Montrose sophomore Colin Mondi earned a state medal March 1 with his performance in the high jump at the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association Indoor State Championships at Penn State University.
Mondi was the only Susquehanna County athlete to compete in the event, which required competitors to meet state standards during the winter indoor season in order to be eligible. He was one of only three sophomores and only three athletes from Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AA schools among the 11 high jumpers at the event.
By clearing 6-2, Mondi finished eighth. His final jump matched that of the fifth-, sixth- and seventth-place finishers, but Mondi lost to them on a tiebreaker for fewest misses.
Springfield-Montco senior Chris Stone, the only jumper to clear 6-6, won the state title.
District 2 had one individual state champion at the indoor meet. Valley View’s Ryan Wilkes, a PIAA Class AAA state champion outdoors last spring, won the boys’ pole vault with 15-6.
WEEK IN REVIEW
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins goalie Matt Murray followed up an outstanding February by continuing a shutout streak through the first start in March.
Murray, enjoying one of the finest goaltending seasons in American Hockey League history, has shutouts in six of his last eight games.
On March 3, Murray was named CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month for February. He went 4-0 in February, allowing just one goal on 110 shots for an 0.25 goals against average and .991 save percentage.
Murray closed out the month with his eighth shutout of the season, a team record.
In his first outing of March, Murray made 32 saves Saturday afternoon in a 3-0 win over the Manchester Monarchs in New Hampshire.
The nine shutouts leads the league and ties the record for shutouts by a rookie, set by Buffalo’s Gordie Bell in 1942-43 and also matched by Wade Dubielewicz of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in 2003-04.
By extending his unscored upon streak to 245:22, Murray helped the Penguins bounce back from having a 10-game, regulation unbeaten streak ended Friday night. The Penguins are 13-2-1-1 in their last 17 games.
Murray leads the AHL in shutouts, GAA (1.59) and save percentage (.939). The only goal he has allowed in the last six games came on a 5-on-3 power play.
The AHL record for shutout streak is 268:17, set by Barry Brust of the Abbotsford Heat in 2012.
In high school sports, Susquehanna County did not have a single team or individual representative in Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association winter state championships.
Other schools from around District 2, however, did find some success.
Eight district wrestlers, including two from the Lackawanna League, earned state medals.
Scranton’s Kazim Bakhreyev was fifth at 152 and Wallenpaupack’s Chase Gallik was sixth at 145 in Class AAA.
Wyoming Valley West’s Cody Cordes led the way, reaching the state final and taking second in Class AAA 160 pounds. Also in Class AAA, Ryan Monk from Dallas was third at 285 and Dan Ritz from Crestwood was eighth at 138.
Wilkes-Barre GAR’s Saul Wilkins was the top district finisher in Class AA, taking third at 285. Wyoming Area’s Charles Johnson was fifth at 126 and Lake-Lehman’s Derek Dragon was eighth at 170.
District 2 basketball teams went 8-8, including 7-5 by Lackawanna teams, in the first round of state play.
Abington Heights (Class AAAA), Scranton Prep (AAA) and Mid Valley (AA) advanced in boys. Honesdale and Scranton Prep (AAA), Dunmore (AA) and Old Forge (A) moved on in girls.
Holy Redeemer, in Class AA girls, is the only Wyoming Valley Conference team remaining.
COLLEGE CORNER
Dallas Ely led the West Chester University women’s basketball team to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship game before falling to California University of Pennsylvania, 86-70, Sunday at Bloomsburg University.
The junior guard from Montrose added to her list of achievements. She scored her 1,000th career point in January, was named PSAC Eastern Division first-team, all-star for the second straight season and was the leading scorer in the conference semifinal upset of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the nation’s seventh ranked team.
West Chester (24-5) ran its winning streak to eight straight games Saturday when Ely scored 26 points in the 63-59 victory over Indiana.
The Lady Rams had lost to Indiana by 22 at home in January. The win put the team in the PSAC title game for just the second time ever. West Chester also lost to California in the 2003 final.
In the semifinal against Indiana, West Chester trailed 31-21 before scoring the last six points of the half, including a 3-pointer by Ely with one second left.
“I thought Dallas hit some key baskets at key times,” West Chester coach Kiera Wooden said. “That’s what we ask her to do.”
Ely suffered through a 2-for-15 shooting day in the final and finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
One of the top 10 career scorers in school history, Ely was a WBCA honorable mention All-American last season. She leads the team in scoring, ranks fifth in the PSAC in free throw percentage and 12th in the PSAC in 3-pointers made per game.
In 29 games this season, Ely averaged 14.7 points in 34.0 minutes. She shot 38.6 percent from the floor, 33.1 percent from 3-point range and 83.2 percent from the line. She also averaged 5.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals.
After averaging 19.4 points as a sophomore and 16.4 through Jan. 10 of this season, Ely fell into a slump. She slipped to 8.0 points per game over the next seven, before heating up during the late winning streak.
Ely averaged 18.7 over a seven-game stretch that included 25 in an overtime win over Bloomsburg and 26 in the PSAC semifinals. She reached the 1,000-point mark 1:22 into a 72-62 win over Philadelphia University Jan. 3. Ely’s career point total is now at 1,195.
THE WEEK AHEAD
The PIAA continues its winter championships with the Swimming and Diving Championships Wednesday through Saturday at Bucknell University.
In high school basketball, the tournament continues. Class AAA and A boys and Class AAAA and AA girls have second-round games Wednesday and quarterfinals Saturday. Class AAAA and AA boys and Class AAA and A girls have quarterfinals Friday and semifinals Tuesday, March 17.
TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com.
HAPPY HARVICK WINS BIG IN VEGAS
"Happy" Kevin Harvick wins at Vegas. Furnished by Team Chevy.
LAS VEGAS, Nev.—A smiling and happy Kevin Harvick won Sunday’s 267-lap Sprint Cup race for his third top-two finish of the season.
Las Vegas odds makers had posted him as a 9/2 favorite to win, but it didn’t come without some anxious moments for the reigning Sprint Cup champion.
“Man, it’s cool to win in front of these Las Vegas fans,” said Harvick. “The last 20-laps weren’t good. Something wasn’t right with the car. I’m glad we had the lead that we did.”
Runner-up, Martin Truex ran a strong race, even leading once, but had nothing for Harvick at the end.
“I just drove hard today,” said Truex. “The car was good, and we had a good run all day. All we’ve got to do is keep working hard, and I think we’ll get a win.”
Ryan Newman was third, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, A. J. Allmendinger, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth, and Joey Logano.
Logano was the leader during the early laps, but in addition to handling problems his team received a pit road penalty and he had to start at the rear of the field on a restart.
Polesitter Jeff Gordon wound up 18th,
Jimmie Johnson led 65 laps, but slapped the wall during lap177, and had a DNF.
We had been having brake problems, but I don’t know if that’s what caused it,” said Johnson. “It just took off to the right and into the wall.”
During lap 182, Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards got into a pushing and shoving match with their cars. It appeared Kahne, who was running on the outside came down into Edwards’ car. Edwards retaliated by pushing Kahne up into the wall. A couple hundred yards further, Kahne came down on Edwards’ No.19, sending him into a spin. Both cars had extensive damage.
“It was definitely my fault,” said Edwards. “I had gotten into him earlier, and I guess he thought I did it intentionally.”
Top-16 Chase Contenders after 3 of 26: 1. Harvick-134, 2. Earnhardt-125, 3. Logano-123, 4. Truex-118, 5. Allmendinger-100, 6. Kahne-92, 7. Johnson-91, 8. Hamlin-87, 9. Mears-87, 10. Kenseth-85, 11. Biffle-84, 12. Newman-82, 13. Menard-82, 14. Bowyer-81, 15. Almirola-80, 16. Keselowski-77.
AUSTIN DILLON DOMINATES AT VEGAS
Austin Dillon led 183 laps of Saturday’s 200-lap Xfinity race, but had to work hard to hold off a hard charging Ryan Blaney during the last four laps.
Blaney, who had fresher tires than Dillon, attempted a low pass on lap 198, but Dillon drove down and blocked him. As Blaney was getting ready to try for the second time, his car bobbled in turn-4. This caused him to lose momentum and Dillon took the checkered by .664-seconds.
Following Blaney across the stripe were: Regan Smith, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Brendan Gaughan, Darrell Wallace, Ty Dillon, Brennan Poole, and Daniel Suarez.
Top-10 leaders after 3 of 32: 1. T. Dillon-119, 2. C. Buescher-113, 3. Reed-104, 4. Wallace-103, 5. Elliott-95, 6. Smith-86, 7. Gaughan-86, 8. Starr-83, 9. Sadler-82, 10. Chastain-81.
WHAT’S IN STORE FOR KURT BUSCH
By now most racing fans know that NASCAR and Kurt Busch have reached an agreement that will eventually allow him to return to NASCAR.
Busch was suspended by NASCAR on Feb. 20 after a civil judge found him guilty of domestic violence. A week and a half later, NASCAR announced that Busch had agreed to NASCAR terms of counseling. Upon the recommendation of his counselor, Busch will be allowed back into NASCAR’s fold.
Since prosecutors have announced they won’t file criminal charges against Busch, I’m not sure that his actions warranted expulsion from the sport. But that’s all in the past. NASCAR said his “actions were detrimental to the sport,”, and threw the black flag.
After serving his penalty, will his old job at Stewart Haas Racing be available?
The situation is like a two-sided sword.
What will Stewart Haas gain from their support of Busch? Will his return as driver of the No. 41 be in their best interest? Remember, Busch did not have a real sponsor. Car owner Gene Haas displays his company name on the side of the car.
Haas hired Busch because he thought he was one of the better drivers in the sport. The No. 41 team was formed expressly for Busch to drive. Haas has said more than one time that his goal is to win NASCAR’s biggest prize; the Sprint Cup championship.
Busch might cause a little pain for the team, but no more than teammate Tony Stewart. There is now a social stigma associated with each one of them, but when it comes to winning, unrelated racing incidents are quickly forgotten.
My prediction is Kurt Busch will return as driver of the No. 41 in a few weeks. My reasoning is that while NASCAR wants to present a squeaky clean image, they can’t afford to penalize individual teams too hard.
Meanwhile, just because of the growing number of empty seats at tracks, fans shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that either NASCAR or the individual race tracks are in danger of going under.
While ticket sales are down at most NASCAR tracks, all are still turning handsome profits.
According to the New York Times, tracks posted a profit of over $100-million last year.
If the number of tickets sold is dwindling, then where does their revenue come from?
The answer is television, and it will only get better with the new TV package that went into effect in February, 2015 with NBC.
The tracks reported $239 million in ticket sales, while they raked in $388 million from television.
The bottom line is that television is the cash cow, and if no one but the drivers and teams showed up on race day, NASCAR and the tracks would still turn a profit.
Oh yes, don’t forget, the tracks pay NASCAR a percentage of their take.
NASCAR's Jim France is among the richest people in the world, according to an annual ranking released by Forbes magazine. The magazine placed France's estimated net worth at $2.1 billion.
Weekend Racing: The Cup and Xfinity teams will be at the 1-mile Phoenix International Raceway. The Trucks do not race again until March 28 at Martinsville, Virginia.
Sat., Mar 14; Xfinity Series race 4 of 32; starting time: 4 pm ET; TV: Fox.
Sun., Mar 15; Sprint Cup Series race 4 of 36; Starting time: 3:30 pm ET; TV: Fox.
Racing Trivia Question: What year did Jimmie Johnson win his first Cup championship?
Last Week’s Question: What year did Dale Earnhardt Jr. move up the NASCAR Sprint Cup ranks? Answer. He ran his first Cup race, an exhibition event in 1998 in Japan, finishing ahead of his father. He ran five regular 1999 Sprint Cup races behind the wheel of the No. 8. His first full Cup season didn’t come until 2000.
You may contact the Racing Reporter at: www.hodges@race500.com.
Dalton Hogle
KINGSTON – Dalton Hogle has spent a lot of time on the wrestling mat since taking up the sport in third grade.
The Blue Ridge senior, however, never had a weekend in the sport as big as the February 20-21 when he captured a District 2 Class AA championship.
“This is a first-time experience,” Hogle said after taking the 145-pound title with a 4-3 decision over Western Wayne’s Harrison Clookey. “It feels pretty good.”
Hogle also won a bout at the Class AA Northeast Regional before having his career come to an end two wins short of a state tournament appearance.
For his efforts, Hogle has been selected as the Susquehanna County Transcript Athlete of the Month for February.
Hogle pinned Lackawanna Trail’s Jared Simon in 1:18 of the quarterfinals and decisioned Lake-Lehman’s Jake Tomolonis, 4-0, in the semifinals on the way to his district title.
"I was confident coming into the tournament, but I knew I couldn't take anybody too lightly," Hogle said.
At regionals, Hogle went 1-3 with a pair of one-point losses and finished sixth.
Hogle moved to the Blue Ridge School District from Lansdale during his sophomore year.
Including his freshman year at North Penn, a Class AAA school in District 1, Hogle was a four-year starter in wrestling. He went 9-23 at North Penn, then posted a 73-28 career record at Blue Ridge.
Hogle was 17-10 as a sophomore and 29-10 as a junior, finishing third in District 2 to qualify for regionals both years. He went 27-8 this season.
In the fall, Hogle spent the last two seasons playing on the Susquehanna football team that is part of a cooperative sponsorship with Blue Ridge. He was a part-time starter on defense as a senior and was in on 31 tackles. He also served as a back-up running back.
Hogle competes in the pole vault on the Blue Ridge track team.
Dalton lives in Great Bend with his father and stepmother, Kurt and Becky Hogle.
