Meeting was convened at 4 p.m. by Chairman Frank Majikes

ITEM 1           Chairman Majikes called the meeting to order at 4 p.m. 

                        Absent but accounted for: Eric Emmerich, Frank Galicki, Bill King, Pat Sheehan and Frank Victor

                        Advisors Present:  Atty. Donald Rogers, District II Solicitor

ITEM 2           A motion was made by Jim Higgins, seconded by Fred Barletta, to approve the minutes of the September 17, 2013 meeting.  All Ayes        

ITEM 3           Sports Reports:

·         Cross Country (Bill King):  Chairman Majikes reviewed the schedule for the Championships to be held next week at Elk Lake. 

·         Tennis (Pat Sheehan):  Mike Ognosky reviewed the recently completed championships and informed the committee that AAA Team Champion Abington Heights and AA Team Champion Scranton Prep will be hosting the first round of the state team championships.  Those matches are scheduled for Tuesday, October 22nd at Birchwood Racquet Club in Clarks Summit – Abington Heights will be playing at 11 a.m. and Scranton Prep at 1 p.m.

·         Volleyball (Maureen Williams):  Maureen reviewed the correspondence that will be released to schools with the potential of participating in the District Volleyball Championships.  It will be sent out tomorrow and also be placed on the website.

·         Golf (Joe Farrell):  Joe Farrell reviewed the results of the recently completed District II Championships.  Good luck to both the individual qualifiers and team champions as they move forward in state competition.

·         Field Hockey (Chris Gegaris):  Chris informed the committee that the AA and AAA Championship brackets will be available shortly and placed on the website.

·         Soccer (Al Holtzer):  Al informed the committee that the seeding meeting for the District Championships in Boys’ and Girls’ Soccer will be held this Thursday, October 17th and the brackets will be released shortly afterward and placed on the website.

·         Wrestling (Jay Starnes):  In Jay’s absence, Pat Patte informed the committee that the Wrestling Committee will be meeting in early November in order to establish the format for the Wrestling Championships.

·         Football (Mike Ognosky): The current standings are located on the web page and are up to date through Week #7. The Football Committee will be meeting on Sunday, November 3rd at the Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technology Center to determine the final seedings and develop the playoff brackets. 

ITEM 4           The District II Committee acted upon the following eligibility requests presented at this evening’s meeting:

·         A motion was made by Joe Farrell, seconded by Al Holtzer, to approve the eligibility of Jerimiah Adams, Central Columbia to Berwick, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately.  All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Mike Ognosky, seconded by Bill Schoen, to approve the eligibility of Shahee Aurelus, Stroudsburg to Meyers, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately.  All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Fred Barletta, seconded by Pat Patte, to approve the eligibility of Robert Bennett, Vineland, NJ to West Scranton, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately.  All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Danielle Adams, seconded by Chris Gegaris, to approve the eligibility of Dominique Bonavoglia, Mid Valley to Holy Cross, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately.  All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Chris Jones, seconded by Chris Thomas, to approve the eligibility of Robert Bonenberger, Shaler to Northwest Area, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately.  All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Maureen Williams, seconded by Danielle Adams, to approve the eligibility of Julia DeMarco, West Scranton to Holy Cross, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws.  All Ayes  (Bill Schoen Abstain)

·         A motion was made by Vito Quaglia, seconded by Fred Barletta, to approve the eligibility of Olivia Golay, West Scranton to Holy Cross, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately.  All Ayes (Bill Schoen Abstain)

·         A motion was made by Danielle Adams, seconded by Pat Patte, to approve the eligibility of Scott Howard, Valley View to Holy Cross, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately.  All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Chris Thomas, seconded by Al Holtzer, to approve the eligibility of Kyle Mann, Crestwood to Coughlin, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately.  All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Danielle Adams, seconded by Fred Barletta, to approve the eligibility of Emily Matis, Scranton to West Scranton, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately.  All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Chris Gegaris, seconded by Pat Patte, to approve the eligibility of Mahammed Sangare, West Scranton to Scranton, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately.  All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Vito Quaglia, seconded by Maureen Williams, to approve the eligibility of Alyssa Sheehan, Dunmore to Holy Cross, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately.  All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Fred Barletta, seconded by Danielle Adams, to approve the eligibility of Dylan Svetovich, Holy Cross to West Scranton, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately.  All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Maureen Williams, seconded by Danielle Adams, to approve the eligibility of Jarred Wyatt, Martin Luther King to Scranton, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately.  All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Pat Patte, seconded by Chris Gegaris, to approve the eligibility of Jordan Wyatt, Martin Luther King to Scranton, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately.  All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Chris Gegaris, seconded by Vito Quaglia, to approve the eligibility of Noah Sosa, Tombstone, Arizona to Western Wayne, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, effective immediately.  All Ayes

ITEM 5           The District II Committee acted upon the following eligibility requests for foreign exchange students presented at this evening’s meeting:

·         A motion was made by Chris Thomas, seconded by Bill Schoen, to approve the eligibility of Erik Gaupaas, Norway to Holy Redeemer, in accordance with Article VII, Foreign Exchange Students, effective immediately.  All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Pat Patte, seconded by Maureen Williams, to approve the eligibility of Hongyang Lou, China to Scranton Prep, in accordance with Article VII, Foreign Exchange Students, effective immediately.  All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Mike Ognosky, seconded by Joe Farrell, to approve the eligibility of Roman Malkov, Russia to Holy Redeemer, in accordance with Article VII, Foreign Exchange Students, effective immediately.  All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Maureen Williams, seconded by Vito Quaglia, to approve the eligibility of Rebecca Mann, Germany to Mid Valley, in accordance with Article VII, Foreign Exchange Students, effective immediately.  All Ayes

ITEM 6           Chairman Majikes reviewed correspondence from FOX 56 requesting consideration for a reduction in fees for the televising of the Class A final.  Following discussion, a motion was made by Chris Thomas, seconded by Fred Barletta, to maintain the fees in accordance with the current schedule of fees for 2013-2014, thereby denying the request.  All Ayes

ITEM 7           Chairman Majikes reviewed the information he has received from the Toyota Challenge Coaches vs. Cancer Committee.  All of the information has been disseminated to our member school.

ITEM 8           Chairman Majikes reviewed the actions taken at the latest PIAA Board of Directors’ Meeting held on Wednesday, October 2nd at the PIAA State Offices.

ITEM 9           At 4:45 p.m., the regular meeting was adjourned in order to conduct an eligibility hearing with Holy Redeemer regarding the utilization of an ineligible player in the August 31, 2013 football contest.  Mrs. Anita Sirak, Principal, and Mr. J.P. Aquilina, Athletic Director, represented Holy Redeemer at the hearing.  Following opening remarks, the hearing was moved to an executive session at the request of Holy Redeemer. 

The committee returned to public session from the hearing and subsequent deliberations at 5:30 p.m. and a motion was made by Chris Gegaris, seconded by Chad Vinansky, extending the current probation of Holy Redeemer for an additional year.  Also, the administration of Holy Redeemer is required to develop a plan of action to address this situation and report back to the District II Committee at the December, 2013 meeting.  All Ayes

ITEM 10         At 5:35 p.m., the committee adjourned the regular meeting in order to conduct an eligibility hearing regarding the recent transfer of a student from Berwick to Northwest Area.  The principals signed off on the transfer, but information received regarding the transfer indicated the potential for athletic intent.  The District II Chairman required both schools to be in attendance to resolve the issue.  Representatives from Northwest Area included Ryan Miner, Prinicpal, Galen Miller, Athletic Director, Carl Majer, Football Coach, Marcus Welliver, Student, Brian Welliver, Father, and Heidi Welliver, Mother.    Representatives from Berwick included Robert Croop, Principal, Jason Kingery, Athletic Director, and David Parmenteri, Assistant Football Coach.  Following opening remarks the hearing was moved to an executive session at the request of the principals of both schools. 

The committee returned to public session from the hearing and subsequent deliberations at 6:05 p.m. and a motion was made by Jay Starnes, seconded by Chris Jones, granting immediate eligibility in the sport of football to Marcus Welliver.  11 Ayes, 3 Nays (Farrell, Barletta, Gegaris)

ITEM 11         At 6:10 p.m., the committee adjourned the regular meeting in order to conduct an eligibility hearing regarding the recent transfer of a student from Holy Cross to Dunmore.  The principals signed off on the transfer, but the Committee requested the hearing for clarification regarding the completed forms.  The District II Chairman required Dunmore to be in attendance to resolve the issue.  Representatives from Dunmore included Robert Galella, Principal, Mark Rinaldi, Athletic Director, Nico Valvano, Student, and Mia Baldassari, Mother.  Following opening remarks the hearing was moved to an executive session at the request of the principal of Dunmore.

The committee returned to public session from the hearing and subsequent deliberations at 6:35 p.m. and a motion was made by Pat Patte, seconded by Vito Quaglia, to deny eligibility to Nico Valvano.  All Ayes

ITEM 12         A motion was made by Mike Ognosky, seconded by Bill Schoen, to approve a cooperative agreement in the sport of Junior High Wrestling between Mid Valley and Scranton, pending the submission of all required paperwork on the matter.  All Ayes

ITEM 13         A motion was made by Jay Starnes, seconded by Chris Thomas, to adjourn the meeting.  All Ayes

Meeting was adjourned at 6:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Mike Ognosky

Mike Ognosky

District II Secretary