Westmoreland high school athletes of the week: Latrobe’s Cole Ferri and Penn-Trafford’s Corina Paszek

By: Andrew John
Tuesday, February 18, 2020 | 8:56 PM

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Cole Ferri

School: Latrobe

Sport: Hockey

Class: Senior

Claim to fame: Ferri, who is tied for the second in Class AA with 46 points, recorded his fourth hat trick of the season and added an assist to lead Latrobe (15-1-1) to a 6-3 win over Hempfield on Feb. 13. Ferri, who leads Class AA with 26 goals and has 20 assists, scored two goals and added an assistin an 11-0 win over Quaker Valley on Feb. 10.

“We needed to bounce after losing to Hampton in OT and lost to Baldwin before Quaker Valley. We worked as a team and got back on track,” Ferri said.

What are your college plans for next year?

I have applied to Bowling Green, Ohio University and Michigan State. I have decided I want to play hockey, but I don’t know where yet.

How much has the loss to Pine-Richland last year in the Penguins Cup semifinals fueled this season?

It definitely made us more determined after losing in the playoffs always (stinks). Even though Pine-Richland won states last year, we wanted to bounce back. We’ve been working hard this year and we feel like we’re like them this year like they were last year.

What’s the team’s mindset with the Penguins Cup coming up?

We want to play our game, play all three periods and come out fast. We want to continue to play the way we’ve been playing the last week. We have a lot of players with playoffs experience.

What is the most effective part of your team?

We are well-rounded team. We have a good defense and two very good goalies. Without our goaltending, we wouldn’t be winning a lot of these games.

When you graduate, what do you want to be remembered for and why?

The guy that likes to have fun and hang out with friends and family.

Corina Paszek

School: Penn-Trafford

Sport: Swimming

Class: Senior

Claim to fame: Paszek, a Clarion commit, qualified for the 100-yard butterfly in the WPIAL Class AAA swimmingchampionships after finishing with a time of 59.10 seconds to lead Penn-Trafford to a 97-86 win over Norwin in a dual meet Feb. 13. Paszek qualified in five other events (200 IM, 50 free, 100 free, 200 free and 100 breast) for WPIALs on Feb. 27-28 at Pitt’s Trees Pool.

“It’s a pretty big accomplishment, but I was happy with qualifying in six. It took a lot to do that, but I’m proud of what I did,” Paszek said.

What made you decide to commit to Clarion?

I really like the swim program, and the coach is really nice. I like the speech language pathology class they have as well.

What did it mean to you to win the 200 IM at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association championship in January?

That was a big accomplishment. Going into it, I was seeded first, so I was hoping for it all to fall into place. I was proud that it happened.

What’s your mindset with WPIAL meet approaching?

I have to focus on the little things. They are going to add up. With the training we have set up, it’s going to be a good week.

What’s your favorite stroke and why?

Freestyle is my favorite stroke. I don’t think I have one stroke that is outstanding for me. I think they are all the same for me.

What’s one adjective to best describe you and why?

Focused. Once I have my mind set on a task, I will complete that task, and I will do what it takes to do it well.

Tags: Latrobe, Penn-Trafford