Montrose suffered a pair of losses Wednesday at Lake-Lehman, leaving the Meteors in a seventh-place tie in the eight-team field at the District 2 Class 2A Dual Meet Wrestling Championships.

Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 champion Lake-Lehman took advantage of its home mat advantage to defeat Montrose, 50-24, in the quarterfinals.

Wyoming Area then edged Montrose, 39-38, in the first round of consolations, keeping the Meteors from advancing to Saturday’s completion of the tournament.

Cole Aukema (170) and Andrew Rosevear (113) each won by pin in both matches for the Meteors, who are 13-8 overall.

Aukema pinned defending District 2 champion Corey Mruk in the Wyoming Area match.

Mikyle Fabrizio and Brian Ryan each won by a pin and a decision.

Joseph Hester won by a decision and a forfeit.

Hester put Montrose up, 3-0, by beating another former district champion, Bobby Long, 8-4, at 126 to start the Lake-Lehman match.

The Meteors were within, 20-18, before the Black Knights won five of the last six bouts, including two by forfeit.

Montrose had a 26-21 lead on Wyoming Area going to the final five bouts.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Susquehanna’s unprecedented run of combined boys’ and girls’ basketball success at the school continued when both the Sabers and Lady Sabers extended their Lackawanna League Division 4 winning streaks to eight games with a pair of wins last week.

The Sabers won the last five games of the first half, a first-half playoff and now the first two games of the second half. The Lady Sabers are unbeaten in league play with a perfect first half and a 2-0 start to the second half.

The Mountain View boys were the only other Division 4 team with an unbeaten second-half record entering the week.

After going 1-5 in the first half, the Eagles started the second half 3-0.

Mountain View was just 3-11 overall before avenging three first-half losses with consecutive wins, each featuring a different leading scorer.

Alex Showalter had 31 points in a 67-58 win over Elk Lake January 30; Kyle Streich had 21 in a 62-39 romp over Lackawanna Trail Thursday; and Mikey Schermerhorn had 20 in a 50-47 victory over Forest City Saturday.

Susquehanna’s overall winning streak ended with the Jan. 30 crossover loss to Lakeland, 47-33. The Sabers bounced back to defeat Montrose, 54-43, Thursday and Blue Ridge, 60-40, Saturday.

The Sabers (11-8) overall were outscored by Lakeland 31-14 over the middle two quarters while falling behind 41-23.

Adam Rockwell scored 13 points and Bryce Baldwin added 10 in the loss.

The win over Montrose, the team Susquehanna had to beat in a first-half playoff, was the third in four tries for the Sabers.

Baldwin had seven points and Deakin hit two 3-pointers for a 13-7 lead after one quarter.

Deakin finished with 21 points, getting six in each of the first three quarters for Susquehanna, which outscored Montrose, 18-8, in the third for a 42-26 lead.

Evan Snyder scored 11 of his 13 points for Montrose in the fourth quarter.

Susquehanna had trouble with late-game free throws earlier in the season, but coach Lawrence Tompkins correctly speculated that his team had the ability and would do better as it continued to be exposed to pressure free throw situations.

The Sabers were 8-for-11 from the line in the fourth quarter against Montrose and 10-for-12 in the fourth against Blue Ridge.

Adam Rockwell hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter and four in the first half against Blue Ridge while scoring 15 points.

Deakin had a team-high 17 points.

Baldwin made all four of his fourth-quarter foul shots while adding 13.

Sam Cosmello led Blue Ridge with 14 points.

In girls’ basketball, Susquehanna won three times, extending its overall winning streak to 10 games and record to 14-3. The Lady Sabers are well out in front in the 10-team race for the top seed in the District 2-11 Class A Subregional tournament.

The Lady Sabers have defeated opponents by an average of 21.8 per game in the winning streak.

Susquehanna defeated Lakeland, 53-37, Jan. 29 in a crossover game that does not count in the division standings, then won consecutive divisional games Wednesday and Friday, beating Montrose, 56-40, and Blue Ridge, 58-25.

Taylor Huyck had 19 points, Mackenzie Steele 11 and Bethany Maby 10 against Lakeland. Susquehanna opened a 43-24 lead after three quarters.

The Lady Sabers broke away from a halftime tie to beat Montrose. Huyck finished with 24 points and Maby had 16.

Steele had 14 points and Susquehanna opened a 12-1 lead after one quarter against Blue Ridge. Huyck added 13 points and Maby had 11.

In professional baseball, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders announced their field staff Wednesday.

The three-time defending International League North Division champions will be managed by Bobby Mitchell.

Mitchell’s staff will include pitching coach Tommy Phelps, hitting coach Phil Plantier, bullpen coach Doug Davis and defensive coach Travis Chapman. Athletic trainer Darren London and strength and conditioning coach Brad Hyde will return for the new season.

Mitchell, 62, spent the last two seasons managing the New York Yankees’ Double-A team, the Trenton Thunder. He led the Thunder to the championship series and earned Eastern League Manager of the Year honors.

As a player, Mitchell spent parts of four seasons in Major League Baseball. In 10 seasons as a minor-league manager, he is 609-508.

Mitchell takes over the Yankees’ top farm team, returning to the Triple-A level where he was previously in Salt Lake of the Pacific Coast League from 2008-2010.

“From top to bottom, the Yankees have a lot of young talent moving up the ladder,” Mitchell said in a press release. “The whole system is packed with prospects and this is a really good thing.”

Phelps was pitching coach of the RailRiders the past two seasons. Plantier, an eight-year Major League outfielder, has experience in the minors as a manager, hitting coach and hitting coordinator and spent three seasons as the San Diego Padres hitting coach. Davis, from Bloomsburg, has a 515-484 record as a minor-league manager. Chapman, who played 134 games for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons in 2003, has been a manager or coach in the Yankees farm system for five years.

Al Pedrique moved up from RailRiders manager to first-base coach of the Oakland A’s. P.J. Pilittere, the 2017 hitting coach, has been promoted to the Yankees coaching staff.

In professional hockey, the North Division won the American Hockey League Classic, a round-robin tournament among division all-star teams January 28 in Utica, N.Y.

Daniel Sprong from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins had two assists for the Atlantic Division when it was going 1-2 in round-robin play.

COLLEGE CORNER

Allison Lewis has run well, competing at different distances in each of her first three outings of the season for the West Chester University indoor track and field team.

The senior middle distance runner from Montrose won the 500-meter run at Lehigh University’s Covert Classic January 19 with a time of 1:18.78.

Lewis placed second at 400 meters in 1:01.07 at the Golden Bear Invitational at Kutztown University Jan. 12. She was fourth in the 800-meter run at the Gotham Cup in Staten Island, N.Y. Jan. 19 with a time of 2:18.05.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Montrose is at Mountain View Thursday in a girls’ basketball game between the two teams that entered the week tied for second in the Lackawanna League Division 4 second-half standings with 2-1 records.

Mountain View then hosts Susquehanna, the first-half champion and second-half leader Monday, Feb. 12.

In boys’ basketball, Mountain View is at Susquehanna Tuesday, Feb. 13 in a meeting between the two teams that entered this week as the last unbeatens in the Lackawanna Division 4 second-half standings.

FURTHER AHEAD

Susquehanna County senior high school basketball players will have another all-star game to pursue following the recent announcement of the Inaugural Battle of the Valley All-Star Classic.

The game, scheduled for March 26 at Wilkes University’s Marts Center, will be a girls-boys doubleheader featuring the top senior players from the Lackawanna League against the top seniors from the Wyoming Valley Conference.

The Joyce Insurance Group will sponsor the game.

Activities begin March 19 with a press conference at Wilkes announcing the rosters from both conferences.

Teams will practice in preparation for the doubleheader, which is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on March 26 and will be broadcast live on NEPABasketball.com.

Joyce Insurance is underwriting the event with all proceeds begin given to the Lackawanna County charity, the Brian Forgione Foundation, and the Luzerne County charity, Miles For Michael.

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.

IT'S TIME TO GO RACING

Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman in 2017

Good news! The 2018 NASCAR season kicks off Sunday, Feb. 11.

NASCAR opens its new season with The Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway along with the Coors Light Pole Award qualifying for the 60th Annual Daytona 500, which will be held the following Sunday, Feb. 18.

Drivers will battle in the 75-lap event that airs live on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio at 3 p.m. ET. The annual preseason race will be run in two segments, with a competition caution at Lap 25 separating the segments.

Consistent with the eligibility requirements used to determine last year’s Clash field, there is no pre-determined number of cars. The exclusive field is limited to drivers who were 2017 Coors Light Pole Award winners, former Clash race winners, former Daytona 500 pole winners who competed full-time in 2017 and drivers who qualified for the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. 

The 20 drivers that are eligible include; 2017 Pole Award winners: Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Erik Jones, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Martin Truex Jr.; Former Daytona 500 Pole Award winners: Austin Dillon, Jimmie Johnson, Danica Patrick; 2017 Playoff drivers: Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman.

Meanwhile William Byron and Darrell Wallace head the short list of drivers that will be vying for Rookie of The Year honors.

Wallace is talented and is the only African-American driver in the Cup Series. He has won several races in the lower series, but hasn't shown the exceptional driving ability to win races like Byron has.

Byron will be driving the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. He won the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship and the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award in the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. The following season he won both the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship and 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year.

I think Byron will be the top rookie, because of his past record and the fact that he is with Hendrick Motorsports, one of the premier teams in NASCAR.

NASCAR RULES ARE AN ONGOING STRUGGLE

The lack of consistent rules was one of the reasons Bill France Sr. and others formed the NASCAR organization late in 1947. The cars had so many “contraptions”, aftermarket, experimental, and homemade parts, that they could barely be called “stock cars”.

France knew he would have to firm up the rules or before long, jet-powered “stock” cars with wings would be soaring around the tracks.

The sport grew, but France and NASCAR's rulebook became a never-ending work in progress and the organization would bend, break, or replace their own rules on a whim.

The cars and rules have changed and evolved with the times, but it's still no simple matter 70 years later. During the Media Tour at Charlotte, Ryan Newman gave his take on the current state of the rules-making process.

“When 10, 15, 20 cars don’t make it out to qualify, it’s a black eye on our sport no matter how you look at it. When it happens two or three or four out of five weeks, that’s horrible, and they let it happen,” Newman said.

Newman was referring to one aspect of the inspection process, called the Laser Inspection System.

When NASCAR unveiled the system, it caught people’s attention in how the cars would be teched before events, with the grey area of the rulebook becoming that much thinner. However, there were some noticeable problems.

The sanctioning body has gone back to the drawing board and will debut the next version – the Hawkeye System. Set to be better in places where the other failed, it should close the door on what’s allowed and not even more, while not enduring the same previous issues.

Some of the drivers have expressed belief in the system, with the Ford drivers stating it should keep others, namely Toyota, closer to tolerances than in the past.

The same faith, though, is not shared by everybody.

“When the Hawkeye system goes down, what’s the backup plan?” continued Newman. “We don’t have enough people anymore, so what are we going to do, just sit in the garage and wait until we get the Hawkeye system back up and running? When we have a power outage, and things got to get rebooted or when something gets wet, what are we going to do? How’s that part going to work? Technology has made us dependent upon a lot of things technology-wise, and when those things fail, a lot of us just scratch our head.”

Technical inspection became the source of everyone’s attention because they want to make sure each competitor is within the rules for the fairest competition possible. However, it also became a story each week during qualifying, with drivers unable to make it out in time due to failing multiple times.

It’s easy to see that a change was necessary, as there were notable flaws with the LIS. Several teams noted if the weather changed, the LIS numbers would change.

“Everybody knew that, including NASCAR, but they couldn’t predict it, and they couldn’t create a source of error for it that was acceptable,” Newman said. “You could have a car that would pass one time, not change anything, roll around and it wouldn’t pass by a bigger margin than it ever should have. There was a lot of frustrations with the LIS, and there was a crew chief that got fired because of the LIS that I know of, because he was frustrated with the fact that it was not repetitive.”

Despite his frustrations, Newman did not want to address his concerns with NASCAR, because he knows they take a hard stance toward drivers that express unpopular views that go against NASCAR.

“It would cost me money,” he said.

“I’m just saying, you’ve got to be realistic about it. I know what the intentions are, but in the end, nobody at this point knows how well it’s going to be. It’s costing our teams $350,000 to set up a Hawkeye system at our shop to be able to go to the racetrack and have our cars pass so that we can practice and race.”

Not only is the new system a hit-and-miss setup, but the price of it places an unneeded burden on small teams. NASCAR has said in the past they would like to hold down the costs of racing, but it seems like they are the one placing additional burdens on individual teams. The big operators, with multicar teams can spread the cost around, but it's a big pill for one-car teams to swallow.

Sorry Ryan, I guess you will have to endure, because if it hasn't been fixed in 70 years, it's just one of the many unpleasant things in life we have to live with.

Joke of the Week: A mechanic is standing outside the garage as Roger Penske is coming in to check out the new Ford, and can't help but notice that Mr. Penske has a dog under each arm. The mechanic waves and says, “Welcome back, Roger, Nice dogs, sir.”

  Penske smiles and says, “These aren't dogs. These are genuine Labrador Retrievers. I got this one for Brad, and I got this one for Joey.”

The mechanic said, “Good trade, sir.”

Racing Trivia Question: Which driver has the most wins at Daytona?

Last Week's Question: Name one driver that drove for Junior Johnson. As a team owner, he worked with some of the legendary drivers in NASCAR history, including Dariel Derringer, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Neil Bonnett, Terry Labonte, Geoffrey Bodine, Sterling Marlin, Jimmy Spencer and Bill Elliott. In all, his drivers won 139 races, which is third to Petty Enterprises and Hendrick Motorsports. His drivers won six Winston Cup Championships—three with Yarborough (1976–1978) and Waltrip (1981–82, 1985). In addition his son, Robert, ran in the 2011 K&N East Series.

Gerald Hodges is a syndicated NASCAR writer and author. You may contact him by e-mail at: hodges@race500.com.

Pictured during the January 30, 2018 basketball game at Elk lake High School are Mountain View's Mikey Schermerhorn guarding Elk Lake's Kobe Jayne as the Eagles defeated Elk Lake 67-58. Jayne scored 18 for the Warriors.