Pictured above: Darius Wallace (12) helped lead Dallas to a repeat of its division title. (Tim Drewes Photo)
Darius Wallace and Mark Belenski gave Dallas a sweep of the top awards on the NEPASportsNation.com Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 all-star team for the second straight season after the Mountaineers repeated as division champion.
Wallace, a senior guard, emerged as the team’s leader after the graduation of the four-year backcourt combination of Austin Finarelli and Nick Nocito, which led Dallas to the state semifinals in 2022. He ran the team’s offense, averaged more than 14 points per game to lead a balanced attack and was a strong defender.
Belenski repeated as Coach of the Year.
Tunkhannock’s Ben Chilson repeated as a first-team all-star after being a second-teamer as a sophomore on the squads, which were previously selected by NEPABasketball.com. That site was merged into NEPASportsNation.com, along with coverage of other District 2 sports, at the beginning of this season.
Hazleton Area’s Luke Gennaro made the first team after being a second-team choice last season.
Michael Bufalino from Dallas, Anthony Cencetti from Pittston Area and Drew Sechleer from Crestwood each climbed from the honorable mention list to make the first team this season.
Division 1 of WVC boys and girls, because it has the largest membership of eight teams, are the only NEPASportsNation.com all-star teams that will also include an honorable mention list.
Berwick’s Sean Murphy and Tunkhannock’s Dylan Mateus made the second team after previously being on the honorable mention list.
Mikey Cumbo from Dallas, a second-team choice last season, made the honorable mention list after a season in which he was slowed by injury and missed time early.
The full all-star team list:
WYOMING VALLEY CONFERENCE DIVISION 1
Coach of the Year
Mark Belenski, Dallas
Player of the Year
Darius Wallace, Dallas senior
First Team
Michael Bufalino, Dallas senior
Anthony Cencetti, Pittston Area senior
Ben Chilson, Tunkhannock senior
Luke Gennaro, Hazleton Area junior
Drew Sechleer, Crestwood senior
Second Team
Chris Catrone, Hazleton Area senior
Silvio Giardina, Pittston Area sophomore
Zach Konopke, Wyoming Valley West senior
Dylan Mateus, Tunkhannock senior
Sean Murphy, Berwick senior
Honorable Mention
Mikey Cumbo, Dallas junior
Billy Hanson, Berwick sophomore
Jack Long, Pittston Area senior
Joey Marshall, Hazleton Area junior
Jude Nocito, Dallas sophomore
Waarithi Oseni, Wilkes-Barre Area senior
MORE ALL-STARS
Lackawanna League Division 4 boys: BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-STARS: Lackawanna League Division 4 – NEPA Sports Nation.
Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 girls: GIRLS BASKETBALL ALL-STARS: Wyoming Valley Conf. Division 2 – NEPA Sports Nation.
