Thanks to our continued partnership with Univest Financial, SuburbanOneSports.com is once again recognizing a male and female featured athlete each week. The recognition is given to seniors of high character who are students in good standing that have made significant contributions to their teams or who have overcome adversity. Selections are based on nominations received from coaches, athletic directors and administrators.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Female Athlete (Week of Feb. 24, 2025)
Coaches routinely talk about those players who will do ‘whatever the team needs.’ To the point where it has become all but cliché. Then along comes New Hope-Solebury senior Emily Wilson, who gives new meaning to the phrase. Roll back the calendar to last fall. The field hockey season had just gotten underway when coach Gwen Smith lost her starting goalie. “We had only one goalie, and she was injured – the next day she came to practice in a boot and said, ‘I’m out,’” Smith said.
Senior Emily Wilson – a standout basketball player - immediately came to Smith’s mind as a replacement. No, Wilson wasn’t a member of the hockey team. As a matter of fact, she had never even played field hockey. The extent of her hockey experience consisted of attending some of Smith’s camps when she was considerably younger, and she had played goalie at one of the camps. “I literally went to her and said, ‘We need a goalie – can you come in?’” Smith recalled. “I was like – ‘all the footwork is the same as basketball.,’ which is how I tried to sell it to her a long time ago.” The sales pitch that didn’t work at her camp all those years ago this time did. Not because Wilson – whose younger sister Danielle was a freshman on the team - suddenly wanted to play field hockey but rather because she was sympathetic of Smith’s plight.
“Our numbers for basketball were really struggling,” Wilson said. “It was an awkward time, and I was heavily trying to get more girls to join basketball. I know what it feels like to really need people, and I know what it takes for a team. Why not just try it, so I joined. I thought it would be fun too.”
Fun is not a word most would use to describe arguably the most challenging position on the hockey field, but Wilson was willing to give it a go. “It was crazy,” Smith said. “The hard part is when I asked her, I said ‘We need you now – we actually needed you yesterday. We’re in the middle of the
season.’ She did fantastic, she absolutely did. She was fearless. She had the mentality – ‘I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep the ball out.’”
Wilson’s willingness to do ‘whatever the team needs’ apparently runs in the family. NH-S basketball coach Andy Krasna explains. “Emily went to hockey practices and then basketball workouts at nights,” he said. “It just shows you – they needed her, and she stepped in. Her sister Danielle is a very good field hockey player. We only had five varsity players in basketball. Now we have six. Danielle’s playing with us.” A four-year starter on the varsity basketball team, Wilson – who led the team in scoring and assists - surpassed the 1,000-point milestone. “She’s very unselfish,” NH-S coach Andy Krasna said. “She could score a lot more if she was a selfish player, but she makes the right play. Emily loves to compete and b rings out the best in her teammates. She takes advantage of every opportunity to get better.”
If more proof was needed to confirm Wilson – the 11th of 14 children of Chuck and Kim Wilson - is a player who does whatever is best for the team, look no further than the softball team. As a freshman and sophomore, she was pressed into emergency duty as pitcher for a Lions’ squad that took some serious thrashings in the highly competitive Suburban One League. “She’ll be the first to tell you she would much rather be out in the field,” NH-S coach Chris Marchok said. “There’s no question that Emily is a kid that says – what does the team need? and literally doesn’t question it after that. ‘What do you need? Okay, I’ll got do it.’ That’s who she is. Recently, I had a meeting with kids interested in trying out for softball. I talked about core values, and one of our core values is servant leadership. I said, ‘To make it simple for you guys, it’s just saying – how can I help everybody else before me?’ That’s Em. How can I serve? Sports are a lovely part of it, but it’s truly how she lives her life. She’s authentic through and through, a wonderful human being.”
This fall, Wilson will enroll in Lancaster Bible College where she will major in early childhood education and continue her basketball career. “I knew I wanted a Christian school, and then I was like – I’ll play basketball there too,” she said. “I always knew I wanted to play basketball in college. I feel like I always knew where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do, and it just all fell into place.” An excellent student, Wilson is a member of the National Honor Society, she is part of her school’s peer leadership, and she is active in her church youth group.
To read Wilson’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/emily-wilson-00117175
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Feb. 24, 2025)
The odds seemed against the Bensalem boys’ basketball team being repeat champions of the Patriot Division. After all, every starter from the previous season was gone. The only player with significant varsity playing time under his belt was dynamic point guard Amir Drummond, who had been the sixth man the year before. In order to spearhead the quest for a repeat title, it was clear that the 5-8 sparkplug from 2023-24 was going to need to become the engine in 2024-25. To that end, he began work in the gym with his trainer, Tayron Thomas, and put that work to use in a summer league. The end result? The Owls – with Drummond averaging more than 19 points per game -- repeated as Patriot champs.
“This team has been as resilient as they come – five new starters, overcoming adversity early on in the season and then just proving all the doubters wrong,” said coach Ron Morris. “We continued to grind and work and play for each other. We just kept getting better.” Drummond explained that the Owls adopted an attitude that it was them against the world. “It was huge, winning the league,” he said. “I feel like nobody believed in us. After you lose all the seniors and all-league guys that we lost, it hits hard. Us winning the league was true proof that we can do whatever we put our minds to. Coach Morris would say that the only people who need to believe in us are the ones here in the locker room, and that was the truth.”
As good as Drummond was as a junior sixth man, he was even better as a senior point guard and tri-captain. “Amir has been in our varsity program for three years,” Morris said. “He came to us his sophomore year (from Roman Catholic). It was a blessing to get a player like Amir. Other players see the work ethic he has and respect that work ethic. Last year, he sacrificed his own stats and accolades, coming off the bench as the sixth man. We had a really talented team, and he embraced the role of being the sixth man. That’s something that a lot of other players of his talent probably would have struggled with. He continued to work and continued to grind. He played starters’ minutes last year, and that really propelled him to be ready for this year.”
Drummond, while satisfied with what he had done as a junior, knew he needed to help fill a void this past season. “He put his head down last offseason and really worked on his jump shot,” said Morris. “He has always been fast and has always been able to score at the rim, but shooting wasn’t one of his best skills. He worked really hard this offseason, and his shot has improved drastically.” Drastically enough that a previous weakness is now a strength. “Now, he is one of the best shooters in the area,” said Morris. “He can score on all three levels. He had a game against North Penn where he was 7-for-9 from beyond the arc.
(Drummond broke the program record with a 49-point game in districts.) That’s a testament to his work ethic. He doesn’t force it a lot. He shares the ball and sees the floor really well.”
To focus on just Drummond’s shooting, or even his scoring ability, would be missing the overall picture. He is the quintessential all-around player. “Down the stretch, he really locked in on the defensive end,” said Morris. “He has also been a good rebounder throughout the season as well. We rely on him to do a lot on the floor, and he has lived up to that, plus some.”
Beyond Drummond’s skill set, the coach noted that his character is infectious. “That’s not just because of his talent, but because of the type of kid that he is,” Morris added. “He is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever coached in my 20 years, and he always has a smile on his face. He’s easy to get along with. When he first came here, it was like he had been a part of our family forever. He easily fit in and got along with the guys. He has got a great personality.”
Along the way, Drummond has gotten involved in school activities, namely Owl Ambassadors. Drummond has positioned himself to be a student-athlete at the next level, and he is fielding offers from Division I to Division III. “In his time here at Bensalem High School, he has improved as student, which is a testament to his work ethic,” said Morris. “What makes me most proud is him getting better in the classroom and him getting involved in school activities. It has been a pleasure to have him around. He has been a leader on the court and off the court. It’s been fun to watch.”
To read Drummond’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/amir-drummond-00117176
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