EDITOR’S NOTE: Since the original posting of the story, the Delaware Valley-at-North Pocono wrestling match has been postponed from Wednesday to Thursday.
Wednesday is the last full day of sports competition in District 2 before Christmas.
Even with COVID-related postponements in all three sports – basketball, wrestling and swimming – there are still 30 events on the schedule before a much lighter day Thursday transitions school athletic programs into the holiday break.
There is league competition in wrestling and swimming and a larger schedule of non-league games in basketball.
The top wrestling match is in Lackawanna League Division 1 where defending champion Delaware Valley is at North Pocono in a meeting of teams that are 1-0 in the division. Delaware Valley is 2-0 overall while North Pocono’s league win was its only match.
Also on the schedule are: Honesdale at Mountain View in Lackawanna Division 2; three Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 matches and Western Wayne competing in the Athens Duals. The WVC Division 1 matches are: Pittston Area at Crestwood, Dallas at Hazleton Area and Wilkes-Barre Area at Tunkhannock.
There are two boys and girls swim meets in the WVC.
Nanticoke is at Hazleton Area and Tunkhannock is at Pittston Area. The meets represent the season openers for both Hazleton Area teams.
There are 12 boys and 8 girls games on the non-league schedule.
The boys schedule features two games between ranked teams and a memorial rivalry game.
Dallas (1-0) is at Abington Heights (2-2) in a game between the second- and third-ranked Big Schools in the My City Mortgage Super Six Power Rankings.
Small School No. 6 Elk Lake (2-2) is at Big School No. 5 North Pocono (4-1) in a game between defending Lackawanna division champions. Elk Lake won Division 4 and North Pocono won Division 2.
Pittston Area (3-1) is at Wyoming Area (3-2) in the 17th Eugene R. DeMinico II Memorial Game. The Patriots are ranked fourth among Big Schools.
J.J. Walsh from Pittston Area returns after earning his team’s Most Valuable Player award in last season’s 39-36 victory. He had 13 points, 4 assists and 3 steals. One of the assists came on Matt Johnson’s game-winning 3-pointer with four seconds left.
The game honors the memory of DeMinico, a 2000 Seton Catholic graduate who earned the Army’s Commendation Medal for Valor for his service in Iraq. The police officer died in a Jenkins Township motor vehicle accident early on Thanksgiving morning, 2005.
Pittston Area and Pittston Seton Catholic met in the first two games, prior to Seton Catholic’s closing in 2007. Wyoming Area-Pittston Area games have taken over since with Pittston Area winning in all but the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.
Proceeds from the game benefit the Pittston City and Pittston Twp. K-9 Units.
No. 5 Big School Abington Heights (2-2) is at No. 3 Small School Holy Cross (3-2) in the top girls game.
Among the events postponed because of COVID was tonight’s scheduled meeting of unbeaten No. 1 boys teams with Small School leader Holy Redeemer at Big School Scranton.
For tonight’s complete boys and girls schedule, see: https://nepabasketball.com/composite?d=2021-12-22.
