{"id":116771,"date":"2026-02-18T05:20:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T05:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/116771\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T05:20:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T05:20:12","slug":"leonori-eyes-memorable-last-postseason-run-scranton-times-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/116771\/","title":{"rendered":"Leonori eyes memorable last postseason run \u2013 Scranton Times-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Scranton\u2019s<\/p>\n

Scranton\u2019s Drew Leonori at Scranton High School on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Scranton\u2019s<\/p>\n

Scranton\u2019s Drew Leonori at Scranton High School on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Scranton\u2019s<\/p>\n

Scranton\u2019s Drew Leonori at Scranton High School on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Scranton\u2019s<\/p>\n

Scranton\u2019s Drew Leonori wrestles Abington Heights\u2019 Justin Kizer during last season\u2019s District 2 Class 3A championships. (JASON ARDAN \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Scranton\u2019s<\/p>\n

Scranton\u2019s Drew Leonori wrestles Abington Heights\u2019 Justin Kizer during the District 2 Class 3A championships . (JASON ARDAN \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Scranton\u2019s<\/p>\n

Scranton\u2019s Drew Leonori, right, wrestles Wallenpaupack\u2019s Giovanni Lomonaco during the Lackawanna League Championships at Wallenpaupack. (JASON ARDAN \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 6<\/p>\n

Scranton\u2019s Drew Leonori at Scranton High School on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Drew Leonori had a great start to his senior season.<\/p>\n

The Scranton wrestler captured his third Lackawanna League championship, surpassed 100 career victories and placed second at the Frank Wadas Memorial Tournament in December.<\/p>\n

However, a chest contusion hampered the second half of his season.<\/p>\n

Still, Leonori has his sights set on a strong postseason to conclude his high school career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I should just work on everything, try to get my cardio back up and just stay in shape because the time off, it kind of hurt with that,\u201d Leonori said. \u201cSo, just stay in shape, stay fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last season, Leonori rolled into the District 2 Class 3A semifinals, pinning Abington Heights\u2019 Justin Kizer and West Scranton\u2019s Jullian LaGier in the first period. That\u2019s when Wallenpaupack\u2019s Gio Lomonaco derailed his quest for district gold with a 6-2 decision.<\/p>\n

Needing to finish top three to qualify for the Northeast Regional, Leonori refocused, majored Delaware Valley\u2019s Drew Churchill, 12-1, and pinned Crestwood\u2019s Anson Jumper in the third-place match to punch his ticket.<\/p>\n

He carried the momentum into regionals, winning three of his first four matches. However, he dropped his next two to finish sixth, placing higher than any other District 2 wrestler at 121 pounds and finishing one place from qualifying for states.<\/p>\n

Last season\u2019s ending gives him confidence and motivation for this postseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely have the chance of making it to states,\u201d Leonori said. \u201cI definitely think I could this year, and just missing that by one place, it definitely drives me to make it to states this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

His senior year started strong, as he secured four pins, including one in the final against Lomonaco, to capture the 133-pound title at the Lackawanna League Championships on Dec. 20.<\/p>\n

Then, he reached the 100-win milestone and placed second at the Wadas Tournament at Tunkhannock, losing to Hanover Area\u2019s C.J. Caines \u2014 who is 38-0 this season and ranked fourth in the state in Class 2A at 127 pounds according to PA Power Wrestling \u2014 in the final.<\/p>\n

In January, the chest contusion slowed his momentum. He didn\u2019t wrestle in Scranton\u2019s final league match Jan. 21. At the Coal Cracker Invitational on Jan. 23, Leonori won his first two matches before forfeiting his next two.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I wrestled very good at the beginning of the year, and then with the injury I think that really hurt my progress with the matches and my tournaments,\u201d Leonori said.<\/p>\n

He is 20-11 this season, facing some of the best talent in the state. He lost to Caines twice, Abington Heights\u2019 Mason Whitney, ranked fourth in the state in Class 3A at 133; Conwell-Egan\u2019s Michael Gorrell, ranked 12th in the state in Class 2A at 139; and defending district champion Hazleton Area\u2019s Jude Salko. That will help prepare him for what\u2019s to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re definitely really good,\u201d Leonori said of his opponents. \u201cI think I learn more from my losses than my wins. Just stay focused, don\u2019t give up and always try as hard as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he revs up for districts, Leonori works with his brother at home and with assistant coach Bubba Novak in the wrestling room.<\/p>\n

\u201c(He has) heart and passion,\u201d said Novak, a 2016 district champion at West Scranton. \u201cHe\u2019s a hard worker in and out of the classroom and inside the wrestling room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leonori is a steady force for the Knights, averaging 31 wins per season in his first three years when he secured two district bronzes, regional sixth, three Wadas Tournament titles and a Rough Rider Invitational crown. He has a 112-37 record to this point in his senior season for a team that never won a league meet in his four years, as Scranton wrestles in a tough Lackawanna League Division I.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a great leader, hard worker and an absolute treat to have him in the room,\u201d Scranton head coach Mark Miller said. \u201cThis year is kind of a down year, not just for him but for the entire team, but he stays positive, he\u2019s here every day, he doesn\u2019t miss any practices. We\u2019re sad to lose him.\u201d<\/p>\n

His presence is a huge benefit to the younger athletes looking to improve in the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur junior high kids, they come in, they practice because they like to look up to him and that\u2019s kind of what they strive for that hundred wins. In this area, that\u2019s a big thing and that\u2019s what they push for,\u201d Miller said. \u201cSo, they look up to Drew as their role model.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leonori doesn\u2019t just lead by example. He fully embraces every aspect of leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe likes to take younger kids under his wing,\u201d Novak said. \u201cHe\u2019ll wrestle with them. He\u2019ll walk them through what they\u2019re doing wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

These next few weeks will be his last in a Scranton singlet before going to Penn State Scranton in the fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy experience has been amazing,\u201d Leonori said. \u201cI love my team, I love my coaches. They put a lot of time and effort into all of us, so I really think I get the most work here and I\u2019m just proud to say that I\u2019m on this team and be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He hopes to end his high school wrestling career on a high note, starting with the District 2 Class 3A tournament, which is scheduled for Friday and Saturday inside The Den at Wilkes-Barre Area.<\/p>\n

Leonori is the No. 2 seed at 139 pounds and opens against No. 7 seed Nanticoke Area\u2019s Dion Reaves in the quarterfinals. He\u2019ll try to capture his first district title or at least finish top three to advance to regionals and keep his goal of reaching states alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m finally healing now, so I should be good for districts,\u201d Leonori said.<\/p>\n

District 2 wrestling schedule<\/p>\n

Friday: Round of 16 (4:30 p.m.), quarterfinals and consolation first round (5:15 p.m.), consolation second round (7:15 p.m.).<\/p>\n

Saturday: Semifinals (10 a.m.), consolation third round (11:15 a.m.), consolation semifinals (12:15 p.m.), third- and fifth-place matches (1:45 p.m.), parade of champions (3:30 p.m.), Finals (4 p.m.).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scranton\u2019s Drew Leonori at Scranton High School on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Scranton\u2019s Drew Leonori…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116772,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[305,178,180,179,726],"class_list":["post-116771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-high-school-sports","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}