On Tuesday, May 23, 2023, North Penn seniors Maddie Lewis, Maya Adams & Katie Tarlo were recognized for committing to compete in cross country/track & field at the collegiate level.
Maya Adams – St. Joseph’s University (Track & Field)
Major: Environmental Science
Final list of colleges: St. Joe’s, Delaware, Rider
Reasons for choosing St. Joe’s: “I chose St. Joe’s because I really like the coach, I liked how it wasn’t too far from home, and I liked the campus a lot.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in track at the collegiate level? “I started running club when I was around eight. I stopped doing that, and I ran in middle school and high school. I just knew I wanted to do a sport in college, and I’ve been running track for a really long time.”
Coach Brandon Turner says: “I’ve had a chance to coach Maya for the last four years – indoor and outdoor track. She has eight varsity letters. When I think about this senior class – we started, and Maya was awesome as a freshman. Then COVID hit. No freshman year outdoor in the spring. We came back the next year, and we didn’t have a track because the stadium was under construction. We had kind of a different season at Penndale, scraping rocks off the track so the kids could run. I say that just to say it’s far from where she started to where she’s gotten. Maya was all-state in the 4x100, she was a district qualifier in the 100 and 4x100 meter, and she was in the top five all-time of the 100-meter times for North Penn. She was a district qualifier in the 200, all-league in the 100, 200 and 4x100 various times, and state medals in the 4x200 and 4x100 multiple times. Maya has been a leader, she’s consistent. It’s really hard to make the state meet as a freshman – she came in right away and contributed and continued to do so since then. She battled some back injuries, different things off the track but continued to push through. She was part of the 4x100 gold medal relay team this spring. St. Joe’s is lucky to have Maya Adams.
About Maya:
Favorite food: Mac ‘n Cheese
Favorite TV show: Gilmore Girls
Favorite artist: Pop
Maddie Lewis – St. Joseph’s University (Track & Field)
Major: Exercise Physiology
Final list of colleges: St. Joe’s, American, Rider, Bloomsburg, Delaware
Reasons for choosing St. Joe’s: “St. Joe’s was one of the only schools I knew I was going to be able to long jump at, which was very important to me. Also, I love the campus, and they have good academics there.
The whole team environment was really good, and I really like the coaches. I just felt super comfortable going there next year knowing I’d be with those coaches.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in track and field at the collegiate level? “I was between field hockey and track for college because I knew I definitely wanted to play a sport, but as I progressed in track, I realized I liked it a lot more than field hockey, and I just knew that I wanted to do it next year.”
Coach Brandon Turner says: “Maddie has been on the team for four spring seasons and three winter, and she has gotten better and better each year. When I think about her as an athlete at North Penn, I think about her work ethic. She never misses practice., leaves practices and goes and does extra lifting, she plays field hockey all summer and all fall and comes right out to track in winter. I also think about her resiliency. Lewis should have some state medals. Unfortunately, we had some meets that didn’t go the way we wanted, but she always came back and always competed on the next relay. She has medaled on the 4x2, has medaled on our 4x1 and was all-state. She took third in the long jump at the district meet and sixth in the triple jump. She is the second girl in North Penn history to jump 19 feet in the long jump, and this spring, she medaled at the state meet, finishing second. I could not be more proud on account of where she’s come from. She started out 16 feet in the long jump and just got better and better. She’s a joy to coach, she brings energy to the team every day. I will miss her, the team will miss her, but St. Joe’s is getting an awesome athlete.”
About Maddie:
Favorite food: Pasta
Favorite TV show: Grey’s Anatomy
Favorite artist: Taylor Swift
Katie Tarlo – Mercyhurst University (Cross Country & Track)
Major: Fashion Merchandising
Reasons for choosing Mercyhurst: “I really was only considering Mercyhurst and the Fashion Institute of Technology. I picked Mercyhurst because I
loved the student environment, the classes are really cool, and the campus is really pretty. Another reason was because I could run for them, so FIT didn’t have any sports whatsoever but Mercyhurst did. I got in contact with the coach and decided to run for him.”
What was the progression that led you to running at the collegiate level? “I actually didn’t start running distance until my freshman year of high school, and up until this year, I didn’t want to run in college. I didn’t even think about it, but this year when it was coming to an end, I decided I wanted to keep going.”
Coach Gerry Kerzmann says: “Katie Tarlo ran cross country for North Penn for four years. She was one of the first athletes that I coached – I started with this freshman class. Katie is a four-year letter winner, which is outstanding for cross country, and this past year, she was one of our captains. She was a great leader and led by example. Even when she wasn’t feeling the best with some injuries – cross country is a tough sport with some nagging injuries, she still ran and competed in leagues and districts, and she was our top performing senior athlete at the district meet. That shows the dedication and perseverance that Katie has. As a captain, she did a great job of making sure all the younger athletes were involved, and she planned a lot of different pasta parties and things of that nature, so the team felt like they were able to get to know each other and helped build a great sense of culture. I can’t wait to see how well she does moving forward.”
About Katie:
Favorite food: Mac ‘n Cheese
Favorite TV show: Parks and Recreation
Favorite music: Pop
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