Susquehanna County schools will move a little closer to their athletic roots when the Lackawanna Interscholastic Athletic Association’s latest realignment takes place for the 2012-13 school year.

With cost-cutting becoming an increasing priority for schools in tough economic times, the LIAA has moved to reduce travel, emphasizing games between schools near each other.

The LIAA, which is the governing body for Lackawanna League high school sports, decided to alter many of its schedules and divisions. In doing so, it created schedules for county schools that are similar to the days of the Northeast Athletic Conference and one its predecessors, the Susquehanna League.

Beginning in the fall, trips made by county schools to destinations outside the county will be reduced.

Multiple factors were behind dissolving the NAC and District 12, leading to the expansion and various realignments of the LIAA through the past two decades. The issues involved have generally remained the same, but the difference in priority in how they compare to each other has often led to additional change.

“When we put this new divisional set up together, those were the thought patterns,” said LIAA president Jim Tallarico, the Montrose High School principal. “Obviously the budget, cutting down on the tremendous amount of travel, making sure everybody is playing in the right classification and strength of schedule and keeping the rivalries intact, as many as we could.”

At this point, cost was the biggest priority.

Division 4 will feature Blue Ridge, Elk Lake, Montrose, Mountain View, Susquehanna, Forest City and Lackawanna Trail in most sports. Depending on sport, the teams will play just against each other or will play at least twice against each other with limited competition against Division 3 teams.

Lakeland, Carbondale, Mid Valley, Dunmore, Holy Cross, Riverside and Old Forge make up Division 3.

The plan will be in place in most sports where all or most of the LIAA member schools compete - boys’ and girls’ soccer, boys’ and girls’ basketball, baseball, softball and track and field.

“It was a general feeling that we needed to be proactive as a body,” Tallarico said. “We did not get any orders that we needed to do this, but I think the superintendents and school boards throughout the league are thrilled that we’ve taken this initiative because it’s going to help everybody.

“It was just an overall consensus of the body that we needed to do this to make sure we don’t hurt our programs and then have to make cuts that none of us want to make.”

Division 1 will be Scranton, Scranton Prep, West Scranton, Abington Heights and Valley View while Division 2 will feature North Pocono, Delaware Valley, Honesdale, Wallenpaupack and Western Wayne.

There was the time that making sure playoff seeding and qualification processes were as fair as possible to everyone through all schools the same size together no matter what the travel implications were within the league or district.

The larger schools make up Divisions 1 and 2 with the smaller schools in Divisions 3 and 4, but the schools within each pair of divisions are not divided by size.

Priorities have changed and may change again in the future.

“We look at it every cycle,” Tallarico said. “That’s how we stay intact as a good solid league.

“In two years, there could be changes again.”

WEEK IN REVIEW

Montrose’s Lackawanna League Division 3 first-half champion basketball teams remained in contention for second-half - and therefore all-season - championships heading into the final game of the regular season.

Both teams won twice to set up big games with Lakeland that were scheduled for Monday at Montrose in girls and Tuesday at Lakeland in boys.

Montrose and Lakeland were each 6-0 in girls’ play where the unbeaten all-season league record had the Lady Meteors on the verge of clinching a berth in the District 2 Class AA playoffs.

Lakeland was 6-0 in the second-half boys’ standings ahead of Montrose and Lackawanna Trail at 5-1, setting up the possibility of a lengthy set of playoffs for the division title.

The Montrose girls defeated Forest City, 51-34, and Susquehanna, 69-29.

Dallas Ely scored 16 points while Sara Krupinski and Myra Lattimore added 14 each against Forest City. Carly Erdmann had 17 points in the loss.

Montrose trailed for parts of the first half and broke open a one-point game with a big fourth quarter.

Ely had 23 points, Krupinski 14 and Lattimore 10 against Susquehanna. Mashawna Hargett had 13 for the Lady Sabers.

The Montrose boys defeated Forest City, 56-44, and Susquehanna, 66-55.

Tom Lewis scored 19 points, Colby Major 14 and Corey Adams 10 against Forest City. David Cavalieri had 12 points for the Foresters.

Lewis had 32 points and Adams 14 against Susquehanna. Cole Mallery led the Sabers with 17 while Andrzej Tomczyk added 15.

COLLEGE CORNER

Jared Conklin is the latest Keystone College Athlete of the Week after posting a big win during a Feb. 4 indoor track and field meet.

The sophomore from Blue Ridge finished first out of 48 shot put competitors at East Stroudsburg University’s DeSchriver Invitational. He set a school record with a distance of 49-2 1/4 to win over a field that included about half of its entries from NCAA Division I and II schools.

Conklin also finished fifth in the weight throw.

THE WEEK AHEAD

The Lackawanna League Wrestling Championships are scheduled for Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. at Scranton High School.

In high school basketball, following the completion of league play, which was scheduled for Tuesday, there will be a series of games to determine Lackawanna League divisional titles and qualifiers for District 2 tournament play.

Blue Ridge, Elk Lake, Mountain View and, possibly, Montrose will be part of an eight-team tournament for the last two Lackawanna spots in the District 2 Class AA boys’ basketball tournament. Montrose can still gain one of the three automatic berths by winning the division title. If so, the Meteors would join Class A teams Susquehanna and Forest City in waiting a week for the district tournament to start.

Elk Lake and Mountain View will be part of a seven-team tournament for the last two Lackawanna spots in the District 2 Class AA girls’ basketball tournament. Montrose, unless it fails to win the division, and Class A teams Forest City, Blue Ridge and Susquehanna will be idle until the start of the district tournament.

In professional hockey, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins play at the Binghamton Senators Friday night in an American Hockey League game.

TOM ROBINSON writes a local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com and followed on Twitter at @tomjrobinson.

Racing Season Is Upon Us

The off season is over, and it back to racing this weekend. As the teams count down the final days until the engines start turning over in earnest, this week is the last before NASCAR’s three national series head to Daytona International Speedway for their respective 2012 season openers.

Daytona Speedweeks kick off with the traditional Shootout at Daytona on Saturday night, followed by pole qualifying on Sunday for Daytona 500’s front row and the Gatorade Duel at Daytona, a pair of races to set the remainder of the field for the Feb. 26 Daytona 500.

There are many storylines coming out of Daytona, but Kasey Kahne is one of the top ones. This will be Kahne’s first season with Hendrick Motorsports, and it got off to a good start with the fastest lap on the final day of Preseason Thunder testing as well as the fifth-fastest overall of the three-day session at 205.747 mph.

Kasey Kahne and teammate Jeff Gordon, January 2012.

The eight-year NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran hopes to follow the example of Dale Earnhardt Jr., the last high-profile driver to switch to Hendrick Motorsports, by winning in his first start for Hendrick at the Shootout on Feb. 18.

But he will be driving with a sore knee, after undergoing surgery last week for a torn meniscus in his left knee.

He should be ready to practice next Friday, according to a team annoucement.

Kahne, who has replaced Mark Martin in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports car, will not have a backup driver at Daytona, according to the team.

He also plans to race for Turner Motorsports in the Nationwide Series.

Can defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart finally win the Daytona 500? Will there be a seventh consecutive first-time Daytona 500 winner?

Stewart is a three-time winner of the Budweiser Shootout, a non-points event, his most recent victory coming in 2007. Stewart also won in 2001-02 - one of four drivers with consecutive victories in the 75-lap, 187.5-mile event.

No surprise, Stewart has the best Driver Rating among Shootout eligible drivers, 105.2. Next best is Dale Earnhardt Jr. at 97.9 followed by Kevin Harvick, another four-time Shootout winner; Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch.

Kurt Busch, who’ll make his debut in the event with James Finch’s Phoenix Racing, is the defending champion.

A driver to watch is AJ Allmendinger. He’ll make his second Shootout appearance in last year’s winning car - Penske Racing’s No. 22 Dodge. Allmendinger, a member of the Rolex 24 winning Michael Shank Racing team, finished fifth in the race’s 2009 edition. Figure Allmendinger to be a legitimate contender to become the next first-time Daytona 500 winner. The No. 22 Dodge won its Gatorade Duel at Daytona qualifier a year ago with Kurt Busch finishing fifth in the Daytona 500.

The highest-ranked 25 drivers in 2011 standings plus previous winners of the Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400 and Shootout events are eligible to compete in this year’s Shootout.

Since 2005, there have been but two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions: Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart. Stewart was the last to win the championship before Johnson began his incredible run of five consecutive titles, which Stewart ended in 2011.

Will Stewart join Jeff Gordon as the only four-time champions of NASCAR’s premier series? Can Carl Edwards, who lost last year’s crown on a tie-breaker, give Roush Fenway Racing its third championship? Or will there be a first-time champion - the first since Johnson in 2006?

Richard Petty Motorsports must somehow get their act together. After a terrible 2010 season, RPM attempted to regain its footing under new ownership and a reduction from four teams to two.

Marcos Ambrose starts his second season with the No. 9 team. With Todd Parrott at the helm, Ambrose’s statistics showed dramatic improvement in his first season at RPM. Not only did he earn his first win and post five top-five and 12 top-10 finishes, Ambrose improved his position in the points standings by seven spots and was on target to finish 17th before an engine failure in the season finale at Homestead.

Aric Almirola rejoins RPM following a five-race stint in 2010, when he subbed for Kasey Kahne, who opted out early for Red Bull Racing. Almirola had one career-high fourth-place finish. Most recently, Almirola competed for JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series and finished fourth in the points standings. Although Almirola, 27, has 35 Cup starts, he did not compete in a Cup race last year.

RPM suffers from professionalism and lack of sponsorship. If their sponsors stay on board, then this organization should be able to finish the season. However, both teams must work together to overcome inexperience and size.

ROBBY GORDON WINS DESERT RACE

With a successful 2012 Dakar Rally behind him, Robby Gordon headed to Parker, Arizona last week for the Best in the Desert Parker 425, for a new challenge.

He drove a new truggy (a hybrid between a trophy truck and a Class 1 buggy). Built by the Geiser Brothers and owned by SPEED Energy/RPM Off-Road Racing teammate Clyde Stacey, it was be the first time Gordon had entered the 1500 class instead of the BITD's Trick Truck class.

Gordon finished an impressive 14 minutes faster than last year's winner, Jesse Jones. Gordon beat the next competitor by nearly 5 minutes.

He is scheduled to run the Daytona 500, but has announced no further NASCAR plans.

WEEKEND RACING: Saturday marks the first NASCAR race of the 2012 season. In addition, the ARCA Series will also hold their first event of the year. Both will be at the 2.5-mile Daytona Speedway.

Sat., Feb. 18; ARCA Lucas Oil 200; Starting time: 4 p.m.; TV: Speed.

Sat., Feb. 18; NASCAR Budweiser Shootout; Starting time: 8 p.m.; TV: FOX.

Sun., Feb. 19 Qualifying for the Daytona 500 first two positions; Time 1 p.m. ET; TV: FOX.

Racing Trivia Question: Austin Dillon won the 2011 Truck Series championship. Which series will he be running in 2012?

Last Week’s Question: How many Daytona 500 wins does Michael Waltrip have? Answer. Two; 2001 and 2003.

You may contact the Racing Reporter at hodges@race500.com.

NO. DATE; TRACK; SIZE; TV; TV START

Feb. 18; *Budweiser Shootout, Daytona; 2.5; FOX; 8 p.m.

Feb. 23; *Gatorade Duels, Daytona; 2.5; SPEED; 1 p.m.

1. Feb. 26; Daytona 500, Daytona; 2.5; FOX; Noon.

2. Mar. 4; Phoenix, Arizona; 1; FOX; 2:30 p.m.

3. Mar. 11; Las Vegas, Nevada; 1.5; FOX; 2:30 p.m.

4. Mar. 18; Bristol, Tennessee; 0.53; FOX; 12:30 p.m.

5. Mar. 25; Fontana, California; 2; FOX; 2:30 p.m.

6. Apr. 1; Martinsville, Virginia; 0.52; FOX; 12:30 p.m.

7. Apr. 14; Ft. Worth, Texas; 1.5; FOX; 7 p.m.

8. Apr. 22; Kansas City, Kansas; 1.5; FOX; 12:30 p.m.

9. Apr. 28; Richmond, Virginia; 0.75; FOX; 7 p.m.

10. May 6; Talladega, Alabama; 2.66; FOX; Noon.

11. May 12; Darlington, South Carolina; 1.36; FOX; 6:30 p.m.

May 19; *ALL-STAR RACE, Charlotte; 1.5; SPEED; 7 p.m.

12. May 27; Charlotte, North Carolina; 1.5; FOX; 5:30 p.m.

13. June 3; Dover, Delaware; 1; FOX; 12:30 p.m.

14. June 10; Pocono, Pennsylvania; 2.5; TNT; Noon.

15. June 17; Brooklyn, Michigan; 2; TNT; Noon.

16. June 24; Sonoma, California; 1.99; TNT; 2 p.m.

17. June 30; Kentucky Speedway; 1.5; TNT; 6:30 p.m.

18. July 7; Daytona Speedway; 2.5; TNT; 6:30 p.m.

19. July 15; Loudon, New Hampshire; 1.05; TNT; Noon.

20. July 29; Indianapolis, Indiana; 2.5; ESPN; Noon.

21. Aug. 5; Pocono, Pennsylvania; 2.5; ESPN; Noon.

22. Aug. 12; Watkins Glen, New York; 2.45; ESPN; Noon.

23. Aug. 19; Brooklyn, Michigan; 2; ESPN; Noon.

24. Aug. 25; Bristol, Tennessee; 0.53; ABC; 7 p.m.

25. Sep. 2; Atlanta, Georgia; 1.54; ESPN; 6:30 p.m.

26. Sep. 8; Richmond, Virginia; 0.75; ABC; 7 p.m.

27. Sep. 16; **Chicago, Illinois; 1.5; ESPN; 1 p.m.

28. Sep. 23; Loudon, New Hampshire; 1.05; ESPN; 1 p.m.

29. Sep. 30; Dover, Delaware; 1; ESPN; 1 p.m.

30. Oct. 7; Talladega, Alabama; 2.66; ESPN; 1 p.m.

31. Oct. 13; Charlotte, North Carolina; 1.5; ABC; 7 p.m.

32. Oct. 21; Kansas City, Kansas; 1.5; ESPN; 1 p.m.

33. Oct. 28; Martinsville, Virginia; 0.52; ESPN; 1 p.m.

34. Nov. 4; Ft. Worth, Texas; 1.5; ESPN; 2 p.m.

35. Nov. 11; Phoenix, Arizona; 1; ESPN; 2 p.m.

36. Nov. 18; Homestead, Florida; 1.5; ESPN; 2 p.m.

All times are Eastern.

*Non-points race ** Start of the Chase

NO. DATE; TRACK; SIZE; TV; TV START

1. Feb. 24; Daytona, Florida; 2.5; SPEED; 7 p.m.

2. Mar. 31; Martinsville, Virginia; 0.52; SPEED; 1 p.m.

3. Apr. 15; Rockingham, North Carolina; 1.33; SPEED; 12:30 p.m.

4. Apr. 21; Kansas City, Kansas; 1.5; SPEED; 1: 30 p.m.

5. May 18 ; Charlotte, North Carolina; 1.5; SPEED; 7:30 p.m.

6. June 1; Dover, Delaware; 1; SPEED; **8 p.m.

7. June 8; Ft. Worth, Texas; 1.5; SPEED; 8:30 p.m.

8. June 28; Kentucky Speedway; 1.5; SPEED; 7:30 p.m.

9. July 14; Newton, Iowa; 0.87; SPEED; 8 p.m.

10. July 21; Chicago, Illinois; 1.5; SPEED; 7:30 p.m.

11. Aug. 4; Pocono, Pennsylvania; 2.5; SPEED; 12:30 p.m.

12. Aug. 18; Brooklyn, Michigan; 2; SPEED; Noon.

13. Aug. 22; Bristol, Tennessee; 0.53; SPEED; 7:30 p.m.

14. Aug. 31; Atlanta, Georgia; 1.54; SPEED; 7:30 p.m.

15. Sep. 15; Newton, Iowa; 0.87; SPEED; 8 p.m.

16. Sep. 21; Kentucky Speedway; 1.5; SPEED; 7 p.m.

17. Sep. 29; Las Vegas, Nevada; 1.5; SPEED; 8 p.m.

18. Oct. 6; Talladega, Alabama; 2.66; SPEED; 3:30 p.m.

19. Oct. 27; Martinsville, Virginia; 0.52; SPEED; 1:30 p.m.

20. Nov. 2; Ft. Worth, Texas; 1.5; SPEED; 7:30 p.m.

21. Nov. 9; Phoenix, Arizona; 1; SPEED; 7:30 p.m.

22. Nov. 16; Homestead, Florida; 1.5; SPEED; 7:30 p.m.

**Taped Delay, race actually starts at 4:50 p.m.

All times are Eastern.