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 Nov. 28, 2012)
Heather Zezzo does it all and does it all extremely well. “She’s got a whole lot going for her,” Central Bucks West field hockey coach Casey Hughes said. “She’s one of those people that will keep pushing themselves. Her possibilities are endless because of her leadership and the dedication she puts forth in everything she does. She’s going to go places.” In truth, the CB West senior is already going places. She excelled on the hockey field for a squad that capped a remarkable season by earning a berth in the state tournament. Zezzo, a captain, was one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in the league, scoring 25 goals to go along with five assists. “As a hockey player, Heather is just a stud,” Hughes said. “She has very nice poise and control with the ball. She has great stick skills, great passing and shooing skills, and when the ball is in the circle, she could finish.”
A veteran of the elite Mystx Stealth club squad, Zezzo will be taking her talents to Dartmouth University next fall, but hockey is just the tip of the iceberg. Zezzo is the president of West’s student government, and she also excels in the classroom, boasting a 4.29 GPA despite a course load that includes four AP classes. The West senior started her own business in ninth grade called Silver Slippers, a non-profit that teaches senior citizens ballroom dancing. Any gratuities Zezzo receives at the end of the course she donates to the orphanage in China where she spent the first five months of her life until she was adopted.
Zezzo also is a member of the USA Junior National Dragon Boat Team and came home from the 2011 World Championships with three gold medals. Since September, she has been a paid intern at a structural engineering company based in Doylestown. She plans to major in engineering. Zezzo is an accomplished musician, and in 2010, she was a national piano guild winner. She also plays violin and harp and has been a member of the Delaware Valley String Orchestra the past three years. “She’s an awesome kid,” Hughes said. “She does it all, and she’s going to go far in life. She’s one of those people I have no doubt in my mind that down the road will be successful and happy and doing what she likes to do.”
To read Zezzo’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/heather-zezzo-0030254
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Nov. 28, 2012)
Michael Sawyer was the star running back on a Quakertown squad that won just once in 11 games. Despite his team’s difficult season, the senior captain remained a positive influence on the inexperienced squad. “He very well could have pointed the finger and felt sorry for himself because of the year we were having,” coach George Banas said. “He did the total opposite. He was nothing but positive and led by example with how he practiced and how he played. He would try to motivate the kids to go out every day and practice and get better and also try and win games and never give up.” Sawyer, it turns out, doesn’t have an ounce of quit in him. “I remember as an underclassman I really looked up to the seniors on the team, so if we would go in at halftime and we would be down a couple of touchdowns, I would get up and give a speech,” Sawyer said. “I would really just try and pick the guys up.”
On the gridiron, Sawyer accounted for more than 1,600 yards of total offense. “He’s a tremendous kid,” Banas said. “To be in that position where you know you’re going to be THE guy – you can let that go to your head. Mike didn’t do that at all. He’s very grounded, always has a smile on his face, always laughing and cracking jokes but at the right time and right place. When it’s time to work, he knows he’s got to work.” And work Sawyer did. “His work ethic in the offseason is what got him to be a powerful back with a lot of speed,” Banas said. “He’s able to hit a hole and drive through a couple of arm tackles, and once he gets into the open field, he’s really tough to catch.”
Sawyer, who is undecided on a major, plans to continue his football career at the collegiate level. He lists West Chester and Shippensburg as two of his top schools. “If you play football, you know what working hard is,” Sawyer said. “A lot of kids don’t know what it’s like to be exhausted every day and just repeat that every day. It makes you a better man.”
To view Sawyer’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/michael-sawyer-0030241
- Log in to post comments
