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. 7, 2016)
As a high school junior – and with the encouragement of her parents – Upper Dublin’s Caitlin McMorrow joined a cult. And her only regret is not doing it sooner. The Kool-Aid, in this case, is chlorine-flavored. The cult, as McMorrow calls it, is the Upper Dublin girls’ swimming team coached by Pat Redican that happens to be working on its 27th straight league title. Before coming out for the team, McMorrow had only competed for the Maple Manor Swim Club team. “I had been doing it since I was six years old, and I always loved it,” she said. Why, then, did she never consider swimming for her high school team? “I wasn’t sure I could commit,” she said. “The high school experience is totally different. If I have a regret, it is that I didn’t do it sooner.”
While McMorrow is not one of the team’s stars, Redican sees her as a vital member of the squad. In an 
individual sport, she is the ultimate team player. “She has been a very positive force with great team spirit and has become a real leader as a senior,” Redican said. “She truly is a coach’s athlete: hard working, team oriented and positive in her approach.” Although she had never played water polo before, McMorrow was open to a new experience and went out for Upper Dublin’s inaugural team this fall. “Caitlin was a paramount part for having such a successful first season for the girls’ team,” said coach Chris Ianni. “Her leadership and strong work ethic propelled the team, and she continuously provided encouragement to her teammates, especially when many were getting frustrated learning and playing a new game which wasn’t always easy. She sets a great example, in and out of the water. She was always the first one there ready to go for practices – even mornings when we start at 5:30 a.m. – and, because of those qualities, was named co-captain of the team.”
McMorrow is a member of the National Honor Society and the French Club, which has allowed her to travel to both France and Quebec City. Her course load includes honors history and AP language and composition. “I have been blessed with amazing teachers,” said McMorrow. “Upper Dublin is just really, really amazing. All my teachers really care. Any teacher I’ve ever had has been invested in the students. Whatever you give them, they give back to you – times 10.”
To read McMorrow’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/caitlin-mcmorrow-0058772
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Jan. 7, 2016)
Dayton Stahl loves to compete. Plain and simple. And it’s not just about winning for the William Tennent senior – although he enjoys winning as much as the next person. Stahl understands the joy of competition, and the event is all but secondary. “I swim anything the coach puts me in, and I’m not going to complain about it because I just love the competition,” the William Tennent senior said. “There was a time when there weren’t any competitions, just practices, and I was really unmotivated to swim because there was nothing really pushing me to keep going. I just love the heat of the moment and competition. Even if I lose, it’s like, ‘Hey, I got to swim fast and made my coaches proud’ and so on and so forth.”
Last year, Stahl volunteered to try his hand at diving even though he had no experience. It’s his team-first attitude that made Stahl – who transferred to Tennent from Conestoga - a valued member from the moment he stepped onto the pool deck as a junior newcomer after he moved to Warminster from Wayne. “He joined the high school team, and we were completely shocked,” coach Meghan Forlini said. “A lot of times you expect athletes coming up from different years and different ages, and he was a little bit different in the fact that we weren’t expecting him to join the team. It was a very nice surprise that we added a new boys’ point scorer. To top it off – just finding out how nice of an individual Dayton was and how he came in not understanding the different traditions and things that go along with the team, and he jumped in full force.”
Although Stahl is not a captain, he plays a leadership role. “He’s very much an individual that doesn’t always need to use his words,” Forlini said. “He shows how a good teammate should be just by leading in practice, whether it’s going first in his lane or helping others out academically.” It’s not unusual to find Stahl tutoring one of his teammates in the library prior to practice. A math whiz, Stahl is a member of Mathletes and participates in math league. He plans to major in actuarial science and has applied to Purdue, Temple and Pittsburgh. “He’s one of those kids you can definitely look at and no matter what he does – he’s going to give you 100 percent and always succeed,” Forlini said. “I firmly believe that.”
To read Stahl’s compete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/dayton-stahl-0058776
- Log in to post comments
