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 April 30, 2015)
Two springs ago, Upper Dublin track coach Matthew Dwyer was considering ways to send a message to his team. After observing the attitude and work habits of Marissa Holl, he made a simple yet poignant choice. “I chose the captains,” said Dwyer. “Marissa displayed the determination and fortitude of a true leader as a freshman. Her freshman year was my second year coaching at Upper Dublin. I knew that I needed to send a message to the team that it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can lead this team. For that reason, I named her a captain the following year (sophomore year). And Marissa has been our leader for the past three years.” As far as Dwyer is concerned, Holl has more than upheld her end of the bargain. “Marissa is a phenomenal leader and teammate,” he said. “She is an excellent student with great character. She has a very rigorous schedule in the classroom. On the track, she is a phenomenal runner and even better teammate.”
Holl helped lead Upper Dublin’s 4x400 to the outdoor state meet last year and led the 4x800 relay to the indoor state meet this year. “She always puts the team accomplishments above her own,” Dwyer said. “She is everything that is right about scholar-athletes. Marissa has been the rock of this team for the past four years.”
Holl – who is nearing the end of attending classes before finishing up with a three-week volunteer stint at the Ambler Food Cupboard – enters the homestretch of her high school track career with some adversities in the rear-view mirror. Her sophomore year, Holl worked through a stress reaction in both hips, which kept her competing but affected her training schedule. Despite the setback, Holl was on the state-qualifying 4x400 relay team during the winter and reached districts in the 800, missing states by .3 seconds. Then as a junior, her hardest year due to burning the midnight oil for school, she found herself zapped of energy and eventually found out she was dealing with anemia. She focused on her diet and began taking iron pills and began feeling better. Last year’s highlights included the 4x800 relaying qualifying for states in the winter and the 4x400 doing the same last spring.
Holl, who boasts a 4.2 weighted GPA with several AP classes, is a member of the National Honor Society and Latin Club. She will be taking her talents to Lafayette. “It just felt like a place I wanted to be,” she said, adding that she was initially interested in majoring in economics but is being cautious about looking into a major as a freshman.
To read Holl’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/marissa-holl-0053119
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of April 30, 2015)
Sam Handy isn’t a headliner. As a matter of fact, the Pennridge senior’s value might not be noticed until he’s out of the lineup. “He was one of our mainstay guys who was very important,” Pennridge soccer coach Pete Valimont said of his outside back. “If he ever got hurt or was out of the game, we took a hit defensively. He’s a quiet leader, and he’s a very humble guy. Even if he does great things or scored a goal, he’s not in your face about it or the kid that would then take the next day off because he played really well the night before. The guys loved him. He’s a great teammate, very coachable, extremely bright and intelligent.”
This spring, Handy brings those same traits to a Pennridge volleyball squad that is ranked fourth in the state in the latest rankings. The backup outside hitter is not a player that will jump out at fans, but his importance to the team is not lost on coach Dave Childs. “He’s not a starter for us, but he would be on most other teams,” the Rams’ coach said. “He’s a high level player. He’s a guy that’s a hitter, and he can pretty much hit wherever I need him. He knows how to play every position on the court, which offers me a lot of flexibility as a coach because I know I can put him in any different spot, and he knows what to do. His versatility is a major strength. He does everything pretty much well. He’s kind of a quiet kid, but he goes about things in a professional manner. He’s very coachable. He’ll ask the questions that need to be asked or make the adjustments that we talked to him about.”
Volleyball turned out to be a perfect fit for Handy. “Since it’s a smaller team playing together – only six versus 11, it’s more of a team sport where you have to rely on every one of your teammates,” he said. “When you do succeed, I feel as though it’s more of a reward because you know you contributed to get that win.”
This year represents the final year Handy will be playing competitive sports. In the fall, he will be attending the University of Pittsburgh, choosing the Pennsylvania school over Virginia Tech for its pre-med program. He is considering a biology major but may switch to pre-med with a minor in business. Handy, who aspires to one day be a surgeon, comes by his interest in medicine honestly – his father, Robert Handy, is an orthopedic surgeon with offices in Doylestown and Warrington. In the classroom, Handy boasts a 4.3 GPA with three AP classes on his schedule. He has made the balancing act of competing in sports year round and handling a rigorous academic schedule look effortless. A member of the National Honor Society, he also is an active member of Pennridge’s Ski and Snowboard Club.
To view Handy’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/sam-handy-0053120
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