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 April 11, 2025)
Leah Verespy tried just about every sport imaginable as a youngster. It took the Pennridge senior absolutely no time at all to decide on a favorite. Lacrosse was a clear winner from the start. As a matter of fact, according to her father, the then third grader – shortly after her introduction to the sport with Deep Run Valley Sports Association - declared, “I think this is my sport.” And it definitely was. Verespy is signed, sealed and all but delivered to the University of Massachusetts Lowell where she will continue her lacrosse career at the Division 1 level. For now, however, the senior – one of four captains - has some unfinished business with her Pennridge squad that is rolling through the SOL and has its sights set high.
There’s no denying the impact of Verespy, a rare four-year varsity starter. “Everybody sees Leah as a leader,” Pennridge coach Maddie Dachowski said. “She has twin sisters who are freshmen, and it’s really easy for our
underclassmen, our JV players to go to Leah to lean on. I have leaned on Leah a lot to be my eyes and ears on the field because no matter how much coaching I do from the sidelines, I’m not on the field in the moment. I rely on my players to tell me what we need because they’re the ones out there, and Leah is my number one go-to person who I’m checking with. How are we feeling on the field? What do we need to change? Leah’s my girl.” For Dachowski – herself a former standout at Pennridge and then at La Salle University, it’s been something of a full circle moment to coach Verespy as well as many of her teammates. “I have known Leah since I was a player at Pennridge High School myself,” the Rams’ coach said. “She was part of the Deep Run lacrosse program, and being involved in Deep Run throughout high school and college as well helped me get acquainted with some of my players at a very young age.”
Verespy and Dachowski are something of kindred spirits when it comes to lacrosse. It’s a toss-up which one is more passionate about the sport. “I watched coach Maddie play lacrosse when she was in high school and now to be coached by her – when I was little, I would ask to train with her,” Verespy said. “I just loved to play as much as I could. She has been so much fun to have as a coach. She motivates us to enjoy the game and play hard. We have big goals on our team, and I am excited to continue this journey with my teammates who I am so lucky to have as my best friends. This is a team sport, and we are all-in on supporting each other.” Verespy’s love for lacrosse is underscored by the fact that she not only played club with Ultimate since she was in fourth grade but also played box lacrosse with Penn Lax All-Stars.
Convinced by her mother to also play field hockey, it was never Verespy’s sport of choice. “I never made my feelings about field hockey a secret,” she said. “It took until this past year for me to say it wasn’t that bad playing.” Freshman year, Verespy played one game on the JV and then was promoted to the varsity the rest of the season and was a fixture in the lineup ever since. “I made some great friends, which made it easy to keep playing,” she said. “Senior year I wasn’t sure how it would go. Some of my close friends graduated, and we had a coaching change.” Elena Romesburg – a field hockey and lacrosse standout at CB West – was named Pennridge’s new field hockey coach last fall. Romesburg points to Verespy as one of the best athletes she’s ever coached. “She has such an incredible IQ and is situationally aware in both sports,” said Romesburg, who is also the head coach of CB West lacrosse this spring. “She always leaves an impact on the field and is a natural leader just by how she carries herself. She plays so hard, but what’s most impressive is the work she puts in off the field. She is also a phenomenal student and again a true example of what it means to balance school and sports at the highest level.”
Off the athletic field, Verespy is a strong student and will major in accounting and finance at the University of Massachusetts Lowell where she will continue her lacrosse career.
To read Verespy’s compete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/leah-verespy-00118194
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of April 11, 2025)
If you would want to peg Council Rock South’s three-sport athlete Jake Maurer as “just another jock,” some hard facts would come in the way of that stereotype. The son of John and Stacy Maurer is also a member of the National Honor Society, Latin Honor Society and Math Honor Society. And, in addition playing his three sports – football, ice hockey and baseball – he goes against type and is just as proud of being a three-year member of the Golden Hawks’ Mathletes team.
Maurer, with his 4.2 GPA, plans to continue playing football at Moravian, where he will major in applied mathematics. “I think it’s a good fit,” he said. “They have a new coaching staff the last two years. They are really on the upswing. They are really trying to build something at Moravian, and I’m all for it.” The fact that Maurer will be playing football at the collegiate level is a story within itself. While he has been playing both ice
hockey and baseball since around the age of five, football was relegated to tossing it around with his father. Maurer dabbled in it, playing a bit in a flag football league and some tackle football in middle school, but he thought he had given up the game for good by high school. Then, with a groundswell of support, he was presented to head coach CJ Szydlik as an “athlete” who could add juice to the offense as a receiver.
By the end of his junior year, he was a key part of the offense. A few games into his senior season, Maurer had a breakout game against Pennsbury, and he became the focal point of the passing game. At that point, he came to a realization: Football, not baseball, was what he was going to pursue at the next level. “I went home that day and told my parents that I just truly love the sport of football a lot more than baseball, and I would just rather play football for another four years,” he said “It’s like you go to war every game. There is something about football. You don’t have to get excited for the game. The game of football just gets you excited, every single Friday. You wait for it all week.” Maurer was more than just an impact player on the gridiron. He was elected captain by his teammates for his leadership skills off the field. “He is a great leader,” Szydlik said. “He knows when to speak up and knows when to lead by example. He can talk to the coaches like a gentleman and be receptive to their responses. Fortunately, for us, we have a strong group coming back next year with some really good leadership. Jake was a big part of that foundation.”
Just because he is moving on to play football does not mean Maurer is giving any less than his all this spring for what is his final scholastic sports season. Head baseball coach Greg Paprocki says Maurer has a clear role as a senior left fielder who bats anywhere from sixth to eighth in the order. “We don’t name captains, but he is certainly one of our leaders,” said Paprocki. “He is a tremendous vocal leader, along with being a great example for our underclassmen that try to replicate what Jake brought to the program.”
Maurer was on some top-notch ice hockey teams for the Golden Hawks, a team that fell just short of their dream of a state title. “I think I was very blessed to play on a very good hockey team, and the kids around me were also very good,” said Maurer, a defenseman and captain of a strong Rock South squad.
As for those who supported him most, Maurer has his priorities in order. “I always want to start off with God,” he said. “He is an integral part of my life. I talk to him every day and He guides me in everything that I do. And then, there are my parents. They have supported me through all my ups and downs in my crazy athletic career. They have supported me through the highs and lows.” He also knows he owes a debt of gratitude to his teammates and coaches, especially Szydlik. “He was huge help in just giving me the opportunity,” said Maurer. “I never heard of anybody who never played real competitive football beforehand getting an opportunity to play varsity. That’s not just putting the jersey on but getting the minutes and getting catches and standing out. Just a huge thanks goes out to Coach C.J.” For Szydlik, the pleasure has been all his, saying: “Jake is the epitome of what a student-athlete strives to be.”
To read Maurer’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/jake-maurer-00118195
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