Thanks to our continued partnership with Univest Financial, SuburbanOneSports.com recognizes a male and female featured athlete each week. The recognition is given to seniors of high character who are students in good standing that have made significant contributions to their teams or who have overcome adversity. Selections are based on nominations received from coaches, athletic directors and administrators.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Female Athlete (Week of Jan. 13, 2025)
And there it was. The Wissahickon ice hockey team was at a crucial fork in the road of the ongoing 2024-25 season. The Trojans were missing some key players facing a Springfield team that was better than its record indicated. A loss would have been a severe blow. The score was tied, 4-4, with around two minutes to go. The puck went into the corner in the Trojans’ offensive zone. A 5-foot-5 skater with a ponytail chased and took a big hit while feathering a pass out front for what turned out to be the winning goal. The assist came from senior
forward Sabrina Honeycutt, one of the few females in the SHSHL. The goal was scored by her younger brother, Logan. “I realized we needed to get that last goal before the other team did,” said Honeycutt. “We just went all out, chasing the puck. I went into the boards and ended up getting absolutely crushed going into the corner. I was still able to throw the puck over to my brother out in front and he took it right in.”
Wissahickon coach James Rumsey was unfazed by the gutsy play. Just the fact that he had her on the ice at crunch time speaks volumes. “She is one of the best positional players that I know,” said the coach. “She has a ton of confidence. She takes it and gives it to guys that are almost twice her size. She knows that is part of the game and doesn’t take anything personally. She played a big part in the win, and she set up that goal in the end. She did a really good job.”
Honeycutt, who has played just about every sport there is – from lacrosse to diving to gymnastics to flag football to baseball to dance – started ice hockey in fifth grade while wearing a pair of hand-me-down skates from her older brother, Hudson. It soon became her sport of choice, and she found herself so dominant against other girls it led to a quandary about playing high school hockey with and against mostly boys. She played in the SHSHL as a freshman but not as a sophomore before coming back last season and this. As it has all turned out, she believes she has benefitted from the SHSHL experience. “It has made me so much better,” she said. “Against boys, you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times and move your feet to every puck. With girls, it is more like half-speed. It’s just not as fast or as physical.”
When Honeycutt returned to the Wissahickon program last season, Rumsey named her an assistant captain, a role she relishes and remains in this season. “I think Sabrina brings leadership from a different perspective,”
said Rumsey. “She holds people accountable for their performance on the ice. She has a lot of experience in the game, too. She has been playing it for so long.” Rumsey sees unwavering maturity as a key to her leadership skills. “She just holds people accountable and lets people know what is expected of them,” he said. “She is just a very mature individual. She says what is on her mind, and she just has a lot of knowledge of the game.”
In addition to playing a key role for Wissahickon in the SHSHL, Honeycutt is making a major impact in the alternate female ice hockey universe. She will be playing at the Division II level for Liberty University next year and also plays for the elite Junior Flyers girls’ club team. In addition, through her Puerto Rican heritage, she has earned a key spot on the national team. She played in tournaments in Florida and Brazil and has several others planned – in Vegas, New York City, Chicago and then back to Florida -- as the team strives for a 2030 Olympic bid. When Honeycutt stops to think about where those pair of secondhand skates from fifth grade have gotten her – a chance to play both internationally and in college, let alone for an elite travel team and serving as an assistant captain on boys’ high school team – she admits it is not what she ever envisioned. “Not at all,” she said. “I just started playing hockey because my brothers played hockey and I just thought it was a cool sport. I never thought I’d end up representing a country or going to college for it.”
In terms of her college choice, Liberty was the one and only option for Honeycutt, as the school in Lynchburg, Va., aligns with her religious and political belief system. Honeycutt's interests don't begin and end with ice hockey. She gained an interest in flying planes after seeing the movie “Top Gun Maverick” and pursued it from there, attending the AMI Flight Academy sponsored by the Air Force in California last summer and earning her mandatory 15 ½ hours for a junior license. Honeycutt, who takes all honors classes at Wissahickon, is either going to major in aviation or cyber/national security at Liberty. After that, she wouldn’t rule out marching in the footsteps of her father and grandfather, Eddie Honeycutt, and serving her country in either the Air Force or the Navy.
To read Honeycutt’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/sabrina-honeycutt-00116646
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Jan. 13, 2025)
It was the stuff dreams are made of. With the final seconds ticking off the scoreboard clock and his Pennsbury basketball squad trailing by one, Mike Roccograndi had the ball in his hands under his team’s basket. “I went to my spin move, I pump faked, and I went up with my left hand,” the Falcons’ senior guard said of a shot that fell through the hoop and gave his team a heart stopping 60-59 overtime win over Council Rock South. “I’ve
been dreaming about doing that since I started playing.” Interestingly, Roccograndi found himself in the exact same situation in the Falcons’ season opener against Central Bucks East. “My shot got blocked,” he said. “I rushed myself into a finish. I went straight up and that’s why I got blocked. The second time I was a lot more patient, and it definitely worked out for me.”
It was not just happenstance that Roccograndi had a different result the second time around. “One of the things we did – we’ve been hard in terms of self-scouting him, and he’s really taken to coaching, particularly with our assistant coaches, Jon Love and Tyler Sessa-Reeves,” Pennsbury coach Wes Emme said. “The move that he made to hit the shot to win it against Council Rock South is the result of his willingness to accept coaching – take coaching and responding. He made an incredibly difficult move, a tough shot.”
“Definitely, I’ve learned from my coaches,” Roccograndi said. “They’ve been preaching to me just to come off two feet, be patient.” Roccograndi, who averages nearly 17 points a game, welcomes the challenge of having the ball in his hands with the game one the line. “Really good players – you just want to give them an opportunity,” Emme said. “We did in both games, and he learned from his mistake and came back and clinched it for us in a big win.”
Roccograndi finds himself in a far different role than he did when Emme took over the program two years ago. “As a freshman, coach (Bill) Coleman brought him up to the varsity in the district playoffs, so he got that experience, but his role has transcended over the course of his career,” the Falcons’ coach said. “As a sophomore, he was our defensive player of the year. As a senior, he’s the straw that stirs the drink. I can’t
remember the last time I didn’t think, ‘Wow, he’s the best player on the floor.’”
A captain along with fellow senior Grayson Gozum, Roccograndi is a positive leader of a Falcon squad tied for the top spot in the SOL Patriot Division after one go-round. “He’s just incredibly dedicated,” Emme said. “He’s not a vocal leader, he’s a leader by example. He’s going to play so hard and put himself on the line, so on every play, it lifts other people to play that hard. He’s a mild-mannered kid. He’s reserved, he’s respectful, and that’s a testament to his parents. Dad’s a hardworking dude that raised four boys. They’re Fairless Hill athletes, all in their own way. Dad was a great athlete himself, and mom is the president of our booster club. She’s the one that gives him his personality. He’s got that quiet, reserved nature, but he’s a big-time competitor.”
The idea of playing at the collegiate level entered the picture when he earned a spot in the starting varsity lineup as a sophomore. “It’s been a goal of mine to play at the next level,” Roccograndi said. I wanted to see what I was capable of – if my talents could take me to that next goal. I’ve been working really hard towards it.” Throw in the fact that Roccograndi – a member of the National Honor Society with a course load of honors classes – is an excellent student, and his coach believes he will be quite a find for some lucky college program. “He’s going to get into just about every school that he applies to,” Emme said. “He’s had several schools that have been recruiting him so far. He’s definitely going to play college basketball. I think he’s been ridiculously under-recruited. He’s a smaller kid, but he’s strong, and he’s a really high level athlete that can play in that fast and chaotic game.”
Academics are a priority for Roccograndi, who plans to major in finance, and he is looking for the perfect combination of both athletics and academics. The college decision will have to wait. For now, he is focused on his final high school season. “I’m just trying to enjoy every moment I have out there because I grew up with a lot of the kids on the team,” Roccograndi said. “They’re my good friends, and it’s nice to have that moment with them to share all the great wins we’re having. I’m really trying to enjoy it because I know after the season I’ll miss it, so I’m trying to take it all in.” It’s a safe bet he will be missed as well. “You’re never worried about what you’re going to get from him because he’s going to be incredibly hardworking dedicated and committed, and he’s going to compete,” Emme said. He’s just a solid dude that shows up every day – that’s what everybody would say about him.”
To read Roccograndi’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/mike-roccograndi-00116648
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