Thanks to our continued partnership with Univest Financial, SuburbanOneSports.com will once again recognize 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 Oct. 17, 2023)
There was once a time when the mere mention of the Bensalem girls’ volleyball team was almost like the punchline of a running joke. But that joke is past its expiration date. While coach Violet DiMichele has changed the vibe, she has been able to build around the likes of mercurial senior outside hitter Ashley Tarr. While the senior has been putting up dazzling statistics (double doubles in digs and kills) and is drawing rave reviews around the league, it only tells part of story for the recently crowned Homecoming Queen. “She has been a huge part of our culture,” said DiMichele, who is in her second year as the varsity coach and fourth in the program. “She is an insane volleyball player. Her stats are insane. She catches a lot of eyes. She has made such an impact on the team and the whole program. She made first-team All-SOL last year and probably will again this year. This year is the first year we are pushing for a playoff spot – ever – so she is part of making Bensalem volleyball history. She is playing a very big role in that process.”
The sense of being part of something bigger, part of making history, is not lost on Tarr. “This is our first time really doing something, and it feels great,” she said. “They never really recognized us in the past because we hadn’t really been a good team.” A transfer into Bensalem in October of her freshman year, she came from a small private school (Bensalem Christian Academy). “When I first transferred, I didn’t know anyone,” said Tarr. “It was during the pandemic. When I went in, everyone was in their little corner and covered with masks. I was very shy, too, so it wasn’t easy making friends, but Bensalem is a nice environment and everyone was very kind. I started making friends, basically, toward the middle to the end of the year.” Fast forward to her senior year, and Tarr was not only nominated for the Homecoming Court, but was named the Homecoming Queen. “I was very excited (to be nominated) and it really helped me sprout and get myself more involved with the school and, shockingly, I won Homecoming Queen,” said Tarr. And if she had not transferred? “I would not be having the full high school experience, to be honest,” she said, adding that her reason for the transfer was to follow her two older brothers, both of whom had positive experiences at Bensalem.
Softball, soccer and track are all sports that Tarr has sampled. She currently plays basketball and plans to stick with it. Still, there is no doubt what comes first and foremost. “A lot of girls on the team have a real passion for volleyball, and I think that’s a big reason why we are doing so much better,” said DiMichele. “They all genuinely want to be there. They want to play and want to win. For Ashley, it’s her whole lifestyle.” And if that means playing through pain, like the shoulder injury and sprained thumb she has dealt with this season, then she is willing to do it. Tarr sees volleyball as a sport where it’s mind over matter. “Without focus, you can’t do much with this sport,” she said. “That can take a toll on people. When I became more patient with myself, I started doing a little better.”
And it is a lifestyle that Tarr looks to continue at the next level. Considering the Bensalem senior wants to major in pre-med or biology with the goal of becoming a pediatrician, Tarr, who considers any grade less than an A a disappointment, has also had to weigh volleyball programs against schools that meet her academic needs. Her top choices are IUP, NCAT (North Carolina Agricultural and Technological State University) and Pitt. “When I was little, I wanted to be a veterinarian because of my dog,” Tarr said. “Then, I started with children. I took child development, and I babysit a lot. I just wanted to a pediatrician.” That compassion comes across with younger players as well. Said DiMichele: “We run camps over the summer, and she always makes friends with the younger girls and middle schoolers to try and show them the ropes a little bit and get their confidence up to start a new sport.” A sport that is developing a new culture at Bensalem, thanks – at least in part – to Tarr.
To read the remainder of Tarr’s story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/ashley-tarr-00109527
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Oct. 17, 2023)
Jack Sexton is one of those players every coach wants on their team. Not only because he’s a natural athlete – although that’s certainly part of it, but it’s much, much more. The Neshaminy senior is captain of a Redskins’ soccer squad that has won just three times in 17 games. Not exactly the kind of season a senior would want in their final high school go-round. Especially one who aspires to play at the next level. While Sexton wants to win as much as anyone, he has not allowed that to keep him from enjoying the season. “We still have such a fun time as a team,” he said. “We all love each other, we’re friends outside of soccer. We all hang out together. During summer workouts, every night after two-a-days, we’d go out and get food or we’d go bowling or something like that. We’d just hang out and just be together. We still have a great time with all the kids. Even the kids on JV, we talk to them, we hang out, we do everything together. When I look back on the season, I can’t recall a game really – just all the fun. It’s just so much fun to be on the team in general. That’s the part we love about it.”
Sexton is one of seven seniors on the team, and he saw the writing on the wall three years ago during the fall of 2020, the shortened COVID season. “Only five of us made the jayvee team that year, and we didn’t have a freshman team so none of the younger kids stuck with soccer,” he said. “We didn’t have a lot of seniors coming up this year, so we knew we were going to be relying on the freshmen to help us out coming up. I was hoping for the best that we’d have a great season, maybe make the playoffs this year, but it just turned out we didn’t. It happens.” Listening to his coach tell it, Sexton is a perfect fit as captain. “The kids definitely follow his lead as far as him setting an example and working hard – they kind of feed off of him,” Neshaminy coach Tom Foley said. “He’s just a real positive kid. He’s always looking to pick kids up, he’s not critical of anybody. He’s just a classy, classy kid.” Just how classy Sexton is was underscored when – at the buzzer of a spirited game against a rival school – he had his legs intentionally taken out from under him by an opposing player. “He got hammered – he could have started an ugly fight, but he just walked away,” Foley said. “What surprised me was why they picked him – he’s the classiest kid on the field. It was right at the end of the game, and he just walked away.”
Sexton’s response would undoubtedly come as no surprise to his lacrosse coach. “Jack Sexton represents everything that defines an outstanding student-athlete,” Neshaminy coach John Donato said. “Jack seems to always have a positive attitude and loves to be out on the field. That sense of joy is contagious and carries over to his teammates whose respect for Jack is evidenced during their everyday interaction, whether it be during practices or game days.”
Sexton’s high school athletic career won’t end when his soccer season is over. He will be playing lacrosse this spring. His natural position is defensive middie, but he’s more than happy to play wherever he’s needed and was named team MVP as a junior. “Jack is a team leader by example,” Donato said. “He is always at the front of the pack when running team sprints and ‘gorillas.’ His speed, strength, athleticism, and relentless competitiveness allow the coaches to leverage his skills in a wide variety of positions and circumstances. He is the hardest working player on the team, yet he is also one of the humblest, kindest, and soft-spoken young men on the field. Jack comes from a wonderful family - his dad and mom are very involved with the Neshaminy High School community, I very much look forward to seeing him again out on the lacrosse field this spring.”
Sexton has not chosen a college but is planning to major in business and is looking to continue his soccer career at the next level. According to his coach, Sexton will be an asset wherever he lands. “He’s an exceptionally hard worker, he’s always up for a challenge,” Foley said. “He’s a kid you definitely want to have on your team. He’d go through a wall for you.”
To read the remainder of Sexton’s story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/jack-sexton-00109528
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