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 Oct. 17, 2013)
Katrina Marger is one of those players coaches love to have on their teams. North Penn field hockey coach Shannon McCracken recounts the story of her squad’s early season distance run and how her senior captain responded when one of her teammates was struggling. “We had this mile challenge, and there was a player we needed to get under eight minutes,” McCracken said. “After Katrina ran her mile, she went and ran with this kid.” Talk to Marger about running the last lap of the mile challenge with her teammate, and it’s clear that kind of response comes naturally to the senior midfielder. “I knew she could do it,” Marger said. “I think she would have gotten it anyway, but the last lap is the hardest, especially when you’re the last one. It was hard to push herself. I just encouraged her and helped her finish. I could barely keep up with her the last 100 because she was sprinting. It was just awesome because I feel as though all the support of her team really helped.”
Marger is a hard worker who always puts the team first. “She has been a great leader this year,” McCracken said. “She’s talking all the time, encouraging her teammates. If a player is having a bad day, she very much encourages them. She’s really a positive person, and she’s a great role model because of her work ethic.” Marger, according to her coach, brings valuable intangibles to the team. “She doesn’t have a lot of statistics, but she does so much on the field,” McCracken said. “She’s an unsung hero because of the way she competes – she makes a lot happen, but it doesn’t show up in the scorebook. Some of the younger kids are taking on some of her qualities. I wish I had more of her.”
Last spring Marger, who was a member of the basketball team until this year, opted to go out for the track team to run and stay in shape. She ended up throwing the javelin as well and earned a spot in districts.
Just as she was a welcome addition to the hockey and track teams, Marger is a welcome addition to her school community. “I talk to a lot of teachers about my student-athletes, and the teachers love her because she participates, she’s positive and she tries real hard, and she’s so polite to everyone in the building,” McCracken said. “The custodian staff knows her very well because she’s just that type of kid. She walks around the building, and everyone knows who she is.”
Marger also excels in the classroom. A member of the National Honor Society, she takes a course load of honors and AP classes. Although she is undecided on a college choice, she is considering an engineering major. Penn State is one of her top college choices. She is planning to play field hockey at some level.
To read Marger’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/katrina-marger-0038744
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Oct. 17, 2013)
Johnny Ciarlante, who leads by both his words and actions, embraced as role as veteran leader on a young and inexperienced squad this year. The William Tennent senior epitomizes what coaches are looking for in their players. “Last year we graduated 13 seniors, and we probably started eight of them,” coach Luke Gibson said. “He was in that mix as one of our key guys last year. The word rebuilding and down year – those things get thrown at you, and I know he took it very personal. He never let our young guys buy into that – ‘Hey, there’s the next two years for you guys’ when there were five sophomores on the field. He held them to a higher standard. I think that’s definitely a compliment to him.” Talk to Ciarlante, and it’s clear he can’t imagine any other approach to the season. “I knew we lost a lot of seniors from the past year, and not saying they weren’t good, but I knew all the younger guys coming up, and there wasn’t a point of saying, ‘Next year for you guys,’” Ciarlante said. “I always thought ‘this year.’ I knew they were good enough to play this year and do good stuff this year.”
The players bought into Ciarlante’s philosophy. The Panthers locked up fourth place in the tough National Conference standings, their best finish since Ciarlante stepped into the varsity lineup as a freshman. They also earned a berth in districts. “Winning has been his fundamental purpose this year,” Gibson said. “Early in the season, we had a rough go for a game or so, and we talked about moving him back to center back where he plays club ball. You have that conversation with a kid who scored 15 goals the year before and had high hopes to have that number, and his answer just showed his character. He said, ‘I just want to win. If you want me to play center back, I’ll play center back,’ and it’s really been contagious throughout our unit.”
In addition to leadership qualities, Ciralante, a rare four-year varsity starter, brings an abundance of talent to the field. “Every year he came back better,” Gibson said. “He has a really, really high soccer IQ. The fact that he can transition in the high school season to a goal scorer demonstrates his quality as a soccer player. Coaches around the league know this – he’s the best person I have ever coached in the air, ever seen win head balls, period, at the high school level. Guys that are three inches taller that are marking him – he just consistently wins balls. He’s just phenomenal.”
This fall, Ciarlante is the kicker for the Tennent football team, and this winter he will be a point guard for the basketball team. His future, however, is on the soccer field, and he will continue his career at the Division One level. Temple and La Salle are his top choices, and he plans to major in business with his sights set on one day coaching.
To view Ciarlante’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/johnny-ciarlante-0038781
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