Throughout the year, great athletes are rewarded for their skills through weekly voting on The Morning Call. Many Parkland students have won this through their outstanding play in their respective sports. Winning this Athlete of the Week award is an accomplishment that few receive and is only given out to the best of the best. But, as amazing as this feat is, the major award comes in the home stretch of sports through Athlete of the Year.

Athlete of the Year has become a tradition not just in the Lehigh Valley, but all through the country. The top boys and girls athletes are announced at the beginning of June. It highlights the star athletes that not only just showed out for one singular week, but instead the entire year. Last year, the winners of this were Emmaus football, basketball, and track athlete Dylan Darville and Parkland volleyball player Elena Pursell. Both received a $10,000 scholarship from the Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute as a reward for their play. It is unknown if this will be the award again this year for the winners, although it is almost certain that they will receive some kind of payment to help in their future endeavors in sports.

While these results are still about a month away, the topic is definitely on the horizon as the semi-finalists were just released. One thing to look out for will be if Parkland can go back-to-back with Madi Siggins being nominated for her performance in both basketball and volleyball. It may not be easy, as she is one of just ten girls competing for that spot, but she has a good case based on her play in both sports. Whether she wins or not, this year has been full of talented athletes that all deserve to be in conversation for this prestigious award and it should be a good race to see who are the best athletes in the Lehigh Valley.