Dallas Looking To Repeat

Dallas junior P.J Precone (rear) is expected to be one of the best 103-pound wrestlers in the Wyoming Valley Conference. He is shown wrestling Lake-Lehman’s James Rosencrans during a recent non-conference match.

For the post/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK

DALLAS TWP. – Forget about the devastating injuries and the winless exhibition record. The Wyoming Valley Conference wrestling regular season begins this week.
And Division II defending championship Dallas is thinking repeat.
The Mountaineers open defense of their WVC Division II championship when they host GAR at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the school gymnasium. Last season, Dallas captured its first wrestling championship in more than 30 years.
But it’s been a tough season already for head coach Dan Natitus and the Mountaineers. Three starters, including senior co-captain Kyle Hazleton, suffered season-ending injuries as Dallas lost its first four non-conference matches.
Hazleton shattered his ankle during a practice, requiring seven pins to be inserted during a subsequent surgery. In addition, sophomore David Fetchko dislocated his elbow and sophomore A.J. Thomas suffered injuries in a car accident.
“We just have to keep working hard in the wrestling room,” said Natitus, whose team is participating in the Zephyr Duals at Whitehall High School this weekend. “I have to give credit to our kids. We’ve been devastated by injuries and they keep working hard. They’re not giving up.”
Despite the injuries, there’s reason for optimism. The Mountaineers return a solid nucleus from last year’s team, led by three District 2 Class 2A runners-up. Junior P.J. Precone (103 pounds), sophomore Mitch Artsma (125) and junior Joe Hayes (140) each captured second place at last year’s district tournament. And junior Craig Nilsson (215) finished third.
“Each of them has a shot to win a district title this year,” said Natitus, a former Dallas standout who begins his third season as head coach. “They have experience and they’re getting better. I think Scott Daube can also make some noise.”
Sophomore John Eisenhauer (119), senior Matt Hufford (135), sophomore Darrius Fetchko (130) and senior Nick Appleby (145) also return to the starting lineup for Dallas. And it’s the experienced wrestlers who could make the difference in most matches, says Natitus.
“There’s no doubt about it, in our biggest matches our better kids are going to need to get six points (a pin),” he said. “That will help make up for our other inexperience.”
Although he’s focused on this season, Natitus is excited about the future of the Dallas wrestling program. There are almost 30 wrestling competing on the junior high school team – the highest turnout in recent memory, says the coach. And there are almost 60 kids in the Back Mountain Wrestling Club program, most of them residents of the Dallas School District.
“I think we have things moving in the right direction,” said Natitus. “We’re trying to build on last year’s success. This season, the junior high meets are held before the high school meets so I’ll be able to watch a lot of them. I think we have a bright future.”
But for now, he’s anxiously concentrating on the present.
“I can’t wait for the start of the (regular) season,” said Natitus, whose team competes against GAR, Meyers, Wyoming Area, Tunkhannock, Nanticoke Area and Hanover Area in the division. “We wrestled some very good teams (Hazleton Area, Berwick, Lake-Lehman and Elk Lake) to get ready for our division. Our goal is to win the division. We know there are some good teams, but we feel we have a chance to compete for it. We’ll just give it our best shot and see what happens.”
Lake-Lehman head coach Phil Lipski did not immediately return telephone messages for this story.