Just one basketball team – boys or girls – in all of District 2 made it past the midway point of January with a perfect overall record.
Elk Lake took a step toward defending its Lackawanna League Division 4 boys’ basketball title when it won the division’s first-half title.
The Warriors, the first team to complete the first-half schedule, improved to 6-0 in the division to clinch the half. They were challenged in getting there.
Elk Lake started the week by winning a first-place showdown with Lackawanna Trail, breaking a tie for the division lead with a 59-43 victory January 14. The Warriors then ran into surprising trouble at home against Susquehanna Friday night when they had to rally from a six-point, halftime deficit to defeat the Sabers, 70-53.
Tanner Reyan led Elk Lake in both wins and was joined in double figures by Matt Woolcock and Nick Dudock each time.
Reyan scored 25 points while Woolcock added 14 and Dudock 11 against Lackawanna Trail.
Susquehanna took leads of 17-9 after one quarter and 34-28 at halftime.
Elk Lake rallied, taking the lead into the fourth quarter and outscoring Susquehanna, 42-19, in the second half.
Reyan finished with 28 points while Dudock had 16 and Woolcock 13.
Matt Zappe turned in a strong all-around effort for the Sabers with 11 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocked shots. Josh Wheeler led the team in scoring with 16 points, along with five steals and three assists.
Luke Falletta added 11 points while Christian Miller had eight points and seven rebounds.
WEEK IN REVIEW
Meghan Gilhool hit two free throws with four seconds left to allow Montrose to escape Thursday night’s first-place battle at Forest City with a 41-38 victory that clinched at least a share of first place in the Lackawanna Division 4 first-half girls' basketball standings.
Montrose won its 10th straight overall after a 1-2 start. Both teams entered the game 4-0 in the division.
Gilhool’s free throws completed a 14-point effort. Morgan Groover added 11 points.
Carly Erdmann, who joined Cassandra Bendyk in scoring 14 points each for Forest City, scored inside to cut the deficit to 39-38 before Gilhool’s free throws.
Montrose led, 24-15, before Forest City rallied in the second half.
In wrestling, Blue Ridge remained in the Lackawanna League Division 2 lead with a 52-15 win over visiting Montrose.
Dustin Jones had a 10-second pin at 182 and Zach Edwards added another first-period pin at 152. Dalton Hogle won by major decision at 138.
Montrose used just six wrestlers and Blue Ridge took advantage of six forfeits.
Jacob O’Brien (106) had a pin and Chad Swift (220) won a decision for Montrose.
COLLEGE CORNER
Sarah Kimsey met the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship meet qualifying standard in the indoor track and field opener of her senior season at Kutztown University.
Kimsey, a Montrose graduate, finished fifth in the triple jump (33-8 ½) and seventh in the high jump (5-1) at Bucknell University’s Bison Opener. In addition to Bucknell and Kutztown, the meet also included Georgetown, St. Francis of Pa., Maryland-Baltimore County, Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, Shippensburg, McDaniel, Susquehanna and the Penn State club team.
THE WEEK AHEAD
The first half of the Lackawanna League Division 4 basketball schedules were set to end for the girls Monday and boys Tuesday.
If a girls’ playoffs is needed, it will be held between Thursday and Saturday.
The second half begins for the girls Monday, January 27 with Susquehanna at Forest City, Elk Lake at Mountain View and Blue Ridge at Montrose. The boys begin their second half Tuesday, January 28 with Forest City at Susquehanna, Mountain View at Elk Lake and Montrose at Blue Ridge.
In high school wrestling, Blue Ridge is at defending champion Western Wayne Wednesday night in a match between the final two unbeaten in the Lackawanna League Division 2 standings.
TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com or followed on Twitter at @tomjrobinson.
NEW CHASE FORMAT COMING
NASCAR Executives, L-R: Brian France, CEO; Mike Helton, Pres.; Robin Pemberton, VP of Competition
NASCAR is working on a plan to change the points system in the Sprint Cup Series, with greater emphasis on winning races.
“NASCAR has begun the process of briefing key industry stakeholders on potential concepts to evolve its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship format,” said Brett Jewkes, Chief Communications Officer. “We hope to announce any potential changes for the 2014 season to our media and fans very soon.”
In addition to expanding the Chase field from 12 to 16 drivers, a win in the season's first 26 races would virtually ensure a driver entry into the Championship Chase. If there were more than 16 winners, the 16 with the most wins and highest in points would gain entry.
Once the Chase field was set, a round of eliminations similar to the NCAA tournament would take place after the third, sixth and ninth race of the Chase, culminating with the championship determined by a winner-takes-all season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Under the proposed system - which could still change before an expected announcement later this month - winning would become virtually a necessity to make the Chase and win the championship.
The current scenario would have 16 teams making the Chase, with positions first going to full-time series contenders who won a race through the first 26 races of the season. Should 16 drivers not win races, the remaining slots would be filled by the drivers highest in points.
Once the field is set for the Chase and re-seeded, the four lowest in points among Chase contenders would be eliminated from title contention after the third, sixth and ninth race in the Chase.
The four remaining contenders would enter the season finale reset with the same amount of points.
The driver who earned the most points in the season finale would be the series champion.
This is only the latest in a series of rules changes.
NASCAR is like the weather in Chicago. If you don’t like it just wait another day and it will have changed.
They are constantly coming up with ways to do things different.
NASCAR makes more changes to their racing than Apple does to its I-phones. Evidently, they think they must come up with a new model or version in order to stay ahead of the competition.
I wish someone in NASCAR would help me understand how this new format is going to make racing more excitable for me on Sunday.
I love racing, and try to attend as many races as possible. I can’t afford to travel to those races, which are held in the western part of the country. I stay home and watch them on television.
If the racing is boring, I lie down on the sofa and take a nap during the middle stages of the race.
Honest.
I like good, exciting racing. A bunch of cars going around in a circle with nothing happening doesn’t hold my interest.
I’m sure that most of my readers feel the same.
Since its inception in 1948, NASCAR has sought publicity. Good or bad, they want publicity.
The rules that are being changed in 2014, will be changed again in 2015.
Remember what I’m telling you.
It’s change, only for the sake of change. The actual on track racing is not going to be that much greater. The new rules are NASCAR’s way of grabbing attention, and trying to make us believe in magic.
When the final lap is run at Homestead in 2014, we will reflect back on this season as just one of many. Not any better, not any worse.
DAYTONA PRESEASON TESTING OVER
The preseason testing is over at Daytona. Despite rain, teams were able to get on the track and try out the new rules package NASCAR had mandated for the 2014 season.
“Yeah, every year is a little different with the rules changes,” said Matt Kenseth, who finished second in last year’s Chase.”You have to stay at it all the time because the sport moves really fast, and you can run real good one week and maybe a month later go back to the same track and not run so good just because everybody else got better.
“I think it's a moving target, but I always feel like you never really just grab one or two areas. I think you look at everything and always try to improve an equal amount in all areas. Certainly there's things if you look at that are more trouble spots than others.
“But I think you try to look at everything you did and didn't do and just try to improve.
“But other than that, I don't really think it matters that much honestly. The rules are pretty tight when it comes to speedway racing, and it's the same for everybody. Everybody is going to have the same opportunity for the same amount of practice or no practice. I don't think it's really that big a deal, either way. It's the same for everybody.”
ROBBY GORDON FAILS IN DAKAR RALLY
Robby Gordon has run the Dakar Rally ten times, and each time he has come up short.
His latest attempt came to an end in the sand dunes of Chile, this past Saturday. Despite earlier issues in the Rally with a fuel vapor lock on his truck, the issue that put him and his team out of the 35th Dakar Rally was the air filter system.
At the start of the 11th stage, Gordon and navigator Kellon Walch raced only 18 kilometers, when they realized the issue with the engine's air intake, they returned to Antofagasta, Chile to make repairs.
But in typical Gordon style, he and his team's never-give-up attitude kicked in and they worked until 12 a.m. Saturday with hopes of driving the HST Gordini and support trucks through total darkness in the desert in an attempt to make it to the start of the next stage in time for Friday's 12th stage.
Despite their best efforts, and although repairs were made, time did not allow the team to make the 749-kilometer trek through the dunes to El Salvador in a timely fashion.
Knowing Gordon, this won’t be his last try. I fully expect him to return in 2015.
Racing Trivia Question: Which Nationwide team will Chase Elliott drive for in 2014?
Last Week’s Question: Which family member was the crew chief/engine builder for Richard Petty? Answer. It was Maurice Petty.
You may e-mail any questions to the Racing Reporter at: hodges@race500.com.
