North Penn rose from the depths to capture state glory

The North Penn girls water polo team combined all their many efforts to do something that had never been accomplished.

No seed as low as fourth had ever reached the state finals. Yet last weekend, the Knights not only upset top-seeded Cumberland Valley in the semifinals, but then stunned No. 2 Wilson in the final to capture the state crown.

Said coach Jason Grubb: “It was a great run that our girls had. To upset the one seed in the semi-finals was pretty awesome, and then to cap it off by beating the second seed, Wilson, at their home pool is always special.”

North Penn began the tournament with a 14-6 victory over rival Pennridge in the quarterfinals.

Picking up steam, the Knights then went toe-to-toe with Cumberland Valley and survived a 12-11 thriller.
“Balance was the key for us all weekend,” Grubb said.

North Penn capped things off with a tremendous 7-4 victory over Wilson.

The accolades came in droves for the Knights.

Paige Mitchell earned First Team All-State honors as did Anna Evans. Goalie Luna Hutchinson, the backbone of the defense, earned a spot on the second team, along with standout Brenna Mancini.

Ava Zollars, another of the Knight seniors, drew honorable mention on the all-state team.

“All players were chipping in on offense, which allowed us to attack from both inside and outside,” Grubb said. “Our team defense was spectacular all weekend, holding Wilson to only four goals in the final and doing our best to limit Cumberland Valley’s three-time state player of the year (Kamryn Barone) during the semis.”

A promising youngster, Fiona Rowe, earned Freshman of the Year for the Knights.

North Penn would make it a sweep of the state title trophies when the boys beat La Salle Saturday night.

A Goalie’s Journey >> It was during her freshman year that Hutchinson found her home.

“I wasn’t the most aggressive player and playing in the field had no appeal to me. I mentioned to the goalie at the time that I thought it would be cool to try out so coach Grubb put me in goal and I never came back out,” she said. “I enjoy being able to see the whole pool and what is going on.  And the sound a ball makes when you block a hard shot with your hand or your arm – that’s my favorite thing.”

Hutchinson savored her states experience.

“It was overall such an amazing experience winning states and I’m so happy to have been able to share this accomplishment with my team,” she said. “Going in as the fourth seed and taking out the first and second seeds was honestly the most surreal thing ever. Going in as a team, we took any pressure off and just played the game we have been playing our whole lives.”

From A to Z >> Zollars, a key piece to the state championship puzzle for the surging Knights, noted how tightly woven the team had become. 

“The state championship meant so much to me and the rest of the team this year, especially with it being my last year,” she said. “The team had to overcome a lot of adversity during the season so to earn back the state title felt amazing. Overcoming the first seed as the fourth seed was such a big win for us, and it was really meaningful knowing we went into the game with determination, high energy, and really good team chemistry and that all paid off.”

Asked what she enjoyed most about her water polo experience, Zollars said “all of the friendships and the great memories I’ve formed with my teammates and just knowing they’re always there for me and can always make me laugh.”

Finishing on top >> The bumpy ride did not keep the Knights from enjoying smooth landing on the final weekend of the season.

“We had a bunch of ups and downs throughout the season so when it was time for us to put it all together, it felt really great to excel and show what we could do,” Mitchell said. “Our team had a few players missing due to injuries or illnesses this season so the weekend of states was the first time our whole starting line was there. Being able to overcome the adversity of not having all of our players was definitely a confident booster throughout the tournament.

“Going into the tournament as fourth seed was definitely different than in past years since every year that I have played we either went in as the first or second seed,” she said. “As we went into our games, all of the girls were really hyped and ready to go but felt a lot less nervous since there wasn’t as much pressure as there would be on the first seed. After beating the first-seeded team, we all felt amazing. There was so much excitement and we were all just really proud of how we pushed ourselves that game. I know for me, I was so excited, it almost didn’t feel real.”

Mitchell heads to La Salle next year, taking with her plenty of powerful memories.

“Throughout my time at North Penn, playing water polo, I have enjoyed spending so much time with these girls and having them become my second family,” the senior said. “Our team is so much more than just water polo. We have team dinners, bonfires, fall activities like pumpkin painting and we even do fun gift exchanges to help keep us all really close. I think overall my favorite thing about these past few seasons is going to the state tournament every year and excelling as a team. Whether we won or lost, it was just a great experience.”