To celebrate a 50-year span of Octorara boys' basketball champions, Gene Lambert, the current Octorara Junior-Senior High School varsity boys' basketball coach, arranged a "Night of Champions" event on Dec. 17. The celebration honored Octorara coaches Gary Wetzel and Ray Wessner, as well as Octorara's winning basketball players.

Both Octorara coaches and alumni returned to visit their alma mater and enjoy the festivities. Basketball champions were recognized for their accomplishments in the high school gymnasium during the break between the boys' junior varsity and varsity basketball games.

"I look at myself as being very fortunate to have been coached by Gary Wetzel and Ray Wessner and baseball coach Roy 'Sonny' Skiles," said Lambert, an Octorara alumnus. "As the current coach, I felt that this was a special place because of those three men who put a lot of time into the student-athletes here."

All three current Octorara boys' basketball teams played at home in the high school gym on Dec. 17, starting in the afternoon with an eighth-grade game followed by the junior varsity and varsity boys' basketball games.

During the "Night of Champions" recognition event, each former team member from the winning rosters was announced by Jack Mariano, Octorara's public address announcer for its sports teams.

These included players from the 10 Octorara championship teams from 1972, 1975, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2016. From 1972 to the present, there have been a total of five Southeastern Clubs Champions League (SCCL) Championships, two ChesMont American Division Champs, two ChesMont League Championships and three District 1 Championships.

During his almost 30-year tenure, Wetzel coached four of the SCCL league champs in 1972, 1975, 1991 and 1992 and recorded the first District 1 championship in 1986. In 1999, Octorara captured another SCCL league title led by Wessner.

Lambert is a successful coach at Octorara as well. He has led teams to two additional District 1 championships in 2011 and 2015, two ChesMont American division champs in 2012 and 2015 and two overall ChesMont League championships in 2012 and 2016.

Alumna Carla Perella assisted in the event by decorating the gym and creating a championship poster board where the players and coaches were seated in the gym.

Lambert reported that Wetzel passed away soon after the "Night of Champions" event took place. "It was nice that he was able to see his old players and to recognize the amount of wins he got," said Lambert. "Ray and Gary and the former players were very thankful. I did it for all of them. I wanted them to be together again. I wanted to have their names called in that gym. It was a special night."