Comets get key track sweep over Hazleton Area

by Steve Stallone Sports Editor

With unbeaten Hazleton Area coming to town for a pair of key Wyoming Valley Conference showdowns last Tuesday, Crestwood’s boys’ and girls’ track and field teams both needed big performances to keep their title hopes alive.

The Comets and Lady Comets delivered just that. Led by Kayla Kresge’s two wins in the hurdles, and great balance up and down the lineup, the Crestwood girls rolled to a 87.5-62.5 victory over the Lady Cougars. Meanwhile, the Crestwood boys notched a 87-63 win over the Cougars.

All four teams now have one loss heading into the final two WVC dual meets of the season. Crestwood closes with Wilkes-Barre Area and Berwick, while Hazleton Area has Dallas and Pittston Area left on its schedule.

“We were really happy with their performance. Their times were great,” Crestwood boys’ coach Rob Moulton said. “We knew Hazleton was going to be a very tough test in

Cougars rally past Crestwood baseball squad

Crestwood broke out to a 2-0 lead on first-place Hazleton Area last week in their WVC baseball game in Hazle Township. But the host Cougars scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the third inning on the way to a 7-3 victory that kept them in control of the Division 1 race.

After beating Crestwood 13-6 the week before, the Cougars found themselves trailing the Comets in the top of the third when Ben Keil drew a leadoff walk, Nick Miscavage followed with a single, and Chaz Wright doubled home Keil. Joe Moratori’s groundout made it 2-0.

Freshman Dom Marino drew a walk ahead of Jamie Martoccio’s single to start the Cougar comeback in the home third. Nick Ledger then attempted a sacrifice bunt, but the throw to first base went awry and both the conference and we just wanted to give it our all and they did. They did an awesome job today.”

The Comets were anything but fresh, but relied on guts to grind out the team win.

“We’ve had four meets in the last eight days, so it’s been a lot on the kids,” Moulton said. “The way they’ve balanced that and still are running PRs on tired legs, I’m really happy with that.

“Districts is a two-day event, so it’s going to be a similar concept there, where they may be on tired legs there. We have injuries and all of that. They just fought through these last eight days.” the rest of our opponents.”

Meanwhile, the Lady Comets kept in the race thanks to several strong efforts, including Kresge’s double in the hurdle events. She clocked a 16.5 in winning the 100-meter hurdles, matching her personal best.

“It felt good,” Kresge said of her PR. “Every meet I try to beat my last time, so I tied my PR this time. It’s great when you race against great opponents. It really helps. Even my own teammates push me every week.”

Kresge said. “We have to keep working hard. But no matter what, I’m so proud of what we’ve done this season so far.”

Marino and Martoccio scored to tie the game, before Kevin Guzman’s safety squeeze brought in courtesy runner Ryan Schmidt. Hazleton Area never trailed again.

Down 4-2 in the fifth, the Comets (7-7, 2-7) got one run back when Keil singled and eventually came around on Moratori’s two-out base hit to center.

The Cougars’ offense, meanwhile, plated three insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth to put the game away. AJ Collevechio and Jonas Aponick had infield singles in the inning, which also included a Comet error and a wild pitch.

With the win, the Cougars (11-1, 9-0) stretched their WVC winning streak to 41 games dating back to May 2019.

One of the standout performances of the day for the Comets came from freshman Jaden Shedlock, who matched the school record with a 10.8-second win in the 100-meter dash. “That was a great performance,” Moulton said. “Just overall lots of times have been improving meet to meet.”

The Cougars were without a pair of big pieces to their puzzle, as both Matthew Cusatis and Sammy Guzman did not compete.

Although they got a pair of individual firsts from hurdler Joe Mazaika and some other strong individual performances, the Cougars slipped to 3-1 and are now tied with Crestwood in the standings with two meets remaining.

“We lost to Dallas, so we have one loss, and Hazleton still has to face Dallas,” Moulton said of the WVC race. “If Hazleton can pull off anything against Dallas, then there could potentially be a three-way tie. It’s kind of out of our hands, and we have to kind of try to beat

She said she is on pace to be in a good spot come districts next month. “I feel like I’m on a pretty good track right now. I definitely want to get into the 15s. Our coaches are amazing. I couldn’t ask for any better coaches. They keep me on track, and my family does too. My dad was a good hurdler, so he helps too. But you can always improve, so that’s what I’m trying to do.”

She said the way her teammates are going, the WVC title is still in the cards. “It was such a big meet. The WVC title is always the plan, but we’ll have to see,”

Boys Crestwood 87, Hazleton Area 63 3200 relay — 1. Crestwood (Modrovsky, Kozich, Medvetz, Staude) 9:47; 110 hurdles — 1. Mazaika (HA) 16.5, 2. Jumper (C), 3. Minet (C); 100 — 1. Shedlock (C) 10.8, 2. Jennings (C), 3. Shamany (HA); Shot put — 1. Sheloski (C) 42-5.5, 2. Jones (C), 3. Reinoso (HA); 1600 — 1. Staude (C) 4:41, 2. Ritz (HA), 3. Lehieri (C); Triple jump — 1. Shang (HA) 42-10, 2. P. Munoz (HA), 3. R. Munoz (HA); 400 relay — 1. Crestwood (Shedlock, Tejada, Williams, Jennings) 44.3; 400 — 1. Pollock (HA) 53.8, 2. Bogdon (C), 3. Kundrat (HA); 300 hurdles — 1. Mazaika (HA) 44.0, 2. Jumper (C), 3. Cwiertniewicz (HA); Discus — 1. Deutsch (HA) 112-6, 2. Rodgers (C), 3. Jones (C); 800 — 1. Ritz (HA) 2:01, 2. Staude (C), 3. Medvetz (C); Long jump — 1. Williams (C) 21-0, 2. Shang (HA), 3. Tejada (C); 200 — 1. Jennings (C) 23.0, 2. Williams (C), 3. Rosario (HA); 3200 — 1. Buckley (C) 10:54, 2. Higgins (C), 3. Luther (C); Pole vault — 1. Mertz (C) 11-6, 2. Newell (HA), 3. Seiwell (HA); 1600 relay — 1. Hazleton Area (Kundrat, Ritz, Pollock, Mazaika) 3:42; Javelin — 1. Staffin (HA) 153-9, 2. Kurtz (HA), 3. Mertz (C); High jump — 1. Tejada (C) 5-8, 2. (tie) P. Munoz (HA) and Mertz (C).

Girls Crestwood 87.5, Hazleton Area 62.5 3200 relay — 1. Crestwood (Riccio, Barker, E. Kozich, Leicht) 11:52; 100 hurdles — 1. Kresge (C) 16.5, 2. Barrow (HA), 3. Shults (HA); 100 — 1. Bredbenner (HA) 12.7, 2. Grazio (C), 3. Brito (HA); Shot put — 1. Bueso (HA) 36-0, 2. Pollack (C), 3. Geiger (C); 1600 — 1. M. Kozich (C) 5:29, 2. K. Kozich (C), 3. Danko (C); Triple jump — 1. Roberts (HA) 31-5, 2. Masten (HA), 3. Eberts (HA); 400 relay — 1. Crestwood (Sheloski, Keiser, Shipton, Grazio) 51.5; 400 — 1. Sisock (HA) 65.6, 2. Ebert (HA), 3. Tomek (C); 300 hurdles — 1. Kresge (C) 51.8, 2. Long (C), 3. Jolie (C); Discus — 1. Kline (C) 87-2, 2. Torre (HA), 3. Pollack (C); 800 — 1. Leicht (C) 2:32, 2. Baker (C), 3. Danko (C); Long jump — 1. Brito (HA) 16-3, 2. Shults (HA), 3. Roberts (HA); 200 — 1. Bredbenner (HA) 26.3, 2. Grazio (C), 3. Shipton (C); 3200 — 1. E. Kozich (C) 12:44, 2. Riccio (C), 3. K. Kozich (C); Pole vault — 1. Shipton (C) 9-6), 2. Kruzcek (C), 3. Celmer (C); 1600 relay — 1. Crestwood (Tomek, Leight, Shipton, Jolie) 4:25; Javelin — 1. Kaschak (HA) 99-7, 2.