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Local average gas price down slightly overnight, falls 2 cents in past week

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Warmer temperatures, rain predicted for Wyoming Valley this weekend

<p>The powerful Bloomsburg men&#8217;s swim team will kick off the second half of the season with a home meet against Susquehanna Friday in Bloomsburg and the Huskies are getting solid performances from a pair of former Wyoming Valley Conference athletes &#8212; Josh Grzech and Ryan Paisley.</p><p>Grzech, a Crestwood grad, and Paisley, a Hazleton Area grad, and their mates have been idle since they had solid performances in the annual Zippy Invitational Dec. 2-4 in Akron, OH.</p><p>Grzech took part in three relay teams including in the leadoff leg of the 200 medley relay which finished fourth with a time of 1:29.04. It was a NCAA Division II B qualifying time, the top time in the PSAC, the third fastest time in the country thus far and second-fastest all-time at Bloomsburg. He also swam a leg on the 400 free relay which finished fifth (3:03.35) and the 800 free relay which finished fifth (6:54.36). Individually, he picked up points by finishing 16th in the 100 freestyle (46.53).</p><p>&#8220;Josh is having another strong year and is in a good position to return to the NCAAs in March,&#8221; coach Stu Marvin said. &#8220;With just four weeks left until our conference championships, Josh is in a great place with his training.&#8221;</p><p>Paisley was a member of the 400 free relay and also the 200 free which finished seventh in 1:24.49. Individually, he was 13th in the 100 backstroke (51.43), tied for 13th in the 100 freestyle (46.26) and 16th in the 200 IM (1:54.94).</p><p>&#8220;Ryan is currently ranked in the top eight in the PSAC in four events and he&#8217;s inside the top 16 in four others,&#8221; Marvin said. &#8220;His versatility is a huge benefit to us, allowing him to score valuable points in many different events. He&#8217;s also on track for a repeat trip to the NCAAs.&#8221;</p><p>Five of the eight teams in the Zippy were from Division I and Bloomsburg finished fifth with 1038 points &#8211; ahead of two of those Division I colleges.</p><p><strong>Big effort for Fetterman</strong></p><p>Senior Jacob Fetterman made his season debut with the Lock Haven men&#8217;s indoor track team at last Friday&#8217;s Spartan Regional Invitational at the Ocean Breeze facility in Staten Island, N.Y. and finished first out of 32 runners in the 3,000-meter run with a time 8:41.47. It was a personal record for the Hazleton Area grad and the time put him at the top of the PSAC performance list in the 3k, more than 13 seconds faster than the second-place runner. It was the first individual title for Fetterman and his time also ranks 42nd on the NCAA Division II performance list.</p><p><strong>First start for Oremus</strong></p><p>St. Joseph&#8217;s sophomore Lindsey Oremus made her first appearance with the women&#8217;s indoor track team and finished third in the 3,000 at Lehigh&#8217;s Angry Birds Challenge last Saturday in Bethlehem. The Dallas High grad&#8217;s time was 10:28.95. Hawks sophomore Nathaniela Bourdeau (Coughlin) finished fifth in the 200-meter dash (26.34) and ninth in the 60-meter dash (8.02). Her freshman sister, Tamar, finished eighth in the 400 (1:01.73). Senior Dannah Hayward (Coughlin) finished ninth in the 800 (2:20.19).</p><p><strong>A victory for Plaksa</strong></p><p>Sophomore Gianna Plaksa recorded her first collegiate victory to help the Central Michigan women&#8217;s gymnastics team knock off rival Western Michigan 194.950-192.900 last Sunday in Mount Pleasant. Plaksa, from Mountain Top (Wyoming Seminary), finished first in the floor exercise with a score of 9.800. She also finished second in uneven bars with a score of 9.850 and was fourth in vault with a 9.700 score. She saw only limited action as a freshman.</p><p><strong>Hot streak for Moore</strong></p><p>Rasheed Moore continues to be the top gun for the 12-4 East Stroudsburg men&#8217;s basketball team. The 6-foot-6 senior forward, a Meyers grad, leads the team with an 18.0 average and is second in rebounds at 7.0. In the first four games of the new year, he recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds in a 115-78 victory over Lock Haven (Jan. 3), 22 points in a 119-87 triumph over Millersville (Jan. 6), 23 points and 11 rebounds in a 98-82 victory over West Chester (Jan. 9) and 21 points and eight rebounds in a 92-87 loss to Kutztown (Jan. 11). The Warriors are 10-1 in PSAC play.</p><p><strong>A second for Heck</strong></p><p>SUNY-Oneonta senior wrestler Nicholas Heck was beaten 5-4 in the 149-pound title match to earn runner-up honors at the Will Abel Invitational last Saturday in Collegeville. He finished 3-1 on the day. The Wyoming Area grad also won his only match as the Red Dragons defeated Kings Point (32-21) and Mount St. Vincent (60-0) in matches on Jan. 8 in Brookville, N.Y. Senior Dominic DeGraba (Dallas) was 1-2 at the Will Abel at 125 pounds and won both of his matches at Brookville.</p><p><strong>Edkins continues to roll</strong></p><p>Sophomore Matthew Edkins started the second semester just where he left off in the first semester diving for the St. Lawrence men&#8217;s swim team. The Lake-Lehman grad won the 1-meter (2:12.35) and the 3-meter (2:37.65), but the Saints dropped a 168-126 decision to SUNY-Potsdam last Sunday. On Dec. 2, Edkins wrapped up the first semester by defending his 1-meter title at the Liberty League Championship, his 11-dive score of 454.85 qualified him for the NCAA Division III Championship.</p><p><strong>D&#8217;Elisio makes PSAC list</strong></p><p>East Stroudsburg junior Ronnie D&#8217;Elisio finished second out of 20 sprinters in the 200-meter dash at the Kutztown Invitational indoor track meet last weekend in Kutztown. The Pittston Area grad covered the distance in 23.242 which earned him a spot on the PSAC performance list. D&#8217;Elisio also competes in the 60 hurdles and with the 4x400 relay indoors. He was a member of the school&#8217;s record-breaking shuttle relay team (59.81) outdoors as a freshman in 2014.</p><p><strong>Grego shines with Golden Rams</strong></p><p>Sophomore Felicia Grega is swimming the butterfly and with the relay teams for the West Chester women&#8217;s swim team. The Hazleton Area grad finished second to a teammate in the 200 fly in 2:16.11 to help the Golden Rams turn back Johns Hopkins 157.5-103.5 on Jan. 7 in Baltimore, Md. Grega also finished fourth in the 100 fly in 1:02.59.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Paisley-Ryan-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Paisley </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Paisley-Ryan-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Paisley </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Grzech-Josh-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Grzech </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Grzech-Josh-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Grzech </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill Arsenault</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @tlsports</p></shirttailMeta></div>

College Corner: WVC duo leading Bloomsburg’s swim team