Elk Lake’s Adam Phillips competes in the 100-yard butterfly. He won gold while setting a meet record in the event. STAFF PHOTO/BOB BAKER

BY JOBY FAWCETT

Times-Shamrock Writer

ElkLake’s Adam Phillips took a pair of gold medals and broke a pool and meet record in the 200 IM at the Lackawanna County Swimming and Diving Championships atScrantonHigh Schoolon Saturday.

In the 200 IM, Phillips broke the pool and meet record with a time of 1:59.62. It surpassed the mark of 2:01.26 set byAbingtonHeights’ Gabe Thran in 2010.

“That race felt so good,” said Phillips, who added a win in the 100 fly. “I hit the water and I felt like I was back at states.

“I just went after it.”

Phillips also took gold in the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.74, about a second ahead of Scranton Prep’s Ryan Sebastianelli.

Warrior Abby Zdancewicz, in left lane, won the 500 freestyle race at the Lackawanna County Swimming Championships on Saturday with a time of 5:29.05. STAFF PHOTO/BOB BAKER

Elk Lake’s Abby Zdancewicz took home a first place finish on the girls’ side as she posted a 5:29.05 in the 500 freestyle.

Other top finishes for Elk Lake’s boys included Brad Grosvenor’s sixth in the 100 fly at 1:02.62 and the Warrior 400 free relay’s second place finish at 3:37.46 behind Scranton Prep at 3:37.07.

On the girls’ side, Elk Lake’s Zdancewicz also took a second place finish in the 200 free at 2:04.98 behind Scranton Prep’s Katie Voitik at 2:02.49.

TheElkLakegirls’ 400 free relay team took a fifth place finish on Saturday at 4:13.69 while Scranton Prep took first place at 3:54.28.

ADAM PHILLIPS

BY KEVIN WOODRUFF

WhateverElkLakeswim coach Ed Murach throws senior Adam Phillips’ way, he’s ready.

Whether it’s swimming in the breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly or freestyle, Phillips has it covered.

“I’m an IM’er,” Phillips said. “So coach can pretty much put me in any race.”

And not only is he trained for any kind of race, Phillips rises to any challenge, and excels each time he hits the water.

On the season, Phillips, 18, of Springville, is undefeated and looks to go into the District II Class AA championships on Friday, Mar. 2, and improve upon gold medal winning time in the 100 breaststroke and silver medal time in the 200 IM.

He is also eyeing a top three finish in the state the following weekend at the PIAA Class AA championships, where last year Phillips took home a pair of seventh place medals.

At Elk Lake, Phillips holds seven individual school records in the 200 freestyle (1:51.29), 200 IM (1:59.26), 50 free (:22.27), 100 fly (:55.03), 100 free (:49.07), 100 backstroke (1:00.06) and 100 breaststroke (1:00.66) and is part of record setting teams in the 200 medley relay, 200 free relay and 400 free relay.

Phillips’ success comes in part from his experience in the pool, having started at age 6 for the Tunkhannock Tigersharks, and partly from his commitment to pushing himself.

“I put in at least two hours a day in the pool,” Phillips said. “And I also lift weights for about an hour each day.”

He also has family support from his dad, Jim Phillips, who is the diving coach atElkLake.

“My dad has been a coach since I started swimming, and he’s been a big influence,” Phillips said.

While Jim isn’t Adam’s coach at practices, he can be heard cheering his son on from the sidelines, and Adam said that even on car rides home and at the dinner table, swimming is often a topic of conversation.

“We talk a lot about swimming,” Phillips said. “He tells me things he thinks I should work on. It’s nice to have that, because I never really get away from swimming. It’s always on my mind.”

And even when teammates are cheering him on during races, for some reason his father’s voice is the only one he hears.

“All my teammates voices kind of muffle together during the races,” Phillips said. “But for some reason I can still hear my dad.”

Leading up to Districts Phillips said he will be putting in extra time at the pool, trying to get in the best possible shape for his championship races.

And if Phillips should make another run at states this year, he feels he will be more confident and have a leg up on some of the competition.

“I think my experience having been there the last two years will help me a lot,” Phillips said. “Even last year I was nervous being in the finals the first time, but having been there before, I think I will be more comfortable this time.”

After the season is over, Phillips will concentrate on deciding what he’d like to do with his future, both academically and athletically.

Currently, Phillips said he has interest from NCAA Division I Rider University inNew Jersey, but hasn’t made a firm commitment to any college yet.

Montrose’s Colby Major goes up for a layup during the Meteors’ 74-60 victory over Blue Ridge on Monday night in the District II Class AA play-in tournament. PHOTO COURTESY OF ED KING

BY JOBY FAWCETT

Times-Shamrock Writer

Colby Major made up for lost time and kept his final season alive.

Facing a playoff elimination game, the ailing senior shrugged off a sore ankle that sidelined him late in the regular season and scored 26 points with six assists to lead ninth-ranked Montrose to a 74-60 win over 10th-rankedBlue Ridgeon Monday night.

Montrose (18-7) advanced to the Lackawanna Class AA play-in final againstDunmorethat will determine the No. 4 and No. 5 seed for the District 2 playoffs.

“This is awesome,” Major said. “I love getting the chance to get to play in the District 2 playoffs.”

Montrose, which lost two of its last three games, ran an efficient offense that resulted in good looks at the basket. The Meteors finished plays going 26 of 39 from the floor in the game, but really burned the nets by hitting 10 of 13 in the third.

During the first five minutes of the second half, Montrose made its first six shots while building a 39-29 advantage. Senior Cory Adams hit all four of his shots, giving him eight of his 12 points.

Blue Ridge’s Sawyer Dearborn, right, and Alex Cardoza, left, battle for control of the ball with Montrose’s Tom Lewis during a District II Class AA play-in game on Monday night. PHOTO COURTESY OF ED KING

“I don’t think of myself as a scorer,” said Adams, who made 6 of 9 shots overall. “When I help, it helps the team. That gives us a little boost.

“Coach (Todd Smith) told me to take the ball to the basket and that’s what I tried to do.”

Montrose finished the quarter strong as Cameron Dean scored five of his 15 points as the lead stood at 48-38.

Also battling a sore ankle, Dean established himself early in the game by crashing the boards and dishing out assists, then became a factor in the fourth quarter at the foul line. He hit 6 of 7 and had five of his 16 rebounds as the Meteors iced the game.

“I had to establish myself inside to get my teammates shots and distribute the ball,” Dean said. “I started off the season well at the free-throw line and I had a little rough spot with free throws, but I guess I got it back.

“It’s great to be on our way to districts.”

In the first half, the Lackawanna DivisionIIIrivals went at each other in their fourth meeting of the season with high intensity.

Montrose built a 10-4 lead in the first six minutes, but Blue Ridge’s Alex Cardoza rallied his team to within 12-10 by the end.

Then in the second,Blue Ridge(15-8) grabbed some of the momentum. Jesse Pruitt, Cardoza and Sawyer Dearborn all had 3-pointers that gave the Raiders a 22-20 lead and countered Montrose’s advantage in the paint as Tom Lewis and Major had four points each.

But a late 7-2 surge, highlighted by a 23-foot 3-pointer and a three-point play from Major, put the Meteors in charge, 27-24, and that energy carried to the third when they outscoredBlue Ridge, 21-14.

Montrose made only four field goals in the fourth, but seven free throws from Major and Dean, and five more from Jordan Smith staved off any rally by the Raiders.

“Any time you get behind them, they do a great job of spreading it out and they finish,”Blue Ridgecoach Brian Woodruff said. “They are very disciplined. You have to be right with them or leading if you want to beat them in the fourth quarter.”

On Saturday, the Montrose boys’ took a 60-39 win overMountain Viewat home in the District II Class AA play-in tournament paced by Tom Lewis who scored 21 points and Major who added 13 while Dean chipped in seven.

Mountain View, whose season was ended, was paced by Joel Madas with 17 points and Nate Goodenough with 10.

A day before, Montrose faced a 59-48 loss from Lakeland at home in the Lackawanna League DivisionIIIall-season championship game, led by Lewis with 22 points while Dean had 11 and Major chipped in seven.

Earlier in the week the Meteors took a 49-30 loss fromLakelandin theLackawannaLeague DivisionIIIsecond-half championship game on Tuesday.

Blue Ridge

TheBlue Ridgeboys’ basketball team defeated Mid Valley, 72-63, on the road Saturday in the District II Class AA play-in game to advance to the semifinals against Montrose on Monday night, where the Raiders ended their season with a 74-60 loss.

On Saturday, Sawyer Dearborn hit six three-pointers and scored a game-high 34 points to leadBlue Ridgein the victory.

Blue Ridgefell behind early as Mid Valley outscored them 15-9 in the first, however,Blue Ridgewent into halftime with a 34-31 lead after a 25-16 run in the second.

In the second half, Mid Valley pacedBlue Ridge19-16 in the third, but the Raiders capped the win with a 22-13 run in the fourth quarter.

Jesse Pruitt added 16 points for the Raiders while Alex Cardoza had 10 and Chris Carlsen chipped in six points.

Earlier in the week,Blue Ridgegrabbed a 59-44 victory overForestCityon the road on Tuesday night.

The Raiders got ahead 10-6 after the first and held a 25-16 lead over the Foresters by halftime.

In the second half,Blue RidgepacedForestCity18-16 in the third and capped off the win with a 16-12 run in the fourth.

Pruitt had six three-pointers and finished with a game-high 29 points to lead the Raiders while Cardoza added 14 points and Carlsen chipped in 10.

David Cavalieri ledForestCitywith 13 points while Matt Nevins had nine.

Elk Lake’s Ryan Wilson goes up for a layup during the Warriors’ 70-44 win over Mountain View on Tuesday night. PHOTO COURTESY OF KRIS MORAHAN

Elk Lake

TheElkLakeboys’ basketball team was handed a 43-32 loss atDunmorein a District II Class AA play-in game, after the team took a convincing 70-44 victory overMountain Viewat home on Tuesday night.

AgainstDunmore, the season-ended game started with the Bucks taking a 12-4 lead over the Warriors in the first quarter.Dunmorethen went on to lead the Warriors 16-10 at halftime.

ElkLakecame out in the third quarter to come within one point of Dunmore with a 17-12 run in the third, however, the Bucks capped the win with a 14-5 run in the fourth.

ElkLakewas paced by Tanner Reyan with nine points while Matt Woolcock had seven, Rob Heft scored five and Ryan Wilson chipped in four.

On Tuesday, the Warriors paced the Eagles through the first quarter with a 14-5 run, before Mountain View would outscored the Warriors 19-15 in the second to make it a 29-24 Warrior game at halftime.

In the second half,ElkLakecame out to score 17 points in the third quarter and capped off the game with a 24-13 run in the fourth.

Heft scored 20 points to paceElkLakewhile Matt Cuomo added 13, Reyan had 12 and Woolcock and Wilson each scored seven.

Mountain Viewwas paced by Nate Goodenough with 18 points, including five three-pointers, while Mike Wakalowski chipped in six.

Susquehanna’s Dan Biegart goes up to block a Lackawanna Trail shot during the Sabers’ 68-43 loss to the Lions on Tuesday. PHOTO COURTESY OF ALICE STUFFLE

Susquehanna

The Susquehanna boys’ basketball team took a 70-63 non-league win over Berwick on Saturday as Andrzej Tomczyk scored his 1,000th career point.

Tomczyk posted 26 points to reach the milestone on a free-throw with 35 seconds remaining in the game.

Cole Mallery had 29 points and 11 rebounds for the Sabers as they played to a 37-34 lead by halftime and then capped the game after a 15-11 scoring run in the fourth quarter.

On Tuesday, Susquehanna faced a 68-43 loss from Lackawanna Trail’s Lions on the road.

Trail got ahead early with a 24-14 run in the first quarter and controlled the game 33-25 by halftime.

In the second half, the Lions came out to pace Susquehanna 14-6 in the third and then pinned the loss on the Sabers with a 21-12 run in the fourth quarter.

Susquehanna was paced by Mallery with 12 points while Tomczyk scored nine and Austin Cowperthwait chipped in eight.

Boys’ Basketball

In Class AA, Montrose defeated Blue Ridge on Tuesday evening to earn a spot in the District II Class AA championship tournament.

The Meteors will play Lackawanna Trail tonight at Carbondale at 6 p.m. to determine the higher seed for Saturday’s first round game.

The lower seed will play the winner of Holy Cross and Lakeland on Saturday at Lackawanna College at 2:30 p.m., while the higher seed will play Meyers at Wyoming Area at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

In Class A, Susquehanna advances to the District II championship tournament and will play the winner of a contest between Forest City and MMI Prep on Feb. 28. The winner will go to the championship game on Mar. 2.

Girls’ Basketball

In Class AA, Montrose Area played Dunmore on Tuesday night to decide the top seed in the District II Class AA championship tournament.

If the Meteors won, they will play the loser of Holy Cross and Mid Valley on Friday at North Pocono at 6 p.m. If they lost, they will play the winner of Wyoming Seminary and GAR at Scranton high School on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

In Class A, Blue Ridge will face off against MMI Prep at Scranton High School at 1 p.m. to decide if they go on to play Forest City on Wednesday, Feb. 29, in the District II semifinal.

Wrestling

Blue Ridge, Elk Lake and Montrose will be sending wrestlers to the District II Class AA individual championships being held on Friday starting at 5 p.m. at Lake-Lehman High School.

Action will continue on Saturday at 11 a.m. starting with the semifinals, with the finals taking place at 6:30 p.m.

Swimming and Diving

Elk Lake will travel to the District II Class AA diving competition will take place at the Wilkes-Barre CYC on Saturday, Feb. 25, with the AA divers starting competition at 10 a.m.

The following weekend, starting Friday, Mar. 2, the District II Class AA swimming competition will take place at Wilkes-Barre CYC with competition beginning at 12 p.m. on Friday and continuing at 12 p.m. on Saturday.

ElkLakefell behind early as Holy Cross outscored them 21-1 in the first and 11-9 in the second to put the Warriors at a 32-10 halftime deficit.

In the second half, Holy Cross then sealed the victory over the Warriors with a 10-4 third quarter run and a 17-2 fourth.

ElkLakewas led by Meghan Bush, who scored nine, while Taylor Watkins chipped in four and Lydia Watkins added two.

Forest City

TheForestCitygirls’ basketball team was handed a 62-28 loss fromDunmorein a non-league game on the road on Friday night.

The Foresters fell behind 16-12 after the first quarter and were at a 31-18 deficit at halftime.

In the second half,Dunmorethen posted a 16-8 third quarter and capped off the game with a 15-2 run.

Forest City was led by Carly Erdmann with seven points while Katie Zembrzycki had six and Cassie Bendyk scored five.

JOHN SALINKAS

BY JOBY FAWCETT

Times-Shamrock Writer

Susquehanna named John Salinkas head football coach, filling a vacancy left by Dick Bagnall, who resigned following his 28th season.

Salinkas said has no plans to replace Bagnall’s signature triple-option veer offense.

“The triple option is what I know,” said Salinkas, who is a chemistry and physics teacher at Susquehanna. “Dick Bagnall has been a father-figure to me and is one of the most influential men in my life.

“I wouldn’t expect to see a lot of changes. I like having that little niche about us.”

Salinkas, who played running back and defensive end atBlue Ridgein the early 1980s, served as an assistant coach at Susquehanna for the past 11 seasons.

When Bagnall returned after an eight-year hiatus in 2004, he elevated Salinkas to the offensive line coach.

Together, they built Susquehanna back into a winner after several straight losing seasons. The Sabers won the Lackawanna Football Conference Division III title in 2010 and reached the District 2 Class AA playoffs that season.

“I have a passion for the sport and feel it is such an important part of the enhancement of the students,” said Salinkas, whose son John played for the Sabers. “I am looking forward to working with the kids and making them solid citizens and strong student-athletes.”

Bagnall had a record of 169-129-3. His team’s won Suburban Conference titles in 1975, 1981, 1982 and 1995 and District 2-12 championships in 1994 and 1995.

Times-Shamrock Writer

Hoping to offer more opportunities for their student-athletes, Carbondale Area and Forest City have agreed to co-sponsor several sports for the next two-year cycle.

Both school boards have signed off on the request and the proposal will go to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association for approval.

“This opens up opportunities for our kids to participate in sports that because of our size, we don’t sponsor at our school,”Forest City superintendent John Kopicki said. “We are excited because it really benefits both schools.”

In the agreement, Carbondale Area and Forest Citywill co-sponsor football, boys and girls volleyball and boys and girls track and field.

Carbondale Area will be the host program for football and track and field, while Forest Citywill be the host school for volleyball.

“We have an interest in our student body to participate in volleyball and this also gives the students at Forest City the opportunity to participate in the sports that we sponsor,” Carbondale Area principal Joe Farrell said.

Forest City first approached Carbondale Area with the idea in November.

If the PIAA approves the proposal, it will change the enrollment numbers for the two schools. However, only girls volleyball is projected to change, moving from Class A to Class AA.

Carbondale Area’s female enrollment number for students in grades 9 through 11 is 207.ForestCity’s submitted number is 91.

When placing a program that is co-sponsored, the PIAA takes 50 percent of the lesser figure and adds it to the larger number. So that would make theCarbondaleandForestCity’s co-sponsorship number 252. The Class A parameter for girls volleyball is an enrollment of 1 to 178.

“That is something we looked at, but we compete in a division that includes big schools like Abington Heights and Montrose and Western Wayne, so we agreed to move up,” Forest City athletic director Brian Durkin said.

ForestCitysubmitted a male enrollment number for students in grades 9 through 11 of 106. Carbondale Area has 241 boys.

Therefore, Carbondale Area’s new enrollment number would be 294, which would keep it a Class AA program for football and track and field.ForestCitywould remain Class AA in boys volleyball.

That was a main factor in reaching the agreement. Two other co-sponsorships in the Lackawanna Football Conference impacted the program’s classification. Susquehanna competes in Class AA, because of the addition ofBlue Ridge’s enrollment. And next season, Montrose will move up to Class AAA because of its new agreement to co-sponsor the sport withElkLake.

“One of the things that is outlined in the contract agreement is that if we bumped up a classification, we would opt out of the co-sponsorship,” Carbondale Area athletic director Erik Larson said.

“We are excited, because we want to be able to increase our students’ participation and interest in these sports.”

ForestCityhas had athletes compete in track and field in the past and they have qualified for the District 2 and PIAA meets.

The impact on football, however, remains to be seen.ForestCitydoes not sponsor a junior football program. There are some players who reside in that district who do play on the Carbondale Junior Chargers.

“In the short-term, how much of an impact this will have is hard to tell,” said Carbondale Area football coach Larry Gabriel III, who is also involved in theCarbondalejunior football program. “But in talking with some parents fromForestCity, their children don’t come out for football because after eighth grade, they would no longer be able to play.

“With this new opportunity, maybe more kids will come out for football.”

Transportation is expected to be provided by Carbondale Area to the schools for students who are participating in practices. Parents will be required to pick up their children at the practice site.

“We feel that the cost to co-sponsor the sports will be minimal and this is not something that we would have proposed if it weren’t cost effective for both schools,” Kopicki said. “The athletic directors, Brian Durkin and Erik Larson, have done a great job of putting this together. And they are going to have to work together closely to have it work.

“I think it’s great for the students at both schools.”

Elk Lake’s Blaise Cleveland (120) and Derrick Smith (145) along with Montrose’s Aaron Grochowski (113) all medaled in the tournament.

In the consolation finals, Cleveland defeated Scranton Prep’s Pat Creedon by 11-10 decision, while Smith took down Honesdale’s Chavez Lill by 3-1 decision.

Grochowski picked up his medal with a decision win over Valley View’s Nick Chesko, 6-0, in the consolation finals.

Team Standings: 1-Delaware Valley (DV) 232.5, 2-Abington Heights (AH) 105.5, 3-Western Wayne (WW) 104, 4-Honesdale (HON) 101.5, 5-Wallenpaupack (WAL) 88, 6-Scranton (SCR) 86, 7-Lackawanna Trail (LT) 83, 8-West Scranton (WS) 64, 9-Valley View (VV) 62.5, 10-Elk Lake (EL) 38, 11-Scranton Prep (SP) 26, 12-Montrose (MON) 12, 13-Blue Ridge (BR) 3.

Consolation Finals

113: Aaron Grochowski (MON) dec. Nick Chesko (VV), 6-0; 120: Blaise Cleveland (EL) dec. Pat Creedon (SP), 11-10; 145: Derrick Smith (EL) dec. Chavez Lill (HON), 3-1.

Girls’ Basketball

Holy Cross 58,ElkLake16

Dunmore62,ForestCity28

Wallenpaupack 45,ForestCity28

Boys’ Basketball

Trail 68, Susquehanna 43

ElkLake70,Mt.View44

Blue Ridge59,ForestCity44

Lakeland49, Montrose 30

Lakeland59, Montrose 48

Dunmore43,ElkLake32

Blue Ridge72, Mid Valley 63

Montrose 60,Mt.View39

Susquehanna 70, Berwick 63

Montrose 74,Blue Ridge60

]]> http://independentweekender.com/index.php/2012/02/22/scoreboard-48/feed/ 0 http://independentweekender.com/index.php/2012/02/22/exotic-bird-spotted-in-tunkhannock-township/ http://independentweekender.com/index.php/2012/02/22/exotic-bird-spotted-in-tunkhannock-township/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:48:49 +0000 Independent Weekender Editor http://independentweekender.com/?p=6293

This blue eared pheasant, a bird native to the mountain forests in central China, was spotted recently on the property of Bob Hemmerly at Saddle Lake in Tunkhannock Township.

BY KEVIN WOODRUFF

Where did that bird come from?

That’s what Bob Hemmerly of Tunkhannock Township wondered when he saw an exotic looking bird wandering his property at Saddle Lake in Tunkhannock Township recently.

He happened to snap a photo of the bird, which turned out to be a blue eared pheasant, common in the mountain forests of centralChina.

Hemmerly didn’t know what to make of the bird, so he brought the photo to Rebecca Lesko ofEndlessMountainsNatureCenter, who researched the pheasant and found out its roots.

Lesko said the blue eared pheasant that Hemmerly saw didn’t get its name from having blue ears, but rather from the white ring of feathers that stick up on its neck.

“I have no clue how it ended up here,” Lesko said. “I can only venture to guess that someone brought it here. I don’t think this particular bird came fromChina, it was probably raised here.”

Lesko said that its common practice for bird lovers to buy and raise exotic birds, and that this bird in particular probably wandered away from its owner.

“Just like the game commission raises pheasants here for hunting, people raise exotic birds in captivity,” Lesko said.

While the roots of this particular bird are currently unknown, it’s not that uncommon to see an exotic bird in northeasternPennsylvania.

“People come in to the nature center every now and again with photos of exotic birds they’ve seen,” Lesko said. “I wouldn’t say it’s every month, but it has happened.”

Lesko said that the sighting of one exotic bird every now and again is not a cause for concern.

“If it’s just one bird, it’s usually not a problem,” Lesko said. “I mean there is always the possibility that if a bird came from another country it could carry disease here, but it’s unlikely this bird was raised inChina.”

However, she noted that if it was a large flock of birds not native to this area, it could pose a problem.

“If you go and release a large number of non-native birds in the area it could be a problem,” Lesko said. “Like Starlings and House Sparrows in this area. They outcompete the native birds for food.”

People with information about the blue eared pheasant spotted atSaddleLakeare urged to call Hemmerly at 836-1642 or Lesko at 836-3835.