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 March 19, 2015)
Ask Anna Chiodo Ortiz about her success as a multi-sport athlete, and she will readily point to a support system that includes coaches, mentors, teammates, friends, family and even competitors that had served as measuring sticks. But the Wissahickon senior knows that she is alone with her own thoughts and expectations once the gun sounds for a race during the winter or spring track seasons or for a soccer match come fall. She doesn’t view her opponents as the mortal enemy but as part of the challenge she has created for herself. “I’m pretty nice to my opponents,” she said. “I’ll go up and shake their hands, and I’ll congratulate people after a race. Yes, I want to win, but I have to focus on my own race.” Keeping it in perspective when you have exceeded expectations while others finished ahead of you requires a certain level of wisdom and maturity. It is about putting one foot in front of the other, doing better than the time before and reaching new heights.
On March 1, Chiodo set a personal and school record in the 800 meters. She credits Cardwell Wooten – a CB East assistant coach with whom she trains privately as much as 3-4 times per week at his Sports Extra Facility in Hatfield - for helping her to become a true force this winter. But before Wootten came into the picture, there were the Wissahickon coaches who took an all-around athlete whose early competitive background included gymnastics and placed her – literally and figuratively – on the right path. “Heidi Butt and Justin Hill obviously paved the way fro my love of running,” she said. “As a freshman, they showed great belief in me and supported me and pushed me to be better. Not only do they encourage me to be a better athlete, but they encouraged me to be a better person as well.” Butt is expecting good things from Chiodo Ortiz. “Anna has the talent, focus, drive and generosity to have a fantastic senior season,” the Trojans’ coach said. “I am lucky to have her on our team personally, and our program benefits from her character, leadership and talents.”
Although track was her main sport, Chiodo Ortiz also was a major contributor on the soccer team. “The best thing I can say about her four years with me is that even though Anna’s first sport is not soccer, she never let me know,” coach Shannon Creamer-Franke said. “She is a diehard player that should not be overlooked, on or off the pitch.”
A member of the National Honor Society and a SOL Scholar-Athlete honoree, Chiodo will be attending Bucknell University. “It’s a rigorous academic school,” she said. “I actually think track is going to help. They are disciplined, and the girls are very responsible about not going out on weeknights. They know what comes first.” Chiodo Ortiz is undecided on a major, but she is intrigued with psychology and becoming a sports psychologist.
To read Chiodo Ortiz’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/anna-chiodo-ortiz-0051561
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of March 19, 2015)
Everett Benson describes himself as an “average swimmer,” and while the Upper Moreland senior might not have found his way into the headlines for his accomplishments in the pool, the senior captain was a valued and important member of the team. “He was always one of those kids that if we needed a fourth person in a relay, he did it,” coach Melanie Rowland said. “If we needed someone to swim the 100 butterfly in a meet, he did it. He wasn’t going to take first, but he’d come in and say, ‘What do we need?’ and we would tell him what we needed.” Benson may not have been a star, but he delivered one of the season’s biggest highlights. It came when he least expected it. With the season coming down the home stretch, it looked as though Benson would miss out on his final chance to compete in districts in an individual event after posting a 1:015.12 in the 100 butterfly at the SOL American Conference Championships. While it was a dramatic improvement from his top time of 1:10, he still missed the district cut by .12.
Left with no alternative if he hoped to realize his dream of competing in districts, Benson swam in the Last Chance Meet. Assistant coach Jess Healy accompanied him to the meet. “Jess was like, ‘Just go for it. Give it your all. You have nothing to lose,’ so I was like, ‘All right, I’ll go for it,’” Benson said. His time – 1:00.48 – not only easily made the district cut and gave him a coveted berth but also trimmed close to five seconds off his personal record. “I looked up at the time, and I was like, ‘Jess, that’s not real, that’s not real,’” Benson said. “She’s just kept nodding like, ‘Yes it is. Yes it is.’ That was a real great moment. It was definitely one of the best experiences that I’ve had.”
Making Benson’s accomplishment more remarkable is the fact that he missed close to a third of the season battling back-to-back illnesses. First it was mononucleosis and then bronchitis. “I give him a lot of credit because most kids would have used that as an excuse,” Rowland said. “He kept coming to practice.” The Golden Bears’ coach called the senior captain “an all-around good example. He was there for everybody.”
An honors student, Benson is a member of the National Honor Society, and in addition to working two jobs, he is a Special Olympics coach at the YMCA gymnastics program. He has his sights set on attending the University of Connecticut or the University of Pittsburgh where he will be a pre-med major with the goal of one day getting into cosmetic surgery. “I just like the idea of helping people fix their insecurities and make them feel better about themselves,” he said.
To view Benson’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/everett-benson-0051562
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