Wilkes Close To Choosing New President 
The School's Search Committee Has Decided On Three Finalists, Said A
University Spokesman. The Decision Might Come Friday.

Airport Marketing Study Stirs Emotions 
To A State Official, It's A Real Catch-22: Customers Want Lower Fares, But It
Will Take More Traffic To Get Those Lower Fares.

JOHN ERZAR
 Monday, January 29, 2001 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 5B 





 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Hazleton Area Cougars find themselves in an unusual situation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Just three games into the Wyoming Valley Conference second-half season, and
the Cougars are thinking District 2 Class 4A girls basketball playoffs and not
a WVC Division I title. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hazleton Area fell to 1-2 in the second-half season by losing to
Lake-Lehman and Nanticoke last week. The Cougars are chasing Wyoming Valley
West (3-0), Berwick (2-0) and Tunkhannock (2-1). &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A strange situation indeed, but not one totally unexpected. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``Take away those two and everybody is young,'' Hazleton Area coach Joe
Gavio said after Friday's 56-54 loss to Nanticoke. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Those two are senior Sarah Brislin and junior Joy Gallagher, two of the top
players in the WVC. Hazleton Area's other starters are freshmen Kim Dodson,
Ashley Grimm and Meredith LaBuda. All three have shown enormous promise, but
there is always a propensity for errors with a young lineup. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``When you're pressing and have a lot of 15-year-old kids out there ...''
Gavio said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Hazleton Area coach didn't have to finish his statement. Nor will Gavio
be saying it next season because the Cougars should be very good in 2001-2002. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And probably for seasons to come as well. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bishop Hoban had its third record-breaking performance of the season last
week when Maria Viercinski became the team's all-time assist leader. She
topped the mark set by Erin Beggs (1991-'95). &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Earlier in the season, Julie Viercinski, Maria's twin sister, broke the
team's all-time steals mark set by Kellie Cookus (1990-'94). Chelsey Ostrowsky
also became the school's top girls scorer, supplanting Stacie Miscavage
(1992-'96). &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The best game of the week has no bearing on the District 2 playoffs. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On Saturday night, Bishop Hoban hosts Allentown Central Catholic in a
matchup of two of the state's top teams. Hoban is ranked 11th and ACC 19th in
the Verizon Wireless Pennsylvania Top 25. The poll is compiled by
pasportsfever.com and ranks teams regardless of classification. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Scranton is ranked 23rd. The Knights are the only other ranked District 2
team. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A few schools came close to changing classification under the PIAA's new
enrollment figures. Berwick remained Class 4A by six girls, Class 3A Pittston
Area missed the 4A cutoff by eight girls and Class 3A Hanover Area was three
girls from dropping a class. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Class 2A Meyers missed moving up a class by four girls while Blue Ridge
remained Class A by four girls. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hazleton Area (852) has the largest female enrollment while Carbondale
Sacred Heart (48) has the smallest. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The upset of the season so far has to be Lake-Lehman's 78-75
double-overtime victory against Hazleton Area Monday. Lehman lost its last two
games with Hazleton Area by scores of 53-49 last season and 77-38 two seasons
ago. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lehman's victory over Hazleton Area may be its first since the merger of
Hazleton, West Hazleton and Freeland high schools in 1992. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A quick check of our records indicates that Lehman and Hazleton Area have
played only three times, but if anyone knows otherwise, give me a call. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 John Erzar, a Times Leader sports writer, can be reached at 829-7183. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Young Cougar Girls Have Growing Pains