MESHOPPEN – Dallas coach Matt Samuel thinks his cross country teams can still get better for the two biggest meets of the season that remain on the schedule.
But Wednesday at the Wyoming County Fairgrounds, the Mountaineers had plenty to add both Ed Narkiewicz Wyoming Valley Conference Championship Meet titles to the WVC regular-season championships they already won with unbeaten records.
Dallas took three of the four available varsity championships with Jack Zardecki winning the individual boys title.
“Our boys did well, but I think there’s a lot of room to improve there,” Samuel said after the defending state Class 2A champion Mountaineers used their depth to defeat Berwick, 32-60, for the team title. “I think that what I see on a daily basis is not necessarily what we saw (Wednesday).
“I’m happy that we did well and Berwick’s a really good team. We have more that we need to do. I’m not upset, but I think we can do better and that’s what it’s going to take.”
The title sweep at the conference meet was a repeat for the Dallas program after the boys won their sixth straight WVC title in the regular season. They have their next chance to repeat Wednesday in the District 2 Championships at Lakeland High School where state berths will also be decided for teams and individuals.
“It’s important to peak at the right time,” Samuel said. “Hopefully, we’re on the right track and can get that accomplished.”
Zardecki opened the postseason with a career-best time, completing the 3.1-mile course on a warm October afternoon in 16:19.
“The weather, the course conditions and all the people around me gave me a great push to run faster,” Zardecki said.
While the rest of the Dallas lineup battled for position with Berwick behind him, Zardecki moved to the front early and gradually extended his lead to the eventual winning margin of 34 seconds.
“Jack had a really nice race,” Samuel said.
Josh Wyandt was fourth, Jason Culp was fifth and Mitchell Rome was 10th to give Dallas a slight edge over Berwick to that point.
Where the Mountaineers separated themselves from the Bulldogs was in the fifth through seventh spots.
Josh Jarden was 12th, Adam Borton 13th and Stephen Postupak 21st, all well in front of Berwick’s fifth runner.
The Dallas girls also won with superior balance, beating Hazleton Area, 37-73, with freshman Megan Borton leading the way in third place.
Rebecca Balara was sixth and Madison Baloga, another freshman, was seventh.
Abby Zolner was ninth and Riley Oremus 12th.
“Megan Borton ended up third overall and didn’t feel the greatest,” Samuel said. “She was a little nervous, but wow, what a great race. For the team overall, it was a great race.”
Tunkhannock was fifth and Lake-Lehman 10th out of the 17 full teams in the boys race.
Sophomores Ben Tidball and Leighf Brown finished 18th and 34th out of 167 runners to lead an all-underclassmen lineup.
Nick Wnuk and Ethan Sensbach finished 28th and 29th for Lake-Lehman.
Lake-Lehman was fourth out of 13 girls teams with 97 points, 20 behind third-place Pittston Area.
The Black Knights were the only team other than Dallas to place five in the top 23.
Jade Fry was 14th, Jace Garnick 19th, Lauryn Pembleton 20th, Morgan Patla 21st and Kristyn Chaga 23rd.
Tunkhannock did not enter a full team.
Freshman Madelyn Franko finished 24th.
The meet, which is organized by the conference coaches association, also included junior high championships.
The Lake-Lehman boys were second, Dallas was sixth and Tunkhannock 13th out of 15 teams.
Dallas was third, Lake-Lehman fourth and Tunkhannock fifth of 15 in girls.
Lake-Lehman’s Chandler Longstreth was third and Dallas’ Tyler Myers fifth in boys.
Lizzie Blaski from Lake-Lehman was sixth among girls.
The meet is named after late Lake-Lehman coach Ed Narkiewicz.
