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 Nov. 2, 2011)
Sarah Carroll was looking forward to her final high school field hockey season. The Upper Dublin senior saw it end almost before it began when she tore her ACL during the final week of preseason and was sidelined the entire season. Although she couldn’t play, Carroll didn’t let the injury keep her from making a positive impact. She attended as many practices as she could and was at every one of her team’s games. “She was her teammates’ number one fan, even though she was completely devastated because she was missing her entire season,” coach Heather Boyer said. Carroll started at center forward on her team’s Senior Night and made the center pass to open the game and then immediately came off the field. “It was very emotional,” Carroll said. “In the huddle before the game, I thanked my girls for being my number one fans and being so supportive. We were all crying, but it was all very happy.”
Boyer lauded Carroll for her positive attitude. “If I could clone her and make 25 more of (her) for my team, I would in a heartbeat,” the Cardinals’ coach said. “She’s respectful, and she’ sincere. She really works hard in the classroom and as an athlete. She’s friendly with everybody. She’s just really a great person.”
Off the hockey field, Carroll – an excellent student – is involved in SGA and French Club. Her top three college choices are Shippensburg, Bloomsburg and West Chester where she plans to study pre-medicine with a goal of one day becoming a physician’s assistant. “Some of my friends joke that we’re the super hero family because my mom was a paramedic at one point, my dad’s a police officer, and both my dad and I are volunteer firefighters, so emergency medicine is very much in my family,” Carroll said. She has been a junior firefighter with the Fort Washington Fire Company for a year and a half.
To read Carroll’s complete profile, click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/sarah-carroll
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Nov. 2, 2011)
Drew Magaha has been a dominant force in cross county not only in the SOL but in the district and state as well. The Upper Moreland senior – also an elite track runner - won his third straight SOL American Conference title earlier this fall and a week later became the first Upper Moreland runner to win a district championship in cross country. “It turned out better than I could have ever hoped,” Magaha said. “Before this season, I didn’t consider myself a cross country runner. This was my chance to show everyone that I’m not good just on the track.” As a junior, Magaha won the league, district and state mile, setting a record in the latter for Class AAA. “The kids respect him,” coach John Heins said. “He lets his performances do the talking.”
Heins, who will be retiring after cross country season this year, also coached Magaha’s father at Upper Moreland. “It’s really something special that he stayed around two (more) years for my cross country season,” Magaha said. “He and I have had a special bond since the beginning.”
Magaha is just as serious a student as he is a runner. A member of the National Honor Society, he is among the top 10 percent of his class at Upper Moreland and is enrolled in several AP classes. Next year, he will attend the University of Pennsylvania where he will compete in track and cross country. Although his passion is history, Magaha is uncertain of his major. Becoming a teacher is a potential career goal.
To read Magaha’s complete profile, click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/drew-magaha
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