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 Dec. 1, 2016)
Lauren Cochrane loves to compete. Plain and simple. “I’ve always been competitive,” the William Tennent senior said. “I need to win. I’m always determined to win, and I won’t stop until I do. I’m competitive in anything. I’d have to win a board game.” Tennent volleyball coach Brian Bassler uses words like fiery and passionate to describe his standout right side hitter. “I think if you asked some of the girls – before they got to know her, they would possibly say she was a little intimidating, but she’s far from it,” Bassler said. “She’s one of the most passionate players we’ve ever had. She hates to lose. She’s one of those kids that is always diving on the floor, always trying to pick up everybody and get them going. That was something she did all year.”
While there’s no mistaking her fiercely competitive nature, it’s also impossible to miss the impact she had on this year’s squad. “Our seniors did an awesome job this year of bringing unity and really keeping everyone together,” Bassler said. “The younger girls had such a great experience due to a lot of that, and Laura was kind of the centerpiece. She’s like the main cog in all of that.” Cochrane acknowledged that the season just completed was about a whole lot more than wins and losses. Rather, it was about a team that came together in a special way. “It was like the best team ever,” the senior captain said. “We just all got along. If someone was doing bad, we wouldn’t be upset. We would say, ‘Come on, you got this’ and they wouldn’t be offended by it. We would pick each other up, we would always be cheering each other on.” And it was Cochrane setting the tone. “She’s just somebody the girls looked up to,” Bassler said. “The freshmen coming in – I think it gave them someone to look up to and want to play like on the court, which is so important.”
Off the court, Cochrane is active in school life at Tennent. She participated in Powder Puff and is leading the musical performance for the school’s annual Black and White competition. Although she hopes to play volleyball at the next level, that is secondary for Cochrane, who hopes to pursue a criminal justice major. “The academic piece is way more important because volleyball isn’t going to be my job, so I need to stay focused on my work as well and keep doing well in school,” she said. Cochrane has been involved in community service and has been active in an annual charity volleyball event to raise money for scholarships.
To read Cochrane’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/laura-cochrane-0066402
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Dec. 1, 2016)
Pennsbury swim coach Greg Stoloski believes that Connor Doyle will leave an indelible mark on the program after he swims the finals laps of his senior campaign this season. The fact that Doyle’s name will appear throughout the Falcons’ record books – not to mention atop pool records across the Suburban One League and the district – will attest to that. And while team and pool records, first place finishes and district and state success are definite goals, Doyle is making sure his legacy amounts to more than medals. “Being with everyone at Pennsbury is very different from my club team,” said Doyle, who swims club for the elite Eastern Express program. “Everyone (at Pennsbury) is there to be friends, and they want to train hard and do well. It’s very friendly and very close. I enjoy being with the guys and motivating them if I can. Swimming can be an individual sport, so I want to be there for people to rely on if they need it. I’m loud and always cheering on the deck. It’s great to see kids trying so hard and finding success. I just try to show them how to work hard.”
There are few better examples of how hard work and dedication pays off. Just a few of Doyle’s accomplishments include team records in the 200 IM (1:53.14), 100 back (50.26) and 100 breast (1:00.27) as well as swimming on the Pennsbury record-holding 200 medley relay team and 400 free relay, 2016 High Point runner-up with 124 individual points, first team all-league honors in four events, two first place finishes at last season’s SOL National Conference Championships, six automatic district qualifying times, bronze medals in the 200 IM and 100 back at the 2015 District One Championships and the 2014 and 2015 Pennsbury Outstanding Swimmer Award. And that doesn’t even take into consideration his performances around the country in meets, including the Summer Junior Nationals and the Speedo Championship Series.
Yet despite his successes both locally and nationally, Doyle carries himself no differently than any other member of the team. “Connor is the best male swimmer to come through the program and probably the best who ever will,” Stoloski said. “But he’s a really humble kid. He doesn’t walk around like a superstar, he has no ego. He’s a leader because of his success and his work ethic and the role model he is for the younger kids. To see him work hard in practice or work hard in a meet we’re winning helps others stay focused and pumped. And he gets along great with everybody.”
Next year Doyle will swim for Virginia Tech, and it was his seventh place finish in the 200 back at the Junior Nationals over the summer that sparked more Division I schools to look at him. Though Doyle is preparing for the Winter Junior Nationals and will likely not participate in a Pennsbury dual meet until later in December, he’s setting his sights extremely high. Although he wants to be remembered as a supportive teammate, individual and team titles are pretty nice too.
To read Doyle’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/connor-doyle-0066398
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