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<p>An astoundingly rare 700th career win.</p><p>An unprecedented district championship winning streak.</p><p>And two teams that have never before won a District 2 championship clashing on the same field.</p><p>The District 2 field hockey finals are filled with teams not only shooting to finish first, but trying to mark their celebrations with a historical first. Or an eighth. Wyoming Seminary coaching legend Karen Klassner will be chasing a milestone 700th career victory Tuesday when her top-seeded Blue Knights square off with Wyoming Area at 6 p.m. at Spartan Stadium for the District 2 Class A title.</p><p>She&#8217;s aiming to join a pretty select group by becoming just the eighth high school field hockey coach in the country to attain 700 wins.</p><p>&#8220;And four of those coaches are from Pennsylvania,&#8221; Klassner said. &#8220;That&#8217;s pretty remarkable.&#8221;</p><p>That club includes former Crestwood coach Elvetta Gemski, who amassed over 800 victories before retiring five years ago, and what better way to mark the achievement than with a third straight District 2 title?</p><p>At least one of her former players will be there to celebrate the feat.</p><p>Or not.</p><p>On the other bench will be Klassner&#8217;s former all-state goalie Erin McGinley, who is in her third season as Wyomig Area&#8217;s coach and trying to bring the Warriors their first district title in school history.</p><p>&#8220;Yes, I have history, yes, I played (for Klassner),&#8221; McGinley said. &#8220;But my job is to coach this team and do what I can to get them to victory Tuesday night. And whatever happens, happens.&#8221;</p><p>It so happens that someone will make a new mark in the District 2 Class 3A title game.</p><p>Underdog Hazleton Area and top-seeded Wilkes-Barre Area will meet at 8 p.m. Monday at Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Nesbitt Stadium to decide which of them gets to bring the first district field hockey banner back to school.</p><p>Hazleton Area reached a District 2 title game for the first time in school history in 2015 and went back two years later, but lost both times. And the the Cougars will see a familiar face from their first failed crack at a title.</p><p>Colleen Wood coached the Coughlin team that won that title in Class 2A against Hazleton Area in 2015 and she&#8217;s now heading the first-year Wilkes-Barre Area sports jointure that combines players from Coughlin, GAR and Meyers.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre Area won the first meeting between the teams during the regular season, and in a season of first for the school, would love to add a first District 2 field hockey championship and first trip to states that a win would bring to its drawer of memories.</p><p>&#8220;It doesn&#8217;t matter what it was the first time, everybody&#8217;s playing to move on,&#8221; Wood said. &#8220;That&#8217;s why you play on the field.&#8221;</p><p>Wyoming Valley West will be playing for some history of its own.</p><p>The top-seeded Spartans are seeking their fourth straight District 2 Class 2A title when they meet Crestwood to start Monday&#8217;s district doubleheader at 6 p.m. at Nesbitt Stadium.</p><p>&#8220;First time ever,&#8221; Valley West coach Linda Fithian said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve had it three (consecutive) times twice. &#8220;For that fourth time, our girls are up for the challenge.&#8221;</p><p>Here&#8217;s a look at the challenges facing teams in the District 2 field hockey finals.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>No. 2 CRESTWOOD vs. N. 1 VALLEY WEST</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>CLASS 2A CHAMPIONSHIP</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>6 p.m. Monday, Nesbitt Stadium</strong></p><p>Ari Rupnik scored the first two goals and assisted on the next two as the Spartans rolled over Dallas, 4-0 and into their fourth straight District 2 final.</p><p>But it&#8217;s the first shot a championship for Rupnik, an exchange student and seasoned club player from Germany who never before had the opportunity to play for a high school team.</p><p>&#8220;It was a great experience,&#8221; said Rupnik, who is staying with field hockey teammate Lori Evans during her time at Valley West. &#8220;I arrived here, there was a team meeting and I got to know everyone.&#8221;</p><p>Being from big-city Hamburg, she said she&#8217;s experienced a bit of culture shock living in Northeastern Pennsylvania.</p><p>&#8220;Very different,&#8221; Rupnik said. &#8220;I live in a city with 1.8 million citizens. But I like the forests here, and the trees in the fall.&#8221;</p><p>She also likes a few of the quirky customs.</p><p>On Valley West&#8217;s Senior Day, the Spartans presented her with a bag of candy hamburgers.</p><p>&#8220;Because I&#8217;m from Hamburg,&#8221; she laughed.</p><p>And she&#8217;s looking forward to Valley West&#8217;s upcoming Hocktoberfest &#8212; a team activity that will happen only if the Spartans win another district title and make it to the state playoffs again.</p><p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t wait to play,&#8221; Rupnik said. &#8220;If we win, we&#8217;ll do a Hocktoberfest. I want to win and go to states.&#8221;</p><p>To do it, the Spartans will have to go through a Crestwood team that&#8217;s shown marked improvement late in the season.</p><p>But behind Rupnik, a 26-point scorer and natural defender who was moved to forward when she arrived at Valley West, the Spartans have a secret weapon. Or maybe not-so-secret by now.</p><p>&#8220;We get five to eight exchange students a year,&#8221; Valley West coach Linda Fithian said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve never been blessed to have one (on the field hockey team). The first day we saw her play, her vision was incredible. She&#8217;s been a real blessing to us.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong> No. 2 HAZLETON AREA vs. No. 1 WILKES-BARRE AREA</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong> CLASS 3A CHAMPIONSHIP </strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>8 p.m. Monday, Nesbitt Stadium</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">Along with the newness of a first-year program comes a new rallying cry for Wilkes-Barre Area.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Remember last year.</p><p style="text-align: left;">That&#8217;s more of a statement than a question, as the former Coughlin High School players who make up the bulk of this year&#8217;s inauguaral Wolfpack team are driven by pure determination in districts to not let one get away after their experience last year.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Coughlin won a district semifinal in a shoot-out with Dallas that began on a Friday and was completed the following Monday &#8212; just a couple hours before Coughlin played, and lost, the Class 2A Distrit 2 title game to Valley West.</p><p style="text-align: left;">That was on the minds at least some of those players from Coughlin who made their return to districts by posting a 3-1 victory over Abington Heights in the semifinals.</p><p style="text-align: left;">&#8220;I have PTSD from that game against Dallas,&#8221; said Wilkes-Barre Area scoring star Jolene Ulichney, who was a starter for Coughlin last year. &#8220;I was really nervous.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: left;">Those jitters didn&#8217;t prevent her from winding up with the first goal in playoff history for the Wolfpack, and later an assist.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Meanwhile, Hazleton Area reached a district title game for the third time in five years by putting away Wallenpaupack in the semis.</p><p style="text-align: left;">&#8220;Since we got silver last year, we want to get that gold this year,&#8221; Ulichney said. &#8220;We beat Hazleton (during the regular season) but we have to come out thinking that it&#8217;s not going to be an easy game. It&#8217;s going to be a tough game. But we can definitely do it. We want to get that gold.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong> No. 2 WYOMING AREA vs. No. 1 WYOMING SEMINARY </strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Class A CHAMPIONSHIP</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong> 6 p.m. Tuesday, Spartan Stadium</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">When Toni Minichello racked up an overtime goal to lift Wyoming Area to a 2-1 victory over Lake-Lehman in the semifinals, it pretty much set up a rematch of last year&#8217;s Class A district title game.</p><p style="text-align: left;">That&#8217;s important to a Warriors team coming to spoil the party for Sem coach Karen Klassner&#8217;s 700th career coaching victory, not celebrate it.</p><p style="text-align: left;">&#8220;We want to win,&#8221; Minichello said. &#8220;We want to play at the very highest level we can. We want to come out with a gold medal this year.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: left;">The top-seeded Blue Knights, who beat Wyoming Area 3-1 to clinch a perfect league record and the WVC Division 1 championship on the final day of the regular season, have barely broken a sweat since.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They battered Berwick, 13-0 and leveled Lackawanna Trail, 7-1 in their two district games and Alex Wesneski scored seven goals over that span to join fellow senior teammate Hannah Maxwell in the career 100 goal club, marking the first time two players on the same team ever accomplished that honor at Sem.</p><p style="text-align: left;">This one promises to be way more of a challenge.</p><p style="text-align: left;">&#8220;We&#8217;re happy to be back in the district championship,&#8221; said Wesneski, who is trying to become part of the first Blue Knights team to win a District 2 Class A gold medal for three consecutive years. &#8220;It should be a good game.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: left;">As for Klassner&#8217;s milestone achievement, she&#8217;d gladly take the honor if the reward is a gold medal.</p><p style="text-align: left;">&#8220;My 700th, that&#8217;s going to come. I&#8217;m not going anywhere,&#8221; Klassner said. &#8220;Our kids are excited to win three district championships.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Alex Wesneski (4) and Hannah Maxwell give Wyoming Seminary two 100-goal scorers playing on the same team for the first time as the Blue Knights chase another first &#8212; a third consecutive District 2 Class A championship &#8212; as Blue Knights head coach Karen Klassner bids for her 700th career win. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_sem_wa1_faa-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Alex Wesneski (4) and Hannah Maxwell give Wyoming Seminary two 100-goal scorers playing on the same team for the first time as the Blue Knights chase another first &#8212; a third consecutive District 2 Class A championship &#8212; as Blue Knights head coach Karen Klassner bids for her 700th career win. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_TTL102419LL-WyoAreaFH_3-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Area&#8217;s leading playoff scorer Kayla Kiwak, left, and the Warriors will be looking for the school&#8217;s first-ever District 2 Class A field hockey championship against Wyoming Seminary on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_TTL102419LL-WyoAreaFH_3-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wyoming Area&#8217;s leading playoff scorer Kayla Kiwak, left, and the Warriors will be looking for the school&#8217;s first-ever District 2 Class A field hockey championship against Wyoming Seminary on Tuesday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_TTL091819SEMwvwFH_2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Ariane Rupnik, right, battling against Wyoming Seminary earlier this season, is a transfer student from Germany who will be seeking her first District 2 Class 2A championship on a Spartans team trying to win its fourth straight gold medal tonight. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_TTL091819SEMwvwFH_2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Ariane Rupnik, right, battling against Wyoming Seminary earlier this season, is a transfer student from Germany who will be seeking her first District 2 Class 2A championship on a Spartans team trying to win its fourth straight gold medal tonight. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_TTL092019SEMwbaFH_3-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre Area's Jolene Ulichney, center, reacts to her goal after getting an assist by Abie Sorokas, right, in a WVC field hockey game against Wyoming Seminary at Guthrie Field in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday.  Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_TTL092019SEMwbaFH_3-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Wilkes-Barre Area's Jolene Ulichney, center, reacts to her goal after getting an assist by Abie Sorokas, right, in a WVC field hockey game against Wyoming Seminary at Guthrie Field in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday.  Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>A lot of firsts on the line in District 2 field hockey finals</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

District 2 field hockey chase history as Klassner looks for 700th win