SuburbanOneSports.com recognizes a male and female featured athlete each week. The awards, sponsored by Univest, are given to seniors of good character who are students in good standing that have made significant contributions to their teams. Selections are based on nominations received from coaches, athletic directors and administrators.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Female Athlete (Week of Jan. 7, 2015)
Shannon Tuab apparently buys into the concept that you can, in fact, do it all. The Council Rock South senior is a four-time state medalist in track and field, but when the girls’ basketball team was short on players last year, Taub – whose identical sister Allison is a key member of the squad – jumped at the opportunity to join the team. “I was still playing basketball on the side for CYO,” Taub said. “That made my decision to pick track (freshman year) a little easier because I was still able to play basketball at the same time.” An outstanding natural athlete, Taub was a welcome addition to the basketball squad, and by the end of the season was getting significant minutes for a varsity squad that finished strong and earned a berth in districts. “When the season ended, she told me she enjoyed it, but she wanted to do track in college, and that was her first priority,” Rock South coach Monica Stolic said.
The senior track star got an unexpected gift when she made her official visit to Duquesne this fall. Not only was she offered a track and field scholarship, but she also was given the green light to continue playing basketball. Although her focus remains track and field, she is a key member of the basketball squad. When the Golden Hawks captured the title of the Diamond State Classic over the holiday break, Taub was named tournament MVP. In the team’s season opening tournament at Methacton, she earned a spot on the all-tournament team. “I think it’s great for everybody,” Stoli said. “She could play a couple of positions, she could shoot the ball, she could get out on the break. She’s fast and she’s quick up and down the court. She’s a hard worker, and she’s a good teammate for everyone.”
Not a bad outcome for an athlete who earned a bronze medal in high jump at the state meet with a leap of 5-7. Last year’s third place finish came on the heels of an eighth place medal as a sophomore. Taub also excels at triple jump, and in last year’s indoor season, she picked up silver medals in both high jump and triple jump. “She’s a kid that’s just an inkling away from doing something really, really big,” Rock South track coach Deric Lynch said. “It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if she was a two-time state champ at indoor, or she could end up just missing because of a bad day. Either way, she won’t be deterred by it because she has another four years coming, and I’m really excited to see what she achieves after she leaves because I think her potential is so much higher.”
Taub has parlayed her jumping ability into a scholarship to Duquesne where she will major in special education with her sights set on obtaining her NCAA coaching certification. An excellent student, Taub is a member of the National English Honor Society. She is a peer mentor captain and a member of the Future Business Leaders of America, the Spanish Club, The Mini Thon Committee, and both Allison and Shannon are actively involved with Athletes Helping Athletes.
To read Taub’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/shannon-taub-0049866
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Jan. 7, 2015)
What does Joe Unangst have in common with pay phones, 24-hour diners, typewriters and the humpback whale? All are endangered species. Like Chuck Bednarik, who was the last of the 60-minute men in the NFL, Pennridge’s Unangst is also among a dying breed. The senior is a three-sport athlete for the Rams. And it’s not just in name only. We’re not talking about a soccer player who doubles as the kicker for the football team and then is a deep reserve on the baseball team. Or a football receiver who sits at the end of the bench of the basketball team and then runs some track in the spring to stay in shape. This is a football-basketball-baseball guy, playing a key role on each squad. Taking and giving hits in football, taking shots and playing in-your-face defense in basketball and chasing down fly balls in the gap and gunning down baserunners in baseball.
“You don’t get these types of kids all that often,” Pennridge football coach Jeff Hollenbach said. “The respect he gets from teachers to teammates to opposing players really tells you all you need to know. People know who he is and respect what he does. He’s a game-time player. When the game is on the line, he’s the guy you want out there.” During the last football season, Unangst rarely came off the field. If he wasn’t carrying the ball, eclipsing the 2,000-yard mark, he was returning it. When the opponent had the ball, he was an active strong safety who was at his best coming downhill. “He had a breakout year,” Hollenbach said. Unangst ran for 2,092 and scored 23 touchdowns while averaging 200 all-purpose yards per game this past season.
Unangst starts in the backcourt for the basketball team after being the sixth man a year back for a squad that shared the league crown. “He is the prototypical guy you would see back in the fifties, sixties and seventies,” said Pennridge basketball coach Dean Behrens. Three different sports. Three vital roles. “And three different sets of skills,” said Behrens. “He’s just a great kid.” Come spring, he will return to the same right field position he has manned since his freshman year. “He’s not the biggest kid, but he scraps,” said baseball coach Tom Nuneviller. “He knows the games he plays well, and he’s a gamer. He does the little things. He’s the kind of kid you love having on your team.”
Unangst comes from a large sports-minded family, headed by parents Ray and Dot. “My parents raised me well,” he said. “I learned positively. They made me the person I am today and were always supporting me, no matter what sport I played.” Sounding like someone with no regrets, Unangst, who plans to major in nursing or nutrition, said he is “seeing what happens” next year, but he is prepared to go from a life with all sports at all times to none. “He had so much fun,” Hollenbach said. “If there’s one problem today with sports, it’s that too many people are taking it way too seriously.”
To view Unangst’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/joe-unangst-0049890
- Log in to post comments
