Just four days after repeating as Wyoming Valley Conference Tournament champion, Pittston Area’s hopes of also successfully defending its WVC Division 1 title came to an end.
Hazleton Area defeated the host Patriots 40-36 Wednesday.
The loss left Pittston Area at 1-2 in the division. With Wilkes-Barre Area and Hazleton Area tied for the division lead at 3-0 with two matches remaining and scheduled to face each other, at least one is guaranteed of finishing with no more than one loss.
Pittston Area does still have one more title to pursue. The Patriots are 7-4 overall and went into Saturday ranked fifth of 12 teams chasing four berths in the District 2 Class 3A Dual Meet Tournament where rematches with the two division co-leaders are a distinct possibility.
Hazleton Area outscored Pittston Area 22-0 from the 121- through 139-pound weight classes and 18-0 from 160 through 189, not allowing a Patriot to go the distance in any of those bouts.
David Krantz (114), Chase Baron (145) and Noah Gruber (285) all won by pin for Pittston Area. Gruber needed just 32 seconds for his win and Baron won in 43.
Berwick 42, Wyoming Area 26
Berwick won six of the seven heaviest weight classes with four pins and two forfeits to defeat visiting Wyoming Area in Wednesday’s WVC Division 2 match.
Evan Lark and Gabriel Rosengrant posted pins at 114 and 133 for the Warriors. Tyler Randazzo and Riley Pierce had technical falls at 107 and 172. Lincoln Smith added a major decision at 139.
The Warriors are 1-2 in the division and 4-11 overall. They are 10th in the 16-team race, trying to get into the District 2 Class 2A Dual Meet Tournament.
