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 Feb. 20, 2013)
Laureana Zrada is a swimmer through and through. “I started doing community swimming when I was five or six years old,” the Souderton senior said. Zrada followed in the footsteps of older brother Matt, who went on to swim at Rhode Island. “Seeing him go all the way through to the high school swim team made me want to do it too, so I guess it’s in my blood,” she said. “I remember going to the state championships and watching him swim.” Zrada has had a taste of states as well. She is the defending district champion in the 200 freestyle, and she finished second in the 500 freestyle at last year’s district meet. She finished 12th in the 500 free at states last year and aspires to get back this year. “My goal is to touch the wall and know that I couldn’t have done anything else, that I gave it my all,” she said.
Zrada, who also competed in water polo, is a captain and leader of this year’s swim team. “She and (co-captain) Alyssa Santangelo have been a major help,” first-year coach Caitlin Warren said. “Laureana is very good at dealing with adversity. She knows what to do in each situation. There’s a time to speak up and be vocal, and there’s a time to be quiet, and she does both depending on the situation, so she’s very good at reading a situation and knowing how to act. That’s a skill a lot of kids need going into college and beyond and she has it already. She’s very prepared for college and life after college as well.”
Zrada also excels in the classroom and is a member of the National Honor Society. She will continue her swimming career at Bucknell University, choosing Bucknell from a final list that included Penn State, Villanova and West Chester. She is considering a double major in mathematics and education with an interest in one day possibly teaching and coaching a swim team.
To read Zrada’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/laureana-zrada-0032466
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Feb. 20, 2013)
Tyler Shagen, according to coach Larry Wheatley, has only two speeds on the ice – fast and faster. “He has no brakes,” Wheatley said. “To me, he’s the Corvette with no brakes. He’s super fast and very talented, and it’s very hard for anybody to get a really good hit on him because he’s just awesome on his feet. You have to see him to believe it.” Speed, however, is just a small part of the equation for the Pennridge senior, whose work ethic matches his talent. “His work ethic is unbelievable, and he’s got that never-say-die attitude,” Wheatley said. “We were in a game, and we were losing 7-1, and he was playing like it was 3-2.”
Shagen was named captain of his ice hockey squad the past two seasons. “He’s the guy cheering in the locker room, and he’s the guy flying around out there,” Wheatley said. “If Tyler asks (the kids) to do something, they’ll do it just out of respect, and they know he can do it. All the guys get along with him.” On the ice, Shagen is most comfortable playing center but will happily play wherever needed. “If you put a set of pads on him, he could play goalie,” Wheatley said. “He just wants to play. We started a trophy last year – it’s called the best two-way player. He’s all that. There have been times where he took the rush up ice, took a shot on net, got a rebound, turned around and was already back checking the guy coming back on a breakaway. He’s like the Energizer bunny.”
A member of the National Honor Society, Shagen also is a student liaison on the Pennridge Community Education Foundation. He is deciding between Drexel and Delaware and is considering a business or finance major. “Academics is my first priority when it comes to college,” he said. “Hockey – if I can do it, that would be great, but academics is what concerns me the most.”
To view Shagen’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/tyler-shagen-0032468
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