This has been one of the most successful scholastic sports seasons for the Lackawanna League.
In the fall, there were individual and team state champions in boys golf, girls tennis, boys cross country and boys soccer. During the winter, there was a state runner-up in boys basketball and individual runners-up in boys and girls wrestling. The spring season saw three softball teams reach the state final with one champion and two runners-up.
All the success of the 2025-26 campaign will be celebrated Thursday at the 76th annual Times-Tribune Athlete of the Week Awards Ceremony. The event begins at 6 p.m. at Lackawanna College’s Peoples Security Bank Theatre, 501 Vine St., Scranton. It honors the 43 individuals who were named Athlete of the Week during the season, as well as the 25 individuals who were chosen Performers of the Year in their respective sports.
Also, the Joseph M. Butler Memorial Award for dedication and service to scholastic athletics will be presented for the 54th time. Butler is the late Scranton Times sports editor who started the Athlete of the Week program in 1950.
Culminating the evening is the announcement of the Times-Tribune Male and Female Athletes of the Year.
Eighteen of the 24 schools in the Times-Tribune coverage area were represented in Athlete of the Week selections.
Abington Heights led the way with seven, including two each from its state championship boys soccer team and its state runner-up softball team. There also were selections in girls soccer, girls basketball and boys basketball.
Scranton Prep and Dunmore each had six selections. Scranton Prep had two boys golfers from its state championship squad, along with selections in football, girls basketball and boys and girls swimming. Dunmore had two athletes in boys track and field and one in girls volleyball, boys soccer, boys basketball and baseball.
Three schools had three selections apiece. Riverside had two in boys basketball and one in baseball. Valley View had one in girls basketball and two from its repeat state championship softball team. Mid Valley had selections in boys wrestling, girls track and field and softball.
Old Forge had two selections from its state runner-up boys basketball team. Holy Cross had two — one in football and one from its state runner-up softball team. Lakeland also had two selections in football and girls track and field. Schools with one selection each were Lackawanna Trail (football), North Pocono (football), Montrose (girls tennis), Elk Lake (boys cross country), Delaware Valley (girls wrestling), Wallenpaupack (boys wrestling), Honesdale (boys wrestling), Mountain View (girls basketball) and West Scranton (boys wrestling).
For Performers of the Year, Abington Heights also had the most with seven — girls cross country, boys soccer, girls soccer, girls wrestling, boys tennis, girls lacrosse and baseball. Scranton Prep was next with four in boys golf, boys swimming, girls swimming and boys lacrosse. North Pocono had three in girls golf, football-defense and girls volleyball.
Elk Lake (boys cross country, boys track and field), Lackawanna Trail (football-offense, field hockey) and Valley View (softball, boys volleyball) each had two performers. Montrose (girls tennis), Riverside (boys basketball), Mountain View (girls basketball), West Scranton (boys wrestling) and Mid Valley (girls track and field) had one apiece.