SCRANTON – Montrose got off to a strong start in Thursday's 63rd annual Jordan Relays at Memorial Stadium.

The Meteors were the Class 2A boys winners of the opening event, the distance medley, after the Lady Meteors finished second in Class 2A.

The distance medley features a combination of 800-, 400-, 400- and 1600-meter legs.

Liam Mead, Mike Henry, Evan Snyder and Brandon Curley ran the event in 8:31.35, exactly three seconds in front of Holy Cross, the next Class 2A team.

The Montrose girls used a team of Georgia Smith, Chalice Guyette, Anna Loomis and Hannah Perkins.

After winning the 2017 title, Montrose finished second in the boys' team standings behind Lakeland, 54-38.

Mountain View finished 10th, Susquehanna 12th and Blue Ridge 13th out of the 13 Class 2A boys' teams that scored in the meet.

Brennan Gilhool and Mike Henry were each part of three third-place relay teams for the Meteors.

John Herman and Henry Rogers joined them in the 1200 sprint medley relay that sandwiches two 400-meter legs around two 200-meter legs. Gilhool, Henry and Rogers were also part of the third-place finish in the 4x400.

Gilhool, Henry, Mead and Curley were third in the 1600 sprint medley, which uses a 200-200-400-800 format.

Montrose was third in the Class 2A girls' standings.

Western Wayne won with 51 points. Dunmore beat Montrose by one point for second, 34-33.

Susquehanna was seventh of the 10 girls' teams that scored points.

The Lady Meteors were third in each of the relays that are part of regular-season meets.

Guyette, Smith, Mckenzie Newhart and Loomis ran the 4x400. Perkins and Smith teamed up with Lindsey Coy and Gabrielle Davis on the 4x800. Loomis, Guyette and Newhart joined Caroline Stack in the 4x100.

Susquehanna's team of Skyla Wilson, Kaylee Landry, McKenzie Rhone and Taylor Huyck was third in the 1200 sprint medley relay and was fourth, behind Montrose, in the 4x100 relay.

WEEK IN REVIEW

The Montrose boys and Elk Lake girls, each of which had already clinched at least ties for first-place, used wins earlier in the week to repeat as unbeaten Lackawanna Track Conference Division 4 champions.

Montrose defeated Blue Ridge, 117-29.

The final standings were: Montrose 5-0, Susquehanna 3-2, Elk Lake 3-2, Lackawanna Trail 3-2, Mountain View 1-4, Blue Ridge 0-5.

Elk Lake beat Susquehanna, 98-43, in a girls' meet.

The final standings were: Elk Lake 5-0, Montrose 4-1, Susquehanna 3-2, Lackawanna Trail 2-3, Mountain View 1-4, Blue Ridge 0-5.

In boys' tennis, the Lackawanna League regular season came to a close with Montrose finishing eighth of nine teams in the Class 2A Division.

The final standings were: Scranton Prep 13-1, Holy Cross 12-2, Valley View 10-4, Western Wayne 8-6, Dunmore 7-7, Honesdale 4-10, Mid Valley 3-11, Montrose 2-12, Riverside 1-13.

In softball, Jolee Smith hit a grand slam and Maddie Guinane pitched a shutout Wednesday when Montrose defeated Susquehanna, 10-0, in five innings to remain unbeaten and alone in first place.

In basketball, Susquehanna's Bethany Maby and Taylor Huyck were part of the JB Hoops Coleman team that went 4-0 to win the Girls 10th Grade Gold/11th Grade Silver Division title in the East Coast Championship at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Manheim, Lancaster County.

After being one of the team's most effective players in Saturday's two wins, Huyck helped put away a 62-44 semifinal with over DM Panthers Brown Sunday.

DM Panthers Brown scored the first five points of the second half to close within, 33-24, before Huyck hit a 15-footer in transition then added a foul shot on the next trip down the floor to begin the process of breaking away for good.

The two Susquehanna players had worked together to build the biggest lead in a 51-31 win over In the Zone Petruny to begin the tournament.

Maby hit two straight baskets, the first of which was assisted by Huyck, to open a 47-22 lead with 6:35 left. Maby then found Huyck open in the left corner for a 3-pointer and the game's biggest lead, 50-24, with 5:17 left.

COLLEGE CORNER

Matt Lavin has helped Misericordia go 13-17 in its first season of men's volleyball.

The freshman from Mountain View leads the Cougars with 60 blocks. He also ranks fourth on the team in both kills (115) and aces (25).

THE WEEK AHEAD

The District 2 Class 2A boys' tennis singles tournament is scheduled to conclude Wednesday with semifinals and finals, beginning at Kirby Park at 1 p.m.

The earlier rounds were scheduled for Tuesday.

In high school baseball, Blue Ridge is at Forest City Thursday in a Lackawanna League Division 5 game.

Blue Ridge entered the week on a six-game winning streak to improve to 6-3 and move within a half-game of division co-leaders Forest City and Montrose (both 6-2).

In boys' volleyball, Blue Ridge had a busy final week scheduled.

The Raiders entered the week with a 7-2 record as they prepared to play three matches in three days.

After being scheduled to host first-place Abington Heights Tuesday, they were home with second-place Forest City (8-2 to start the week) in Thursday's Lackawanna League regular-season finale.

In high school track and field, the District 2 Class 2A championships for both boys and girls are scheduled for Tuesday, May 15, beginning at 3 p.m. at Scranton Memorial Stadium.

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

Harvick Gets Fourth Win

Kevin Harvick At Dover

DOVER, Del.--Kevin Harvick passed teammate Clint Bowyer for the lead on lap 337 of Sunday's Dover Cup Series race, and cruised the remaining 63 laps to the finish line, winning by a whopping 7.45-seconds ahead of Bowyer.

Harvick's pass was set up after rain had forced NASCAR to red flag the race for 42 minutes on lap 320.

When green racing resumed on lap 332, the leaders were Bowyer, Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., and Daniel Suarez. Five laps into the restart, Harvick was right on Bowyer's rear bumper. As the cars entered turn-4 Harvick went high and was able to make the pass around Bowyer for the lead.

"We're just taking care of things the way we should," said Harvick. "We've got a ton of talent and everybody works hard to get a win. Three out of four cars in the top-five isn't bad.

"The car was good all day, but there at the end the guys gave me that little extra that you need to win like we did today. The car drove and handled great. It was just a great day."

Harvick won both stages of the race and led 201 laps.

For Clint Bowyer, who led 40 laps it was a bittersweet day. He was leading the race when the rain came and it looked for awhile like the race might be shortened. But it didn't happen, and back on the track, he was no match for Harvick's faster and better handling car.

"I can't say they (Harvick's team) outguessed us, because we had a chance all day long to get our car as good as theirs," said Bowyer. "But we made our choices and we just have to live with what we did and look towards Kansas next week."

Daniel Suarez's third-place finish was the best of his Cup career.

"Our team has had a rough start, but it's looking good for us," said Suarez. "I had a good handling car at the end. I hope we can continue at this level and get better."

Martin Truex Jr., who finished fourth had an up and down day. He didn't run well in the early stages of the race, but his team got him out in third-place after the last pit stop. Still, he lost one position to Suarez.

"Frustrated. Frustrated." Truex said. "The car never handled all day like it should have. It just wouldn't turn coming out of the turns. I really had to hold on to it near the end. We're lucky to finish as good as we did."

Kurt Busch was fifth, then it was Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Jimmie Johnson, and Kyle Larson.

Several drivers including Kyle Larson and Kurt Busch were hit with pit road penalties. Each was penalized because of errant tires that got away from crewmembers during a pit stop.

Paul Menard was out early with a blown engine.

Kyle Busch lost a drive shaft in his car on lap 272 and was unable to continue. He finished 35th.

"We had a decent car," said Busch. "I had told the team that the car had a problem. I didn't know what it was until it broke."

Top-10 leaders after 11 of 36: 1. Kyle Busch-466, 2. Logano-444, 3. Harvick-426, 4. Bowyer-380, 5. Keselowski-365, 6. Kurt Busch-3358, 7. Blaney-346, 8. Hamlin-344, 9. Truex-340, 10. Larson-307.

ALLGAIER OUTDUELS SADLER FOR XFINITY WIN

Justin Allgaier led a race-high 104 laps in Saturday's 200-lap Xfinity Series race, but he had to fight his teammate Elliott Sadler for the win.

Sadler stayed on the rear bumper of Allgair's No. 7 Chevrolet for the last few laps, but failed to complete a pass of Allgaier coming out of Turn 4 on the last lap, nearly wrecking them both in the process.

"Elliott and I had a great race," Allgaier said. "The amount of respect Elliott showed me was great. Obviously we got together coming to the checkered. I expected that. I knew he had to do what he had to do. We had to do what we had to do."

Sadler finished second, followed by Daniel Hemric, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Johnny Sauter, Noah Gragson, Matt Tifft, Austin Cindric, and Brandon Jones.

Top-10 leaders after 10 of 33: 1. Sadler-401, 2. Allgaier-368, 3. Reddick-363, 4. Bell-349, 5. Hemric-343, 6. Custer-323, 7. B. Jones-304, 8. R. Truex-285, 9. Gallagher-277, 10. Tifft-270.

Here are the results of the Camping World Truck Series race, held Fri., May 4 at Dover: 1. Johnny Sauter, 2. Matt Crafton, 3. Justin Haley, 4. David Gilliland, 5. Harrison Burton, 6. Cody Coughlin, 7. Joe Nemechek, 8. Ben Rhodes, 9. Jessie Little, 10. Todd Gilliland.

Top-10 leaders after 5 of 23: 1. Sauter-238, 2. Rhodes-187, 3. Gragson-180, 4. Moffitt-175, 5. Enfinger-175, 6. Crafton-169, 7. Haley-146, 8. Snider-145, 9. Sargeant-142, 10. Friesen-137.

EARNHARDTS WELCOME BABY GIRL

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his wife Amy today announced the birth of their first child, Isla Rose.

The baby girl was born on April 30. Amy said on Twitter that "It feels like a dream. The best dream ever."

Dale Jr. retired from driving after the 2017 season. He works as an analyst for NBC Sports and will compete in one Xfinity Series race this year.

"Me and Amy have been getting the house ready," Earnhardt said in a statement. "We have no clue what we're doing. This is our first baby.

"I'm thrilled to be in this position in my life. I know that Amy has changed my life a lot, and I imagine this baby is going to have the same impact and just can't wait to meet her."

WIN ONE, LOSE ONE

Spencer Gallagher, winner of the Talladega Xfinity Series race has been suspended for failing a NASCAR drug test.

According to a press release by NASCAR, Gallagher has been indefinitely suspended from participating in any sanctioned event.

He has agreed to participate in the Road to Recovery Program, a requirement before he is eligible to be cleared to race again.

"I want to assure everyone in the NASCAR community this one-time error in judgment will never happen again. I am taking the steps to enroll in the Road to Recovery program supported by NASCAR," Gallagher said in a statement.

Should Gallagher be reinstated this season, he won't be eligible for the playoffs.

Weekly Racing Joke: Martin Truex Jr., Austin Dillon, and Kyle Larson are on a fishing trip. Truex says he wants a beer, so he walks off the boat, across the water, and grabs the beer. A few minutes later, Dillon wants a drink too, and also walks across the water. Larson thinks to himself, "I'm as good as those guys are, if they can walk on water, then I can too, and leaves the boat. He sinks like a stone into the lake. Dillon turns to Truex and says, "Guess he didn't know where the stepping stones were."

Weekend Racing: The Cup and Truck Series are at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway for two night races. The Xfinity teams have an off weekend.

Fri., May 11; Truck Series race 6 of 23; Starting time: 8:30 pm ET; TV: FoxSports1.

Sat., May 12; Cup Series race 12 of 36; Starting time: 8 pm ET; TV: FoxSports1.

Racing Trivia Question: Which Cup Series team does Chris Buescher drive for?

Last Week's Question: Which major corporation did Jack Roush work for before entering NASCAR racing? Answer. He was an engineer for Ford Motor Co.

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

M addie Guinane, Montrose Softball

Maddie Guinane has both been preventing runs and producing them for the Montrose softball team.

Guinane was Lackawanna League Division 4's most effective pitcher and hitter during April, leading the unbeaten Lady Meteors into first place in the standings and landing the latest Susquehanna County Transcript Athlete of the Month award in the process.

"She's a great kid, a great athlete, a great student; the total package," Montrose coach Kara Amorino said.

Guinane has landed an athletic scholarship from Millersville University where she will play National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II softball while studying biochemistry.

Amorino credits offseason commitment, including strength and conditioning workouts in Binghamton and private batting lessons, with making Guinane, already one of the division's most dominant players, even more effective for her senior season.

In addition to being stronger and working on her hitting, Guinane has also added to her pitching repertoire.

"This year, I really developed my change-up a lot more," she said. "That has really helped me the most."

Guinane is well over the 100-strikeout mark for the third straight season.

During April, she was 7-0 with an 0.44 earned run average and 90 strikeouts in 48 innings. While helping Montrose to six divisional wins and a crossover victory over Riverside, she batted .591 with 11 runs scored and 10 runs batted in.

After being a leadoff or second hitter for much of her first three high school seasons, Guinane has adjusted to her role as the team's third hitter throughout this season.

"Our first two batters usually do a pretty good job of getting on base," Guinane said. "So, trying to hit the ball to the gaps to bring in as many runs as I can is definitely more of a focus than just trying to get on base."

Guinane was a state champion in her age group in archery before giving up the sport in eighth grade to concentrate on softball. She started at first base for the Lady Meteors as a freshman before moving to pitcher the next season.

Maddie is the daughter of Mike and Karen Guinane of Brackney.