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 March 28, 2011)
Melissa Spinosa is a soft-spoken leader of the Hatboro-Horsham softball team. A three-year varsity starter, the senior captain bats leadoff for the Hatters and also anchors the outfield in center field. “She is a well above average outfielder,” coach Joe DiFilippo said. “She has a very good arm, and her speed makes up for everything. She’s just so fast. I have her batting leadoff mainly for her speed because she can bunt and get on base. She is quick, and she can also drive the ball.”
DiFilippo holds Spinosa in high regard for reasons that go well beyond her softball talent. “She’s just a great kid,” the Hatters’ coach said. “She tries 100 percent to do exactly what you tell her to do. She’s a pleasure to coach. As far as with other kids – she’s very quiet, and I don’t think you will ever find a kid that has a bad thing to say about her. Melissa leads by example on the field. She’s not somebody who’s going to talk a lot and say a lot, but the kids just respect her.
Spinosa also played third singles for the tennis team in the fall and opted to run winter track for the first time this year. For the past four years, Spinosa has helped with winter softball clinics to teach community youngsters the fundamentals of the game.
An excellent student, Spinosa hopes to continue her softball career at West Chester next year. She plans to major in nutrition/dietetics with an interest in working with university athletes and students.
To read Spinosa’s complete profile, click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/female-featured-athlete
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of March 28, 2011)
Quinton Bryant is a rare three-sport standout. The Harry S. Truman senior excels in football, wrestling as well as track and field. Bryant’s legacy at Truman might well be his inspirational role in keeping the football team together last fall when the program was in jeopardy of being dropped when – after just 16 players showed up for practice – former coach John Iannuci resigned. “He was a leader in practice,” coach Ed Cubbage said. “He kept the other 19 guys going in terms of working hard and trying to get better. With all the craziness we had, I still considered our year a positive strength because of Quinton and couple of other players like him.”
Bryant, a senior captain, never left the field for the Tigers. He played offense, he played defense, and he played special teams. “Every game was a marathon for him,” Cubbage said. “He got up for them all. The other guys that did it would have been D-backs. They didn’t take the pounding, they weren’t putting their heads in the ground every play and smacking into someone. What he did was extremely impressive. He’s beyond dedicated. He loved competing. He loved being there every day. He relished the leadership role.”
Bryant, who only started wrestling as a sophomore, had a three-year mark of 64-20, and he was selected to the all-league second team. He also just picked up track three years ago as a thrower, and in his very first season, he broke the school discus record.
In the classroom, Bryant is a solid student, and he was a member of the Varsity Club and also volunteered for the Bucks County Challengers, an organization that sets up flag football games for handicapped kids. Bryant plans to continue is athletic career at the collegiate level and has narrowed his choices to Lycoming, Delaware Valley and Widener.
To read Bryant’s complete profile, click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/male-featured-athlete
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