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. 26, 2014)
Mackenzie Carroll grew up playing soccer, learning under the tutelage of older brothers Andrew and Billy Carroll. “I was actually the goalie because my brother (Billy) was a goalie, and I wanted to be like him,” Carroll said. “He would train me. He would make me run laps around the yard.” These days, Carroll is first and foremost a basketball player. A standout guard, she has committed to take her talents to Colgate University and will be a key player on a Bucks squad that is predicted to be one of the district’s best. Still, Carroll’s backyard soccer training apparently served her well. Mention her name to West soccer coach Jorge Rodriguez, and it would be easy to assume that soccer is her sport of choice. “I could talk about Mackenzie for three hours,” the Bucks’ coach said. “She’s an amazing story.” Amazing for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that she wasn’t sure she would even play soccer this fall but ended up playing a key role in West’s magical run to a state title.
Carroll was a stalwart defender for a West squad that captured the imagination of a school community with its postseason run from the 13th-seeded team in districts to the last team standing in the PIAA Class AAA State Tournament. “I honestly don’t know where we would be if she hadn’t come back this year,” Rodriguez said. “I think without Mackenzie we would have more losses and we don’t get to where we go.” Making Carroll’s contributions even more remarkable was the fact that she changed positions, moving from a center mid to center back. “One of the reasons we were able to do that with her is her IQ,” Rodriguez said. “She has a tremendously high IQ for someone who’s not in the sport like some of our other players. Mackenzie’s very, very focused. She’s mentally strong and able to make those changes. Not only that, she’s able to do it at the highest level.”
Carroll served as a mentor to freshman back Allie Walsh, and she has carried that leadership to the basketball court. “She’s great with the younger kids,” West coach Terry Rakowsky said. “She takes on our younger freshmen and sophomores as little sisters, and she’s a great mentor to those kids. The soccer team made it to the state finals, which is where we want to go. She’s been much more vocal with regard to expressing what it really takes to get to that stage and win.” A four-year varsity player, she is one of four senior captains that will lead this year’s talented squad.
An excellent student, Carroll is a member of the National Honor Society. At Colgate, she plans to major in economics with an interest in science as well, pointing toward a career as a physical therapist. She is also active with her church youth group, and the summers after her freshman and senior years, she went on mission trips with her church.
To read Carroll’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/mackenzie-carroll-0048794
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Nov. 26, 2014)
You wouldn’t think that eating Weiner Schnitzel and bratwurst or watching a World Cup soccer game on a huge screen in a town square would have a negative effect on a local high school cross country runner’s season – but in some ways it did. Fortunately, it wasn’t a major setback for Pennridge senior Phil Gunderson. The Rams’ top runner made it all the way to this year’s state championship meet – if only by the skin of his teeth. Most cross country runners devote the entire summer building a base and getting ready for the fall season. Gunderson trained hard last summer, but he did take some time off for a trip to Germany through an exchange program. “I didn’t have much time to do any running then, so my training took a hit,” he said. “I never did catch up to where I would have been – but it wasn’t bad.”
Even though his trip to Bavaria set his cross country season back a bit, Gunderson still had a season most runners only dream about. He finished the season by running at the PIAA Class AAA championships in Hershey. “Phil is a good runner,” said Pennridge coach Terry Permar. “He’s a strength runner. The big story is that he made states. He finished 38th at districts and was the last qualifier. It’s a really big deal because we didn’t think he’d make states, but lo and behold, he did.”
A number of runners were nipping at Gunderson’s heels at the district meet. “The day of districts, I was just trying to get myself psyched up for the race,” Gunderson said. “It was maybe my last race, so I was just jamming out on the bus. I was running well during the race. Coming into the last mile, I was 43rd or 44th. I just kicked it in coming out of the cornfield. I like to think it was my best kick of the year. I’m not much of a speed runner, so I started my kick with a half mile to go and started reeling some guys in. In the last 200 meters, I was coming up on some guys and passed two or three of them at the end. I really didn’t know how close I was to making the state cut. Even after the finish, I didn’t know.” Gunderson was the final runner to make the state cut.
Running is just one small piece of Gunderson’s life. He plays trombone in the band, he was in the Homecoming Court, and he’s a member of student council. He received the scholar-athlete award for the fall for the highest GPA. In addition to cross country and track, Gunderson’s resume includes three years on the school’s debate team, four years on the school’s Executive Council, two years in the National Honor Society, four years playing in Pennridge’s symphonic band and four playing in the school’s jazz band. Gunderson plans to major in engineering and his college list is an impressive one that includes Bucknell, Carnegie Mellon and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
To view Gunderson’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/phil-gunderson-0048799
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