EDITOR’S NOTE: As a step in getting ready for the 2021-22 winter sports season, NEPASportsNation.com is taking a look back at the 2021 season in District 2.
State champion
Wyoming Area 113-pound sophomore Jaden Pepe won a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association individual gold medal in Class 2A.
Team champions
Delaware Valley, in Class 3A, and Lackawanna Trail, in Class 2A, won both the District 2 Dual Meet Tournaments and the team scoring title in conjunction with the individual tournament.
The Warriors and Lions also won the Lackawanna League Division 1 and Division 2 titles.
Hazleton Area and Lake-Lehman were the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 and Division 2 titles.
Standings
Lackawanna League Division 1: Delaware Valley 4-0, Abington Heights 4-1, West Scranton 3-2, Wallenpaupack 2-2, Valley View 1-4, Scranton 0-5.
Lackawanna League Division 2: Lackawanna Trail 7-0, Honesdale 5-1, Western Wayne 4-2, Blue Ridge 4-3, Scranton Prep 2-4, Montrose 2-5, Elk Lake 1-6, Mountain View 0-4.
Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1: Hazleton Area 4-0, Crestwood 1-0, Wyoming Valley West 3-1, Pittston Area 2-2, Tunkhannock 1-4, Wilkes-Barre Area 0-4.
Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2: Lake-Lehman 5-0, Wyoming Area 4-1, Berwick 3-2, Nanticoke 2-3, Dallas 1-4, Hanover Area 0-5.
COVID Impact
There were alterations to the beginning, middle and end of the season.
The 2020-21 season simply became the 2021 season with no competition until January.
Regular-season tournaments virtually disappeared. For the postseason, formats were altered and an extra step was added on the way to the state tournament in Hershey to reduce the number of competitors at one location at one time.
Several matches in the limited league schedules that remained were never conducted because of multiple COVID and quarantine-related postponements.
Noteworthy
Pepe, Delaware Valley’s Zach Jacaruso at 113 pounds in Class 3A and Cameron Butka at 285 pounds in Class 3A all won Eastern Super Regional titles to qualify for the state tournament. … The other state tournament qualifiers were … The three Super Regional champions qualified for the state tournament, along with five other District 2 Class 3A wrestlers – Delaware Valley 215-pounder Jason Henderson, West Scranton 120-pounder Austin Fashouer, Abington Heights 106-pounder Luke Siriani, Wallenpaupack 120-pounder Gunnar Myers and Hazleton Area 189-pounder Bryce Molinaro. … Delaware Valley’s Henderson and Wyoming Area’s Pepe won Northeast Regional titles.
