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 Jan. 2, 2013)
Kristina O’Sullivan is a bona fide star on the soccer field. With her future in the sport already assured – the Upper Merion senior will be taking her talents to the United States Air Force Academy next fall, it would be easy to understand if she opted to forego her final basketball season. That was never a consideration. A four-year starter at point guard, Sullivan has led the team in assists and rebounds every year. This year she is averaging a double-double and, even more importantly, sets the tone for the team with her leadership and mental toughness. “Basically, since she walked in this building, she has helped forge our team’s identity,” basketball coach Tom Schurtz said.
O’Sullivan competes on the soccer club circuit for the FC Delco Lightning U18 squad, and she has been a captain of her high school squad. “What sets ‘Sully’ apart as a player and person is her level of commitment to anything and everything she participates in,” soccer coach Ryan Larkin said. “I have never come across a player who practices as hard as she does. Sully commits herself fully to the cause of winning and will do whatever it takes to make her team better.”
O’Sullivan understands the importance of taking advantage of every opportunity that comes her way. Her inspiration comes from her parents, Pat and Mary O’Sullivan. “They adopted me when I was three, and they gave such a fight to get me,” said O’Sullivan, who spent the first three years of her life in a Russian orphanage. “They were supposed to get me at six months old, but the (Russian) government said, ‘No, you can’t have her.’” So instead, Pat and Mary adopted an infant boy, and two-plus years later, they returned to Russia and received the okay to adopt Kristina. “When I was adopted, I was malnourished, I was underweight,” O’Sullivan said. “I think of it every day. Where would I be if my parents hadn’t fought to adopt me? That was life changing.”
O’Sullivan, an excellent student, takes honors and AP classes and is a member of the National Honor Society. She also is a member of SADD and the Varsity Club. With the singular goal of serving her country, O’Sullivan aspires to one day become a pilot but is keeping her options open.
To read O’Sullivan’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/kristina-osullivan-0031076
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Jan. 2, 2013)
Brett Harner isn’t just the best wrestler in the Suburban One League in his weight class. Nor is he simply the best in the district. The Norristown senior is one of the best in the state, and he’s the fourth best high school wrestler in the country at his weight according to the InterMat national wrestling web site. “He’s confident, self-assured, a hard worker,” said Brett’s dad, Mark Harner, who also happens to be his high school coach. “He stays on a very even keel. Win or lose, there’s no reaction. He doesn’t jump up and down when he wins. He shows respect for his opponent.”
Harner has two older brothers who wrestled. “It’s the one sport where you get what you earn,” he said. “Nothing is given to you. You can’t blame the ref because you gave the ref that position.” Harner, the regional and District 1/12 champion the last two years, finished third at Ironman and second at Beast of the East. He now has high sights set on a state crown. “It’s all about the state championship this year,” Harner said.
Harner has traveled all over the United States competing in wrestling tournaments. He points to the friendships he has made – friends who began as opponents - as one of the most gratifying aspects of the sport. “Some of my best friends live 100 miles away,” he said. “You start out wrestling against them, but there’s a common bond because only a wrestler can understand the grind you go through.”
In the fall, Harner competes for the varsity golf team, and he caddies at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club.
Not many people are ranked ahead of Harner when it comes to academics either. He is ranked second in his senior class at Norristown and will take the mat for Princeton in the fall. He chose Princeton from a final list that included Harvard, Stanford, Penn and Columbia. He plans to major in economics with perhaps a minor in political science. One day he hopes to work on Wall Street.
To view Harner’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/brett-harner-0031074
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