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WILKES-BARRE — Jorge Moncayo’s name kept echoing throughout the natatorium like the refrain from a soundtrack. His Hazleton Area teammates began singing it to the tune of the Spanish soccer chant, then the Wyoming Valley CYC picked it up – and even an opposing coach joined in.
And why not?
Moncayo stole the show Friday at the District 2-4 Class 3A swimming championships with a pair of thunderous victories. The Cougars’ senior wasn’t the top seed in either of his first-place wins.
Wyoming Valley West trails Williamsport by 16.5 points in the boys’ regional standings after day one. Delaware Valley has a slight 3.5-point edge over Williamsport in the girls’ race.
Moncayo set a district record with a come-from-behind win in the 100 butterfly. Trailing by 1.2 seconds after 50 yards, he stormed back to out-touch Wyoming Valley West’s Logan Fluegel with a time of 51.52 seconds.
With just a seven-hundreths of a second differential, both Moncayo and Fluegel’s times outpaced the one-year district record, held by Wallenpaupack’s Kyle Usbeck.
In the 200 IM, Moncayo trimmed seven seconds off of his preliminary time to cruise to 4.5-second win in a race he was seeded third in. He beat the field with a time of 1:58.69.
“I don’t know what to say; I’m really happy,” Moncayo said. “I was expecting that time because my coach told me, ‘you better go under two minutes.’
“I just went all out.”
Wyoming Valley West’s Josh Zawatski recorded his first individual district championship in the 50 free. Zawatski clocked in at 21.68 seconds to win an event, despite coming short of his seed time.
“I see the most important thing is the start into the flip turn,” Zawatski said. “That is very vital because you’re the fastest and you get the most out of the turn.”
His brother Eddie, now at Purdue, won the event four consecutive years from 2012-15.
“He is one of the main people I did this for,” Zawatski said. “I trained all summer with my older brother. I think I made him proud this time. It’s a really special feeling when you achieve your goals.”
Fellow sprinter Chelsea Mackiewicz made it a Wyoming Valley West sweep in the sprint events. Mackiewicz was too much to overcome in the 50 free, finishing with a 24.97-second performance. Fifteen yards ahead of touching for her career regional title, Mackiewicz peaked over her shoulder to check Wiliamsport’s Lydia Smith’s progress in the next lane.
“I actually didn’t know I won until I saw the time,” Mackiewicz said. “I wasn’t even focusing on the place I was in. I saw 24 (seconds), and I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s awesome’. And then I realized I was in first, and I couldn’t believe it.”
The Spartans set the tone in the boys’ 200 medley relay. The foursome of Maxim Kowalski, Zac Rosencrans, Fluegel and Zawatski chimed in with a 1:36.98 for a 4.5-second win over the Millionaires. The race was a one length differential before Fluegel went 22.19 seconds in the breaststroke to pull away from the crowd.
Competition resumes at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Wyoming Valley CYC.
All regional champions earned automatic spots at the PIAA championships in Lewisburg.
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