Thanks to our continued partnership with Univest Financial, SuburbanOneSports.com will once again recognize 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 Nov. 1, 2023)
Melissa Sessler was living out the dream. Or at least it was the dream of many student-athletes. The North Penn senior was committed to take her considerable talents on the hockey field to St. Joseph’s University. Until, that is, the gifted defensive back realized it wasn’t her dream. Not that she didn’t like St. Joe’s, she did, but playing Division 1 field hockey began to feel like a burden she didn’t want or need, so Sessler made what might seem like an unpopular decision – she decommitted. “The whole commitment process is so demanding,” Sessler said. “It’s so much. And after a while, I just got so burned out with field hockey, and I felt like D-1 was going to be way too much for me.” That didn’t mean it was an easy decision to decommit. After all, as a product of one of the region’s most elite club programs, WC Eagles, Sessler had accomplished the ultimate goal, a goal she initially believed was hers as well until it became a reality. “You don’t ever hear about people decommitting,” she said. “Everyone said, ‘Oh my god, you’re D-1. Why would you ever want to change that? So many people want to be D-1. Why would you ever take that away from yourself?’ It was definitely weird.”
St. Joe’s coach Hannah Prince, Sessler’s first coach at WC Eagles, was understanding. “I had a phone call with her and told her, ‘Hey, I think this isn’t going to be the best for me,’” Sessler said. “She was definitely supportive about it. It was really nice, but at that point, I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to be playing hockey or not. I almost didn’t play for the high school team this year because I was so burned out.” In the end, Sessler - elected a captain by her teammates last spring - opted to play. “I told her – it’s a really brave thing to say, ‘I don’t think this is for me anymore,’” North Penn coach Shannon McCracken said. “I knew where she was with the sport, how hard it was on her, how she was burned out and wasn’t enjoying it much anymore. She plays club and all the showcases, all the tournaments every weekend – I think it’s tough to balance it all in high school. She made the tough decision.”
The senior captain played a key role in the Knights’ successful season. “I’m so happy I played this year,” Sessler said. “The team – we always were friends with each other, but this year was so different. We all just connected to each other so well. They really all became my best friends this year. So having this connection along with having such a great season with them – it was so hard to see it end.” For McCracken, seeing Sessler regain her love of the sport was especially gratifying. “What I saw – and it was really cool to witness – was growth this season as she really became a strong leader for us,” the Knights’ coach said. “The way she would start to speak up in team talks and timeouts and water breaks. Her teammates really listened to her and valued her. It was really cool to see the sparkle come back.”
Sessler acknowledges that her future is uncertain, but it’s a good uncertain. “I’m still definitely open to playing hockey,” she said. Active in the school’s Key Club, Sessler – an excellent student - plans to major in psychology with her sights set on a job in forensic psychiatry, and while her final field hockey chapter may or may not have been written, there’s no mistaking the biggest decision of her young life – decommitting to play Division 1 – was the right one for Sessler. “In our team huddle after our last game, she spoke up and said, ‘I just want to tell you guys that I don’t think a lot of you realize how hard last season was for me and field hockey was for me. I lost my love for it, and this season reminded me how much I love being on a team, how much I love the sport, and it was all because of you guys,’” McCracken said. “It was awesome. I cry at Hallmark movies, but I’m pretty steady with the kids. When she said that, I started to tear up. I love field hockey, and I love to coach, but ultimately, I want these kids to have the best experience and I want the kids to feel like they know what it is to be part of a team. For her to say that - it took the sting of the loss away. What a win that is. She’s going to go out in the world a better person because of her experience, and that’s ultimately the best part of coaching.”
To read Sessler’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/melissa-sessler-00109761
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Nov. 1, 2023)
In the most literal sense, it was both the best of times and worst of times last spring season when Wissahickon’s Grayson Ruffner ran a personal best in the 800 at districts but still missed the cut for the state meet. It was an emotional time, and tears were shed, but Ruffner used the disappointment as fuel for his senior season. “It just motivated me so much for this season,” said Ruffner. “I tried not to let it deter me too much, because then it just gets in your head.” Added Wissahickon coach Sean Stovall: “I said, ‘Listen, use this moment as motivation. If you do, a lot of good things are going to be coming your way.’ He told me he hung up his number from the district meet, watched the state meet and took a picture of the results. After the league meet, he talked to me about that, too; about how that motivated him. We were so connected. It was a sad moment. We were crying together, but we both knew it would benefit him in the future, which it did.”
After a summer of hard training, Ruffner began the first third of his senior season – that being cross-country – with a vengeance by taking the league title with a time of 15:49, shaving almost a minute off his sixth-place time at last year’s SOL Championships. Said Stovall: “He wants to make everybody proud, of course, but I said, ‘Run for you. You put in the hard work.’ When I got back up to the finish line, he jumped up into my arms. His parents were crying tears of joy, taking pictures and stuff. It was just a wonderful day. He believed in the training, and he knew exactly what he had to do, and he achieved his goal of being league champion.” After a strong showing at the district meet (personal record 15:35 and 13th place finish), he qualified and competed at the state meet in Hershey. “One of my big goals was to make the state meet,” he said. “Last year, I missed out. A couple of my teammates made it. I was a little sour about that. I have my chance now.”
After just missing the state cross-country meet last season, Ruffner really hit his stride, pun intended, last winter during the indoor season. “That’s when he really started to knock down at lot of his times,” said Stovall. “He actually had the fastest split in the 4X800. He ran a 55.41 at the state meet and the relay finished 10th overall. Outdoor, he set more personal records. He eventually dropped his split down to a 1:55.05 at the league championship to win it for us. He qualified for districts in the 1600 and the 800, which is his race. He loves that race.” That impressive tear ended with the aforementioned 1:56 flat, a personal best that still wasn’t good enough, at the district meet. “He finished 11th and they only take the Top 8,” said Stovall. “That was just more motivation for him going into this season.”
Stovall is telling his younger runners to use Ruffner as an example. “I’m telling my guys to soak it in like a sponge,” the Trojans’ coach said. “What he is doing, is what the guys before him did for him. He has given a lot of advice. During times when I’m giving my speeches, he will stop me and add a few more points and stuff like that - from his veteran experience - for the guys. He tells the guys (that) he didn’t always run these 15:30s and 15:40s. He gives them tips on what he has done at home, and he tries to get the guys to go for runs up at Valley Green and stuff. He has been a very good leader, and one who has helped the younger guys develop.”
Ruffner is a true student-athlete, as opposed to an athlete-student. “He’s an exceptional student in the classroom,” said Stovall, pointing out that Ruffner has a 4.83 GPA. “He’s in a lot of advanced placement classes; a few courses to help him with college and get some college credits and everything. He’s an honor roll student. I wanted to emphasize that because I always tell my guys about the ‘student’ part first in student-athlete.”
With an eye toward majoring in biochemistry, Ruffner is weighing the schools that have the best fit for him, in terms of his major and as a runner. Unless a dark horse comes into the picture, the four finalists appear to be – in no particular order - Bucknell, Gettysburg, Maryland-Baltimore County and Tufts. “I hope to commit by the end of the year,” Ruffner said. “Most of the schools I’ve applied to offer early action (as opposed to early decision).” While running and schoolwork eat up a lot of his time, Ruffner does not keep himself in a vacuum. He is an active member of the school community and is a member of the Interact Club, the National Honor Society, and he serves as the co-president of the National Spanish Honor Society.
To read Ruffner’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/grayson-ruffner-00109760
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