Among the many impressive state cross country performances by Susquehanna County teams are second-place finishes by Elk Lake in 2013 and 2014, a sixth-place finish by Elk Lake in 2015, a sixth-place finish by Montrose in 2013 and an eighth-place finish by Montrose in 2012, all in Class A girls.
What those finishes have in common is that all were done by teams that finished second in District 2 since the state switched from two classifications to three in cross country.
Class A has existed in cross country for four years. During that time the county schools have combined with Holy Cross to make District 2 the most successful in the state at the meet each November in Hershey.
If any of those teams want to place high in Hershey again in 2016 or 2017, they will need to win District 2 titles.
During the three-reading process that the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association uses to finalize changes in its policies, including state championship formats and brackets, the PIAA decided to reduce District 2’s Class A qualifiers in boys and girls cross country for the upcoming two-year cycle.
After qualifying 2 teams and the 10 best individuals from other teams in each of the first four years of Class A competition, District 2 will get just 1 team and 5 individuals.
The PIAA reconfigures its state championships every two years when it adjusts classifications for schools based on their updated boys and girls enrollment figures for three grades. A change in the proportion of District 2 teams to total state teams in the class led to the alteration.
There are many changes in PIAA fall sports playoff formats, largely because the state has expanded the number of classes in many sports.
In football, Susquehanna and Montrose, the only county schools, are in Class 2A of the new six-class system. The district’s eight teams will try to qualify for a four-team district tournament where the champion will move on to start state play against the District 3 champion.
In girls’ volleyball, the state has switched to four classifications.
The county teams are split between Class 2A and A, both of which will have District 2 tournaments to send one team into state play.
The District 2 champion in Class 2A will play the District 4 champion in the first round of state play – a District 2 site this fall and at a District 4 site in 2017.
The District 2 Class A champion will have to travel. It will take on the District 4 champion in 2016 and the District 3 champion in 2017.
In boys’ soccer and girls’ soccer, the PIAA has switched from three to four classes.
Montrose will compete in Class 2A while the other county schools are in Class A.
District 2 will have two state qualifiers in Class AA boys’ soccer. It will get a second spot in Class AA girls’ soccer in 2016, but only one in 2017.
Only the district champions in Class A will go to the state tournament.
Both District 2 small school girls’ champions will get to open the state tournament at a district site in 2016, but only the Class 2A boys’ champ will be close to home. In 2017, the district’s Class A boys’ champ gets to play close to home, but the girls’ A champion hits the road.
In boys’ golf, District 2 will continue to send six players to the East Regional and a team against the District 4 champion in Class 2A in an attempt to reach the state tournament.
In girls’ golf, District 2 still will be getting three players at the East Regional and a team against the District 4 champion in Class 2A for berths at the state tournament.
In girls’ tennis, the formats are unchanged.
District 2 will send one team, one singles player and one doubles player to the state tournament in Class 2A.
In field hockey, the PIAA has switched from two to three classes.
Elk Lake, if it has a team, will be in Class A where District 2 will qualify two teams for the state tournament.
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.
ROOKIE TRUCK DRIVER SETS RECORD
William Byron, Pocono Truck Winner (Furnished by NASCAR)
POCONO, Penn.-- William Byron won Saturday's Pocono Truck race for his fifth win of the season, breaking the old record held by Kyle Busch. Byron, a rookie, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing is one of four developmental drivers in the national series who could soon be making his mark in Sprint Cup under the Gibbs banner.
The 18-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, led 44 of 60 laps in the No. 9 Toyota in a caution-filled event to beat Cameron Haley to the finish line by 1.407 seconds. The victory was his fifth in 12 starts this year.
"This means a lot," said Byron, "It was definitely a goal -- I can't lie about that. I knew that was something to beat, and we just show up with so much focus.
"We never get off track, I feel like. It's just a credit to where we are as a race team, the work we're doing, the work they're doing in the shop on the trucks, and we're putting it all together when we get to the race track."
Hayley never led a lap, but had a fast truck as the laps wound down.
"That 9 truck is so fast," said Haley. "We need to really go back and look at things, because he's definitely a step above us. But we worked hard all day, and we were able to come out at least for a second-place finish.
"We would have liked to win, but that 9 is pretty fast, so we'll keep trying."
Brett Moffitt was third, followed by, Timothy Peters, Cole Custer, Rico Abreu, Ben Kennedy, Johnny Sauter, John Nemechek, and Christopher Bell.
Top-10 leaders after 12 of 23: 1. Byron-319, 2. Crafton-294, 3. Hemric-282, 4. Peters-282, 5. Sauter-278, 6. Bell-268, 7. Nemechek-256, 8. Heyley-251, 9. Kennedy-251, 10. Reddick-250.
ERIK JONES IS DOMINANT AT IOWA
Erik Jones led 154 laps on the way to victory in Saturday's Iowa Speedway Xfinity Series race.
The remaining top-10 were: Ty Dillon, Elliott Sadler, Brennan Poole, Dakoda Armstrong, Sam Hornish, Justin Allgaier, Brad Keselowski, Josh Berry, and Ryan Reed.
Top-10 leaders after 19 of 33: 1. Sadler-633, 2. Suarez-619, 3. T. Dillon-598, 4. E. Jones-584, 5. Allgaier-576, 6. Gaughan-565, 7. Poole-556, 8. B. Jones-545, 9. Wallace Jr.-500, 10. Reed-464.
WHO WILL DRIVE FOR CHILDRESS IN 2017
Team owner Richard Childress and Ryan Newman driver of the RCR No. 31 Chevrolet both talked to the media this past week at Pocono.
Childress said he will announce his plans for the 2017 Sprint Cup Series driver lineup in the coming weeks.
His grandson, Ty Dillon has repeatedly told reporters that he will move up from the Xfinity Series to the Cup Series next year. If that is the case, then Newman may be out of a job.
While Newman offers consistent, above-average racing week in and week out, RCR may be faced with a tough decision as Childress' grandson, Ty Dillon, appears ready for a full-time Sprint Cup Series ride, but with no available ride. Still, Childress told NASCAR.com earlier this year at Michigan International Speedway that he's planning on having him in a Sprint Cup car full-time in 2017.
While the exact organization and ride has yet to be finalized, Newman doesn't appear to be beating the bushes in search of a new ride.
"I plan on (coming back)," Newman said. "If they'll have me back, I'll be there."
Ty Dillon has driven eight Sprint Cup races this season. He drove three races for Tony Stewart early in the season and has run five races for Circle Sport - Leavine Family Racing.
"I think he'll be in a Cup car next year," Childress said of Ty Dillon. "I'm pretty sure he'll be in a Cup car. We're working on some different programs. Hell, he may be with us, who knows? We're just working on a lot of different things. Right now it's just a lot of things are hanging. We're trying to put together what's going to be the best for everybody, not just for RCR, but for the drivers and the sponsors, we're trying to put together good programs."
The team also includes the No. 27, driven by Paul Menard, who is 23rd in the points.
Childress said Menard's is expected to return to the team as sponsor of the No. 27 next year.
The final member of the team is the No. 3, driven by Austin Dillon, who is 13th in points and seeking to make the playoffs for the first time.
STEWART'S INSURANCE COMPANY NOT LIABLE
A federal judge ruled Friday that the insurance carrier for NASCAR driver Tony Stewart does not have to defend or indemnify him in a lawsuit brought by the family of a driver who died after being struck by Stewart's car during a sprint car race.
The family of Kevin Ward Jr. is suing Stewart, claiming that he acted recklessly when he struck and killed the young driver in an open-wheel race at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in August 2014.
U.S. District Court Judge David Hurd ruled that Axis Insurance Company.'s policy with Stewart "unambiguously limited" the insurer's liability to specific races.
According to the decision, Stewart's policy covered 105 "specified events." The judge wrote that it is "undisputed" that the sprint car event in which Ward was killed was not one of those specified in the policy. Attorneys for Stewart had countered that certain language in the policy supported their position that coverage was warranted. Stewart will now have to bear the costs of his defense as the lawsuit continues.
Weekend Racing: The Cup and Xfinity teams are at the 2.45-mile, 11-turn Watkins Glen road course. The trucks do not race again until Aug. 17.
Sat., Aug. 6, Xfinity Series race 20 of 33; Starting time: 2 pm ET; TV: CNBC.
Sun., Aug. 7, Sprint Cup Series race 22 of 36; Starting time: 2:30 pm ET; TV: USA.
Racing Trivia Question: Who are Denny Hamlin's Cup teammates?
Last Week's Question? How many Cup championships did Dale Jarrett win? Answer. His only Cup championship came in 1999.
You may contact the Racing Reporter by e-mail at: hodges@race500.com
Chris Buescher Gets First Cup Win
File photo at Daytona, 2016
POCONO, Penn.--Chris Buescher was declared the winner of the Pocono rain-plagued Sprint Cup race.
“This is great,” said Buescher. “We’ll take this one and go on. We ran really well, but the difference was that we were in the right place when NASCAR ended it.”
The race which was originally set for Sunday was postponed until Monday at 11 am due to rain. An early shower Monday morning pushed the starting time back to noon. Then with 22 laps remaining in the 160-lap race, heavy fog set in around 3 pm, forcing NASCAR to call it.
Brad Keselowski was second, followed by Regan Smith, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and Kurt Busch.
Martin Truex Jr., the polesitter led 16 laps before a competition caution. Shortly after that, he ran into bad luck, hitting the wall in Turn 2 on Lap 19 and had to come to pit road. Truex later cut a tire on Lap 40 and headed to the garage for repairs before returning on Lap 59.
Top-10 leaders after 21 of 36: 1. Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Edwards, Johnson, Kenseth, Harvick, Kurt Busch, Logano, Truex, Hamlin.
Top-10 leaders after 12 of 23: 1. Byron-319, 2. Crafton-294, 3. Hemric-282, 4. Peters-282, 5. Sauter-278, 6. Bell-268, 7. Nemechek-256, 8. Heyley-251, 9. Kennedy-251, 10. Reddick-250.
Zach Conrad, recent Blue Ridge graduate, Susquehanna football.
BLAKELY – Zach Conrad moved to a new position for much of the 82nd annual Dream Game.
The Blue Ridge graduate and former Susquehanna Sabers football player produced the same results.
Conrad showed off the defensive abilities that allowed him to earn second-team Class A all-state linebacker honors from the Pennsylvania Football News when he made a game-high 10 tackles to help the City to a 35-8 romp over the County before a crowd of 7,468 at John Henzes/Veterans Memorial Stadium July 20.
Whether he was at the new position of outside linebacker, stepping in at his high school position of middle linebacker or racing down the field on special teams, Conrad kept himself busy. His tackles included two for losses.
“Outside, early-on at practice, it was a little odd, but as the week went on, I picked it up and I feel like by game time I was ready to go,” Conrad said. “And, I love playing special teams. It’s a third of the game.”
For his efforts, Conrad has been selected as the Susquehanna County Transcript Athlete of the Month for July.
It is the second time in three years that the two-time, first-team Lackawanna Football Conference all-star linebacker and two-time team tackles leader has received the award. He was also honored for his September 2014 performance in leading the Sabers in the first half of the season.
Conrad hopes to remain at one of the linebacker positions when he reports to Marietta College in Ohio. He will play football at the NCAA Division III school while studying petroleum engineering.
During his football career with Susquehanna, as part of the cooperative sponsorship of the sport with Blue Ridge, Conrad also started in the offensive line the last two years. As a sophomore, he started much of the season on defense, switching positions as needed, and was a back-up fullback.
Conrad also competed in track and field for Blue Ridge from his freshman through junior seasons as a sprinter. He earned two District 2 Class AA medals in 2015 for a third-place finish in the 400-meter relay and sixth place in the 400 dash.
Zach resides in New Milford and is the son of Amy Conrad and Kirk Walther.
