All three local schools made their presence felt at the annual Lackawanna League track & field championships, which were held Tuesday evening at Scranton Memorial Stadium.

Western Wayne’s girls team continued its Cinderella run by winning the overall Class AA title. The Lady ‘Cats rolled to an undefeated regular season in Division Two action, then proved that was no fluke with a resounding victory Tuesday.

“We did it the way we’ve been doing it all season,” Coach Justin Collins told TWI Sports. “We got huge, ridiculous performances from a couple of individuals and the rest of the girls chipped in wherever they could. To be honest with you, I wasn’t sure we could win the whole thing, but these girls were just outstanding.”

Honesdale’s girls squad also made a fine showing, finishing second in the Class AAA standings. On the boys’ side of the ledger, Tom McCurdy came out of nowhere to set a brand new meet record in the 400M.

“I’m very pleased with how it all turned out,” said Coach Jurkowski. “I knew we had the potential to finish near the top, but you just never know what’s going t o happen at a big meet like this. The competition was excellent and I’m proud of our kids. They did a great job.”

Wallenpaupack Area’s boys weren’t able to defend their crown, but the Buckhorns did open up the meet with a trip to the medals’ stand. Paupack’s 4x800M relay team placed third in the first event of the day.

Unfortunately for local track & field fans, the Bucks managed just a fifth place finish in the overall Class AAA standings.

Next up for all the teams is the District Two Championships. Western Wayne will be in action at the Class AA event next Tuesday. Honesdale and Paupack must wait until Thursday to compete in the AAA meet.

Both events are slated for a 3:00 p.m. start at Scranton Memorial.

Lady ‘Cat Attack
As has been the case for most of the ‘08 campaign, Lyndsay Barna and Courtney Kromko led the charge for Western Wayne.

Barna put the finishing touches a wildly-successful junior LTC season with a pair of gold medal performances on Tuesday. Lyndsay opened with a victory in the 100M high hurdles (:15.83), holding off a late charge by Paupack’s Tiffani Berger. She followed that up with a surprising win in the long jump (16’ 23/4”).

“Lynsday Barna sets a great example for our younger girls,” said Coach Collins. “She put in so much extra work in the off-season and now she’s reaping the rewards. Physically, she already looks like a college athlete. I’m very excited for her. She has a chance to make some real noise at districts.”

Kromko put an exclamation point on her freshman season...not only by taking gold in the triple jump, but also by breaking the all-time school record. Courtney leapt a distance of 36’ 61/2”, shattering the old mark which had been held by Erin Davis (34’10”).

She also found time to place third in the long jump (16’ 11/2”) and run the anchor leg on the 4x400M relay team. Kromko combined with teammates Charlcie Brink, Rebecca Farell and Sarah Wildenstein to post a :52.05. That time is a full seven seconds faster than anything the girls had run before.

“I think at the beginning of the season I was a little bit surprised by how good Courtney is,” said Coach Collins. “But, I’m not surprised anymore. She has all the ability in the world. Courtney is an excellent natural athlete.”

Hornet Highlights
Honesdale’s girls team used a steady, all-round performance to place second in the Class AAA meet. The Lady Hornets trailed only Abington Heights in the final standings.
Audrey Calkins and Erin Craig paced the Red & Black attack on this day.

Just a frosh, Calkins earned a silver medal in the high jump. Audrey’s height of 5’ was surpassed only by Sarah Kimsey of Montrose, who tied the all-time meet record at 5’4”.
Craig placed third in the 800M with a time of 2:25.22.

Erin also ran the anchor leg for Honesdale’s 4x400M relay team. She combined with teammates Amanda Bates, Collette Wilson and Kara Brussell to set a brand new school record. Their time of 4:04.8 erased the previous mark (4:05.88) that had been on the books since 1999.

Bates and Wilson also contributed to the Lady Hornet cause. The two sprinters finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 400M.

Meanwhile, in the boys’ half of the bracket, Honesdale’s Thomas McCurdy made meet history with an electrifying run in the 400M. A senior who decided to join the track team just a week before the season started, McCurdy earned his gold medal by posting a time of  :50.75.

“I knew he was pretty quick just from watching him in other sports,” said Coach Jurkowski. “But, Tom isn’t just quick...he’s got flat-out speed. He’s been a very pleasant surprise. I think if he stays focused and runs his race, Tom will be right in the hunt at districts.”

Steve Pachuta also turned in a solid performance for the Hornets. A sophomore who specializes in jumps, Pachuta took silver in both the triple (40’) and high (6’2”).

Purple Pride
Rachel Schmalzle enjoyed a stellar day for Paupack’s girls team. The Lady Buck junior ran her way to both a silver and gold medal in the Class AAA competition.

Schmalzle had set her sights on the all-time meet record for the 1600M, a mark that was held by former teammate Rachel Hunter (’06). Rachel came very close, stopping the clock at 5:22.86. Unfortunately, Holy Cross’ Kathleen Casey beat her to the line in a time of 5:17.23.

However, Schmalzle would not be denied in the 3200M. Rachel exacted a measure of revenge in this event, defeating Casey by a whopping 22 seconds (11:37.26).