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. 16, 2017)
Anna Bantner might not be a household word to fans of Abington volleyball. She should be. Listening to coach Dan Marsh tell it, the senior setter is the engine that drove the Ghosts to new heights – the top of the SOL Continental Conference and a share of the program’s first title. “She’s totally (the engine) because she’s making all the decisions on the floor – who gets the ball and when they get the ball,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “In volleyball, it’s all in the pass. If you’re getting good passes, then you can get the ball to your best players, but when you’re not getting good passes, then you have to find ways to get them the ball. She’s been able to do that.”
But that’s just the beginning of Bantner’s contributions. When Marsh took over the program this year, he identified mental toughness as the biggest hurdle the team needed to overcome. “I think in the past they were used to losing, so they would get down and get frustrated and quit on each other,” Marsh said. “Anna is one of those kids that keeps the kids going – ‘Hey, we can do this.’” No one epitomizes that ‘we can do this’ attitude more than Bantner, who was instrumental in Marsh taking over the program after Jae Lee stepped down. “Basically, they wanted to be pushed,” Marsh said. “That’s what drew me to those seniors.” Bantner also does her part to keep the team positive. “She doesn’t let kids get frustrated,” he said of his senior captain. “She pulls them together and says, ‘Hey, we can do this. We’re fine. We’ve done it before.’ She not only leads by example, but she also leads vocally.”
A starter since she was a freshman, Bantner may continue playing volleyball at the club level next year, but she is looking to continue her education at a large school. Boston University and the University of Pittsburgh are her top choices. She plans to major in biology with her sights set on a career as a physician’s assistant or pursuing her doctorate. An excellent student, Bantner, who is taking a full course load of AP classes, is in the top six percent of her class with a 4.38 GPA. “She’s super confident in herself, and she doesn’t care what other people think and say, and the other kids feed off of that,” Marsh said. “She’s going to be successful in whatever she does just because of the way she carries herself.”
To read Bantner’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/anna-bantner-0073688
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Oct. 16, 2017)
Every high school athlete hopes for a senior season filled with big wins, thrilling highlights and long postseason marches. Sometimes, however, the small victories are more important. That’s been the case for Upper Moreland senior Kevin Walder, a four-year defensive starter for the Golden Bears’ soccer team. Rather than leading his team to postseason glory during his senior season, Walder is being looked upon to mold a young, inexperienced group of players into a team. The Golden Bears closed out the season with just one win and one tie, but the team has taken huge steps forward since the beginning of the season. The small victories are starting to add up. “We lost a lot of key guys last year,” Walder said. “We have a really young team this year, but we’ve got some great, young players. Even though the season (did not go) the way we hoped, the guys were still coming fired up.”
And if Upper Moreland doesn’t reap the rewards of those small victories until next fall, they’ll owe a large debt of gratitude to Walder. “Kevin is the kind of guy who realizes that we’re in a down year in his senior year, this is just not Upper Moreland’s year, and he’s okay with that,” said first-year coach Matt Duffey. “This is the time to teach these younger kids, get them ready for the future. This year has been about getting on the younger guys to get them to play better, and Kevin’s embraced that role.” The senior captain has been a steady, calming presence in a young backfield, and the effects of his presence and leadership were quite evident as the season progressed.
In the classroom, Walder applies the same attitude he does on the athletic fields – 100 percent effort, 100 percent of the time. He has made Distinguished Honor Roll every marking period in high school, and he is a member of the National Honor Society. “School always comes first,” said Walder, who is ranked in the top 10 percent of his class. “It’s what sets you up for your future. Academics always comes before sports.” He is still undecided on a college or major, but he plans on continuing to play baseball or soccer at college, either at the intercollegiate level or at a club or intramural level, depending on which college he decides to attend. “I’ve known Kevin’s family for about five years,” Duffey said. “The whole family are great people, and Kevin is a very intelligent kid, a very driven kid. He’s a great athlete, a great student, a great person. Whatever he ends up doing in the future, he’s going to be successful.”
To read Walder’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/kevin-walder-0073689
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