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Wyoming Valley West’s Clare Winton signals her teammates after her first-place finish in the 500 freestyle at the District 2 Class 3A Swimming Championships on Saturday.

Wyoming Valley West’s Ed Zawtski hugs his brother Josh after the 100 freestyle. Josh finished fifth and Ed was first setting a pool record at 45.58 during the District 2 Class 3A Swimming Championships on Saturday.

WILKES-BARRE — Call it home pool advantage but it was the Wyoming Valley Conference’s day to shine at the District 2-4 Class 3A boys and girls swimming and diving championships.

The WVC swam away with eight of the 10 races Saturday in the final day of competition.

In spite of their individual and relay dominance, District 4 and the Lackawanna League took the team prizes. Delaware Valley won the women’s trophy by a 322.50-246 edge over Wyoming Valley West. Williamsport took the regional boys title by 24 points over Delaware Valley.

Swimming locally for the final time, Wyoming Valley West’s Ed Zawatski broke his own record in the 100 free. Zawatski beat last season’s record-setting performance by nearly a full second, clocking in at an alarming 46.55 seconds. It marks his eighth individual regional championship in addition to his six relay regional golds.

“This win was very special to me because this caps off my 100th win as a swimmer against WVC and district competition,” Zawatski said. “Ever since I was a freshman, in an individual event, I’ve never been beaten. So this victory was very, very special to me.”

He anchored the 400 freestyle relay victory in a time of 3:19.86. Zawatski joined Stanley Zaneski, Logan Fluegel and Llyam McGlynn in booking a trip to states.

Wyoming Valley West girls won a crucial 400 free relay to end their regional performance. Felicia Brittain, Clare Winton, Alexis Ivanitch and Chelsea Mackiewicz outpaced Hazleton Area’s quickest swimmers for a more than half-second victory in a time of 3:46.89. Brittain was instrumental in the gold medal swim by garnering a 2.4-second lead over the Cougars after the first leg.

A pair of Pittston Area seniors swept the 100 backstroke events. After finishing second twice in his career, Brandon Winters finally reached the top of the podium. He touched ahead of Wyoming Valley West’s McGlynn in 55.47 seconds.

“It’s awesome,” Winters said. “There are no words to describe it. I’ve been swimming for 10 years, and this is my crowning achievement. I’ve been working all of those years for a district gold.”

Teammate Mia Nardone suffered a heartbreaking loss Friday in the 100 butterfly, but recouped nicely to snag the 100 backstroke crown in a time of 1:00.37.

“The butterfly has always been my most important event since I was a child,” she said. “It’s always what I started out swimming. I was always a better flyer. Then last year I decided, hey let’s try for the back stroke instead of the IM. I didn’t get in the butterfly. To get the win in the backstroke, I couldn’t be more happy.”

Nardone was relatively even with Delaware Valley’s Denali Hutzelman through 75 yards. She put on the burners down the stretch and came away with the win. Nardone was an underdog in the backstroke, a thing she says she’s become accustomed to in her four-year career.

“Being seeded in second place, it’s always nice being the underdog because I’m chasing someone instead of someone chasing me,” Nardone said. “It’s something to push myself towards. It really worked out this year.”

Wyoming Valley West’s Clare Winton and Hazleton Area’s Shelby Sanko went down to the wire in the championships’ longest and most grueling race. Winton defeated Sanko by 15-hundreths of a second in a time of 5:30.07.

“This is something that I’ve dreamed of since about fifth grade when I started swimming,” Winton said. “I’m really excited and now it’s finally come true.”

Alexis Ivanitch also earned her first career regional title in the 100 breaststroke. The Valley West sophomore came through with a 1:08.76 over a trio of Delaware Valley swimmers.

Fellow Spartan Terry Vrabec made it a Wyoming Valley West sweep in the breaststroke when he won in 1:00.41. Coming short of the District 2 record, Vrabec said he was happy to take first after losing on a touch-out Friday in the IM. He reclaims his title as district champion after winning with Holy Redeemer two years ago.

“I’ll tell you what I’m not fully tapered today,” Vrabec said. “I’ve been tapering for states so I’m only midway through it now. At states, I’ll get a better time. I’m shooting for a 57. Team record is a 56.”

District 2 Class 3A Swimming Championships

Team Rankings

GIRLS

1. Delaware Valley 322.5; 2. Wyoming Valley West 246; 3. Hazleton Area 212; 4. Pittston Area 166; 5. Williamsport 164; 6. Scranton 104; 7. Wallenpaupack 84.5.

BOYS

1. Williamsport 275; 2. Delaware Valley 251; 3. Wyoming Valley West 237; 4. Abington Heights 167; 5. Hazleton Area 155; 6. Scranton 101; 7. Wallenpaupack 62.

Swimming Finals AAA

Girls 100 Free – 1. Aspen Navarte (DV) 55.58, 2. Pamela Niditch (WIL) 55.70, 3. Chelsea Mackiewicz (WVW) 56.85, 4. Erin Kazmierczak (SCR) 58.08, 5. Paula Munera (DV) 58.34, 6. Elizabeth Good (WIL) 58.96, 7. Annalyn Hehir (WAL) 59.16, 8. Arianna Boccardi (PIT) 59.63, 9. Elizabeth Wood (WVW) 59.93, 10. Alexis Teschner (DV) 1:02.07, 11. Shannen Brady (PIT) 1:02.30, 12. Annie Rosenow (WIL) 1:02.34, 13. Gina Blasé (HAZ) 1:02.88, 14. Jessica Keveson (DV) 1:03.26, 15. MacKenzie Connors (PIT) 1:03.26, 16. Taylor Kryzan (WAL) 1:03.91, 17. Alexandra Hoffman (WVW) 1:03.98, 18. Allyson Lloyd (HAZ) 1:04.06, 19. Mattea Palma (HAZ) 1:04.28, 20. Alyssa Lafave (WAL) 1:04.54, 21. Tara Johnson (PIT) 1:05.03, 22. Alex Kryzan (WAL) 1:07.22, 23. Shelby Jimcosky (SCR) 1:09.29, 24. Natalia Vivanco (WVW) 1:12.45, 25. Katie Pineda (SCR) 1:12.89.

Boys 100 Free – 1. Ed Zawatski (WVW) 45.58, 2. Kyle Ryan (DV) 50.30, 3. Seth Platukis (HAZ) 51.31, 4. Kyle Dillon (DV) 51.35, 5. Josh Zawatski (WVW) 51.87, 6. Caleb Beard (WIL) 51.89, 7. Logan Fluegel (WVW) 52.17, 8. Max Voyve (AH) 52.52, 9. Jerod Barone (WIL) 53.02, 10. William Craven (SCR) 54.78, 11. Vincent Shea (PIT) 55.13, 12. Andrew Barren (AH) 55.36, 13. Wesley Myers (SCR) 55.70, 14. Nate Kendal (WIL) 55.79, 15. Nick Petrucci (PIT) 56.13, 16. Thomas Clifton (AH) 56.99, 17. Daniel Ocasio (DV) 57.02, 18.Chase Osborne (WAL) 57.26, 19. Timmy Cleveland (SCR) 57.62, 20. Brooks Durand (WIL) 57.71, 21. Emmanuel Castro (HAZ) 58.09, 22. Dillon Wilbur (WVW) 58.59, 23. Gerardo Aquino (HAZ) 58.61, 24. Luke Gualtieri (AH) 1:01.15, 25. Thomas Sarro (WAL) 1:01.60, 26. Matthew Vosburg (WAL) 1:07.45, 27. Steven Coutts (WAL) 1:09.36.

Girls 500 Free – 1. Clare Winton (WVW) 5:30.07, 2. Shelby Sanko (HAZ) 5:30.22, 3. Felicia Brittain (WVW) 5:51.78, 4. Laura Good (WIL) 5:53.66, 5. Samantha Sodora (DV) 6:02.31, 6. Andi Loihle (DV) 6:06.48, 7. Allison Duffy (SCR) 6:08.72, 8. Rebecca Voldenberg (SCR) 6:10.42, 9. Alexia Brandt (DV) 6:13.06, 10. Nicole Miller (HAZ) 6:21.94, 11. Natalie Bennington (SCR) 6:24.39, 12. Katrina Dillon (PIT) 6:32.42, 13. Andrea Hiller (SCR) 6:36.42, 14. Hannah Mintz (HAZ) 6:36.89, 15. Madison Chlebowski (DV) 6:46.17, 16. Joni Sabin (WIL) 7:13.56, 17. Emily Alvarez (WVW) 7:46.04.

Boys 500 Free – 1. Bryan Kavanagh (WIL) 4:57.32, 2. Alex Schafer (SCR) 5:08.53, 3. Mitchell Smith (WIL) 5:15.86, 4. Andy Acosta (HAZ) 5:16.79, 5. Brett Kavanagh (WIL) 5:19.79, 6. Quinn Seafass (WIL) 5:28.54, 7. Colin Naturale (DV) 5:32.23, 8. Sean Deignan (DV) 5:33.34, 9. Donald Weiland (AH) 5:34.73, 10. Samuel Jubon (AH) 5:36.43, 11. Marc Mireau (DV) 5:37.44, 12. David Sites (WVW) 5:41.82, 13. Maxim Kowalski (WVW) 5:46.99, 14. Shane Cummings (AH) 5:51.30, 15. Brent Wilbur (WVW) 5:58.05, 16. Zach Whibley (WVW) 6:10.41, 17. Charlie Prothero (SCR) 6:10.62, 18. Andrew Higgins (DV) 6:17.86, 19. Sam Remus (AH) 6:18.17, 20. Matt McAndrew (SCR) 7:39.74.

Girls 100 Back – 1. Mia Nardone (PIT) 1:00.37, 2. Denali Hutzelmann (DV) 1:01.87, 3. Morgan O’Hara (HAZ) 1:02.74, 4. Molly Belles (SCR) 1:04.42, 5. Elizabeth Wood (WVW) 1:07.84, 6. Kassity Roche (PIT) 1:08.01, 7. Shannen Brady (PIT) 1:08.63, 8. Nina Dellarte (WVW) 1:10.00, 9. Eileen D’Auria (DV) 1:10.62, 10. Nicole Miller (HAZ) 1:10.72, 11. Hannah Rogers (WVW) 1:11.61, 12. Claire Brier (SCR) 1:12.80, 13. Allyson Lloyd (HAZ) 1:12.98, 14. Abby Schneider (HAZ) 1:13.03, 15. Rachel Phipps (DV) 1:13.58, 16. Kirsten Leili (DV) 1:14.25, 17. Kate Musto (PIT) 1:14.25, 18. Andrea Hiller (SCR) 1:15.34, 19. Tess Pricher (WIL) 1:16.56, 20. Shannon Sarro (WAL) 1:16.66, 21. Laura Zigler (WIL) 1:17.42, 22. Molloy Jacobs (WAL) 1:23.29, 23. Paige Galgano (WAL) 1:23.38, 24. Emily Greskewicz (WVW) 1:26.85.

Boys 100 Back – 1. Brandon Winters (PIT) 55.47, 2. Llyam McGlynn (WVW) 56.02, 3. Kyle Usbeck (WAL) 56.32, 4. Eddie Good (WIL) 57.66, 5. Brendan Conahan (AH) 58.88, 6. Cody Schowyer (WIL) 59.63, 7. Stanley Zaneski (WVW) 1:00.02, 8. Liam Stuart (DV) 1:02.86, 9. Brent Wilbur (WVW) 1:03.67, 10. Josiah McKenon (WIL) 1:03.77, 11. Zach Schwoyer (WIL) 1:04.67, 12. Greg Giliberti (DV) 1:05.51, 13. Luke Gualtieri (AH) 1:08.99, 14. Ivan Vorobyev (DV) 1:11.69, 15. Thomas Sarro (WAL) 1:12.57, 16. Israel Alonzo (HAZ) 1:14.68, 17. Kevin Albright (AH) 1:17.81, 18. Antony Spinelli (WVW) 1:19.99, 19. Brandon Kelleher (AH) 1:23.38, 20. Jordy Gonzalez (HAZ) 1:24.18.

Girls 100 Breast – 1. Alexis Ivanitch (WVW) 1:08.76, 2. Janel Llewellyn (DV) 1:09.46, 3. Karolina Baranowski (DV) 1:10.15, 4. Stephanie Marcucci (DV) 1:10.25, 5. Katelynn Pleban (HAZ) 1:11.91, 6. Meagan Buckle (DV) 1:14.99, 7. Megan Llewellyn (HAZ) 1:15.06, 8. Victoria Carrell (HAZ) 1:16.59, 9. Adison Hazlet (PIT) 1:16.76, 10. Jordan Zbegner (PIT) 1:17.50, 11. Evelyn Egenski (WVW) 1:18.50, 12. Gina Blaise (HAZ) 1:20.83, 13. Erica Colon (PIT) 1:21.50, 14. Amanda Southard (WIL) 1:22.15, 15. Rebecca Voldenberg (SCR) 1:22.64, 16. Kristen Denniston (WAL) 1:23.51, 17. Kayla Paszek (SCR) 1:24.03, 18. Olivia Crouthamel (WAL) 1:26.34, 19. Shayla O’Hearn (SCR) 1:28.68, 20. Natalia Vivanco (WVW) 1:28.93, 21. Emily Alvarez (WVW) 1:32.77, 22. Kayla Waszak (WAL) 1:36.79, 23. Shelby Jimcosky (SCR) 1:42.76, 24. Emma Winagle (WAL) 1:44.59.

Boys 100 Breast – 1. Terry Vrabec (WVW) 1:00.41, 2. Fox Wihlborg (DV) 1:0.27, 3. Noah Shapiro (AH) 1:05.51, 4. Brian Vaivada (DV) 1:05.73, 5. Ben Hillman (WIL) 1:06.43, 6. Anthony Makhnin (DV)1:07.46 , 7. Charlie Gromelski (AH) 1:07.96, 8. Zac Rosencrans (WVW) 1:08.57, 9. Ben Cramer (WIL) 1:09.73, 10. Nate Kendal (WIL) 1:10.63, 11. Eric Fritz (PIT) 1:10.65, 12. Jared Lybolt (WVW) 1:10.70, 13. Randy Pineda (HAZ) 1:10.83, 14. Darren Pitts (SCR) 1:11.89, 15. Quinn Serfass (WIL) 1:13.45, 16. Kris Kremsner (DV) 1:13.84, 17. Chris Suh (AH) 1:14.45, 18. Brooks Houck (AH) 1:14.45, 19. Michael Bunney (PIT) 1:19.29, 20. Steven Coutts (WAL) 1:21.35, 21. Cruz Tejeda (HAZ) 1:32.51.

Girls 400 Free Relay – 1. WVW (Felicia Brittain, Clare Winton, Alexis Ivanitch, Chelsea Mackiewicz) 3:46.89, 2. HAZ (Katelynn Pleban, Morgan O’Hara, Shelby Sanko, Felicia Grego) 3:47.48, 3. DV (Paula Munera, Eileen D’Auria, Samantha Sodora, Karolina Baranowski) 3:54.15, 4. PIT (Kassity Roche, Erin Senese, Arianna Boccardi, Mia Nardone) 3:54.88, 5. WIL (Elizabeth Good, Annie Rosenow, Laura Good, Pamela Niditch) 3:58.12, 6. SCR (Molly Belles, Andrea Hiller, Rebecca Voldenberg, Erin Kazmierczak) 4:07.73, 7. WAL 4:09.18.

Boys 400 Free Relay – 1. WVW (Stanley Zaneski, Logan Fluegel, Llyam McGlynn, Ed Zawatski) 3:19.86, 2. HAZ (Andy Acosta, Seth Platukis, Randy Pineda, Jorge Moncayo) 3:23.56, 3. DV (Sean Deignan, Colin Naturale, Kyle Dillion, Collin Deans) 3:25.21, 4. WIL (Eddie Good, Mitchell Smith, Caleb Beard, Bryan Kavanagh) 3:26.05, 5. AH (Benjamin Vale, Andrew Barren, Noah Shapiro, Max Voyce) 3:31.41.