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. 21, 2016)
Briana Vetter has her sights set on a career as a lobbyist. Or, at the very least, pursuing a career that will make a difference in the political process. The Springfield senior is president of the school’s Youth and Government (YAG) Club where she has come to understand the legislative process in a way that many do not. Vetter’s passion is unmistakable. “Just learning the whole legislative process and how our government works was so eye opening to me,” she said. “It just made me realize if you care about an issue enough, you have to act on it yourself. You can’t wait for someone else to take care of it.” Leadership skills comes naturally to Vetter, who has been president of her class the past two years and is a tri-captain of the Spartans’ basketball team, and any childhood aspirations she may have had to one day be a teacher fell by the wayside when she became immersed in the legislative process with YAG. Every Monday morning, Vetter leads the 7 a.m. meetings of the Youth And Government Club, one of the school’s largest clubs with 120 members. “I help the younger kids write their own legislations, I run the meetings, I plan them,” Vetter said. “It’s definitely a lot of work. It’s one of the biggest roles I have. It’s really satisfying to see the younger kids start to understand the legislative process and how democracy works, and that’s something I really like doing.” With the goal of pursuing a career as a lobbyist or campaign manager, Vetter plans to study political science – and possibly law – at either Temple University or the University of Maryland.
Vetter was captain of the junior varsity basketball teams both her sophomore and junior years, and so effective was she that coach Laurie Kristiniak was sorry to see her move up to the varsity. A pulled muscle in her back sidelined Vetter the first three weeks of the season, but she is finding her stride. “She comes in and practices every day and really gives an effort preparing the girls for games,” coach Bill Krewson said. “She’s a good (communicator), and she’s a good role model. She works hard, she’s very smart, and she helps the younger kids.” Vetter volunteers her time to work at Krewson’s basketball clinics and last year ran the Spartan Survivor, a day of competition for the middle school. An excellent student, the Springfield senior – who boasts a 4.19 GPA and takes three AP courses – is a member of the National Honor Society. “She’s a role model captain,” Krewson said. “She just a great kid.”
To read Vetter’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/briana-vetter-0059197
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Jan. 21, 2016)
The Wissahickon swim program without a child of John and Sharon Beyer making waves would be like KFC not selling fried chicken. First came Kristen. Then Greg. And now, capping the lineage is senior Jeff Beyer. “This is a great family,” said boys’ coach John High. “Jeff has always been the quiet, younger brother. As a freshman, his older brother, Greg, was a good swimmer. I can remember watching Jeff swim and thinking, ‘Man, he’s going to beat his brother’s times.’” Ironically, with Greg – who is taking a year off from swimming at Bloomsburg – helping girls’ coach Laurie Hug, older brother has been helping Jeff work to achieve all his goals before moving on to swim on the collegiate level at Shippensburg. “He has been able to help me out and is the reason I have hit some of my best times,” said Jeff. If it all follows the script, he will be able to erase the disappointment of narrowly missing out on qualifying for states in the 500 freestyle last year. While he still got to compete in a relay at states, placing two spots away from the top 32 in the state that qualify in his main event was a bitter pill for a fierce competitor like Beyer to swallow. “That definitely added fuel to the fire,” he said.
Beyer played water polo in the fall and plans to coach the sport to younger kids in the spring. In the meantime, the focus is on swimming and academics for Beyer, who carries a weighted GPA of 4.2. His college search had to be more than just a fit for his swimming skills. High has zero doubts that Beyer – who plans to major in computer science – will continue to excel in the future. “Every day Jeff trains with a level of intensity that is hard to find amongst high school swimming,” the Trojans’ coach said. “He is one of the guys that gets it. What I mean by that is that Jeff knows there are shortcuts that he could take or days that he wants to take off, but he is in it for the long-term reward. Whether it is in the pool, the classroom or gaming with friends, he is in it to win it. He is a natural born leader, who as the youngest, learned from some of the best that sometimes what you want to do and what you should do are two different things. In the end, he chose to do what he needs to do, plus some to help secure a spot in the postseason. In doing so, he has done it with humbleness, pride and a leadership that any coach would kill to have. He leads by example and is committed to his team.”
To read Beyer’s compete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/jeff-beyer-0059195
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