Scranton Prep’s Lukas Iannone swims the backstroke leg of the 200 I.M. during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Ella Schofield swims the breaststroke leg of the 200 I.M. during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Rebecca Oakes swims the 100 butterfly during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Ben Kessler celebrates after winning the 200 freestyle during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Tunkhannock Area’s Chase Newhart celebrates after winning the 200 medley relay during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dallas’ Locklynn Bienkowski swims the butterfly leg of the 200 I.M. during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Tunkhannock Area’s Aidan Mislevy swims the butterfly leg of the 200 medley relay during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dallas’ Macie Stauffer swims the 200 freestyle during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dallas’ Locklynn Bienkowski swims the freestyle leg of the 200 I.M. during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Ben Kessler, left, eyes Dallas’ Chase Kresge as they approach the 150 yard mark in the 200 freestyle during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Tunkhannock Area’s Aidan Mislevy swims the final leg of the 200 free relay during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Holy Cross’ Leo Cholish swims the 100 butterfly during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Eva Kaszuba swims the first leg of the 200 free relay during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Tunkhannock Area’s Kyle Kozloski swims the backstroke leg of the 200 medley relay during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Tunkhannock Area’s Jaden Baltrusaitis celebrates after winning the 50 freestyle during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Lukas Iannone swims the breaststroke leg of the 200 I.M. during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Scranton Prep’s Lukas Iannone swims the backstroke leg of the 200 I.M. during the District 2 Class 2A swimming championships in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
WILKES-BARRE — Scranton Prep’s stars shined and Tunkhannock’s boys showed off its depth on day one of the District 2 Class 2A Swimming Championships at the Wyoming Valley Catholic Youth Center on Friday.
Lukas Iannone and Ben Kessler each took the familiar step to the top of the podium with Iannone taking gold in the 200 IM and Kessler in the 200 freestyle. Both swimmers are repeat winners from 2025 who put up even stronger performances this year.
Iannone glided across the pool through each stroke in the 200 IM finishing the race in 1:54.81, nearly nine seconds faster than the rest of the competition.
“The 200 IM is my favorite event. I love swimming it, I love training for it and today I got to put that on display and secure my spot at states,” Iannone said. “I think it went really well, I was really relaxed and all of my strokes felt good which is what I want to feel going into states in a couple of weeks.”
Although he was the defending champion, Kessler didn’t come in as the favorite in the 200 free. His seed time of 1:50.70 was the third best time entered for the event. Kessler got in the zone, however and swam his fastest time of the season in 1:46.74 in a photo finish with Dallas’ Chase Kresge, who came in second in 1:46.81.
“All I’ve been thinking about the past week is visualizing this race and putting scenarios in my head of me winning,” Kessler said. “Touching the wall and seeing the time felt unreal. I knew I had that in me, I’ve been putting the work in all year. When they put that gold medal around your neck it feels absolutely exhilarating.”
While the Cavaliers had two individual golds, it was Tunkhannock who found itself with a big lead after the first day. Jaden Baltrusaitis won the 50 freestyle and the Tigers won both the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay to compile 215 team points — 73 points ahead of second-place Dallas.
Baltrusaitis is used to exciting finishes in the 50 free. His winning time of 21.43 seconds — just ahead of teammate Kyle Kozloski’s 21.77 — gave him gold in the event for the second year in a row.
“It’s really fun swimming against Kyle in these races,” Baltrusaitis said. “He’s one of my good friends and we both push each other to be better. We tell each other every day that we’re going to go 1-2 in the 50 and we were able to do that tonight. I’m proud of everyone on this team for how they swam.”
Baltrusaitis and Kozloski weren’t done after the 50. they teamed with Aidan Mislevy and Chase Newhart to break their own district record in the 200 free relay to close out the night. The time of 1:27.56 broke the mark of 1:28.26 set last year.
Holy Cross’ Leo Cholish also took home his first individual gold medal winning the 100 fly in a time of 54.28 in another exciting race, finishing less than a second ahead of Dallas’ Nico Wilk.
“There was a lot of good competition in that race, and a lot of good talent in District 2,” Cholish said. “This gold medal means a lot, not just to me, but to Holy Cross. We may not have the biggest team with a lot of numbers, but all of us are in the pool every day working our butts off. It pays off when you’re able to swim a race like that.”
Girls
In a tight team race between Dallas and Scranton Prep, it was two freshmen who put their stamp on the championships and gave Dallas a slight lead after night one.
Macie Stauffer and Locklynn Bienkowski continued the strong tradition of Dallas female swimmers, each winning gold medals and contributing to Dallas’s tight 14-point lead. The Mountaineers have 156 points and the Classics 142. Dallas came into the weekend with an early lead after taking first, second and fourth in diving.
Competing in districts for the first time didn’t phase Stauffer taking home gold in the 200 free with a time of 1:59.26, the only swimmer to go under two minutes.
“I was a little bit nervous when I got onto the blocks, but I knew what I had to do in my mind,” Stauffer said. “I have to give all the credit to my coaches and my teammates for pushing me hard and practice all season long and getting my mind right for these events.”
Bienkowski was very strong in the 200 IM, and is excited about the opportunity to race the event at states as a freshman.
“Obviously trying to perfect all four strokes can be a pretty big task,” Bienkowski said. “I was really proud with how I swam. I definitely still have a bit to work on, but we’re going to get there these next two weeks before states.”
Dallas has a big challenge on their hands as the Classics are right on their tails for the team lead. Scranton Prep was led by Rebecca Oakes’ second straight gold in the 100 fly. She also teamed with her teammates Eva Kaszuba, Ella Schofield and Sophia Galko to win gold in both the 200 medley relay and 200 free relay.
“I honestly didn’t feel too great during the race and know I could do better,” Oakes said of her 57.87 time in the race. “Obviously, this isn’t the end goal for me. I’m really excited for states, I think I can do a lot better than I did tonight, but I’m happy to get this gold medal.”
Elk Lake’s Brynn Warriner became a three-time champion in the ultimate swim sprint. She took home gold in the 50 free for the third year in a row with a time of 24.83. Although her celebration was a little bit delayed because of a timing error on the scoreboard, she left the podium with a smile on her face as one of the top swimmers in the program’s history.
“This means a lot to me, it’s truly a great achievement,” Warriner said. “I actually didn’t think it was my best race and was a little upset when I touched the wall. When I saw I was still in first place, I couldn’t believe I did it. These past couple years have been special, and I’m glad it’s not over yet.”
The Class 2A Championship meet concludes Saturday at the CYC, beginning at 5 p.m.
Friday’s results
Girls Team Scores: Dallas 156; Scranton Prep 142; Elk Lake 90; Lake-Lehman 88; Wallenpaupack 79; Wyoming Area 74; Holy Redeemer 53; Wyoming Seminary 23; Dunmore 22; Valley View 17; North Pocono 13; Holy Cross 7.
Girls 200 Medley Relay: Scranton Prep (Sophia Galko, Eva Kaszuba, Rebecca Oakes, Ella Schofield) 1:49.40; Dallas 1:50.73; Lake-Lehman 2:01.59; Wallenpaupack 2:05.43; Holy Redeemer 2:09.73; Wyoming Area 2:14.93.
Girls 200 Free: Macie Stauffer (DAL) 1:59.26; Rachel Ryu (SEM) 2:04.88; Julia Gavlick (DAL) 2:05.64; Hailey Bond (LL) 2:14.72; Zoey Stuckey (WAL) 2:15.83; Allison Long (EL) 2:19.25.
Girls 200 IM: 1. Locklynn Bienkowski (DAL) 2:09.86; Ella Schofield (SP) 2:14.37; Hannah Kuhar (LL) 2:26.97; Samira Feller (WAL) 2:28.98; Myla Kopa (SP) 2:31.69; Anna Millett (SP) 2:32.63.
Girls 50 Free: Brynn Warriner (EL) 24.85; Sophia Galko (SP) 25.44; Eva Kaszuba (SP) 26.09; Anna Lee Prostasiewicz (WAL) 26.53; Rachel Ryu (SEM) 26.69; Olivia Davie (HR) 27.36.
Girls 100 Fly: Rebecca Oakes (SP) 57.87; Alexandra Johnson (NP) 1:00.60; Maria Lucia-Priore (DAL) 1:01.73; Chelsea Grosvenor (EL) 1:04.79; Carlee Monko (LL) 1:07.53; Arden Brunn (HR) 1:11.22.
Girls 200 Free Relay: Scranton Prep (Eva Kaszuba, Sophia Galko, Ella Schofield, Rebecca Oakes) 1:40.48; Elk Lake 1:45.82; Lake-Lehman 1:48.96; Wyoming Area 1:51.06; Wallenpaupack 1:51.15; Dallas 1:56.75.
Boys Team Scores: Tunkhannock 215; Dallas 142; Lake-Lehman 130; Scranton Prep 87; Holy Cross 42; Holy Redeemer 38; Wyoming Seminary 35; Wallenpaupack 31; Elk Lake 30; Berwick 15; Valley View 10; Dunmore 10; Wyoming Area 3.
Boys 200 Medley Relay: Tunkhannock (Chase Newhart, Braydon Christopher, Aidan Mislevy, Noah Salters) 1:40.08; Scranton Prep 1:41.71; Dallas 1;50.73; Lake-Lehman 1:54.24; Wallenpaupack 1:56.94; Wyoming Seminary 1:57.66.
Boys 200 Free: Ben Kessler (SP) 1:46.74; Chase Kresge (DAL) 1:46.81; Braydon Christopher (TUN) 1:49.76; Connor Runquist (LL) 1:50.33; Logan Teaman (TUN) 1:52.98; Nicholas Belfino (DAL) 1:53.07.
Boys 200 IM: Lukas Iannone (SP) 1:54.81; Nico Wilk (DAL) 2:03.74; Jack Kashatus (LL) 2:06.01; Andrew Morris (LL) 2:10.13; Josiah Frey (LL) 2:15.69; Noah Salters (TUN) 2:18.15.
Boys 50 Free: Jaden Baltrusaitis (TUN) 21.43; Kyle Kozloski (TUN) 21.77; Simon Madore (HC) 22.15; Chase Newhart (TUN) 22.77; Aiden Gallagher (LL) 23.40; Calder Watkins (DAL) 23.64.
Boys 100 Fly: Leo Cholish (HC) 54.28; Nico Wilk (DAL) 54.72; Sawyer Valkenburg (DAL) 55.36; Andrew Morris (LL) 56.87; Aidan Mislevy (TUN) 58.45; Mike Milz (TUN) 58.59.
Boys 200 Free Relay: Tunkhannock (Jaden Baltrusaitis, Chase Newhart, Kyle Kozloski, Aidan Mislevy) 1:27.56 (meet record; old mark 1:28.26, Tunkhannock 2025); Lake-Lehman 1:32.63; Dallas 1:32.66; Scranton Prep 1:33.59; Holy Redeemer 1:40.31; Elk Lake 1:40.33.