Smyrna High senior football player Nathan Lesniczak has been voted the State News Athlete of the Week. A linebacker, he helped lead the Eagles to a 42-0 shutout of defending Division I state champion Sussex Central.

For the season, Lesniczak has collected 45 tackles — including eight for loss — with one sack. He also wrestles and plays lacrosse at Smyrna.

“He is a tough and focused linebacker, and is a backbone in three varsity sports,” said Eagles’ football coach Mike Judy.

The Athlete of the Week is nominated and chosen by our readers. The nominating period starts at 2 p.m. on Friday and ends at noon on Monday. A voting period follows from 5 p.m. Monday through 5 p.m. Wednesday.

This process is performed exclusively online. When nominating an athlete, please include name, school and sport as well as a photo and brief description of why he or she deserves that week’s honor.

All nominations must be high school varsity athletes and come from high schools within Kent or Sussex counties. The winner appears in print and online each Friday.