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EXETER — The final girls swim meet of the regular season practically assured Wyoming Area of victory before it began.
The next one won’t be so easy for the Warriors.
Holly Ference and Megan Mooney each won three times Thursday as Wyoming Area shuffled around its regular lineup during a 124-34 thrashing of undermanned Nanticoke at Wyoming Area High School.
The victory left the two-time defending Wyoming Valley Conference Division 3 girls champion Warriors tied with arch-rival Pittston Area at 9-1 in the division.
They’ll break it at 3 p.m. Monday at the Wilkes-Barre CYC in a simultaneous swim-off with the Wyoming Valley West and Hazleton Area boys, who also finished the regular season tied at 7-0-1 atop the WVC Southern Division.
“I think it’s really important,” Ference said of a possible division three-peat. “Now that we’re there, it’s really exciting.”
To reach Monday’s swim-off, Wyoming Area first had to put away a Nanticoke squad that fielded just five swimmers – leaving the Trojans little hope of picking up enough points to topple the Warriors.
But Wyoming Area’s victory may not have been as easy as it appeared.
“It is tough,” Wyoming Area coach Maureen Shovlin said about controlling overconfidence against a Nanticoke team that finished winless in Division 3. “Nanticoke’s had a hard time. Sometimes, you can get distracted by that.
“As a coach, you need to get (swimmers) focused. Their motivation was to focus on Monday. I kept reminding them, ‘You’ve got to work against the clock.’”
Ference, one of the few Warriors who swam in one of her regular events, worked her way to victory in the 100 fly and was also part of the winning 200 medley and 200 freestyle relay teams.
Mooney finished first in the 100 breaststroke and was also on the winning 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams.
Meanwhile, top Warriors breaststroker Natalie Carr shifted over to give the 500 freestyle a try for the first time in her three high school seasons, placing second. Lauren Frisbee won the 200 freestyle while Ellie Laffey captured the 100 free to help the Warriors pile up points and set up the showdown with Pittston Area.
“Of course, they would love to win it, because it is against their rival, Pittston Area,” Shovlin said of her Warriors, who bested Pittston Area 99-87 last month.
“No matter what the outcome is Monday, they’re going to strive toward the end of the month and really look forward to (individual) districts. It’s more gratifying to see them be excited and be pleased with themselves.”

200 MEDLEY RELAY – 1. WA (Mikolaichik, Ference, Amico, Mooney), 2:20.98; 2. WA; 3. Nan. 200 FREE – 1. WA, Frisbie, 0:44.02; 2. WA, Novick; 3. WA, Santee. 200 IM – 1. Nan, Pugh, 2:21.25; 2. WA, Ference; 3. WA, Strish. 50 FREE – 1. Nan, Grenkowski, 0:39.04; 2. WA, Mikolaichik; 3. WA, Mooney. DIVING – 1. WA, Tibus, 169.05; 2. WA, Iscovitz; 3. WA, Kyle. 100 FLY – 1. WA, Ference, 1:19.19; 2. Nan, Saskulski. 100 FREE – 1. WA, Laffey, 1:04.52; 2. Nan, Martin; 3. WA, Frisbie. 500 FREE – 1. Nan, Pugh, 5:46.47; 2. WA, Carr; 3. WA, Amico. 200 FREE RELAY – 1. WA (Zurek, Mikolaichik, Laffey, Ference), 2:00.15; 2. Nan; 3. WA. 100 BACK – 1. WA, Strish, 1:14.59; 2. WA, Mikolaichik; 3. WA, Santee. 100 BREAST – 1.WA, Mooney, 1:29.60; 2. WA, Dougherty; 3. WA, Klocko. 400 FREE RELAY – 1. WA (Amico, Mooney, Novick, Carr), 5:02.71; 2. WA.
Coughlin 115, Meyers 61
For Coughlin, Kaileen Metzger won the 100 fly and the 100 breast while Katie Snee took first in the 50 and 100 free.
Sam Graham, Kendra Hoban, and Steph Koolman all had first-place finishes for Meyers.

200 MEDLEY RELAY – 1. MEY (Hoban, Metzger, Graham, Koolman) 2:20.11; 2. COU; 3. COU. 200 FREE – 1. COU Milewski 2:23.00; 2. MEY Koolman; 3. COU Kozerski. 200 IM – 1. MEY Graham 2:52.97; 2. COU Ray. 50 FREE – 1. COU Snee 25.10; 2. COU Lentini; 3. COU Smith. DIVING – 1. COU Dunsmuir 204.60; 2. COU Smith; 3. MEY Garcia. 100 FLY – 1. COU Metzger 1:20.30; 2. MEY Graham; 3. COU Barry. 100 FREE – 1. COU Snee 55.25; 2. MEY Hoban; 3. COU Boyd. 500 FREE – 1. MEY Koolman 6:29.60; 2. COU Milewski; 3. COU Kozerski. 200 FREE RELAY – 1. COU (Ray, Metzger, Milewski, Snee) 1:56.56; 2. MEY; 3. COU. 100 BACK – 1. MEY Hoban 1:12.08; 2. COU Gulius; 3. COU Milewski. 100 BREAST – 1. COU Metzger 1:25.75; 2. COU Barry; 3. COU Ray. 400 FREE RELAY – 1. COU (Mozerski, Milewski, Ray, Snee) 4:32.19; 2. COU; 3. MEY.
Wyoming Valley West 121, Hanover Area 64
The Spartans’ Janelle McDaniels won the 500 free and the 200 free, as well as swimming on the first-place squads in the 400 free relay and the 200 medley relay.
Elizabeth Clements won the 100 fly and the 200 IM for Hanover Area.

200 MEDLEY RELAY – 1. WVW (McDaniels, Tudgay, A. Labashosky, Mazaleski) 1:59.64; 2. HAN; 3. WVW. 200 FREE – 1. WVW McDaniels 2:06.97; 2. WVW Zord; 3. WVW Hanadel. 200 IM – 1. HAN Clements 2:24.62; 2. WVW A. Labashosky; 3. WVW Dekmar. 50 FREE – 1. HAN Gavlick 26.85; 2. WVW Mazaleski; 3. WVW Fishe. DIVING – 1. WVW Elizabeth 201.15; 2. K. Labashosky; 3. HAN McNerin. 100 FLY – 1. HAN Clements 1:04.33; 2. WVW Gurgal; 3. WVW Brozena. 100 FREE – 1. WVW Tudgay 56.86; 2. WVW Mazaleski; 3. WVW Fishe. 500 FREE – 1. WVW McDaniels 5:52.27; 2. WVW Butkiewicz; 3. WVW Lord. 200 FREE RELAY – 1. HAN (Flaherty, Witko, Gavlick, Clements) 1:44.27; 2. WVW; 3. WVW. 100 BACK – 1. HAN Flaherty 1:08.52; 2. WVW Gurgal; 3. WVW Byrnes. 100 BREAST – 1. WVW A. Labashosky 1:14.37; 2. HAN Gavlick; 3. WVW Dekmar. 400 FREE RELAY – 1. WVW (Tudgay, Fishe, Mazaleski, McDaniels) 3:59.44; 2. WVW; 3. HAN.
Tunkhannock 103, Elk Lake 69
The Tigers earned first-place finishes in eight out of 12 events.
BOYS SWIMMING
Wyoming Valley West 125, Hanover Area 57
Joseph O’Hara placed first in the 200 IM and the 100 free while helping the 200 medley and the 400 free relay teams to victory.
For Hanover Area, Ryan Thomas won the diving competition with a score of 245.70.

200 MEDLEY RELAY – 1. WVW (O’Hara, Ametrano, Stancavage, Spaide) 1:46.47; 2. HAN; 3. WVW. 200 FREE – 1. WVW Stancavage 2:07.47; 2. HAN Garcia; 3. WVW McDaniels. 200 IM – 1. WVW O’Hara 2:08.04; 2. WVW Ametrano; 3. HAN Pisano. 50 FREE – 1. HAN Kitchen 22.47; 2. WVW Spaide; 3. HAN McGovern. DIVING – 1. HAN Thomas 245.70; 2. WVW Needle; 3. WVW Ismail 182.55. 100 FLY – 1. WVW Stancavage 1:00.55; 2. WVW Havrilla; 3. HAN Thomas. 100 FREE – 1. WVW O’Hara 50.21; 2. HAN Kitchen; 3. WVW Brozena. 500 FREE – 1. WVW Greenwald 6:17.61; 2. HAN Garcia; 3. WVW Plurenik. 200 FREE RELAY – 1. WVW (Palkovic, Ametrano, Havrilla, Brozena) 1:37.39; 2. HAN; 3. WVW. 100 BACK – 1. WVW Spaide 1:02.18; 2. HAN McGovern; 3. WVW Himlin. 100 BREAST – 1. WVW Ametrano 1:10.88; 2. WVW Havrilla; 3. HAN Buratti. 400 FREE RELAY – 1. WVW (O’Hara, Brozena, Stancavage, Spaide); 2. WVW; 3. HAN.
Tunkhannock 108, Elk Lake 70
The Tigers built a cushion with wins in the first three events of the meet, taking first in eight total.