Forest City surged into the lead of Lackawanna League Division 4 girls’ basketball with a pair of wins.

The Lady Foresters, who started the season 1-5, have won four straight to improve to 5-5 overall, including 3-0 in the division.

Forest City handed both of its opponents for the week their only division loss so far to emerge with the only unbeaten record in Division 4.

MacKenzie Hartman scored 19 points and Forest City rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Elk Lake, 45-41, Jan. 4.

Anna Congdon and Skylar Fortuner added 11 points each.

Keri Jones led Elk Lake with 15 points.

Kendra Bendyk’s 24 points led Thursday’s 40-34 win over Blue Ridge.

Isabella Cosmello led Blue Ridge with 17 points.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Montrose and Elk Lake made it through the week unbeaten in Lackawanna League Division 4 boys’ basketball.

The Meteors ran their overall winning streak to eight games, improving to 3-0 in the division with a pair of wins.

Montrose topped Mountain View, 54-44, Jan. 5, then ripped Lackawanna Trail, 70-28, Friday.

Brendan Buck had 18 points in the win over Mountain View and Todd Lattimore scored 26 against Lackawanna Trail.

Elk Lake won its first two division games.

Blue Ridge suffered a pair of tough losses.

The Raiders put together an upset bid against Mid Valley, one of just two teams that are unbeaten overall in District 2, before falling, 52-49, in a Lackawanna League Division 3-4 crossover.

Ty Herbert led Blue Ridge with 20 points. Jeff Morris added 12 and Austin Harper 11.

Noah Yates scored 17 points Friday when Forest City edged Blue Ridge, 55-53, in a Division 4 game Friday.

Yates had 11 points, but Forest City trailed, 28-27, at halftime.

The Foresters took the lead in the third quarter and Adam Kowalewski scored seven of his 16 points in the fourth to keep them in front.

Jared Paulin added 14 points in the win.

Jeff Morris led Blue Ridge with 15 points.

In wrestling, Montrose defeated Mountain View, 49-22, Wednesday in a Lackawanna League Division 2 opener.

In professional hockey, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins had three players named to the Atlantic Division team for the American Hockey League All-Star Classic January 31 and February 1 in Syracuse.

Goalie Matt Murray, defenseman Derrick Pouliot and rookie forward Dominik Simon were selected.

Murray leads the AHL with a .942 save percentage is ranked second with a 1.74 goals against average and is tied for the lead with four shutouts.

Pouliot made the game for the second straight year. He leads Penguins defensemen in scoring with 18 points.

Simon, the team’s top scorer, leads AHL rookies with 29 points.

Earlier, associate coach Jay Leach was named head coach of the Atlantic Division team while he was serving as interim head coach of the first-place Penguins.

Defenseman Michael Kostka was named from the Binghamton Senators.

In professional baseball, Al Pedrique was named manager of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

The former Major League infielder with the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers managed the Trenton Thunder of the Eastern League to a 71-71 record in 2015.

The RailRiders, the top farm team of the New York Yankees, play in the International League.

COLLEGE CORNER

Sara Krupinski scored her career-high with 10 points Dec. 21 while making her first start during a 79-69 win over Western Connecticut State in the Daytona Beach Shootout.

The senior guard from Montrose made two straight starts.

After playing 27 minutes in her first start, Krupinski was held scoreless while playing 20 minutes during a 54-44 loss to Gwynedd-Mercy at the Jamie Lynn Roberts-Fairfield Inn Holiday Tournament Dec. 29 at Catholic University in Washington.

King’s is 8-4.

Krupinski has played in 11 games, making the two starts. She averages 3.1 points, 2.5 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 16.5 minutes per game. Krupinski is 10-for-21 (47.6 percent) from the floor and 14-for-20 (70.0) from the line.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Montrose and Elk Lake, which entered this week as the last two unbeatens in Lackawanna League Division 4 boys’ basketball, will play Tuesday, January 19 in a game that potentially could decide the first-half title.

The defending champion Meteors (3-0) are at the Warriors, who started the week 2-0 and are considered the top threat to Montrose’s title defense.

In girls’ basketball, the teams that ranked 1-2 in the division at the start of the week also will meet Monday, January 18. Forest City (3-0) is at Lackawanna Trail (2-1).

In wrestling, Montrose will face one of the other top teams from Division 2 of the Lackawanna League when it meets Valley View Wednesday at Lackawanna Trail. Both teams also wrestle the host Lions.

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.

WOOD BROTHERS TO RACE FULL SCHEDULE

Ryan Blaney, shown here in 2015 will drive the Wood Brothers No. 21

Can the Wood Brothers reclaim some of their former glory?

It’s been six years since the Wood Brothers, NASCAR’s oldest team, has been able to run a full Sprint Cup season. Since 2009, they have had to content themselves with running only 14-20 races per year, due to lack of sponsorship.

That will change this year as the team has secured a full season sponsorship and young Ryan Blaney as their driver.

“We are beyond excited to make this announcement about going back to full time competition,” said Eddie Wood, team co-owner. “It has been something we’ve worked toward since 2009 when we started running limited schedules.

“I have to thank Ford, our technical alliance partners Team Penske and Roush Yates Engines, as well as everyone at Motorcraft, for working with us to make this day possible. It’ll be fun to see just how good Ryan Blaney, and our team can be over a full season.”

The last time the Wood Brothers won was in 2011 when Trevor Bayne took the Daytona 500. Now that they have a technical alliance with Team Penske, they should be in contention for top-five and top-10 finishes throughout the season and could even find themselves back in victory lane once again.

Blaney is one of the favorites in the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year race and if Blaney and the Wood Brothers can live up to their potential, the 22-year old could bring home Rookie of the Year honors as well.

“This is every driver’s dream come true, getting a chance to run in the NASCAR Sprint Cup,” said Blaney. “I’m really looking forward to running with this historic team and hopefully get them their 99th and 100th wins sooner rather than later.”

Crew chief will be Jeremy Bullins. He returns to the Wood Brothers organization following a successful three-year tenure with Team Penske’s No. 22 NASCAR Nationwide Series team that produced 21 wins and two consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series Owners’ Championships.

Bullins first worked with the Wood Brothers in 1999 on the Pro Cup and Late Model cars driven by Jon Wood. In 2000, Bullins became race engineer for the iconic No. 21 Ford in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, a position he held until June of 2002. Bullins moved on to work with ST Motorsports, Robert Yates Racing and Richard Childress Racing, where he helped drivers Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer claim a total of nine Sprint Cup Series victories as a race engineer.

A native of Walnut Cove, North Carolina, Bullins joined Team Penske in 2012 to serve as the crew chief for the No. 22 car in the Nationwide Series, earning three wins in his first full season at the helm. In 2013, Bullins led the team to 12 wins with four different drivers and the team’s first Nationwide Series Owners’ Championship. The No. 22 Ford team won the Owners’ Title again this season behind six series victories. In total, Bullins earned 21 wins, 14 poles, 57 top-five and 79 top-10 finishes in 99 starts with the No. 22 Team Penske Nationwide Series program.

“This is a great opportunity for me at this point in my career to move to a great organization with a solid driver, while still getting the chance to work with the people that I’ve come to know and respect at Team Penske,” said Bullins. “Everyone in the sport knows about the Wood Brothers and recognizes that No. 21. To get a chance to work for Eddie and Len and the entire organization and to have Ryan behind the wheel, is pretty much everything I could have asked for.”

The team was formed in 1950 by Glen and Leonard Wood, hence the "Wood Brothers".

Some of NASCAR’s greatest drivers sat behind the wheel of the No. 21 during the 1960s, including Curtis Turner, Marvin Panch, Fireball Roberts, Parnelli Jones, Tiny Lund, Junior Johnson, Speedy Thompson, Fred Lorenzen, and Cale Yarborough.

In 1972, David Pearson was hired to be the full-time driver of the No. 21 car. This choice would pave the way for one of the most successful strings of victory in motorsports history. In only seven years, the team entered 143 races and amassed a staggering 46 wins and 51 poles. Their race winnings surpassed $1.3 million during this period with Pearson as the driver. Pearson continued driving the car from 1972 to 1979.

In 1976, with Pearson still driving, the Wood Brothers won the coveted "Triple-Crown" of NASCAR racing; by winning the legendary Daytona 500, the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Neil Bonnett and the Wood Brothers team had a successful relationship. It lasted only three and a half seasons and 83 races, but included 9 victories and over $700,000 in winnings.

As time marched on through the 1970s and 1980s, many of the cutting-edge innovations pioneered by the team were discovered or were outright copied by other different teams. Thus, the Woods' competitive edge had been dulled by other teams taking advantage of the Wood innovations and therefore, the Wood Brothers were trying for a rebirth for the fabled NASCAR No. 21 Ford.

Kyle Petty would find victory in their second season together at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. In 1987 the team won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

During the 1990s, they won with drivers Dale Jarrett, Michael Waltrip, and Elliott Sadler.

They merged with Tad and Jodi Geschickter's JTG Racing in 2006 to increase their competitiveness and bring about sponsorship, but separated for the 2008 season.

Since then they have only been able to run partial schedules each year. With young Blaney behind the wheel, a working alliance with Penske, and better funding, maybe a new generation can find victory lane and help reclaim some of their former glory.

McREYNOLDS TALKS ABOUT NEW RULE CHANGES

Larry McReynolds gives his take on the new NASCAR rules that will be in effect during the 2016 racing season.

“This will be the year of the low downforce package in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, and it remains to be seen exactly what they will mean for various teams,” McReynolds said. “Every time there is a rules change in NASCAR it helps some drivers while conversely hurting others. You've always heard me say that no matter what rule changes they make, no matter what car they run, no matter what points system or Chase format NASCAR selects -- regardless of any of that -- the cream is always going to rise to the top.

“Any rules changes is not going to take a team that is consistently running 25th and make them a contender for wins. In the same breath it's not going to take a team that is a contending team and all of sudden you find them simply struggling to finish in the top-15 every week.

“It just doesn't work that way. The best drivers and best crew chiefs are going to find their way to the front no matter what is in front of them.

“Fans might remember that NASCAR had the teams race this low downforce package last year on two occasions. Joe Gibbs Racing won both of those races at Kentucky and at Darlington. I still maintain it's going to the same cast of characters, no matter what the rules package is, that will rise to the top.

“It's still going to be Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, his brother Kyle Busch and the Jimmie Johnson's of the world up front, contending for the wins and the championship. The good thing as we head into the 2016 season is that all the teams have two races under their belt running this package. They also know that this is the rules package they will run every single race weekend, except for the four restrictor-plate races at Daytona and Talladega.

“I can promise you that the front-running teams will have their arms around this package and it will be the same cast of characters up front when it is all said and done.”

While the NASCAR off season has not come to an end, it is getting close. Several teams will conduct tires tests this week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Goodyear is expecting to build softer tires with the adoption of the lower downforce rules package for the 2016 Sprint Cup season. Greg Stucker, the director of race tire sales for the NASCAR supplier, said tires will be tuned to each track with a goal of increasing grip.

Racing Trivia Question: What is the date of this year’s Daytona 500?

Last Week’s Question: Who was the first NASCAR champion? Answer. It was Red Byron.

You may contact the Racing Reporter by e-mail at: hodges@race500.com.

Justine Johns

Justine Johns got Elk Lake through tight fourth quarters in both games of the Denise Reddon Memorial Tournament, helping the Lady Warriors win the title and landing Most Valuable Player honors in the girls’ basketball tournament for herself.

In addition, Johns has been named as the Susquehanna County Transcript Athlete of the Month for December.

In both tournament games, Elk Lake overcame a deficit in the third quarter, then navigated the fourth quarter with its junior point guard calmly running the offense and sinking free throws.

“I think we just needed to slow the ball down on offense,” Johns said after helping Elk Lake stop a 15-point Susquehanna streak and recover for a 45-37 win in the title game. “When we get running back and forth too much, that’s when things get crazy.

“By slowing it down on offense, we kind of regrouped on defense.”

Johns was at her best with the games on the line.

In the tournament opener, she had 12 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter, going 10-for-12 from the line for a 46-37 win over Montrose. It was the first game the Lady Meteors ever lost in the six-year history of the event.

Johns showed that she can help the team in many different areas while scoring 15 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, handing out four assists and making three steals against Susquehanna. Despite being the leading scorer in both tournament games, Johns said running the offense is her strength.

“I would say it’s my ball-handling and setting up plays,” she said.

When Elk Lake needs her to score, however, she has come through.

Johns was again clutch at the line against Susquehanna, going 4-for-4 in the fourth quarter when she scored 10 of her points.

“She wants the ball,” Elk Lake coach Alicia Traver said. “She anticipates. She’s kind of a silent leader out there.

“She makes things happen.”

Johns helped Elk Lake to the only winning December record by a Susquehanna County girls’ basketball team.

Johns is also a standout runner as a three-time state medalist in cross country and a member of a state medalist 3200 relay team in track.

The three-year starter in basketball switched from softball after her freshman year to get in more distance running competition in track and field as a sophomore.

Justine is the daughter of Tom and Heather Johns of Meshoppen.

Scranton, PA - Lackawanna College is pleased to announce the signing of Forest City High School's Dylan O'Dell to the men’s golf team.  O'Dell is coming off a wonderful finish to his high school golf career where his Forest City team qualified for the PIAA State Championships.

Pictured (l-r) are: Forest City Principal, Pete Jordan, Forest City Athletic Director, Brian Durkin, Forest City Golf Coach, Art McClain, Lackawanna College Coach, Pat Lloyd.

Dylan joins a program that has been ranked in the NJCAA DII National Polls and Bushnell Golf Weeks GCAA Rankings 7 of the last 9 years.  Dylan will join Pocono Mountain East Standout, Ryan O'Malley and NTL League MVP from Athens Area High School, Zac Sitzman on the 2016 team.  The team will also include 3 internationally ranked players from Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Lackawanna College golf coach Patrick Lloyd said of the signing, "We are thrilled to get Dylan, he is a great young man from a wonderful family who can come in and help the program."

Dylan is the son of William and Patricia O'Dell, Forest City, PA.  Dylan will pursue a degree in business administration at Lackawanna College.