HAZLE TWP. — The competition was tougher this year, but the Hazleton Area boys track team continued their winning streak.
The Cougars finished a perfect team season by dominating the Wyoming Valley Conference Boys Track and Field championship on their home track Monday afternoon.
Hazleton Area ended with 115.5 team points, Crestwood came in second with 78.5, and Berwick finished third with 75 points.
The Cougars had multiple winners, with five gold medalists and nine total top-three finishers.
“It’s who they are, they’ve worked for this moment and for next week,” said Hazleton Area coach Dustin Hausherr. “Our focus is on this time of season, it’s from this day on.”
Joseph Mazaika led Hazleton Area in the first boys event of the day, winning the 110 hurdles. Mazaika also won the 300 hurdles, ahead of Luke Peters of Berwick.
“I think we’ve got a strong school and a strong spirit,” Mazaika said. “I think we’re going to keep building that up for years to come.”
Several teammates also claimed victory, with Franklin Ritz winning the 1,600 run.
Wins from Darren Seiwell in the pole vault and Sam Guzman in the javelin completed the gold medalists for Hazleton Area. Guzman also achieved his personal best with a throw of 201 feet, 9 inches.
Despite the personal best and the gold medal, Guzman admitted that he hadn’t reached his peak with the javelin, looking forward to next week’s District 2 championships.
“It was a great throw, but still there are some little things I was upset with,” Guzman said. “This is the time that we work for, and I want to come out on top.”
While the Cougars had the best team performance, the best individual performance came from Berwick’s Ty Wilkerson.
Wilkerson started his day with a win in the 100 dash, and followed that up by winning the long jump.
He helped his team win the 4×100 relay and also came in third place in the 200 dash.
“I feel pretty good, not bad,” Wilkerson said. “I’m excited for more competition.”
Jennings later won the 200 dash for Crestwood, and teammate Mason Staude won the 3,200 run to help the Comets secure second place overall.
Monday’s competitors will have a week to prepare for the District 2 Track and Field Championships, a two-day event starting next Monday at Scranton Memorial Stadium.
Wyoming Valley Conference Boys Track and Field Championships
Team Standings
1. Hazleton Area (HAZ) 115.5, 2. Crestwood (CRE) 78.5, 3. Berwick (BER) 75, 4. Pittston Area (PA) 74.5, 5. Dallas (DAL) 63, 6. Northwest Area (NW) 53, 7. Wyoming Area (WA) 51.5, 8. Tunkhannock (TUN) 47.5, 9. Wilkes-Barre Area (WBA) 44, 10. Lake-Lehman (LL) 38, 11. Wyoming Valley West (WVW) 28, 12. Holy Redeemer (HR) 20.5, 13. Hanover Area (HAN) 7, 14. Nanticoke Area (NAN) 6.
110 Hurdles — 1. Joseph Mazaika (HAZ) 15.99, 2. Anson Jumper (CRE) 16.56, 3. Gage Leffler (PA) 16.94; 100 Dash — 1. Ty Wilkerson (BER) 11.16, 2. George Jennings (CRE) 11.17, 3. Aaron Crossley (WA) 11.29; 4×800 Relay — 1. LL (Finn Cronin, Nicco Diana, Stephen Martin, Ben Wnuk) 8:21.89, 2. CRE 8:24.14, 3. PA 8:27.48; 1600 Run — 1. Franklin Ritz (HAZ) 4:33.19, 2. Oliver Heintzelman (NW) 4:37.92, 3. Michael Fritz (NW) 4:45.29; 400 Dash — 1. Jalen Moore (PA) 50.39, 2. Owen Pollock (HAZ) 50.98, 3. Landon Kester (NW) 51.49; 4×100 Relay — 1. BER (Caleb May, Kaden Hickman, Alex Estrella, Ty Wilkerson) 44.33, 2. WBA 44.74, 3. DAL 45.07; 300 Hurdles — 1. Joseph Mazaika (HAZ) 41.39, 2. Luke Peters (BER) 42.96, 3. Anson Jumper (CRE) 43.08; 800 Run — 1. Preston Klem (PA) 1:58.31, 2. Franklin Ritz (HAZ) 1:59.44, 3. Caden Boettger (NW) 2:03.29; 200 Dash — 1. George Jennings (CRE) 22.44, 2. Jalen Moore (PA) 22.67, 3. Ty Wilkerson (BER) 22.68; 3200 Run — 1. Mason Staude (CRE) 9:50.12, 2. Michael Fritz (NW) 9:51.12, 3. Bryce Phillips (DAL) 10:00.29; 4×400 Relay — 1. TUN (Andrew Lance, Mason Montross, Callum Jerome, Andrew Lupinski) 3:32.95; 2. PA 3:33.03; 3. NW 3:33.53; Pole Vault — 1. Darren Seiwell (HAZ) 13-0; 2. Hayden Martincheck (CRE) 13-0, 3. Nicholas Scalzo (WA) 12-0; Long Jump — 1. Ty Wilkerson (BER) 21’6.5, 2. Daevon Underwood (WBA) 20’10, 3. Xanye Murphy (WBA) 20’5; Javelin — 1. Samuell Guzman (HAZ) 201’9, 2. Matthew Staffin (HAZ) 155’10, 3. Chase Meyers (WVW) 147’7; Discus — 1. John Cummings (DAL) 136’3, 2. Tucker Crawford (NW) 134’5, 3. Harrison Snyder (BER) 130’7; Triple Jump — 1. Andrew Lupinski (TUN) 43’8, 2. Luke Kopetchny (WA) 42’0.25, 3. Lucas LoPresto (PA) 41’5.5; High Jump — 1. Will Lupinski (TUN) 6’2, 3. *Kayden Nolasco (HAZ) 6’0; Shot Put — 1. Harrison Snyder (BER) 50’10, 2. Josh Mruk (WA) 43’8, 3. John Turner (WA) 43’7.
*second-place finisher in triple jump was DQed
