Trib HSSN athletes of the week: Mt. Lebanon’s Patrick Anderson, Bentworth’s Jocelyn Timlin

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, October 23, 2018 | 6:12 PM

Previous Next

Previous Next

Patrick Anderson

School: Mt. Lebanon

Class: Junior

Sport: Cross Country

Claim to fame: Anderson won the Tri-State Coaches Association cross country championships at Cal (Pa.) with a time of 16 minutes, 8.55 seconds, edging North Allegheny’s Zach Kinne on Oct. 25. Anderson finished second at the The Legends Meet at Trumbull County Fairgrounds, in Cortland, Ohio, on Oct. 6 and placed first in the Kiski Invitational in September.

“Winning the Tri-State is definitely a big confidence booster going into WPIALs and states with Zach being ranked No. 1 in the state,” Anderson said. “I’m not trying to be overly excited because I know Zach is going to be coming back hungry at WPIALs.”

You’ve been right around the top of each race you’ve competed in this year. Would you say this has been your best season of your high school career?

Yes, for sure. I think I’m in a lot better shape than I’ve been in past seasons. Mentally, I’m better knowing where my place should be going out and wanting to put myself out there and doing it.

What’s your typical training schedule?

Now that we don’t have dual meets during the week, it’s usually five-mile road runs. Then, we’ll alternate that with speed work on the track probably twice a week.

What can we expect from you for the remainder of this season?

The main goal is to get the team to states. We haven’t been there in the past three years. Individually, I’m hoping for a WPIAL title and state title. I think if I put my head down and look out for that, I can do it.

As you look ahead to your senior season, how do you hope to evolve as a runner?

I definitely just want to keep progressing. Last year I didn’t go to a regional meet at the end of the season. I want to do that this year, and hopefully get my ultimate goal of getting to nationals.

Jocelyn Timlin

School: Bentworth

Class: Junior

Sport: Soccer

Claim to fame: Timlin netted a hat trick in Bentworth’s 3-1 win over Vincentian Academy in the first round of the Class A playoffs Saturday. Timlin has scored 44 goals this season, and upped her career total to 103. Bentworth will play Bishop Canevin in the quarterfinals at Waynesburg at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

“She is a really athletic girl who stretches the field for us so we can do other things, and other players can do other things,” coach Tyler Hamstra said. “She’s really worked hard in the offseason on finishing, and it’s obviously led her to really scoring more goals than she has in the past.”

What is the secret to your goal scoring ability?

I don’t know. Soccer has always been my strong suit. I just learned how to work with my teammates to work together for me to get those goals. It’s not just me out there; we work together to achieve our goals.

What did you do to improve your finishing?

I just focused on my ball skill techniques because you can be a good player by passing, but you can be better by improving your foot skills. I worked on locking my ankle and good form when I’m close to the net.

Looking ahead to the next offseason, what’s the next aspect of your game that you hope to improve?

Maybe just still finishing to critique it just a little bit to make sure it’s as good as it can be. I think I’d say my ball skill in general. You need it to be a better athlete so you can get around the girls you need to beat.

What can we expect from Bentworth the rest of the playoffs?

I think we have a pretty good chance of going to Highmark (Stadium for the WPIAL finals). We just have to keep our head in the game and not just play for personal goals. Team goals are what’s most important to achieve what it is we need to do.

Brian Graham is a freelance writer.

Tags: Bentworth, Mt. lebanon