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 (April 11, 2011)
Sarah McGowan has made a habit out of setting goals for herself and then going out and attaining them. The Neshaminy senior’s dazzling resume speaks for itself. A four-year starter in softball, McGowan has earned first team all-league and honorable mention all-state honors as a pitcher, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. “Sarah McGowan could play any position she wanted and be good at it,” coach Dave Chichilitti said. “If she knows she’s not pitching the next day, she’ll ask to stay after practice and take ground balls at third base. If you’re putting her in the outfield, she’ll ask to stay and field balls in the outfield after everyone has gone home. That’s the kind of kid she is. Obviously, she’s one of the premier pitchers in the area, but she has an incredible work ethic. She really, really works hard each and every day to get the status of being one of the best pitchers around. She’s also one of the best hitters in the area.”
McGowan also is an accomplished musician and was first chair in the school orchestra as a freshman and sophomore and third chair as a junior when time constraints forced her to give up music lessons. A member of the National Honor Society, McGowan – who takes a full course load of honors and AP classes – is ranked in the top five percent of her class.
With her sights set on one day becoming an astronaut, McGowan will enroll in Princeton University’s Engineering College in the fall where she will major in astrophysics. “I was always very interested in space,” McGowan said. “I wasn’t one of those little girls that wore dresses and played with Barbie dolls, and if I did, they were either in astronaut suits or fighting dinosaurs.”
On Nov. 16, 2009, McGowan witnessed the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis for a mission to the International Space Station. Her cousin, Randy Bresnik, was a member of the crew. “It was really a life-changing point,” McGowan said. “I can just remember that day and not just seeing but feeling the launch – it was like a switch went on in my heart. I have to at least try it. Whether I’m the person fueling the tank for the spaceship, I want to be part of it because it’s just so magnificent.”
McGowan also will continue her softball career at Princeton.
To read McGowan’s complete profile, click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/female-featured-athlete
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of April 11, 2011)
Dave McInerney can play any position on the baseball diamond, and he can play them all exceptionally well. The Upper Moreland senior has been the starting catcher for the Golden Bears since he was a freshman. Over the past three years, McInerney hit at a .400 clip with a .639 slugging percentage. In his first game this season, he smacked two home runs. “He has the ability to hit the ball hard to all fields,” coach Ernie Rehr said. “If you see him in batting practice, the ball is different when it comes off his bat. He hits the ball with such power and strength. He can put it out of the park from every part of the park.”
McInerney is also all but impossible to run on. “All the coaches that play against him respect him so much that it’s rare that you’ll see someone run on him,” Rehr said. “They know who’s back there, and they have to be extremely careful. He’ll throw behind runners and pick them off.”
The Upper Moreland senior has been selected to play in the prestigious Carpenter Cup the past two years. McInerney gives back to the game he loves, coaching kids in the Upper Moreland Little League as well as on his brother’s middle school team.
McInerney has accepted a baseball scholarship to the University of Cincinnati. He plans on majoring in sports management or business. Unless he gets drafted first. If he doesn’t, he has another shot in his junior year at Cincinnati. “It’s a long road,” McInerney said. “We’ll see what happens. I keep my hopes high, but either way, it’s a win for me.”
To read McInerney’s complete profile, click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/male-featured-athlete
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