Meeting was convened at 4:15 p.m. by Chairman Majikes.
ITEM 1 Chairman Majikes called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m.
Absent but accounted for: Fred Barletta, Brian Durkin, Joseph Farrell, Chris Gegaris, Bill King, Pat Patte and Chad Vinansky.
ITEM 2 A motion was made by Tim Hopkins, seconded by Maureen Williams, to approve the minutes of the January 16, 2019 and February 25, 2019 meetings as submitted. All Ayes
ITEM 3 The Treasurer’s Report was unavailable for today’s meeting.
ITEM 4 SPORTS REPORTS:
· Basketball (Frank Majikes): Chairman Majikes reported that all went well with the District Championships and thanked all committee members who helped out covering games.
· Football (Mike Ognosky): Male Officials’ Representative, Bill Schoen, reported that the PIAA will put in place a 40 second clock between plays effective for the 2019 season. Mike Ognosky reported that all is set for the 2019 schedule and the modifications to that schedule based on the entry of Wilkes-Barre Area for the 2019 season.
· Lacrosse (Tim Hopkins): Tim Hopkins distributed the proposed format for the 2019 District II Lacrosse Championships. The Championships are scheduled to begin on May 14th for Boys and May 16th for Girls. Following the presentation, a motion was made by Mary Ruth Tanner, seconded by John Coyle, to approve the format as presented. All Ayes
The format will now be distributed to member schools and placed on the webpage.
· Softball (Pat Patte): Mike Ognosky reported that an adjustment will be made to the 5A power rankings standings to include Shikellamy (District IV) in that ranking. It was originally thought that Shikellamy had dropped to 4A but that is not the case and the 5A District II/IV subregional in softball is still in place.
· Tennis (Bill Schoen & John Coyle): Mike Ognosky presented the format for the 2019 District II Boys Tennis Championships and reviewed it with the committee. A motion was made by Eric Emmerich, seconded by Ben Tolerico, to approve the format. All Ayes. The format will now be distributed to member schools and placed on the webpage.
· Volleyball (Maureen Williams): Maureen Williams explained that District II is involved in subregional competition in both classifications. In AA, we are in a subregional with District I (Dock Mennonite) and District XI (Bethlehem Catholic). In AAA, our two teams (Delaware Valley and Hazleton Area) continue to be in a subregional with District XI.
· Track & Field (John Coyle): John Coyle explained that the 2019 Track and Field Championships will be held at Scranton High School. The AA Championships will be held on Monday, May 13th and the AAA Championships will be held on Tuesday, May 14th. May 15th will be utilized as a rain date. The Championship format will remain as in place from last year and will be distributed to schools in the near future.
· Wrestling (Jay Starnes): Jay Starnes reported on the recently held State Wrestling Steering Committee meeting held at the PIAA State Offices. He reported that the PIAA will maintain the current 20 person brackets per weight class in the State Individual Championships for the next two years. He also reported that North Pocono will be wrestling an exhibition schedule commencing with the 2019-2020 season. Jay also commented on the PIAA utilization of FLOW wrestling in the coverage and reporting of the state championships this year. FLOW provided live video streaming of all of the championship bouts and the PIAA was extremely pleased with the amount of traffic to the site.
· Officials (Bill Schoen & Maureen Williams): Maureen Williams & Bill Schoen congratulated the District II officials who were selected to work at the recently conducted PIAA Winter Championships. Congratulations to the following officials on their selection –
Basketball – Jennifer Everett, Kevin Grassi, and Matt Froncek
Wrestling (Team) – Thomas Clarke and Chris Ross
Wrestling (Individual) – Paul O’Connor and Chris Pettigrew
Swimming & Diving – Thomas Thackara and Nina Wozniak
ITEM 5 The following motions were made granting the following students ELIGIBILITY IN THE REGULAR SEASON BUT NOT IN THE POST-SEASON in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section VI, Subsection C, In Season Transfers, Section 2, Eligibility for Post Season Championship Tournaments, of the PIAA By-Laws, Principal to Principal Sign off:
· A motion was made by Ron Collins, seconded by Maureen Williams, to approve the in season eligibility of Cory Bricourt, Florida to Susquehanna, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting of the PIAA By-Laws. Cory will not be eligible for post season competition in the sport of Track and Field. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Hal Gabriel, to approve the in season eligibility of Solerni Pedraza, Holy Redeemer to Wyoming Valley West, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting of the PIAA By-Laws. Solerni will not be eligible for post season competition in the sport of Track and Field. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Ben Tolerico, seconded by Ron Collins, to approve the in season eligibility of Eduavdo Quezada, Hanover Area to Nanticoke, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting of the PIAA By-Laws. Eduavdo will not be eligible for post season competition in the sport of Track and Field. All Ayes
ITEM 6 The following motions were made granting the following students IMMEDIATE ELIGIBILITY IN BOTH THE REGULAR SEASON AND POST-SEASON in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section VI of the PIAA By-Laws, Principal to Principal Sign off:
· A motion was made by Tim Hopkins, seconded by Ben Tolerico, to approve the immediate eligibility of Amr Jones, Coughlin to Wallenpaupack, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Jay Starnes, seconded by Maureen Williams, to approve the immediate eligibility of Seungeon Kim, Niles North (Illinois to Wallenpaupack, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by John Haas, seconded by Dave Novrocki, to approve the immediate eligibility of Nicholas Lubinski, GAR to Dallas, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Eric Emmerich, seconded by Mary Ruth Tanner, to approve the immediate eligibility of Tyler Mullen, Lackawanna Trail to Lakeland, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting of the PIAA By-Laws, pending the completion of required paperwork. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Tim Hopkins, seconded by John Coyle, to approve the immediate eligibility of Olivia Williams, Lake-Lehman to Pittston Area, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
ITEM 7 Chairman Majikes reviewed the summary of the March 20, 2019 PIAA Board of Directors meeting with the committee. Motions acted upon at the meeting included the approval of a cooperative sponsorship between Blue Ridge and Susquehanna Community in the sport of Boys’ Volleyball beginning with the 2019-2020 school year; and, the approval of River of Life Christian Academy of Lehman, Pa. as a member of the PIAA effective July 1, 2019. A complete summary of the March 20, 2019 meeting can be found on the District II webpage.
ITEM 8 Chairman Majikes reported that the Basketball Steering Committee recently recommended to the PIAA Board of Directors that they not consider a request by District XII to readjust the number of contests in the sports of Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball. That request would have made the following changes to the number of contests in those sports – counting a two game tournament event as one contest; and, counting a three game tournament event as two contests.
ITEM 9 Chairman Majikes reported to the committee that District II recently made a $1,000 donation to Allied Services.
ITEM 10 Chairman Majikes announced that PSBA is seeking candidates for the District Committee PSBA Board appointed positions to the various PIAA District Boards across the state. Interested School District board members were requested to apply online at the PSBA website no later than March 15, 2019. PSBA has the sole authority to select those board members. All appointments will be determined by PSBA at the April 9, 2019 meeting of the PSBA Governing Board.
ITEM 11 Chairman Majikes reviewed an incident involving the Old Forge Boys’ Basketball program during the recently conducted District II Boys’ Basketball Playoffs. Specifically, the inappropriate conduct of a member of the Boys’ Basketball Coaching Staff following a game was reported to the PIAA State Office by a game official. Old Forge was made aware of the incident and asked to file a report of action to PIAA. Chairman Majikes reviewed that submitted report with the committee. Following discussion, a motion was made by John Haas, seconded by Hal Gabriel, to commend the administration of Old Forge for their swift and appropriate actions regarding the incident. All Ayes
ITEM 12 Chairman Majikes reviewed an email received through the PIAA State Office criticizing the Mohegan Sun Arena as a venue for the recently conducted PIAA District II Basketball Championships.
ITEM 13 Bill Schoen reported that PIAA District II will hold an on field mechanics meeting at the University of Scranton’s Magis Field on Sunday, May 19th at 10 a.m. This clinic will assist umpires as we prepare for district and inter-district play in District II and the various sub-regionals, as well as in the state tournament. There will be PIAA Chapter meeting credit for any umpire that attends and there is no fee to attend. Special thanks to the University of Scranton for donating the use of their facility for this event.
ITEM 14 Chairman Majikes reported that the PIAA recently sent a survey to member schools asking for their opinion on the creation of a “super class” in the current six classification sports. Nearly 60 % of the responses received were opposed to such an idea.
ITEM 15 Chairman Majikes reported that the PIAA State Office is currently investigating a reported incident between the coaching staff of Weatherly (District XI) and the game officials following the completion of the District II/XI subregional girls’ basketball game played at Dunmore High School on Friday, March 1st. The State Office is currently gathering reports from Weatherly as well as the game managers and officials.
ITEM 16 Reminder that the Annual Business Meeting is set for Thursday, April 11th at Arcaro & Genell’s in Old Forge. Committee members who wish to assist in the set up of the banquet room are asked to report to Arcaro & Genell’s next Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. The Committee reviewed the program for the event.
ITEM 15 A motion was made by Maureen Williams, seconded by Jay Starnes, to adjourn the meeting. All Ayes
Meeting was adjourned at 6:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Ognosky
Mike Ognosky
District II Secretary