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 Oct. 9, 2017)
Ally Fitts worked hard preparing for her final high school field hockey season. Nothing was going to keep the Central Bucks South senior – elected a tri-captain by her teammates – off the field. Not even a broken nose, two black eyes and the ensuing surgery, all the result of an unfortunate accident the first day of tryouts in August. “We were just doing a few demos in the auxiliary gym, and I got hit in the face with my friend’s backswing,” Fitts recalled. “In the moment, I was so scared just because I didn’t know what would happen. I’d been training all summer – we all had, and I didn’t want this to affect my senior year, so I was really nervous. I didn’t think it was broken, but it was.”
South coach Pat Toner was expecting the worst. “Ally is one of the hardest working, toughest kids,” the Titans’ coach said. “I just couldn’t believe she broke her nose. I thought, ‘This is one of our captains, and we’re probably not going to have her.’ She came back with two black eyes and a protective piece on her nose and said, ‘I can play in Hockeyrama this weekend,’ which was three days later. I said, ‘No you can’t.’ She said, ‘Yes, I am. My parents are going to take me, and I’m going to get cleared,’ and she did. She played and she played great. I was scared to death to have her play, but she wanted to play. To me that was crazy. I would be scared to death after getting hit in the face with a stick.”
Undeterred by that early season injury, Fitts has been a consistent contributor for the Titans in the midfield. “Ally is a very hard-working and dedicated player,” Toner said. “She’s a really good kid that cares about what she does. She cares about her family, and she’s just the kind of kid that wants to please and wants to do whatever she can. She’s as hardworking as anyone I’ve ever had.”
Fitts, who was born in Richmond, Va., moved to this area when her family relocated in Pennsylvania in time for her to enroll in kindergarten. She spent her fifth grade year in Minnesota, a move the family made for her father’s job. “I loved Minnesota but my family is on the East Coast so we decided to move back,” she said. “It’s nice to have friends and family all over the place. I get to see everything.” An avid snowboarder, Fitts is looking to continue her education in New England. She is considering a business major.
To read Fitts’ complete profile, please click on the following link: http://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/ally-fitts-0073424
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Oct. 9, 2017)
Neshaminy High School has a long and rich athletic tradition. Notables include Ryan Arcidiacono, the point guard on Villanova’s national championship team in 2015, and Len Baker, who threw a perfect game for the Cleveland Indians in 1981. In football, there are the Bahr brothers, Chris and Matt, who both kicked in the NFL, and other NFL players – Bob Grupp and Harry Shuh. Current Penn State coach James Franklin is also a former Redskin. The school even boasts a professional skateboarder, Chris Cole. But when it comes to track, specifically distance running (cross country in the fall and distance events in the winter and spring), there is vacancy for a legend. And senior Rusty Kujdych is hoping to fill it.
When he says he wants to make an impact on his hometown, this is what he means. “I was the first runner in my family,” said Kudjych, whose younger sister Evanna is a freshman runner at Neshaminy. “No one has made a historic impact (at Neshaminy), at least that I know of, with running.” With several schools interested in his services at the collegiate level, he is well on his way to making that type of mark. Undefeated in dual meets the last two years, Kujdych boasts an impressive list of accomplishments. He is currently the top-ranked boys’ cross country runner in Pennsylvania and, as of last week, was ranked #19 runner in the nation by MileSplit.com. Recently he captured second place in the Paul Short Run at Lehigh University. His time of 15 minutes and one second is the fastest 5K ever by a Neshaminy runner and the 15th fastest high school 5K run in the U.S. this year.
In terms of using his brain, the motivation – the choice to be a true student-athlete – comes from within. “It’s a lot of work, but in the end, it’s worth it,” said Kujdych, also an accomplished musician (piano, bass, guitar). “I had to ask myself: Do I want to challenge myself in class? I made the decision early on.” This is not only reflected in his weighted GPA of 4.1 but in his college options. Fresh off a positive trip to Ann Arbor to visit Michigan, his list of finalists includes La Salle, Georgetown and Penn. This, along with his leadership abilities, has impressed his coach as much as state and national rankings. “Throughout his high school career, Rusty has made it a priority to get good – actually excellent – grades and to spend a lot of his time, both in training and in racing, helping his teammates try to qualify for States individually and in a variety of ways,”
To read Kujdych’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/rusty-kujdych-0073442
- Log in to post comments
