SCRANTON – As defending champions and top seeds, Dallas seniors Katie Kravitsky and Ally Rome were somewhat expected to win titles during Monday night’s District 2 Class AAA Track and Field Championships.
They did more than win. They dominated.
Kravitsky jumped six inches higher and Rome ran more than 38 seconds faster than their nearest challengers on the way to gold medals in the high jump and 3200-meter run.
Several of Kravitsky and Rome’s teammates earned medals and scored points, allowing the Mountaineers to finish second out of 19 teams with only Lackawanna Track Conference Division 1 champion Abington Heights denying Dallas of a district title repeat.
Kravitsky secured her third straight district title in the high jump, then kept going.
She locked up the title by clearing 5-3 while her last two challengers were missing all three attempts.
Kravitsky then made 5-5 on her second attempt to match a record height she had cleared twice to match two earlier efforts in district championships. She broke that four-way tie by making it over 5-6, also on the second try, then raised the record again by getting over 5-7 on the first attempt. Kravitsky finally ended her night with three misses at 5-8, the highest height she has made this season.
“It was amazing to finally break the record after two years of being tied with it,” said Kravitsky, who finished tied for sixth in the state last season. “I was very, very relieved after I made it over 5-6 on my second attempt, to finally have the record to myself.”
Rome, a two-time state champion in cross country, had finished second in the 1600 earlier in the day. With her sister, William & Mary All-American Regan, among the family members looking on from the crowd, Rome put on a show in her final race within the confines of District 2.
“I was trying to take it all in, being my last district meet,” said Rome, who finished in 10:51.08, a time that would have been good enough for a medal at last year’s state meet. “I was feeling pretty strong and pretty comfortable and taking in the energy of the crowd.”
Rome’s time in the 1600 was good enough to also qualify her for the state meet, but she scratched from that event to concentrate on the 3200 in the May 27-28 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Championships at Shippensburg University.
Samantha Mazula, Kaitlyn Kochanski and Abby Zolner each finished second in one event and medaled with a top-six finish in another.
Mazula was second in the 200, third in the 100 and anchor on the fourth-place 400 relay.
Kochanski was second in the shot put and third in the discus.
Zolner was second in the 300 hurdles and sixth in the 100.
Mikaila Chakon, Annalise Cheshire and Hollie Holthaus were also on the 400 relay.
Rebecca Balara was sixth in the 3200 and the Mountaineers picked up other points for finishes in the top eight.
Lake-Lehman won a relay title and finished 10th with 32 points.
Jace Garnick, Olivia Vasey, Jade Fry and Haley Kubliski won the opening 3200 relay in 9:36.22 to earn their spot in the PIAA Championships.
Kubiski had the team’s best individual effort by taking second in the 400.
Garnick, in the 800, and the 1600 relay team of Fry, Garnick, Lynea Gregory and Kubiski were fifth.
Vasey and Fry placed sixth in the 800 and 1600.
Uzoije Ukattah was one of the standouts of the boys meet while helping Dallas to a sixth-place finish with 49 points.
Ukattah won the 100 in 10.89 seconds and 200 in 22.74. He also anchored the 400 relay team, which included Jimmy Powell, Christian Roberts and Chandler Caruso and finished third.
Roberts, in the 400, and Jack Zardecki, in the 3200, were third.
Jason Culp was fourth in the 800 and in the 1600 relay where he teamed with Adam Borton, Nate Maransky and Roberts.
