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. 21, 2012)
Sara Sargent is in a league of her own when it comes to cross country. The Pennsbury senior burst onto the high school scene, capturing both the district and state titles as a freshman. One year later, Sargent was slowed by mononucleosis, a fact that was not public knowledge, and she found herself the brunt of some negative and jealous online posts when she did not experience the same level of success she had as a freshman. “She really got lambasted,” coach Don Little said. “It was a small number of people, but a vocal number. It was unbelievable, and she was a 14, 15-year-old kid.” In the winter of her sophomore year, free from mono but still weakened, Sargent won the indoor 3,000-meter state title with a record time of 9:49. In addition, she went on to win the state title in the outdoor 3,200. Actually, she has won at least one individual state championship in each of her four years at Pennsbury, and she has finished in the top 10 in the state cross country meet four times. All the while leading the Falcons to three consecutive state team championships. “When I took over the program eight years ago, we tried to expand it and grow, and we were making progress,” Little said. “But the year Sara came in, she just took it to a whole other level and accelerated the whole process. You can count up all her medals, but her intangibles were really important. The girls really look at her doing her job, and it made them want to succeed, and it helped them approach the sport in a serious way.”
For the first time in school history, the Falcons competed in the Nike Cross Country Regionals where they were the No. 1 seed. These days, Sargent is blazing full speed ahead, but she’s thankful for the adversity she faced early in her high school career. “I would never go back and change anything,” she said. “I feel like I’m a stronger person. It’s amazing to think about what I did as a freshman and going through all of that. Everything else is just icing on the cake. I couldn’t ask for anything else.”
An honors student, Sargent is involved in a multitude of school activities. She is a member of the National Honor Society and is very involved in charity work through her Yarley-based church, St. Ignatius, where she also helps her dad coach track and cross country. Sargent plans to run in college. Among the schools she’s considering are Villanova, Georgetown, Virginia and the University of Pennsylvania.
To read Sargent’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/sara-sargent-0030146
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Nov. 21, 2012)
Tyler Afflerbach just might represent everything that is good about high school sports. The Souderton senior was a two-year captain of his soccer team, and the leadership he provided left an indelible mark on the program. In addition to being a gifted athlete who also is blessed with intelligence, Afflerbach, the team’s standout goalkeeper, also took on the role of coach. “There are little kids, goalkeepers that are going to be flowing into the high school, both boys and girls, who have been trained by Aff,” coach Tom Quintois said. “When (former goalkeeper coach) Lee Spears left a few years ago, Aff became our goalkeeper instructor. Here’s one of our players who is actually a coach in our program. We have three guys in the pipeline right now that are all under his watch and all guys that play like Aff.” That can only mean good things for Souderton soccer since Afflerbach has set the standard for his position, earning first team all-league honors in each of the last two seasons.
A three-year varsity starter, Afflerbach, in addition to anchoring the defense, provided the kind of leadership coaches covet. “Off season practices – he doesn’t miss,” Quintois said. “He’s a model citizen around the building. Academically, he’s at the top of his class, and he treats everybody the same, makes everybody feel really comfortable. Oftentimes kids come in entitled as seniors and misuse that title. He’s a guy you wouldn’t even know he’s a senior. He’s the last to leave practice. He’s helping guys with the equipment. Little things like that don’t seem like much, but they’re huge.”
His will be a tough act to follow at Souderton where he has created an atmosphere of respect and camaraderie that transcends grade levels. “When the younger guys feel respected and they feel part of the team, they’re going to contribute, and they’re going to lay it on the line for those seniors,” Quintois said. “He was able to create that kind of culture in our program. He had some help, but the culture was definitely created by him.”
Afflerbach, who has played for Harleysville FC United since he was 10, also excels in the classroom and boasts a 4.54 weighted GPA. His course load is filled with AP classes, and he still finds time to be involved in student government and with the LINK Crew. He plans to major in engineering and continue his soccer career at the collegiate level. His top choices for college include La Salle, Delaware and Manhattan College.
To view Afflerbach’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/tyler-afflerbach-0030147
- Log in to post comments
