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Beyond the Byline: Beware the line-jumper and mind your manners

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Tom Kostopoulos’ chilly outdoor hockey experience

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The District 2 Class 2A Girls Diving Championship was all about Dallas Saturday at Wilkes-Barre CYC.</p><p>The Mountaineers knew they would take some heat from their Holy Redeemer foes &#8212; both coached by Paul Mierzwa &#8212; but at the end of the day, Dallas was just too strong. Led by Lexi Spaciano, the Mountaineers secured all three top-3 medalists, and four of the top five.</p><p>Defending District 2 Class 2A champion Maddie Ross finished less than four points behind Spaciano in second, while Gianna Leo finished third, Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Haily Yakimowicz broke up the Mountaineers quartet finishing fourth and Dallas&#8217; Carley Perloff came in fifth.</p><p>With their top-3 finishes, Spaciano, Ross and Leo all secured spots in the PIAA Diving Championships at Bucknell University on March 15.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m very proud of them,&#8221; Dallas and Holy Redeemer diving coach Paul Mierzwa said. &#8220;All of them worked really hard all season. The Dallas and Redeemer girls have been kind of working hard together. I&#8217;m glad to see them all make it up there, and unfortunately there&#8217;s one or two spots that we just don&#8217;t have. They all worked really hard, they all deserve it and they&#8217;re all close. As a matter of fact, we all commented that they were like five points within each other when it came down to it.&#8221;</p><p>Both Spaciano and Ross knew they would be in for a battle Saturday. Ross was the defending champ, but Spaciano had District 2&#8217;s best finish last year at the state meet, coming in 10th. It was going to be a toss-up.</p><p>As the meet progressed, neither diver could build a cushion.</p><p>Heading into the final three rounds, Spaciano had a 1.95-point lead (269.60 to 267.65) over her teammate. That slim lead would double heading into the final dive, with Spaciano holding a 334.2 to 329.95 advantage.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s nerve-wracking, but I&#8217;m excited were both going to states this year again,&#8221; Ross said. &#8220;Our team is really close. The Dallas diving team, even with Redeemer, we have a lot of fun together, and it really helps with competition because you feel more laid back, not as stressed. Today, we were even joking around, even during warm-ups, and it just feels more comfortable and relaxed.&#8221;</p><p>Ross put the pressure on, saving her best for last, and scored a 40.7. But Spaciano responded with a 40-point dive herself. The senior scored a 40.25 on her final attempt, securing a 374.45 to beat Ross out by less than four points. Ross finished with a 370.65.</p><p>&#8220;I put a dive that I&#8217;m most comfortable with last,&#8221; Ross said. &#8220;I probably had my best dive of the meet, my last dive. Having that last was nice and I just felt comfortable. I was just focusing on myself and I wanted to nail the dive for myself and not focus too much about the competition, just what I wanted to do for myself.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I just wanted to nail my last dive,&#8221; Spaciano said. &#8220;Even if she would have ended up on top, it would have been the same (feeling).&#8221;</p><p>With another year of seasoning on his divers, Mierzwa has big plans for his trio next month at states. He believes the three divers can make a real statement.</p><p>The Mountaineers&#8217; goal at states will be to move up at least one spot from last year&#8217;s appearance. With Spaciano finishing 10th and Ross taking 16th, the Mountaineers are looking for at least two top-15 finishers. This will be Leo&#8217;s first states meet.</p><p>&#8220;You always want to do your best,&#8221; Mierzwa said. &#8220;You never know what every other district has, but I think it makes it a little bit easier because they were experienced there. Two of the three of them were there before in the past, so it makes life a little bit easier when they kind of know what to expect. They kind of know what it&#8217;s like &#8212; the atmosphere. That helps a little bit. It makes it a little bit easier for them.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>DISTRICT 2 CLASS 2A DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>PL`Name`School`Score</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">1.`Lexi Spaciano`Dallas`374.45</p><p style="text-align: left;">2.`Maddie Ross`Dallas`370.65</p><p style="text-align: left;">3.`Gianna Leo`Dallas`333.40</p><p style="text-align: left;">4.`Haily Yakimowicz`Holy Redeemer`328.35</p><p style="text-align: left;">5.`Carley Perloff`Dallas`325.70</p><p style="text-align: left;">6.`Bailey Flannery`Holy Redeemer`308.5</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The Dallas girls diving team had four the top-5 finishers in Saturday's District 2 Class 2A Championship at the Wilkes-Barre CYC. From left: Holy Redeemer's Bailey Flannery, Holy Redemeer's Haily Yakimowicz, Dallas' Maddie Ross, Dallas and Holy Redeemer diving coach Paul Mierzwa, Dallas' Lexi Spaciano, Dallas' Gianna Leop and Dallas' Carley Perloff. DJ Eberle | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Diving-Districts-2A.jpg</photo0><caption0>The Dallas girls diving team had four the top-5 finishers in Saturday's District 2 Class 2A Championship at the Wilkes-Barre CYC. From left: Holy Redeemer's Bailey Flannery, Holy Redemeer's Haily Yakimowicz, Dallas' Maddie Ross, Dallas and Holy Redeemer diving coach Paul Mierzwa, Dallas' Lexi Spaciano, Dallas' Gianna Leop and Dallas' Carley Perloff. DJ Eberle | Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Diving-Districts-2A-CMYK.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Dallas girls diving team had four of the top-5 finishers in Saturday&#8217;s District 2 Class 2A Championship at the Wilkes-Barre CYC. From left: Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Bailey Flannery, Holy Redemeer&#8217;s Haily Yakimowicz, Dallas&#8217; Maddie Ross, Dallas and Holy Redeemer diving coach Paul Mierzwa, Dallas&#8217; Lexi Spaciano, Dallas&#8217; Gianna Leop and Dallas&#8217; Carley Perloff. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Diving-Districts-2A-CMYK.jpg</photo1><caption1>The Dallas girls diving team had four of the top-5 finishers in Saturday&#8217;s District 2 Class 2A Championship at the Wilkes-Barre CYC. From left: Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Bailey Flannery, Holy Redemeer&#8217;s Haily Yakimowicz, Dallas&#8217; Maddie Ross, Dallas and Holy Redeemer diving coach Paul Mierzwa, Dallas&#8217; Lexi Spaciano, Dallas&#8217; Gianna Leop and Dallas&#8217; Carley Perloff. </caption1><photoCredit1>DJ Eberle | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By DJ Eberle</p><p>djeberle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach DJ Eberle at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @ByDJEberle</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Dallas dominates District 2 Class 2A diving championship