Basketball, Track & Field
Favorite Athlete: Vince Papale
Favorite team: The Philadelphia Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: Last year as a junior, I made all-league first team for discus and earned a medal at districts.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: One of my teammates during basketball season last year brought an away jersey to a home game.
Music on iPod: Country, Classic Rock, Rap, etc.
Future plans: I plan on attending Kutztown University and Majoring in Special Education along with Early Childhood Education.
Words to live by: “Stay strong, even if it feels like everything is falling apart.” –Demi Lovato
One goal before turning 30: I would like to study abroad and teach children in different cultures.
One thing people don’t know about me: I am currently a Girl Scout and have been one for over 10 years.
By Craig Ostroff
Olivia Morano’s coaches can tell you all about her dominance in the throwing events in track and field. They can speak of her tireless efforts in the paint and her never-ending hustle on both ends of the basketball court.
And they will … eventually. But before they tell you about the kind of athlete that Morano is, they’re more than happy to rave about the type of person she is.
“The first thing that comes to my mind about Olivia is that she’s so kind and caring toward other people,” said Quakertown girls basketball coach Brittany Remmey. “She’s one of the sweetest kids, and she’s very generous as well. She’s the first person to go up to someone who’s having a bad day and try to cheer them up. She genuinely cares.”
“Olivia is always chipping in and helping out anywhere she can,” Panthers’ track and field coach Jason Anderson said. “It’s really fun to watch her be so successful. It’s always great to see someone be successful when they’re such a good role model for the rest of the team. Olivia is a very positive, moral person. She’s in Girl Scouts, she’s active in her church, she’s a very kind person.”
Neither coach would likely be surprised to know that Morano credits others for making her the person she is today.
“My parents both are amazing people – they raised me to be an independent and loving person,” Morano said. “They always push me to be a better person, have positive feedback for others, be a good friend. I get it from them, and from my brothers, and from my Troop Leader in Girl Scouts who is like my second mom, and my coaches and teachers, my teammates and friends.
“To me, it’s like you’re being looked up to by others, whether it’s younger girls on the team, or kids in class. One of your biggest roles in life is when people look to you and see how you react to things. You have to bring the best attitude you have through school, on the court, as a person, in the world today. I try to bring positivity. If I’m goofing off in class or in practice and an underclassman is with me, they’re going to think, ‘It’s OK for me to do that, too.’ I have to be the best I can be, and hopefully others see that and it has a positive effect.”
That’s why when Anderson talks about Morano, he points to how she’s the first person to grab a water jug and carry it back to the locker room, and how she’s made it a point to make the track and field team a true team, despite the individual nature of the sport.
That’s why Remmey is quick to call attention to Morano’s ability to find the positives even if the team is struggling on the court. And both she and Morano get emotional when they talk about a project that came about from an idea Morano developed and led, as the team purchased Christmas gifts for a Quakertown Elementary School student and his family.
“That was definitely one of my highlights of the year,” Remmey said. “Olivia thought of a project to get our team to donate gently used toys, clothing, games for Christmas for a needy family, and it turned into finding a local family; we got the Christmas list of one of the students at one of the elementary schools and Olivia and a couple seniors organized it. They all met at Walmart and wrapped the gifts and Olivia and Meghan Klee presented the gifts.”
The idea was born when Morano read a student article posted on the school’s website concerning how to help those less fortunate during the holiday season.
“Those articles have links to go to a Google Doc and you put your name, period, and a couple questions about the article,” Morano said. “It struck me that that’s kind of my thing to do. So I started writing my ideas on how you can help someone less fortunate.”
Morano’s words made their way to the hands of Remmey, who encouraged Morano and the team to follow up on the idea.
“We bought toy race cars, headphones, I picked out an outfit,” Morano said. “Some of us brought the presents home to wrap them ourselves. I was in tears when we presented the gifts. I was so overwhelmed that this was my idea and we were able to do something like this and make a positive impact as a team. I can’t even put into words how I felt.”
Of course, Morano’s contributions on the athletic fields are more than noteworthy as well. As a javelin, discus and shot put thrower, she is the leading point-scorer for the Quakertown girls’ track and field team. She has proven to be nearly unbeatable in the javelin and discus, and the only person who can top her throws in the shot put is her teammate, Barbara Grossov. The two have combined to rack up serious points in the throws for the Panthers.
“I’m proud to say I’ve won every discus and javelin event I’ve done this season,” said Morano, who credits throwing coach Justin Kucharski for his efforts in helping her improve her throws. “Justin is just phenomenal, and having Barbara is such a big help. She’s my partner out there; we are always trying to push each other. She recently took the school’s shot put record, and one of my goals this year is to hit the school record for discus. We keep pushing each other and helping each other out.”
The results have been obvious. Morano had qualified for districts in all three throwing events by the second meet of the season. She’s taking aim at the 10-year-old school discus record of 123 feet, 8 inches (her personal best is 113-6). Her 110-7 in the javelin is the fourth-best in school history and her 35-3 in the shot put lands her fifth all-time at Quakertown.
“Olivia is the top scorer on our team this year by far,” Anderson said of the senior captain. “To have qualified for districts in all three throwing events puts her in pretty elite status. This is my sixth year as head coach, eighth overall, and I can’t remember anyone ever making districts in all three throws. And she had qualified for two (shot put and discus) in the first meet, and in the second meet, she got the javelin. No one beats her in the discus and javelin, and she only ever comes in second to her own teammate in the shot put. She’s absolutely a steamroller in the field for us.
“She’s so coachable and positive and hard-working. She’s such a good leader for the young kids. As a coach, that’s what you dream of, to have someone that solid both as a performer and as a leader.”
On the hardwood, Morano is counted upon to dominate in the paint, and to do the things that don’t always show in the scorer’s books.
“I’m more a defender than offense,” Morano said. “I’m not the best ballhandler, which is probably why I’m underneath the basket most of the time. But I always have bruises on my knees after games – that’s a reward for me. I like to go out there and go 100 miles an hour. I love to dive for loose balls, battle to get every rebound, call out plays, do everything I can to be in the game.”
She’s also been counted upon to be a positive force. In a school whose student body is exponentially smaller than some of the other schools in the conference, Quakertown tends to field smaller teams than most of the other schools. It can make for frustrating seasons, but Morano is quick to find positives both for the team and for teammates.
“Because of the size of our school and our conference, I don’t think I’ve ever been on a team with a winning record in high school,” Morano said. “But you have to find positive things you can take out of that, personal records, good plays.
“I try to give shout-outs in our meetings with the track team. During basketball games, I always try to let people know, ‘Great job.’ I always try to sneak in a word or two, ‘You’re fine, shake it off,’ tap them on the back, ‘You’ll get it next time.’ We’re here for the team. It doesn’t matter what the score is, you’ve got to keep positive and keep the team together.”
As someone with such a strong desire to connect and make a positive impact on others, it’s not a surprise that Morano is looking toward a career in education.
“When I was in middle school, we had the option of going out to recess or playing with the kids with special needs,” Morano said. “Me and some friends would always stay inside and play with them. I always loved doing that and it kind of followed me through all my years of schooling. Being a teacher would be my alleyway to being with kids and helping them succeed.”
Morano will head to Kutztown University in the fall. In addition to her studies, she will compete in the throwing events for the Division II Bears.
Of course, she’s still got a few more goals to accomplish as a Panther. As the season continues and the postseason looms larger, Morano is aiming for a berth in the PIAA State Track and Field Championships. She finished eighth in districts last year (the top five advance to states), and is looking to crack the top 5 this time around to earn a trip to the state meet at Shippensburg University. And she’s looking to cement her name atop the school record books.
But however her senior season plays out, she simply wants to go out having given it her best efforts.
“I guess I just want to go out with a bang and show people that I can really do this,” she said. “I want to do the best that I can as my way to give thanks to everyone who’s been there for me, the people who have shaped me to be the person I’ve become and to show everyone that I’m going to be the best I can be.”
Ask her coaches, and they’ll enthusiastically tell you that if Morano can indeed become the best she can be, the world will be a better place for it.
“She’s thinking education as a career, and she’ll be a fantastic teacher because she really does have a gift as far as understanding people, seeing what they need, reading them and helping them,” Anderson said. “Kutztown is lucky to have her. She’s grown up so much and juggles so many things – a job, schoolwork, athletics, Girl Scouts, church – and does it all really well. I anticipate that she’s going to be really successful in college and beyond.”
“I really don’t want her to graduate – she’s not allowed to graduate,” Remmey said with a laugh. “We’re going to lose the leadership that she has shown our team, the genuine care for others. She and this senior group all bought into the team atmosphere. Having one kid like Olivia or another like Joelle (Simeu) or Spenser Gray, I never had to question if they were trying their best or if they were looking out for the best interests of the team. I was spoiled with them and I was really spoiled with Olivia. I’m going to miss her smile, I’m going to miss the person she is.
“She’s a kid I’ll never forget.”
