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 May 22, 2013)
Corinne Watson is the very definition of a student-athlete. The Plymouth Whitemarsh senior, whose schedule is packed with Advanced Placement courses, carries a 4.7 weighted grade point average. On the softball diamond, the four-year varsity starter has excelled for the Colonials, but that’s not what sets Watson apart. “She’s arguably the best leader that I’ve ever coached, on and off the field,” coach Dana Moyer said. “Off the field, her academics speaks for itself. One of the things we always stress to our girls is that they’re student-athletes and their classroom work comes first. That’s never anything I had to worry about with Corinne, not even as a freshman. She always knew that academics was her main priority.”
Watson has not only found a way to balance academics and athletics, she also has a found a way to excel at both. As a freshman, Watson was the starting shortstop for the varsity, a position she held until this year when she moved to first base. “She had never played it before, but she just took to it so naturally,” Moyer said. “She’s just a natural team leader, and she was just amazing there. She took to it naturally.” Her .969 fielding percentage confirms that first base was a perfect fit. In addition to hitting .450, Watson had a .640 on-base percentage and a 1.090 slugging percentage. Moyer credits her senior captain for providing positive leadership. “She’s the one pulling them together and giving them a little pep talk,” the PW coach said. “She’s the one when somebody is not having such a great game will go over and talk to them and get their head back in the game. She took care of a lot of things that other coaches with lesser leadership would have to worry about. She took that off our shoulders. For as smart as she is and as much of a leader she is, she did have that soft touch to her as well. Kids really did take to her.”
Off the diamond, Watson was the recipient of the 2012 AP Scholar Award and is a fixture on PW’s Distinguished Honor Roll. She tutors Spanish and has an internship in the research lab at Fox Chase Cancer Center. This fall she will be attending Tulane University, the recipient of an academic scholarship. Watson plans to double major in cell biology and Spanish, but she also has an interest in business and psychology. “Whatever she decides to do, I know she’s going to be successful,” Moyer said. “There’s not a doubt in my mind.”
To read Watson’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/corinne-watson-0035150
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of May 22, 2013)
Brad Rivera, who has eclectic taste in music, has surely heard Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.” Whether or not the song is a personal favorite, it could be the Bensalem senior track star’s theme song. His longtime coach, Mary Ellen Malloy, would know that as well as anyone. She began coaching him in second grade at the CYO level and continued through AAU and then high school. “His mother brought him to me and said, ‘Make him run. He has too much energy,’” Malloy said. “It just grew from there. He just started running, and he’s been running ever since. He was just a natural, especially for a little kid. He ran like an adult. He has a coordinated stride. There was no wasted motion.”
Rivera played a key role in his Bensalem squad capturing the District One Class AAA title and a week later the state title. A strong spring followed a stellar winter for Rivera and his Bensalem teammates, who claimed the state indoor title. Rivera won the 800 at states in the indoor season after finishing ninth in 2012. “I try to run for the time,” Rivera said. “If you run your best time, I figure the place will come with it. I just try to do my best. You can come in dead last, but there is not much you can do about it if you ran your best time.”
While Rivera is more accustomed to being first than last, there is more to the Bensalem senior than gold medals around his neck. “He is a leader,” said Malloy. “He doesn’t like the title, but it falls on him. He’s not vocal, but he’ll say, ‘Com on, you guys.’ Is he a good teammate? (Yes) he has grown into that role.” While track is an individual sport and team titles tend to be born from the achievements of individuals, Malloy says Rivera sees himself as part of the team. “He can share the glory with the other guys, and that means a lot,” Malloy said.
The greatest measure of Rivera’s impact is on the track community in the Bensalem area. “More people look up to him than he even knows about,” said Malloy, who recalled a day when some young runners spotted Rivera running while they were at practice. According to Malloy, one of them asked, “Is that Brad Rivera? You mean I can grow up to be just like him?”
Rivera plans to continue his track career at the collegiate level.
To view Rivera’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/brad-rivera-0035169
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