NEPA Sports Stories

An interview with Frank Parente, head coach of the Pittston Area Patriots softball team, which recently finished a 25-0 season that included winning Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1, District 2 Class 5A and PIAA Class 5A state championships. Parente tells us more about the team's journey, as well as his own, and what went into completing one of the greatest seasons ever for a local high school softball team.

An interview with Wilkes-Barre natives and filmmakers Matt Mayers and Ryan Mayers. The brothers are behind the upcoming documentary, "Hustle and Harmony," which explores the football rivalry between Meyers High School of South Wilkes-Barre and GAR High School of the Heights section. Visit hustleandharmonymovie.com for more information.

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An interview with Beau Bartlett, who won 177 bouts during his prep wrestling career at Wyoming Seminary. A skilled graphic designer and wrestler, Bartlett is now plying both of those trades while studying at Penn State. He also recently won a Junior National Championship.

An interview with Trevor Woodruff, who's ascended the college basketball coaching ranks from Misericordia's men to the University of Scranton's women and now the Bucknell Bisons women's basketball team. Woodruff is a graduate of Wyalusing High School and Misericordia, where he coached for 11 seasons. He got his coaching start even before that, however, as he revealed in our interview.

An interview with Syl Sobel and Jay Rosenstein, authors the newly published book, "Boxed Out of the NBA: Remembering the Eastern Professional Basketball League." Hazleton, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre were among the cities that housed Eastern League basketball franchises during its run from 1946-78. Bob Ryan wrote the foreword to this book, which features dozens of interviews with past Eastern League coaches, players, fans and officials, including Jim Boeheim and John Chaney. Order "Boxed Out of the NBA" at this link: https://bit.ly/3gJyHcm Use promo code RLFANDF30 for 30% off.

An interview with Dave Jannuzzi, who followed his decorated playing career at Meyers High School by becoming the all-time leading scorer in men's basketball at Wilkes University. Jannuzzi scored 2,132 points in 116 career games at Wilkes. He led the Colonels to the 1998 NCAA Division III Final Four and was the 2001 recipient of the Jostens Trophy, signifying his place as the top D-III player in the country. Jannuzzi's professional playing career continues to this day, as he's part owner and guard for the Wyoming Valley Clutch of the ABA.

An interview with Mariano Medico, who recently turned professional in his golf career and is now climbing the ranks of golf's minor leagues in Florida. While attending Holy Redeemer High School, Medico was a champion golfer at the Wyoming Valley Conference, District 2 and PIAA levels.

An interview with Adam Gorney, a Glen Lyon native and Nanticoke Area graduate, who serves as a national recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. Gorney details the circumstances that led to him becoming a prominent reporter in college football recruiting, as well as some of his experiences over the years. Also, is there any doubt Berwick Bulldogs great Ron Powlus would have been a 5-star recruit?

An interview with Jeff Barrett, a longtime executive in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' front office, who dishes on some of the most memorable moments and stories in the history of the region's AHL franchise from the trade of John Slaney to the career of Dennis Bonvie and much more.

An interview with Matt Wotherspoon, a former ace right-handed pitcher at Crestwood High School who attended Pitt and was twice drafted by MLB teams. Now retired, Wotherspoon made his big-league debut in 2019 for the Baltimore Orioles. Among his career highlights in the minors was playing for the 2016 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, who won several championships, alongside Aaron Judge, Clint Frazier, Luis Severino, Gary Sanchez, Jordan Montgomery and other notable Yankees.

An interview with Wyoming Area sophomore Jaden Pepe, whose 2021 high school wrestling season ended with earning the PIAA Class 2A championship at 113 pounds.

An interview with Ben O'Brien, whose Dunmore Lady Bucks are one of the strongest and most consistent programs — regardless of sport — in PIAA District 2. O'Brien, a Dunmore High School graduate himself, led his team to three consecutive District 2 Class 3A championships won at Mohegan Sun Arena, a streak that was snapped this year by a coronavirus-related shutdown of the school's athletics. The Lady Bucks in 2021-22 will return several key players, including NCAA Division I recruits Moriah Murray and Ciera Toomey.

An interview with Jason Maile, the 1992 Associated Press Small School Boys Basketball Player of the Year in Pennsylvania. Maile scored a school-record 2,419 points for the late coach Julius Prezelski's Forest City Foresters. Maile continued playing Big East basketball at Pitt and then briefly played professionally, as well.

An interview with Bill Kashatus (William C. Kashatus), who's done extensive research and reporting as an author and historian of Northeast Pennsylvania. Bill's work includes "One-Armed Wonder: Pete Gray, Wartime Baseball, and the American Dream" and "Diamonds in the Coalfields: 21 Remarkable Baseball Players, Managers, and Umpires from Northeast Pennsylvania," which featured Christy Mathewson, Stan Coveleski, Stanley "Bucky" Harris, Hughie Jennings, Ed Walsh, Nestor Chylak, Joe Bolinsky, Jake Daubert, John "Buck" Freeman, Mike Gazella, Pete Wyshner, John Edward Murphy, Steve O'Neill, John Picus, Joe "Lefty" Shaute, Steve Bilko, Harry Dorish, Bob Duliba, Joe "Professor" Ostrowski and Stan Pawloski.

An interview with Marc Spindler, a West Scranton graduate whose high school career was highlighted by USA Today selecting him as the National Defensive Player of the Year. Spindler was an All-American defensive tackle at Pitt and was selected in the third round of the 1990 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. Spindler played for some of the best teams in Detroit's modern history. He's also the father of Rocco Spindler, a four-star football recruit who recently signed with Notre Dame.

An interview with Russ Canzler, a Hazleton Area High School graduate selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 30th round of the 2004 MLB Draft. Canzler reached the majors in 2011-12 with Tampa Bay and Cleveland, but really made his mark at the Triple-A level, where he hit 75 home runs over 607 games.

An interview with Todd Moules, an all-state football player and state champion wrestler from his days at Meyers High School in Wilkes-Barre. Moules' recruitment ended in Happy Valley, where he played offense and defense for coach Joe Paterno's Penn State Nittany Lions and won a national title in 1982 as a true freshman. Moules attended a tryout with the Indianapolis Colts, but returned to Penn State as a graduate assistant for the 1986 national champs.

An interview with Evan Korn, a former Newsday reporter who covered high school wrestling and other sports during his two-and-a-half-year run at The Citizens' Voice newspaper in Wilkes-Barre. Korn talks about his transition to the other side of communications, working for Top Rank Boxing, founded by legendary promoter Bob Arum.

An interview with Diane Madl, a record-setting field hockey and basketball player at Crestwood High School who won a national championship in field hockey at UConn. She walked on to UConn's women's basketball team, too, and represented the U.S. on the 1996 Olympic field hockey team. Madl is the head coach at Providence College.

An interview with Tara Macciocco, one of the leading scorers in PIAA District 2 basketball history during her playing days at Dunmore High School. Macciocco's playing career continued at Penn State and Lock Haven, preceding her decorated coaching career formerly at Marywood University and now at Wilkes University. Macciocco, who scored 2,211 points in high school, a former Lackawanna League record, was ranked in 2004 by the Scranton Times Tribune as the area's 70th greatest athlete.

An interview with Julian Campenni, a Wyoming Area graduate who detailed the recruiting process that ultimately led him to the University of Connecticut, where he was an all-conference defensive lineman. Campenni's football career ended with an appearance at the Indianapolis Colts' rookie mini-camp in 2016. Campenni has since begun his coaching career and he's now an assistant coach at Bowling Green. Follow us on Instagram @NEPASportsStories and search for us — NEPA Sports Stories — on Facebook, too.

An interview with Jayson Terdiman, of Berwick, who's represented the United States at two Olympic Games: Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018. Ever since he was a kid, Terdiman dreamt of becoming an Olympian. Training out of Lake Placid, New York, and making some sacrifices along the way, Terdiman's dream has come true while he's also recorded several key victories on the world stage, helping USA Luge re-emerge as a force.

An interview with Steve Bennett, who's covered sports full-time at The Citizens' Voice newspaper since 1997. Bennett's covered the high school, college and professional ranks. Among the topics discussed are legendary Berwick football coach George Curry, GameFace, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons and the newspaper's top-100 athletes list.

An interview with Steve Lloyd, who went from Loyalsock to Kutztown to WNEP-TV. Lloyd has worked 30-plus years at the news station, including the first eight on the news side. Lloyd talks about some of his favorite memories from his broadcasting career, as well as how he got his start as a sports fan and broadcaster.

An interview with Karen Klassner, who, in collecting more than 700 career wins and nine state titles, is one of the winningest coaches in high school athletics. While she's now synonymous with Wyoming Seminary and its athletic department, specifically the field hockey team, Klassner came from humble beginnings. She moved to the Wyoming Valley shortly after graduating from college and had no idea what the rest of her career would entail.

An interview with Martin Bibla, a Crestwood High School graduate who was recruited by a number of Division I football programs before signing with the Miami Hurricanes. Bibla won a national championship with Miami and was a fourth-draft NFL Draft selection by the Atlanta Falcons. He talks all about his football career, as well as his upbringing and post-athletic career.

An interview with Rebecca Maciejewski, whose sport of choice, field hockey, opened countless doors for her from when she was growing up on a farm. Maciejewski led the Hornets to their first District 2 Class 3A field hockey championship, beating Hazleton Area, 3-2, in overtime, and qualifying for the PIAA state playoffs. This is Part 2 of our special report on District 2 field hockey.

Interviews with Wyoming Seminary's Quinn Medico and Crestwood's Isabella Caporuscio, who helped their teams win thrilling District 2 field hockey championship games in Classes A and 2A. Medico, a La Salle commit, and Caporuscio, who also plays lacrosse and basketball, talk about their seasons and careers, as well as the title games that went into overtime and sent their teams to the PIAA state playoffs.

An interview with Rich Musinski, a 1999 graduate of Wyoming Area who enjoyed a record-breaking career as a wide receiver at William & Mary. Musinski signed a few NFL contracts before ending his career at home, serving as a fan favorite for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers of the af2.

An interview with Lon Hazlet, who's been coaching football for 30-plus years in Pennsylvania. Having moved from Western Pennsylvania, where he coached the likes of WPIAL schools Karns City and DuBois, Hazlet's in his sixth year coaching the Northwest Rangers. He had a promising squad this year, but the season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. Hazlet reflects on his career and coaching style in this interview.

An interview with Danielle Grega, a Wyoming Valley West graduate who's gone on to become one of the Wyoming Valley Conference's most accomplished field hockey players with Old Dominion University and the U.S. women's national team.

An interview with Jaquan Brisker, who went from Gateway High School to Lackawanna College to Penn State University. Having come out of high school with just one scholarship offer, Brisker greatly improved his stock as a recruit during his two years playing in Scranton under head coach Mark Duda.

An interview with Steve Jones, who calls play-by-play for Penn State football alongside Jack Ham. Jones shares a few stories from his career in radio, including how he got his start on the campuses of Penn State Wilkes-Barre and Lake-Lehman High School.

An interview with Eugene Lewis, AKA Geno Lewis, a graduate of Wyoming Valley West and one of the greatest football players ever to come out of PIAA District 2 and the Wyoming Valley Conference. After being recruited by Joe Paterno, Lewis played under coaches Bill O'Brien and James Franklin at Penn State. He talks about his upbringing, as well as his football career, which has led him currently to the CFL's Montreal Alouettes.

An interview with Mark Duda, head coach of the Lackawanna Falcons junior college football team in Scranton, Pa. Duda, the winningest active coach in the National Junior College Athletic Association, has several former players currently in the NFL, including Mark Glowinski, Kyzir White, Trevon Wesco and Jermaine Eluemunor. Duda also talks about former Chicago Bears first-round pick Kevin White and Buffalo Bills assistant coach Shea Tierney.

An interview with Dave Popson, a Bishop O'Reilly graduate who holds the top spot among leading scorers in Wyoming Valley Conference boys basketball history. After graduating high school, Popson played for coach Dean Smith's North Carolina Tar Heels with the likes of Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, Brad Daugherty and Kenny Smith. A native of Ashley, Pennsylvania, Popson later played several seasons in the NBA.

An interview with David Doster, who played with the Philadelphia Phillies' Triple-A ballclub — the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons — for five seasons. Doster remains the franchise's career leader in games, hits and doubles.

An interview with Dominic "Dom" DeLuca, who led the Wyoming Area Warriors to the 2019 PIAA Class 3A state football championship. DeLuca recounts his high school career, including what it was like to play against Southern Columbia and star receiver Julian Fleming, as well as an in-depth look at the Warriors' historic state title run.

An interview with Jon Zuber, former fan favorite and record-holder in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre MiLB franchise. Zuber played with the Red Barons from 1995-99 and remains involved today in the game of baseball as an instructor.

An interview with Eric Shultz, who covered Wyoming Valley Conference sports, including wrestling, cross country and track & field, for the past few years at The Citizens' Voice.

The trailer for Matt Bufano's new podcast, NEPA Sports Stories. New episodes on the way.

An interview with Crestwood High School graduate and Lackawanna College student, Colin Macko, who was Most Valuable Player of the 2020 Baseball U PA Collegiate Summer League all-star game.

A narrative podcast about the 2019 Wyoming Seminary Blue Knights, the defending PIAA Class A field hockey champions. This episode was recorded using interview clips over the course of the season with players and head coach Karen Klassner. The narrative podcast begins at 2:00 and ends at 23:45.