Blue Ridge was part of the first District 2 Dual Meet Wrestling Championships to be held at the Kingston Armory.

The Raiders qualified for the Class AA Tournament where they fell, 45-34, to Wyoming Area in Saturday morning’s quarterfinals, then were eliminated from the consolation bracket with a 48-30 loss to Nanticoke in the afternoon.

District 2 moved both its dual meet and individual championship tournaments to the Kingston Armory this season because it is large enough to hold Class AAA and AA simultaneously.

Blue Ridge qualified as the second of three seeds from the Lackawanna League in the eight-team Class AA field after going 4-1 in Division 2 of the league.

After starting their season 0-4, the Raiders (15-10) won 15 of 19 matches prior to districts.

An Evan Aldrich pin in 29 seconds at 285 helped Blue Ridge recover from a 12-0 deficit to force a 12-12 tie with Wyoming Area, the third seed from the Wyoming Valley Conference.

David Austin’s technical fall at 113 brought the Raiders back within, 18-17, but the Warriors pulled away from there.

Justin Carpenter had another first-period pin for Blue Ridge at 160, but by that time Wyoming Area had clinched the win with just one more bout remaining.

Zach Edwards posted a 15-0 shutout for a technical fall at 145.

Edwards, who recently posted the 100th win of his career, improved to 24-2 on the season with two wins Saturday.

Jon Haines (220) and Dalton Hogle (138) added the other Blue Ridge wins against Wyoming Area by forfeits.

Hogle, who also won twice, leads the team in wins while going 26-5.

Aldrich had another first-period pin in the consolation match after Nanticoke had opened a 9-0 lead.

The Trojans then pushed the advantage to 33-6 before Kyle Bayle (132), Dalton Hogle (138), Zach Edwards (145), and Justin Carpenter came up with pins in four of the next five bouts. Bayle’s took just 56 seconds and Edwards also managed his in the first period.

Austin, Carpenter, Haines, Patrick Cramer, Michael Kelly and Addison Parker all contributing to Blue Ridge’s winning dual meet season by posting at least 11 wins while producing winning records individually.

WEEK IN REVIEW

The Elk Lake boys remained as the only unbeaten basketball team overall in District 2 by winning their first three games of the Lackawanna League Division 4 second-half schedule by a total of 100 points to improve to 17-0.

Tanner Reyan got the Warriors started January 28 with Elk Lake hosting its game as part of the Coaches Vs. Cancer series of games around District 2.

Reyan scored 21 points, including the 1,000th of his career, in a 66-28 romp over Mountain View.

Reyan went into the game needing 10 points. He reached the milestone on a third-quarter drive.

Elk Lake coach John Warnero praised Reyan for being humble throughout the pursuit of the 1,000-point milestone, never mentioning his individual pursuit.

The Warriors held Forest City to five points in the first half of Thursday’s 63-27 romp, then added a 70-34 rout of Blue Ridge Saturday.

Montrose and Lackawanna Trail finished the week 2-0.

In girls’ basketball, Blue Ridge got its first win under first-year co-coaches Paula Finn and Nicole Wellman when it defeated Elk Lake, 48-39, Friday night.

Isabella Cosmello hit 10 of 18 free throws while scoring 16 points in the win.

Mountain View ended the week in the division lead at 3-0 while Montrose and Forest City were both 2-0.

In professional baseball, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders manager Dave Miley was selected for induction into the International League Hall of Fame.

Miley will be honored in a June 7 game at PNC Field in Moosic against the Toledo Mud Hens. Miley has twice been named IL Manager of the Year and was the manager for the only IL championship by both the Louisville and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchises.

COLLEGE CORNER

California University of Pennsylvania graduate Allison Hall opened the indoor track and field season by qualifying for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Indoor Championships in two events with her performances January 24 at the Youngstown State Invitational.

The junior from Blue Ridge qualified in the 1600-meter relay and the 800-meter run.

Hall ran the 800 in 2:25:70 to finish 19th out of 68 entries and meet the conference qualifying standard. She also ran the second leg of the relay, which finished eighth in 4:08.78, the fourth-best time turned in by a PSAC team so far this season.

The PSAC Indoor Championships are scheduled for February 28 and March 1 at Edinboro University.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Forest City will be at Montrose Monday, Feb. 10 in a meeting between the top two teams in Lackawanna League Division 4 girls’ basketball.

Their first-half meeting went down to the final seconds with Montrose pulling out the game and taking the championship for the half.

First, first-half champion Montrose will play at second-half leader Mountain View Thursday.

In boys’ basketball, Elk Lake is home against Lackawanna Trail Friday. The Warriors were scheduled to play Montrose Tuesday. The three teams entered the week unbeaten in the second half.

TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com or followed on Twitter at @tomjrobinson.

FIVE NEW HOF MEMBERS

Dale Jarrett and his father Ned, after his 1996 Brickyard win. Furnished by NASCAR

Dale Jarrett, 1999 NASCAR Cup champion joined his father last week as a member of NASCAR’s Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“I am honored that many of you could join me here tonight,” said Jarrett. “Just know that if we worked together during my 31 years of driving or the last six years in the world of television, I have thought about you and appreciate the opportunity we had to work together. Your efforts and sacrifices are the reason I’m here tonight.”

Jarrett had 32 career series victories with three Daytona 500 wins (1993, ’96 and 2000) and two Brickyard 400 victories at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (1996 and ’99).

He and his father Ned, became the fourth father-son combination in the HOF. The others are Bill France Sr. and Bill France Jr., and Lee and Richard/Maurice Petty.

The four other new members are: Maurice Petty, Fireball Roberts, Jack Ingram, Tim Flock and Dale Jarrett.

Petty was the chief engine builder for Petty Enterprises, and powered his brother Richard Petty to most of his record 200 wins and all seven of his championships. Maurice joined Richard, father Lee Petty and cousin Dale Inman.

“It's an honor and a privilege for me to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame,” Petty said. “Who would have thought growing up that there would be guys, four of us, out of a small, rural country community that would be in the (NASCAR) Hall of Fame.”

Glenn “Fireball” Roberts was considered by many as the first superstar of NASCAR. A seven-time winner at his home track of Daytona International Speedway, including the 1962 Daytona 500, Roberts earned his nickname as a hard-throwing pitcher in high school. Roberts passed away in 1964, after a fiery crash at Charlotte.

Jack Ingram was one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR Busch (now Nationwide) Series history. He won championships in two different series throughout his career. From 1972-74, he won three consecutive Late Model Sportsman, and two NASCAR Busch Series titles, including the inaugural championship in 1982. Overall, Ingram had more than 300 NASCAR wins and 12 track championships.

“I'm honored to be here tonight …it’s beyond words,” Ingram said. “This is a major lifetime achievement for me. While I've won driving the car, I had plenty of help and support along the way; otherwise I wouldn't be here tonight.”

Tim Flock, another member of a successful racing family, raced during NASCAR’s formative years, and became only the second driver to win multiple championships. Along with titles in 1952 and ’55, Flock scored 18 victories in 1955, a single-season record until Richard Petty broke it with 27 wins in 1967. Flock, with brothers Fonty and Bob and sister Ethel Mobley, are the only four siblings to start a NASCAR event (Daytona Beach & Road Course, July 10, 1949). Flock passed away in 1998.

“I bet my darling and all the passed drivers are having one huge race up in heaven tonight,” said Frances Flock, Tim’s widow. “My darling passed away 16 years ago. He would be so proud and humbled to receive this honor tonight and is still remembered for his racing career.”

NEW CHASE FORMAT FOR 2014

NASCAR announced a new championship format that will put greater emphasis on winning races, expands the current Chase for the Sprint Cup field to 16 drivers, and implements a new round-by-round advancement format.

But will it make the 10-race Chase more exciting as NASCAR claims?

The top-15 drivers with the most wins over the first 26 races will earn a spot in the Chase Grid. The 16th Chase position will go to the points leader after race No. 26, if he/she does not have a victory.

If there are fewer than 16 different winners in the first 26 races, the remaining Chase Grid positions will go to those winless drivers highest in points.

After the third Chase race, the Chase Grid will be left with 12 drivers. After the sixth Chase race, the field will drop to eight drivers, and following the ninth Chase race, only four drivers will remain in contention for the championship.
 The first round (races 27-29) will be called the Challenger Round. If a driver in the Chase Grid wins a Challenger Round race, the driver automatically advances to the next round.

The second round (races 30-32) will be called the Contender Round. Likewise, if a driver in the top 12 in points wins a race in the Contender Round, the driver automatically advances to the next round. The remaining available positions 1-8 that have not been filled based upon wins will be based on points. Each will then have their points reset to 4,000.
 The third round (races 33-35) will be called the Eliminator Round. If a driver in the top eight in points wins a race in the Eliminator Round, the driver automatically advances to the next round. The remaining available positions 1-4 that have not been filled based upon wins will be based on points. Each will then have their points reset to 5,000.

Additionally, drivers who are eliminated in the Contender and Eliminator Rounds will have their points readjusted. Each eliminated driver will return to the Chase-start base of 2,000 (plus any regular season wins bonus points), with their accumulated points starting with race No. 27 added. This will allow all drivers not in contention for the NASCAR Sprint Cup title to continue to race for the best possible season-long standing, with final positions fifth-through-16th still up for grabs.

The 36th and final race of the season will be the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. Simply stated, the highest finisher in that race among the remaining four eligible drivers will win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title. Bonus points for laps led will not apply in the season finale, so the official finishing position alone will decide the champion.

Despite what France and the NASCAR-powers-that-be claim in their statements, an article in USA Today, stated, that if the new format had been in place in 2013, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would have won the championship, without winning a race.

NASCAR's Mike Forde confirmed that Earnhardt would have made the final race along with Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon. The driver who won the most races last season, Matt Kenseth with seven, would not have been eligible for the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Racing Trivia Question: Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards’ contracts are up at the end of the 2014 cup season. Who do they drive for?

Last Week’s Question: Who won last year’s Daytona 500? Answer. Jimmie Johnson won the 2013 Daytona 500, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Mark Martin.

You may e-mail any questions to the Racing Reporter at: hodges@race500.com.