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D2 2A girls track and field championships: WVC brings home three gold medals

<p style="text-align: left;">SCRANTON &#8212; Running four speed events within the span of 75 minutes of the District 2 finals proved a little too much for Nazir Dunell to overcome.</p><p style="text-align: left;">That gauntlet was about the only thing he couldn&#8217;t clear all day.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Dunell breezed to victory in both hurdles events Thursday, continuing a Meyers tradition of winning District 2 hurdles championships while leading a steady stream of medals for the Wyoming Valley Conference during the boys Class 2A Championships at Scranton Memorial Stadium.</p><p style="text-align: left;">&#8220;Those are the two events I plan to run in states,&#8221; Dunell said of his gold medals in the 110 and 300 hurdles. &#8220;I&#8217;m satisfied.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: left;">More like exhausted.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Meyers junior cruised to victory in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.24 to easily win by 24-hundredths of a second, but then had to come right back for the finals of the 100 dash less than 10 minutes later. Dunell was also favored in that event, but wound up with a fourth-place district medal.</p><p style="text-align: left;">&#8220;When I ran the 100, I was tired from the 110 hurdles,&#8221; Dunell said. &#8220;I still got fourth, that&#8217;s good enough.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: left;">But the back-to-back sprints down the track were enough to make Dunell pull out of the 400 relay, which came just over a half-hour after Dunell&#8217;s 100 dash. Without him, a Meyers team that was seeded first in the 400 finished 12th.</p><p style="text-align: left;">&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t run the four-by-one, with how tired I was,&#8221; Dunell said. &#8220;It was very difficult. I wanted to get ready for the 300 (hurdles) and concentrate on that.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: left;">Dunell finished first there, taking the lead midway through the race with a quick burst and never giving it back. He wound up with a winning time of 41.21, well ahead of the 41.85 time of Lake-Lehman&#8217;s silver medalist Floyd McRoy.</p><p style="text-align: left;">His trips to the top of the district medal stand continued a string of first-place success the Mohawks have established in recent years.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Former Meyers star Raheem Twyman won both hurdles events in 2016 and Dunell picked up the torch by winning the District 2 Class 2A hurdles last year, while his teammate Janssen Wilborn finished second in that 2017 event.</p><p style="text-align: left;">&#8220;It is a tradition,&#8221; said Dunell, who was presented his winning 300 hurdles medal by his brother, Zahir Dunell, a former District 2 gold medalist who ran with Twyman on the 2015 PIAA gold medal 400 relay team. &#8220;When Raheem was here, he was always here to help me and Janssen Wilborn has been helping me and pushing me. There&#8217;s a lot of pride in the hurdles.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: left;">His Meyers teammate Najese Hood jumped his way to the top of the medal stand by hitting a distance of 21-2.25 in the long jump to edge favored Meyers jumper Tyler Thomas. Thomas got a gold medal of his own when he won the triple jump, where he was also favored, at 44-8.50.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Holy Redeemer boys 3,200 relay team defended its District 2 gold medal from a year ago, when returning veterans Dominic Capaci and Lukas Volpetti joined Scott Williams and Bryce Zapusek for gold with a time of 8:19.71. Volpetti became what is believed to be the first runner in Redeemer&#8217;s 11-year history to win four district medals while taking fifth place in the 800 and 1,600 runs and as part of the 1,600 relay.</p><p style="text-align: left;">And once again, GAR pulled off a delightful district surprise.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Sophomore jumper Curtis Smith, a No. 3 seed entering the championships, hit new heights by clearing 6 feet in the high jump to grab a gold medal in that event, a year after graduated GAR speedster Emmanuel Edoukou pulled off a stunning victory in the 100 dash.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Smith&#8217;s previous best in the high jump was 5-10.</p><p style="text-align: left;">&#8220;That&#8217;s my highest,&#8221; a beaming Smith said. &#8220;I kind of took an hour and a half to myself, having the thought process of having the determination to win. I just had a thought process of clearing six feet. And if somebody beats that, I&#8217;ve just got to put in more effort.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>DISTRICT 2 CLASS 2A BOYS</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong> TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>TEAM STANDINGS</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">1. Lakeland (Lake), 102; 2. Western Wayne (WW), 71; 3. Montrose (Mon), 62; 4. Meyers (Mey), 55; 5. Lake-Lehman (LL), 47; 6. Holy Redeemer (HR), 40; 7. Dunmore (Dun), 39; 8. Hanover Area (Han), 38; 9. Mid Valley (Mid), 37; 10. Riverside (River), 34; 11. Holy Cross (HC), 34; 12. GAR, 25; 13. Northwest (NW), 24; 14. Elk Lake (Elk), 22; 15. Susquehanna (Sus), 20; 16. Lackawanna Trail (LT) 17; 17. Carbondale (Carb), 12; 18. MMI Prep (MMI), 3; 19. Blue Ridge (Blue), 2.</p><p><strong>3,200 relay &#8212;</strong> 1. HR (Dominic Capaci, Lukas Volpetti, Scott Williams, Bryce Zapusek), 8:19; 2. WW (VBrandon O&#8217;Sullivan, Gary Geiniz, Leonard Johnson, Jacob Pasake); 3. Lake (John Noldy, James Lewis, Matt McGowan, Noah Chup); 4. Mid (Colin Scherer, Travis Finkler, Josh Vituszynski, Sebastian Brudnicki); 5. Mey (Kaleb Hanson-Richart, Kevin Dessoye, Keegan Brewster, Ryan Judge); 6. LL (Chandler Longstreth, Nathan Salus, Michael Nastasiak, Nate Labar); 7. Mon (Nick Coy, Damien Riley, Nick Summerville, Colin Spellman); 8. HC (Bryce Hughes, Thomas Lee, Doug Walsh, Kevin Jumper).<strong> 110 hurdles &#8212;</strong> 1. Nazir Dunell (Mey), 15.24; 2. Mark Rinaldi (Dun), 14.48, SQS; 3. Jacob Frazier (Lak); 4. Collin Chidester (Mon); 5. Janssen Wilborn (Mey); 6. Daymond Kovaly (LL); 7. Robert Romanowski (Lake); 8. Dakota Moyle (LT). <strong>100 &#8212;</strong> 1. Cyril Babcanec (Lake); 2. Brennan Gilhool (Mon); 3. Chance Olsewski (Carb); 4. Nazir Dunell (Mey); 5. Casey Kaminski (LL); 6. Christian Chakiris (Mid); 7. Anthony Blake (GAR); 8. Josh Charles (HC). <strong>1,600 &#8212;</strong> 1. Andrew Healey (HC) 4:24.4; 2. Brandon Curley (Mon), 4:28.73, SQS; 3. Liam Mead (Mon); 4. Jacob Pasake (WW); 5. Lukas Volpetti (HR); 6. Josh Vituyszynski (Mid); 7. Gavin Beck (River); 8. Paris Alunni (Dun). <strong>400 &#8212;</strong> 1. Cyril Babcanec (Lake), 49.80; 2. Cody Oswald (Elk); 3. Eduardo Quezada (Han); 4. Mike Henry (Mon); 5. Thomas Pidgeon (Lake); 6. Chris Banas (HR); 7. Conor O&#8217;Brien (LL); 8. Gary Geinitz (WW). <strong>400 relay &#8212;</strong> 1. Lake (Billy Good, Tyler Prudente, Jacob Snipes, Brandon Wentovich), 44l58; GAR (Anthony Blake, Tyrone Qualls, Kaden Taylor, Kalil White); 3. WW (Kobe Sauter, Johnny Barcarola, Dylan Murphey Walck, Caleb Brungard); 4. LL ((Matt Sczyrek, Casey Kaminski, Daymond Kovaly, Floyd McRoy); 5. River (Nick Palonis, Brayden Theil, Tom Gilmartin, James Daiz); 6. Mon (John Herman, Tyler Dovin, Henry Rogers, Brennan Gilhool); 7. LT (Jeff Resto-Medina, Miguel Ella, Luke Baldwin, Dakota Moyle); i. Mid (Kenny Riveras, James Goetz, Travis Finkler, Christian Chakiris).<strong> 300 hurdles &#8212;</strong> 1. Nazir Dunell (Mey) 41.21; 2. Floyd McRoy (LL); 3. Logan Bednash (Lake); 4. Dakota Moyle (LT); 5. Joe Ciaccia (LL); 6. Jacob Frazier (Lake); 7. Brandon O&#8217;Sullivan (WW); 8. Daymond Kovaly (LL). <strong>800 &#8212;</strong> 1. Sebastian Brudnicki (Mid) 1:59.82; 2. Riley Newman (LL); 3. Dominic Capaci (HR); 4. Jacob Pasake (WW); 5. Lukas Volpetti (HR); 6. Jack Malay (MMI); 7. Brandon Curley (Mon); 8. Liam Mead (Mon).<strong> 200 &#8212;</strong> 1. Cyril Babcanec (Lake), 22.61; 2. Brennan Gilhool (Mon); 3. Cody Oswald (Elk); 4. Chance Olsewski (Carb); 5. Christian Chakiris (Mid); 6. Brandon Wentovich (Lake); 7. Chris Banas (HR); 8. Eduardo Quezada (Han). <strong>3,200 &#8212; </strong>1. Andrew Healey (HC), 9:50.91; 2. Peyton Jones (Elk); 3. Bryce Zapusek (HR); 4. Jacob Pasake (WW); 5. Zach Reeves (Lake); 6. Colin Spellman (Mon); 7. Max Brewer (Mon); 8. George Strish (HR).<strong> 1,600 relay &#8212;</strong> 1. Lake (Jacob Frazier, Thomas Pidgeon, Logan Bednash, Cyril Babcanec) 3:28.18; 2. WW (Gary Geinitz, Caleb Brungard, Brandon O&#8217;Sullivan, Johnny Barcarola) 3:29.34, SQS; 3. LL (Floyd McRoy, Conor O&#8217;Brien, Nathan Salus, Riley Newman); 4. Mon (Brennan Gilhool, Evan Snyder, Mike Henry, Henry Rogers); 5. HR (Chris Banas, Dominic Capaci, Lukas Volpetti, Scott Williams); 6. Mid (Travis Finkler, John Piorkowski, Colin Scherer, Sebastian Brudnicki); 7. Mey (Joevanny Martinez, Angel Rodriguez, Kevin Dessoye, Janssen Wilborn); 8. Dun (Gavin Darcy, Nathan Fangio, Mark Rinaldi, Greg McDade).</p><p><strong>High jump &#8212;</strong> 1. Curtis Smith (GAR) 6-0; 2. Jakub Tomczyk (Sus); 3. Tom Gilmartin (River); T-4. Caleb Brungard (WW); T-4. Canyon Stone (Sus); T-4. Bryce Collins (River); 7. Evan Snyder (Mon); 8. Casey Kaminski (LL). <strong>Pole vault &#8212;</strong> 1. Ethan Sorber (NW) 13-0; 2. Teddy Groncki (HC). <strong>Long jump &#8212;</strong> 1. Najese Hood (Mey) 21-2.25; 2. Tyler Thomas (Han); 3. Johnny Barcarola (WW); 4. Nathan Fangio (Dun); 5. Jacob Frazier (Lake); 6. Mason Deakin (Sus); 7. Kendall Brewster (Mey); 8. Matt Saxe (NW). <strong>Triple jump &#8212;</strong> 1. Tyler Thomas (Han) 44-8.50; 2. Najese Hood (Mey); 3. Nathan Fangio (Dun); 4. Kaden Taylor (GAR); 5. Tristan Megivern (Sus); 6. Alec Jones (LT); 7. Ryan Mills (Blue); 8. Mason Deakin (Sus). <strong>Shot put &#8212;</strong> 1. King Rose (River) 49-10.50; 2. Sal Gurnari (Han); 3. Shawn Jones (LT); 4. Gavin Darcy (Dun); 5. CJ Dippre (Lake); 6. Matt Stankiewicz (Mid); 7. Ed Sledzinski (WW); 8. Jacob Rasimovich (HC). <strong>Discus &#8212;</strong> 1. CJ Dippre (Lake) 148-6; 2. King Rose (River) 148-2, SQS; 3. Evan Coons (WW); 4. Matt Stankiewicz (Mid); 5. Cole Fuller (WW); 6. Jack McAllister (WW); 7. TJ Meehan (LL); 8. Sal Gurnari (Han).<strong> Javelin &#8212;</strong> 1. Gavin Darcy (Dun), 185-9; 2. Matt Saxe (NW); 3. Dylan Murphy Walc (WW); 4. Colton Babcock (NW); 5. Aaron Hummer (Han); 6. Tyler Overholtz (Dun); 7. Maverick Tims (Mon); 8. Adam Rossetti (Carb).</p><p><strong>SQS </strong>- State Qualifier.</p><p><strong>Note: </strong>District 2 champion automatically qualifies for PIAA championships, except in pole vault.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Bryce Zapusek, front, accepts the baton from Scott Williams to begin the second leg of the Royals&#8217; gold medal District 2 Class 2A boys 3,200-meter relay run at Scranton Memorial Stadium on Thursday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_TTL051818D2-2ATrack_4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Bryce Zapusek, front, accepts the baton from Scott Williams to begin the second leg of the Royals&#8217; gold medal District 2 Class 2A boys 3,200-meter relay run at Scranton Memorial Stadium on Thursday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_TTL051818D2-2ATrack_5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">GAR&#8217;s Curtis Smith was all smiles standing at the top of the podium after his surprise victory in the District 2 Class 2A boys high jump. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_TTL051818D2-2ATrack_5.jpg</photo1><caption1>GAR&#8217;s Curtis Smith was all smiles standing at the top of the podium after his surprise victory in the District 2 Class 2A boys high jump. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_TTL051818D2-2ATrack_1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Meyers junior Nazir Dunell, left, clears a hurdle ahead of teammate Janssen Wilborn in the finals of the District 2 Class 2A boys 110-meter hurdles at Scranton Memorial Stadium on Thursday. Dunell swept both hurdles events to leave with a double gold, giving him three District 2 hurdles championships in two years. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_TTL051818D2-2ATrack_1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Meyers junior Nazir Dunell, left, clears a hurdle ahead of teammate Janssen Wilborn in the finals of the District 2 Class 2A boys 110-meter hurdles at Scranton Memorial Stadium on Thursday. Dunell swept both hurdles events to leave with a double gold, giving him three District 2 hurdles championships in two years. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Meyers junior Dunell sweeps gold in District 2 hurdles events</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Meyers hurdler Dunell takes 2 gold medals at D2 2A boys track championships