District 2 teams, partnerships and individuals reached high in the 2021-22 school year, combining for 11 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state championships.
Four teams from the district, one doubles team and five individuals won state titles with one of the individuals, Susquehanna’s Tatum Norris, winning two.
The last time District 2 reached double figures in state titles in an academic year was in 2013-14 when District 2 produced 10 champions.
During the previous 15 school years, District 2 produced an average of six state championships, counting team titles, relay or doubles team champions and individual gold medals.
Fall athletes and distance runners did much of the work in 2013-14.
Tessa Barrett from Abington Heights and Dominic DeLuca from Dallas won individual cross country titles in Class 3A girls and 2A boys.
The Tunkhannock boys and Dallas girls won Class 2A team cross country titles while Holy Cross won in Class A girls.
While cross country runners accounted for five state titles, they were not alone that fall.
The field hockey team and girls tennis singles player Nathalie Joanlanne both won state titles for Wyoming Seminary.
Holy Redeemer won the Class 2A boys golf title.
Distance runners were back in the spotlight in the spring when Dominic Hockenbury from Lake-Lehman won the 3200-meter run in Class 2A boys.
Valley View’s Ryan Wilkes won the Class 3A pole vault.
Those 10 titles were not topped until the recently completed school year when Norris accounted for 3 of the 11 championships. She won individual gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and, as Susquehanna’s only entry in the meet, was able to outscore every team in the state to make the Lady Sabers Class 2A girls champs.
While Susquehanna had the oddity of the state team title being its only victory of the year, the other three state team champions from the district included two teams that had perfect seasons and another that did not lose to a PIAA school.
Pittston Area, the Class 3A softball champ, and Wyoming Seminary, the Class 2A girls tennis champion, had perfect seasons. Wyoming Seminary had just two losses to non-PIAA private schools while winning its fourth straight Class A field hockey championship.
The Chesman brothers, Kyle and Tucker, from Dallas captured the Class 2A boys tennis doubles title.
Wyoming Area’s Jaden Pepe, at 120 pounds in Class 2A, and Delaware Valley’s Zac Jacaruso, at 113 pounds in Class 3A, won wrestling gold medals. Pepe went unbeaten while repeating.
Norris won two of the district’s four individual gold medals at state track.
Drew Mruk from Wyoming Area won the Class 2A boys javelin. Ella Dougher from Western Wayne won the Class 2A girls pole vault where Norris finished second.
