the 3,200 on Monday. However, on Day 2, the Knights grabbed enough points to win their first team title since 2018.
Scranton's Jhaven Sims won a bronze medal in the 110 hurdles, ran as part of the 1,600 relay team that secured the team championship, and found out that his friend and training partner Colin Manley of West Scranton scratched out of the 300 hurdles for the PIAA Championships, and he gets an opportunity to race at Shippensburg University on Memorial Day weekend.
"This is a dream come true to go to states," Sims said. "This is one of my biggest goals, honestly. I knew the capabilities of this team. We have worked for three years to prepare for this."
Tristen Smith contributed a fifth in the long jump (20-8½) and tied for seventh in the high jump; Graff added a fourth in the 1,600 (4:25.79); and Brian McCormack finished fourth in the 800 (2:00.31) for the Knights.
Wallenpaupack's Aiden Janowicz won the 1,600 in 4:19.77, and Ben Ostroski defended his district championship in the discus with a throw of 163-6, which outdistanced his teammate Tyler Yakaboski (159-7).
Janowicz, a sophom*ore, came from third place after the first lap and made a move on his third to take the lead. He used a late pickup of his stride to close with a 1:02.3 for his fastest lap to claim the gold.
"I was really happy with the race," Janowicz said. "The last lap, I just gave everything. I looked at my training, and in all of my workouts, I have been working on that last lap, and it all came together for me."
Ostroski hit his career-best throw on his third attempt. It came one throw after Yakaboski took the lead with a distance of 159-7 that also qualified him for the state meet.
"It felt good," Ostroski said. "I can do better. I paused in the middle. I am chasing that 170 mark for the school record. Hopefully, I can get it at states.
"Tyler sent one out at 159 and that had me thinking, 'Oh boy, I have to get one.' So I ripped one out there."
Abington Heights junior DJ Rogers won the 400 in 50.76 and teamed with Jack Sorensen, Hamza Mirza, and Sean Rooney to win the 1,600 relay in 3:28.29.
In the girls meet, Pittston Area's Aria Messner had a gold medal meet in her triumphant return from an automobile accident that prevented her from competing at the PIAA Championships.
She won the 100 (12.53), anchored the 400 relay to a gold, added a silver in the high jump (5-3), and set a meet record with a distance of 19-2½.
The Lackawanna Track Conference had several athletes win golds in the meet.
Honesdale's Brenna Dahlgren won the 1,600 (5:13.56); Scranton Prep's Peyton Fox won the discus (116-3); North Pocono's Kaitlyn Kravitz won the 200 (26.12); and Valley View's Emma Miller won the javelin (128-9). Kravitz also qualified for the state meet in the 400 (58.51), and Wallenpaupack's Erika Badner qualified in the javelin (124-6).
