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 for week of April 19, 2021
It was a moment every soccer player in Pennridge’s highly competitive girls’ program had dreamed about. The Rams - thanks to their heartstopping 1-0 double overtime win over North Allegheny – had just clinched the coveted PIAA 4A state title. It was the program’s first after trips to the state title game in 2011 and 2018, and it was a moment to celebrate. Coach Audrey Anderson, who has led one of the state’s premiere programs since taking over the helm in 2012, surveyed the jubilant scene. “I remember seeing tears in Maddie’s eyes after the state championship game,” Anderson said of senior captain Maddie Angelo. “One, because we won and two, because she wished she could be on the field.”
And that effectively summed up Angelo’s emotions at that historic moment in Pennridge girls’ soccer history. “That was the most bittersweet moment I had all season,” said Angelo, who was sidelined her entire senior season with a torn ACL. “Obviously, I was excited. We had been working for that as a program since Aud has been the coach at Pennridge. We have always been a top contender so to finally win that for the first time was the best feeling ever, but then again, I kind of felt I didn’t really do anything to contribute to that. Looking back on it, that’s not the case, but I just felt like ‘of course, the year that I couldn’t play we win it.’ That sounds kind of selfish, but those were my feelings after the state championship. That was bittersweet.”
Angelo’s feelings were certainly understandable. After all, she was a starter and mainstay in the defensive backfield since setting foot on the field as a freshman, but suggesting her feelings were selfish could not have been further from the truth. For the entire season, Angelo had put her team above herself, and listening to Anderson tell it, she was invaluable. “I joke around with her that she was like my assistant coach,” Anderson said. “She would walk around with me and tell me what her teammates were feeling, what they were dealing with that day. She was always my eyes and ears of what the rest of the group was feeling – Do we need a break? What’s our morale look like? She was the glue. She was great in the role of captain and saying things maybe other people were afraid to say. This year, of all years, they just really seemed to like each other, and I think a lot of that had to do with Maddie. She kept it light, goofy sometimes, focused other times. She helped watch game film on other teams. She was the biggest cheerleader for the entire team.”
Angelo – who several weeks ago played her first 90-minute game since the injury - acknowledged she takes the field with a new perspective. “It makes me 10 times more grateful for the opportunity to play every time I step on the field,” she said. “Before I got hurt – if you don’t get the playing time you want or if something doesn’t go your way, you always complain about it, but now I’m just lucky and feel grateful to have the opportunity to be on the field whenever I get a chance because back in January 2020 it got taken away from me so fast.” Angelo has signed a letter of intent play Division 1 soccer Youngstown State where she will enter as an undecided STEM major. She has her sights set on becoming an engineer but has not declared a specialty. An excellent student, Angelo is a member of the National Honor Society and Key Club. She is a referee for youth soccer at Deep Run, and she also works at Anderson’s summer soccer camp. Anderson acknowledged she will miss Angelo’s presence on the field and on the sidelines. “I know it was tough for her as an athlete who had such a huge role all three years and then her fourth year she had to take a different look on the team,” the Rams’ coach said. “She showed up at every single practice, every single game. She was always there. She was a captain for all the players. If you were to ask the girls on the team, she was one that kept it light. You never know when you have a player who had so much pull on the field and now they’re hurt – what are you going to get, but she was great. She’s just a great kid.”
To read Angelo’s complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/maddie-angelo-0094101
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete for week of April 19, 2021
Lower Moreland senior distance runner Tom Hellenbrand - with his self-effacing humor about leaving his family in the dust while going on runs and the forgettable time he lost his shoe while competing - could easily be the inspiration for a sitcom. His favorite sports figure, renowned professional middle-distance runner Craig Engels, holds that standing because he doesn’t take himself that seriously, despite evolving into a champion himself. “He’s a big goofball,” said Hellenbrand. “That’s kind of what I want to be like as well.” The theme song for the sitcom? How about “Getting Better” by The Beatles? “When I started, I had fun with it,” said Hellenbrand. “Now that I’m getting better, it’s still important to remember that I’m still doing it for fun and to stay fit and all of that. I’m still trying to be competitive, but I’m trying not to forget who I am. I think there are times when I’m taking it too seriously and my arms get really tight and my form locks up. You can really see it. You can see it in pictures where you can tell that I’m just not having a good time and I’m miserable. It makes everything a lot harder for me.”
Fortunately, though, that has not been the norm. Every day, in every way, Hillenbrand has steadily improved – in the classroom and on the cross-country course in the fall and on the track as distance runner in the winter and spring – to the point where Hellenbrand plans to take his weighted GPA, which tips the scales at 4.7, and new plateaus as a runner to the next level at Jacksonville University. The final decision came last weekend after a meeting with his mom and dad, Denise and Joe. “Jacksonville gave me an amazing deal through merit scholarships and a spot in their honors college,” he said. “They have excellent connections for what I want to be a part of for my future. The chance to run at a super competitive level is just the icing on top.” Hellenbrand’s steady improvement was not lost on his coaches. Said Lower Moreland coach Greg Green: “I started coaching Tom last year (in the winter) and have watched him develop into a very fine runner. Tom is a great leader who leads by example, which definitely had an impact on the boys’ cross-country team winning the SOL Freedom Division Championship. Tom also won the individual cross-country championship. Tom is running well and is having a very good outdoor season. His hard work will lead to big things at the end of the season.”
It has been a long journey for Hellenbrand, who described himself as a “complete novice” to long distance running. While he ran some track in middle school, it never consisted of more than one lap around the track. “Cross-country was a huge change for me,” he said. “But, about every season, I dropped a minute off my time.” He saw his times go from 19:23 as a freshman to 18:48 as a sophomore to 17:23 and then to 16:46 this past fall, good enough for honors and accolades he never thought possible when he first gave it a serious go. “This year was really exciting,” said Hellenbrand, who was the SOL Freedom individual champion. “I came in third place in districts, so I had a chance to go to states for cross-country.”
Hellenbrand runs the mile, 800 and 4x4 relay for the Lions during the spring outdoor season. While he may not be ticketed for states, like in the fall, he has steadily progressed as well to the point that he hopes to qualify for districts. “There has definitely been a lot of progression in the last year,” he said. “This year was really a huge improvement for me. I’ve dropped about 18 seconds off my (mile) time.” At the top of his priority list is academics, where Hellenbrand’s course load has always included AP and honors classes. “I’m pretty loaded up with that,” he said. “It’s no fun sometimes, but what can you do? It’s definitely something I’ve had to learn to balance out. It really is a lot of scheduling it all out. It’s a lot of, ‘When do I have time to study for stuff? When do I put aside time to stretch and still put aside time to do homework?’ It took a while to do that, but I think I kind of figured it all out now.”
To read Hellenbrand’s complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/tom-hellenbrand-0094095
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