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 Oct. 4, 2011)
Gabby Nyirjesy is at the top of her game in every endeavor she attempts. The Abington senior played tennis for two years – she earned first team all-league honors as a freshman and first team at second singles as a sophomore. As a junior, Nyirjesy was forced to choose between soccer and tennis when soccer was moved to the fall. She opted to play soccer. “I can play her just about anywhere,” said Abington coach Rick Tompkins. “She’s good with both feet. We use her primarily at midfield. She does a lot of the dirty work that the others players don’t want to do, winning balls and then giving them up to somebody else. She tries to make everybody else better.”
This year, Nyirjesy, a captain, and her teammates are running a four-week U-11 clinic. On the field, Nyirjesy leads by example. “She’s a self-starter, and (her teammates) follow her lead,” Tompkins said.
Nyirjesy, a member of the National Honor Society, excels in the classroom as well. She scored a perfect 800 in her math SAT, and she is ranked sixth in her class of 622. This year she is taking five AP courses in addition to honors Latin. She also took five years of French. She is a member of the Key Club, Math Club, French Club, the Varsity A Club and the Reading Olympics.
For the past three years, she has traveled to the Dominican Republic to volunteer at a clinic, traveling with a group from her mother’s office – her mother is a nurse practitioner. She has received the President’s Award for Academic Excellence, Abington Student Service Aware, the French Honor Society Award as the Most Promising AP Student, the SAT 800 Club and a service award.
Johns Hopkins is number one on her list of college choices with Northwestern and Virginia as well as Dartmouth and Penn also under consideration. She plans to major in math or physics with the possibility of pursuing engineering as a career.
To read Nyirjesy’s complete profile, click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/gabby-nyirjesy
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Oct. 4, 2011)
Randy Goldfarb is the ‘unwritten’ captain of the Council Rock South cross country team, according to coach Joe Warwick. The Golden Hawk senior has been a positive leader of a young and inexperienced squad. “He’s been dedicated for four years,” Warwick said. “He’s a hard working kid. When he goes out there, he always gives his best. We have a very young team this year, and they’re a pleasure to work with. What better year to have somebody like Randy as a leader. I like his style – he’s a class act.”
Goldfarb’s story is one of perseverance and determination, and he can still recall his first experience with track in seventh grade. “I did track because my dad always said it was the best thing you could do for your body,” said Goldfarb, who was involved in martial arts until middle school. “So I did it, but I wasn’t that good – I ran a nine-minute mile.” Undeterred, Goldfarb was inspired to work harder and has elevated his performances to the point where this season he is one of the team’s top three runners despite being plagued by sore knees. “He just loves competing, loves training hard, and he’s a great influence on the underclassmen,” Warwick said. “Some kids have more talent than him, but he beats them because of his will to win and his preparation.”
Goldfarb volunteers at the Churchville Nature Center and helps out with the festival at Core Creek Park. He hopes to continue running at some level at the collegiate level. The Rock South senior excels in the classroom, and his course load includes AP biology, AP calculus and AP physics. He is considering majoring in biomedical engineering. He has applied to Drexel and plans to apply to Lehigh as well as several other colleges.
To read Goldfarb’s complete profile, click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/randy-goldfarb
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