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 Jan. 24, 2024)
A few years ago, William Tennent wrestling coach Joe Stabilito was looking for a few good women. Not to serve as team managers, but to become wrestlers themselves. That’s when Anjaleen “Anj” Siddiqui answered the call, and the bar on the program was raised ever since. “We advertised that we were looking for some girls to wrestle,” said Stabilito. “She popped up and said, ‘Yeah, I want to sign up.’ It was her and one other girl. She has helped us to build the program. She has been a real leader for us. She is our captain, of course. She does anything you ask her to do, and she is the hardest working person in the room. At practice, there is no smile on her face. She is all work. She’s all business. She’s a quiet kid. She’s just focused on what she needs to do. She’s pretty serious most of the time. She’s a leader, though. The girls listen to what she says. She does a super job of that.”
Soddiqqui remembers the moment that changed her life, at least as a student-athlete. “I showed up, and (Stabilito) kind of pushed me to do it,” she said, adding that she had previously tried flag football but it didn’t take. “My brother (Muhammed Aryan Siddiqui) was a senior, and he had tried it out. He also pushed me to do it. So, from there, I kind of went ahead and did it and just loved it.” While helping the program gain its footing, Siddiqui has done the same for herself in a steady rise to prominence. “She’s only been wrestling for three years,” said Stabilito. “She came to us with no experience at all. Like I said, she’s the hardest working person in the room, and that’s for boys and girls. She’s always trying hard. She’s always listening. She is a super great person to work with.” Her current status, which is as a legit state contender at 112 pounds who plans to continue wrestling at the collegiate level at Delaware Valley University (Del Val), belies humble beginnings. “Her first year, I think she won just one or two matches,” said Stabilito. “Last year, she had a good season against the girls. She was 16-4. This year, she is really wrestling well.”
Tennent has added a coach this season, Amanda Walker, to work with the girls separately who returned to the area after four years at Pitt. Although she didn’t wrestle in college, the Upper Moreland graduate got into coaching at North Allegheny High while in college. Soddiqui appreciates the one-on-one time Walker spends with each female wrestler on the team. “That has helped me to really focus on my mistakes, like during actual matches,” she said, adding that another help was a karate background when she was much younger. As is the case with Stabilito, Walker has been impressed with Siddiqui, as both a person and an athlete. “She is the easiest person to coach,” said Walker. “She listens extremely well, and she works extremely hard. She is an asset to have in the room, and to have around as a leader to all the newer girls to the sport.”
Although girls wrestling was not officially recognized, Soddiqui qualified for the unsanctioned state tournament but missed out because of an injury. “She was fourth in the region last year,” said Stabilito. “She would’ve done well at states. I don’t know where she would have placed, but it would have been a really good experience for her.” That only enhances the goal for this season. “I’m going to miss her next year when she leaves us, but we have some time to go,” said Stabilito. “She wants to medal at states. That’s her goal for this year. Her weight class is probably the best in the state. There are four girls who placed at states last year that will be in her weight class. She knows she has a real challenge ahead, but she’s up for it.”
Soddiqui, who sports a GPA of 3.6ish and is involved activities like student government and the Muslim Student Association, is also up for Del Val. She plans to major in accounting with a focus on finance. Stabilito has zero doubt that Siddiqui will continue to ascend at Del Val, which she chose largely because of her proximity to home and her close-knit family. “She is going to be a super good college wrestler,” he said. “Any coach that gets her at the next level is going to be happy with her.” While continuing to advocate for women in male-dominated sports, Soddiqui also plans to continue being a trendsetter at Del Val by wearing the hijab, not only on campus but while wrestling. “I was going to wear the hijab after high school without knowing I would continue wrestling in college as well,” she explained. “Once I figured I had an opportunity to do that, I wanted to start a new chapter with it on.”
To read Siddiqui’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/anjaleen-siddiqui-00110784
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Jan. 24, 2024)
Tyler Rodowicz could be called a blue-collar athlete. But that’s an oversimplification. Yes, the Council Rock North senior is dependable, hardworking and does all those good things that every team needs but won’t put him in the spotlight. And granted, he doesn’t typically score a whole lot of points, but the truth of the matter is – scoring is just about the only category that Rodowicz does not find himself at the top of the stat sheet. “He leads us in rebounding, he leads us in assists, he leads us in steals and deflections,” Rock North coach Derek Wright said. “He’s one of our leaders in screen assists where he sets screens to get guys open. He gives great effort every day whether it be practice, game or whatever.”
Throw in the fact that he is the undisputed team leader, and there’s no denying his immense value. “He’s our kind of player,” Wright said. “He does all the things that are not necessarily recognized by others, but in our program, they’re the things that we really value. For a new coach with a new team, it’s really beneficial to have someone like him that can lead by example.” Rodowicz, it turns out, understands one very basic fact. “I’ve always done what I know that I’m good at even if that’s not scoring,” he said. “I just want to do what I can do to help our team win. That’s the reason I’ve played on varsity the past four years – I do what I know I can do good. I don’t do what I’m not as good at. I know coaches appreciate when kids do what they expect of them. I just try to do that every day.” Rodowicz is not a captain, but the title is the only thing that’s missing. “He’s the guy that gets our practice started every day with stretching, he’s the guy out with the referees before the game, he’s the guy I speak to and go to just to get a gauge and a pulse of the team,” Wright said. “So, he is a captain. I’m not big on labels, but he absolutely acts like one.”
Come this spring, Rodowicz will be playing lacrosse for his third season. “My neighbor who has been my best friend for years – he had played lacrosse all of his life, and ever since second grade when I was playing baseball, he was playing lacrosse. “He was always, ‘You should play lacrosse, you should play lacrosse.’ I fell out of love with baseball and stopped taking it as serious. He and my other good friend played lacrosse and they kind of convinced me and a couple of my other friends to try it out. Sophomore year we tried it out, had fun and kept doing it for the last two years.” Rock North lacrosse coach John Fitzpatrick is happy to have Rodowicz on board. “Tyler is a unique dual-sport athlete in basketball and lacrosse,” the Indians’ coach said. “He just started playing lacrosse in high school. He quickly rose to the varsity level. He made a huge difference for us as long stick middle in the playoffs, always matching up against the other team’s best midfielder. We are excited to have him back this year as a senior. He’s a real difference maker.”
Outside of sports, Rodowicz is a straight A student with a course load of honors and AP classes. He was a member of the school’s Veterans Service Club, a volunteer organization to help veterans in the area. He has also been involved with Athletes Helping Athletes. He also does a lot of work for a charity called A Love for Life, raising money for pancreatic cancer research. As for his college choice, that’s still up in the air. Penn State, Tennessee and South Carolina are at the top of the list but he is waiting to hear back from several more schools. As for his involvement in sports, Rodowicz has not ruled out competing in intramurals or club. Listening to Wright tell it, Rodowicz is the consummate student-athlete. “He’s a great student, a high achiever,” the Indians’ coach said. “He’s a model student-athlete for our school. He’s the kind of student athlete we would like our younger kids in the community to recognize and see that somebody can be both a good athlete, a competitor, be really tough on the court, but at the same time be a great listener in school and be a high achiever in school. He’s that nice complement – he can be a killer on the court, which we love, and off the court, he can really be a model citizen.”
To read Rodowicz’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/tyler-rodowicz-00110783
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