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 Sept. 12, 2012)
Stephanie Thompson is a captain and leader of her field hockey team. The Quakertown senior became a hockey player by default, opting to go out for the sport after she was cut from her soccer travel team the summer before seventh grade. It’s a decision she as never regretted. Thompson excelled and has been involved at the elite club level since she was in eighth grade. She has been a varsity starter since she was a sophomore. “She has really, really good stick skills because she plays indoors and plays club,” coach Peach Draper said. “She really shines when we play on turf. She has a great hit, so those two things combined make her a great hockey player.”
This past year, Thompson earned a spot on her FSC’s ‘A’ squad that qualified for the National Indoor Tournament in Virginia Beach last February. She has competed in the National Indoor Hockey Tournament three times, the National Hockey Festival twice and the Disney College Showcase twice.
This past summer, Thompson, whose father lives in London, had the opportunity to see the US National field hockey team compete in the Olympics. US team captain Lauren Crandall has been an inspiration to Thompson, and the Quakertown senior had a chance to meet the Central Bucks East grad when she ran a clinic for Thompson’s club team.
Just as she excels on the hockey field, Thompson excels off it as well, and competing in sports is just a small part of the senior captain’s life. An honors student, Thompson boasts a weighted GPA of 4.0. Thompson is also an executive student council member, one of six elected members. She also is a member of the National Honor Society, and she is involved in the Best Buddies Program as well as the Key Club and Spanish Club. It is that desire to help others that has played a prominent role in Thompson’s career choice. She will be pursuing a career in nursing with her sights set on one day becoming a nurse practitioner or doctor.
To read Thompson’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/stephanie-thompson-0027934.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Sept. 12, 2012)
Zachary Herr has elevated his golf game to lofty heights, and the Council Rock North senior can quite literally do it all on the golf course. Herr won the District One title in 2010 and 2011 and is the defending SOL champion. He led his team to a PIAA state title in 2010, he is a three-time state medalist, and he is a three-time runner-up in the Pennsylvania Junior Amateur. “His abilities go right to the bag,” Rock North coach Richard White said. “He doesn’t have any weaknesses. He has a very good short game, he’s a very good putter, and he’s very good off the tees long.” Herr’s accomplishments on the links extend to the national level. Highlights of his career include 14 top 10 finishes in American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) open events and three top 25 finishes at the AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions. He finished second in the 2012 AJGA Philadelphia open and was 38th in the 2012 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, which featured the top 60 juniors in the world.
Golf has been a family affair for the Herr family, and Zach – whose younger sisters Erica and Madeline are also elite golfers - can’t talk about one without talking about the other. Ask him to describe a perfect family vacation, and his response is anything but typical. “Our ideal vacation is finding a nice, big old golf tournament and a hotel, and we go out there and hang out for a week,” Herr said. “That’s just who we are. We’re used to packing five people into a two-bedroom hotel room, and that’s how we make our memories. Stuff like that is what the family is built on.” After Herr’s mother, Cyndie Herr, was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2008, Zach and Erica showed their support in the most extraordinary manner when they started the ZachAttacksCancer Foundation. After two fundraisers and golf tournaments, they cut a check for $85,00 for Fox Chase Cancer Center for cancer research.
Herr has made a verbal commitment to take his talents to Vanderbilt University where the Rock North senior, the recipient of a full scholarship, will major in business. Academics were his top consideration when he chose a college, although his goal is to play on the PGA Tour.
To view Herr’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/zachary-herr-0027935
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