Abington Friends Star Turns All-Game Into Personal Dunking Contest

Guard Jabril Trawick heads to Georgetown this fall

PHILADELPHIA — Seconds into a charity All-Star Game, Jabril Trawick flew toward the rim with his eye on a quickly approaching basketball. In one motion, the airborne athlete grabbed the ball and slammed it through the net. Minutes later, there he was again, this time on defense, swatting a ball from an opponent who thought he had a clear shot. Later still, Trawick dished to an open teammate for an easy three. Though he was performing with the area's best high-school talent in the annual event for seniors, the Abington Friends student turned the afternoon into his personal dunking contest. "I've seen that a lot," teammate Kenneth Johnson said. "He'll take over games." The senior standout thrilled the crowd Sunday at La Salle University, who…

An Abington Basketball Star Adjusts to Her New Role at 'Nova

Former Ghosts forward Emily Leer talks about being a red-shirt freshman with the Villanova Wildcats.

Emily Leer powered the Abington girls’ basketball team to the 2010 District 1 championship and the third round of the state playoffs, earning recognition as the Suburban One League's Player of the Year for her sport. An unstoppable force, the 6-foot-2 forward with long, ponytailed blonde hair averaged 18 points and nearly 11 rebounds per game as a senior one year ago, and amassed more than 1,000 points in her high-school career. Heavily recruited by top colleges, the player ranked as the 12th best forward in the nation opted for the local lure of Villanova. Leer spent the past year soaking in the Wildcats' system as a red-shirt freshman, which meant not playing. While big schools with big programs use the designation as a way to maintain …

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Whiz Kid

This week's 'Whiz Kid' represents Abington at Gettysburg College

Abington Patch is looking for candidates for its weekly “Whiz Kids” segment. What the heck is a “Whiz Kid?” Well, it’s somebody under the age of 18 that has done something remarkable. Athletes, scholars, community volunteers — they’re all potential Whiz Kids, and we want to know about them. They don’t stand out to get attention, but we want to give it to them anyway. So if you know a kid who rushed for 100 yards, was honored by his or her school, or selflessly helps his or her community, let us know. Email us at mischa.arnosky@patch.com. This week we’re highlighting a scholar — Stephanie Hoover, a junior at Gettysburg College. She hails from Abington, and last week she was put on the Deans’ Commendation List for having a GPA of 3.33 or …

Whiz Kid: Eastern Student Presented with Scholarship in Class

Scott Paripsky gets a $15K head start to DeVry University

Eastern Center for Arts and Technology (Eastern) electronics engineering technology student and Upper Moreland High School senior Scott Paripsky was given a $15,000 scholarship to DeVry University Feb. 17. DeVry University educational advisor John Shreiner presented Paripsky with the award in his classroom. Paripsky said he plans to attend DeVry University as a full time student, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering technology. “Scott earned this scholarship due to his academic excellence and the experience he received at Eastern,” Shreiner said in a press release. “Technology is making more changes in our way of life than ever in human history. I am looking forward to working with Scott in the future and contributing to …

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Whiz Kid: Abington student holds her own 'The Decision'

Abington High School senior Leah Nugent 'signed' with a college this week.

Abington High School senior and state track champion Leah Nugent chose her college Feb. 14 during a “signing event” at the high school. Nugent decided to go with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She was also recruited by Ohio State and Texas A & M. She will attend classes at Virginia Tech this autumn. Nugent is a top track champion with an excellent B+/A academic record. She said that when she visited Virginia Tech, everything about the school impressed her — the school, its athletics, its academics, its location and the track coach. Nugent, her parents and coach Karl Gaines were present for the signing. According to Nugent, she fell in love with Virginia Tech while visiting there.  She didn’t tell anyone about her …

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Whiz Kid: Abington's Ally Marshall organizes a hair donation campaign for Sunday

Marshall, an Abington High School senior, organizes a hair drive for Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program

An Abington High School senior is getting her hair cut this weekend … along with about 20 other people at the same salon. (The last part makes it a bit newsier.) Ally Marshall, 17, of Glenside, will be lopping off at least eight inches of her hair Feb. 13 at Salon 360 in Huntingdon Valley. But instead of the hair hitting the floor, followed by the broom, dustpan and ultimately the trash can, the hair will be donated to Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths program, which collects donated hair and transforms it into free wigs for American Cancer Society wig banks throughout the country, according to the program’s website. Marshall organized the donation campaign as part of her senior project — a graduation requirement at the high school. She went …

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