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WBS Penguins wrap up grueling three-game weekend with win over Hershey

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Police still investigating after body found in Plains Township shed

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8211; David Krokowski will eventually be the next Wyoming Valley Conference wrestler to join the prestigious 100-win club.</p><p>After winning his third District 2 Class 3A title on Saturday, the junior has 98 career wins. If he gets to the milestone this season, he will be the fourth junior from the WVC to reach that mile-marker this season.</p><p>The Wyoming Valley West 126-pounder will also pull closer to a relative.</p><p>In 1993, David&#8217;s uncle John Krokowski graduated from Valley West with 107 career wins. At some point whether it&#8217;s this season or next, David should pass his uncle. And he will have family bragging rights in that category.</p><p>David already has bested his uncle in district titles with three to John&#8217;s one. However, one thing that John currently has bragging rights on is being a state finalist. In 1992, John took second in the PIAA Class 3A Championships as a junior. His nephew has yet to reach the state tournament in two previous tries, but he hopes to buck that trend this weekend by finishing fourth or better at the Class 3A Northeast Regional Tournament at Liberty High School in Bethlehem.</p><p>&#8220;He kinda messes with me sometimes here and there, but it&#8217;s all love,&#8221; David Krokowski said. &#8220;I want to beat his (wins) and make it to the state finals even.&#8221;</p><p>SPLENDID SPARTANS</p><p>After a dual season in which Valley West only won one dual in Division 1 of the WVC, the team is sending five wrestlers to regionals. The only Class 3A team in the conference to qualify more grapplers to the event is Dallas with seven.</p><p>Four of the Spartans&#8217; qualifiers are underclassmen. Cadden Kucek (106 pounds) and J.J. White (113), a two-time district champion are sophomores. Jaylon Brunson is a 160-pound junior. The only senior to qualify for regionals from the Spartans is Landon Stanislow at 145.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re getting there,&#8221; White said about the improving team. &#8220;More guys are placing and getting to regionals. We&#8217;re slowly building up a good team. It&#8217;s all a process.&#8221;</p><p>UNDERCLASSMEN SHINING</p><p>A total of 49 athletes from the WVC will be participating in the regional tournaments this weekend consisting of 31 in Class 3A and 17 in 2A. Of those 49, only 17 are seniors as the youth movement in the conference continues.</p><p>None of the Wyoming Valley Conference&#8217;s eight district titlists in Class 3A were seniors, and in 2A, only two of the five champions from the WVC are seniors, those being Wyoming Area&#8217;s Justin Joseph and Lake-Lehman&#8217;s Kaleb Konigus.</p><p>REGIONAL PAIRINGS SET</p><p>It&#8217;s no secret that District 4 and in Class 2A and District 11 in 3A have long been the kryptonite for all of District 2.</p><p>On Sunday, the pairings for this weekend&#8217;s regional tournaments were released and there was not much to prove that D2 is closing the gap on either district.</p><p>Only three wrestlers from the district earned a top seed for the 2A regional, which will be held at Williamsport High School; those being Hanover Area&#8217;s D.J. Erickson, a returning state qualifier at 145, Lackawanna Trail&#8217;s Owen Hivner at 170 and Lake-Lehman heavyweight Kaleb Konigus.</p><p>The Class 3A participants didn&#8217;t fare much better with just five wrestlers being seeded atop their respective brackets.</p><p>Tunkhannock&#8217;s David Evans and Tommy Traver at 106 and 132, Scranton&#8217;s William Evanitsky (152) and Jacob Burgette (160), and Hazleton Area&#8217;s Shane Noonan (195) are No. 1 seeds from D2 in the 3A regional.</p><p>BACK POINTS</p><p>The 17 regional qualifiers for the WVC in Class 2A is the lowest amount for the conference in the classification since 2005 when only 14 qualified. The number took a hit this year because Meyers is having a down season, while many Lackawanna League teams are having great seasons. Honesdale (seven regional qualifiers), Western Wayne (four), Scranton Prep (five), Valley View and Montrose (three apiece) all had very good district tournaments.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL040617AllStar-David-Krokowski.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Krokowski </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL040617AllStar-David-Krokowski.jpg</photo0><caption0>Krokowski </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_wvcw3_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">David Krokowski, top, a Wyoming Valley West junior, has 98 wins and three district championshps to his credit. In 1993, his uncle John Krokowski graduated from Valley West with 107 career wins. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_wvcw3_faa.jpg</photo1><caption1>David Krokowski, top, a Wyoming Valley West junior, has 98 wins and three district championshps to his credit. In 1993, his uncle John Krokowski graduated from Valley West with 107 career wins. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Junior following in uncle&#8217;s footsteps on road to 100-career wins</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dave Rosengrant</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div>

Wrestling success is all relative: Krokowski following in uncle’s footsteps