Alyssa Thomas Invited to USA Basketball U18 Tryouts

MPM graduate Alyssa Thomas was invted to participate in the 2010 USA Basketball Women’s U18 National Team Trials, June 8-11 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. With 12 roster spots on the 2010 USA Basketball Women’s U18 National Team, Thomas will be one of 26 basketball standouts vying for a chance to join the team that will compete in the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women June 23-27 being held this year in the US, at the USOTC in Colorado Springs. To read more about the tryouts, visit http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=10_wU18_trials_invitees.

MPM Girls Represented on PA All-State Teams

AAAA - Alyssa Thomas First Team and Player of the Year; Megan Phillips  Third Team ALL State

AAA - Ashley Betz -White Third Team ALL State; Paige Elliot  Third Team All  State

AA -Kady Schrann  First Team All State; Erin LaVenice Second Team All State

A - Hailey Carangelo  First Team ALL State

Alyssa Thomas gains Parade All-America First team honors. See http://www.parade.com/news/all-america/2010/meet-parades-all-america-high-school-girls-basketball-team.html.

2010  Mid-Penn Conference Allstar team was announced in March by The Patriot-News.   Those MPM players honored include:

BOYS
COMMONWEALTH DIVISION - Honorable mention: Nol Aru, Cedar Cliff; Aaron Devan, CD East; Devin Thomas, Central Dauphin

KEYSTONE DIVISION - Honorable mention: Ben Kroll, Gettysburg

GIRLS
COMMONWEALTH DIVISION -First team: Alyssa Thomas, Central Dauphin; Ashley Betz-White, Trinity. Honorable mention: Caitlyn Bassett, Central Dauphin; Precious Martin, Bishop McDevitt; Karyn Purcell, Central Dauphin.
KEYSTONE DIVISION - First team: Taylor Miller, Mechanicsburg; Second team: Kendal Benovy, Hershey; Caroline Suminski, Hershey; Honorable mention: Jenna Cavrich, Red Land
COLONIAL DIVISION - Second team: Jenna Davis, Boiling Springs;

Three MPM girls--Haley Carangelo, Caitlin Bassett and Alyssa Thomas--were named to the 2010 McDonalds All American nominees list for the state of PA.

Nol Aru and Devin Thomas gained Patriot-News honorable mention selection as Players of the Week in the Mid Penn Conference in January.

Mid-Penn Motion’s Alyssa Thomas Named Among the Best
Kelvin Powell , editor of the Roundball Journal, a national scouting service publication and a national evaluator for ESPN HoopGurlz.com, recently shared his thoughts of the 2009 summer season and the players who stood out in his mind. In his evaluation of the University of Maryland’s 2010 recruiting class, Powell praised MPM Alyssa Thomas,calling her the “prize” of UM Coach Brenda Frese’s recruiting class, whom he’s certain will make the biggest impact of any of the recruits on the program. Calling Thomas a complete, versatile player, Powell said, “At 6?1, she can pretty much play five positions; she can defend all five positions. She has a strong build and is just a complete basketball player.” Read more of the interview at http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/recruiting/2009/08/qa_on_terps_womens_basketball.html

Thomas Named One of Top 5 Players in USA

Glenn Nelson, a senior writer at ESPN.com and the founder of HoopGurlz.com teamed with 5 other respected evaluators of national talent as the Summer 2009 basketball season draws to a close. Published August 14, 2009 Nelson released the committee’s Top Players of the Summer based only on their play during the just concluded summer at such high?level events as USA Basketball trials and Nike Skills Academy, which pit the best players in the country against one another. For those of you who may have missed the announcement, MPM U16 Alyssa Thomas was selected as one of the top 5 players in the nation, receiving praise for her versatility and basketball skill. MPM Board Member Karen Hicks knows first?hand of the talent and commitment of Thomas. Playing for Hicks’ state championship team at Harrisburg’s Holy Name of Jesus, Hicks described Thomas, “She's such a great kid, humble and very talented, probably the most talented player to come out of Central PA, not to mention MPM.” For the full story, visit http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/womens/news/story?id=4399053

Former MPM Player Join Professional Ranks in Europe

Nottingham (England) Wildcats guard Jill Glessner has been selected as the Player of the Year for Division One Women for the 2008-09 season, after her second season with the club. A former player with the Mid-Penn Motion, Jill was amongst the top ten in points, rebounds, and assists in Division One this year and was instrumental in the Wildcats’ winning run in the second half of the season.

Stats Summary for Jill Glessner, Player of the Year from Division One  

MPM Players Honored by 2009 AP Girls’ All-State Basketball Team Selection

The MPM once again represents the greater Harrisburg area AAU basketball clubs with post-season honors for two standout players.

Alyssa Thomas, 6’1” junior guard (Central Dauphin HS and U17 MPM) took top honors with her selection to the Class AAAA First Team for the second year in a row. A Maryland recruit, Thomas avered 19.5 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals per game, ending her junior season with 1,512 career points.

Another MPM player, Lebanon Catholic’s Hailey Carangelo was a second-team selection in Class A.

 MPM Well Represented on District 3 Girls' All-Tournament Team

The MPM elite players continue to rack up recognition as the 2008-09 high school basketball season winds down. Many of MPM’s best were recently honored by selection to The Patriot-News District 3 Girls’ All-Tournament Team.

In Class AAAA, it is not a surprise to see Alyssa Thomas (Central Dauphin HS and U16 MPM) as the MVP. The 6-1 junior, who will continue her basketball career after next year at the University of Maryland, is joined on the team by fellow MPM player Gabby Singer (Central Dauphin HS and U17 MPM in 2008). 

In Class AAA, MPM player Ashley Betz-White (Trinity HS and U16 MPM) was honored.

Class AA features Brittany Hicks (York Catholic HS and U17 MPM) as the class MVP, joined by Erin LaVenice (Lancaster Mennonite and U16 MPM), Kady Schrann (York Catholic HS and MPM U16) and Katelyn Vanderhoff (Lancaster Mennonite HS and U17 MPM), meaning four of the six players selected in this class are MPM players.

Rounding out the all-tournament team in Class A schools is Hailey Carangelo (Lebanon Catholic HS and U16 MPM) who was named MVP.

MPM is proud to salute these fine athletes on their accomplishments this year on the scholastic level.

MPM Players Headline Patriot-News Big 15 Girls’ Selections

February 8, 2009—The annual Big 15 announcement reflects the quality of players that represent the Mid-Penn Motion AAU Basketball Club. Appearing as returning players to the elite Big 15 squad are MPM representatives Gabby Singer, Alyssa Thomas, Alexa Barbush, and Taylor Miller.   

The MPM club congratulates the following selections:

Big 15

Alexa Barbush (Torchia, U91; Trinity  HS, sr.)

Caitlyn Bassett (Thomas, U92; Central Dauphin HS, jr.)

Hailey Carangelo (Thomas, U92; Lebanon Catholic HS; jr.)

Danielle Everson (CD East HS, sr.)

Taylor Miller (Torchia,, U91; Mechanicsburg HS; jr.)

Meghan Phillips (Thomas, U92;Cedar Crest, jr.)

Gabby Singer (Torchia, U91; Central Dauphin HS, sr.)

Alyssa Thomas (Thomas, U92; Central Dauphin HS, jr.)

Little 6 (the elite underclassmen)

Ashley Betz-White (Thomas, U92; Trinity HS, so.), voted Top Underclassman

Kendall Benovy (Hicks, U93; Hershey HS, so.)

Honorable Mention

Taylor Alwine (Lower Dauphin, so)

Jenna Davis (Boiling Springs, so.)

Dori Gyori (Mechanicsburg HS, sr.)

Kate Kroll (Camp Hill HS, sr.)

Mikelyn Mackavage (East Pennsobro, so)

Taylor Seiber (West Perry HS, so.)

Kirstin Selvey (CD East, sr.)

Caroline Suminiski, Hershey HS, jr.)

Former MPM Player Hones Skills to Take Her Game to the Next Level

February 2, 2009—Gabby Singer, a senior point guard at Central Dauphin HS, played for the MPM in 2008, Singer, who has seen a lot of success during her high school career, committed to Monmouth University in August 2008. Singer reached her goal of a Division I scholarship and could have just sat back and enjoyed her upcoming senior season. However last spring, after leading her high school team to the Class AAAA state basketball championship, Singer did a self-evaluation and came to the conclusion that she had some weaknesses in her game that she had to address if she was going to make it at the college level. On the college stage, no longer can athleticism cover weaknesses in skills. Singer’s summer of 2008 consisted of long hours in the gym, working with a trainer, playing in summer leagues and joining the MPM. By the start of her senior year, Singer had improved her shooting, strength, conditioning and ball handling, which has paid off this year with fewer turnovers, higher shooting percentage and better ball handling as she leads her CD Rams into post-season play.

MPM Guard To Appear in a Basketball Movie

January 31, 2009--Karyn Purcell (Central Dauphin HS), who plays for the high school MPM team, appears in  “The Winning Season”, a movie about an alcoholic former high school basketball star who becomes coach of a high school girl’s team. Purcell’s point shooting expertise won her the part of an extra shooting her favorite 3-point shots in a game. Filmed in New York City, Purcell spent several days during October being filmed taking numerous shots in gymnasiums. Starring in the film is Emma Roberts, niece of movie star Julia Roberts. When not filling her free time playing basketball, Purcell is also active in modeling.

Player of the Week Honor Goes to Thomas: Carangelo Also Receives Notice

January  19, 2009—Alyssa Thomas (Central Dauphin HS) was named Patriot-News Player of the Week for her performance in leading her team in wins against Cedar Cliff, Trinity and Altoona while averaging 22.7 points. Honorable mention during this same period was Hailey Carangelo (Lebanon Catholic HS).

Mid-Penn Motion Player Selected for Adidas Camp

Jenny Horvatinovic, a player on the 1993 Mid-Penn Motion team coached by Karen Hicks, recently attended the girls 4^th annual Adidas Junior Phenom camp in San Diego, CA.   The camp was held at Alliant International University from July 31 through August 3, 2008 and was open to the top 100 Jr. High School players in each class (6^th, 7^th and 8^th grades).  Jenny is an 8th grader at Dallastown Area Middle School.  She played on the Dallastown 9th grade team last year. In order to attend this camp, players start at the regional level and play in tournaments sponsored by regional hosts.   Players are selected to attend the Adidas camp by invitation by regional representatives at these tournaments.   

Camp started early each day with breakfast at 7:00 AM.  Girls in each class were divided into 6 or 8 teams and provided with two sets of Adidas uniforms and the latest Adidas basketball sneakers.   Each day was packed with a very competitive game schedule mixed with shooting demonstrations, shooting drills, and lecture sessions designed to stress the importance of developing and maintaining a balance between academics and athletics.  College and high school coaches spoke to the girls regarding the importance of academics to anyone dreaming of playing basketball in college.   Tim Sullivan, a shooting coach who played high school, college and professional basketball provided amazing demonstrations of his shooting ability while he moved around the 3 point line, making an incredible number of shots in a row (he once made 163 out of 168 NBA 3 pointers while moving around the arc!).  

Each day, the camp activities ended at about 10:00 PM and the exhausted players left the gym to get some much needed rest.  Campers had the opportunity to stay in the university dorms and eat in the university cafeteria.  “On the first day, I was told that we could expect three grueling days of basketball.  But I really had no idea that the camp would be so hard.  The games were very fast and competitive.  Overall, it was a great experience,” said Jenny. Jenny met girls from all around the country (including a girl on her team from Alaska!) and had a great time.  Her team played hard and had only one loss.   The camp coaching staff selected two teams of girls from each age group to play in the All-Star games on the last day of camp.  Jenny was proud to be selected to play in the 7^th grade All-star game and was very happy that her team won 42-41! 

MPM's Gabby Singer Accepts Full Ride to Monmouth University

Gabby Singer, who played the 2008 AAU season with Tom Torchia's U17 team, has verbally accepted a full athletic scholarship to Monmouth University in West Long Branch NJ.  She is very excited for the opportunity to play at the Division 1 level and is relieved to have the decision behind her and so she can just relax and play her senior year for the state champs, Central Dauphin High School.  Singer thanks her coaches, her teammates and the Mid-Penn Motion organization for welcoming her to the club this summer.
 

 MPM Standouts Honored with All-State Recognition in 2008

Sophomore Alyssa Thomas (MPM U15; Central Dauphin HS) and freshman Kady Schrann (MPM U15; York Catholic HS)  were selected to the Associated Press Pennsylvania girls’ all-state basketball first Team for Class AAAA and Class AA respectively. Other MPM players honored were ); Alexa Barbush (junior, Trinity HS) Class AA-3^rd team and Hailey Carangelo (sophomore, Lebanon Catholic HS)  in Class A-3^rd team).

MPM Girls U17 head coach Tom Torchia was an assistant coach to Vince Rogers of Susquehanna Twp. High School boy’s varsity, that won the Mid-Penn Keystone Division title and the District 3 Class AAA championships before losing in the Class AAA state championship.

MPM Players Showcase Talent in District 3 Girls High School Playoffs

Once again, the Mid-Penn Motion showcased its elite players in the 2008 PIAA district playoffs. The MPM would like to congratulate those MPM players selected to the Patriot-News District 3 Girls’ All-Tournament Team:  Alyssa Thomas (Central Dauphin, sophomore); Ashley Betz-White (Trinity, freshman); Hailey Carangelo (Lebanon Catholic sophomore); Meghan Phillips (Cedar Crest sophomore); Kady Schrann (York Catholic, Selected as MVP of Class AA) and Erin LaVenice (Lancaster Mennonite, sophomore).

MPM Well Represented on Patriot-News Big 15 Team

The Mid-Penn Motion was well represented among mid-state girls basketball players with the December release of the Patriot-News Big 15. The all-star selections are a 30-year tradition that over the years has recognized the top performers in the Central PA. Current MPM players that were selected include: Alyssa Thomas (Central Dauphin HS sophomore) Taylor Miller (Mechanicsburg HS sophomore), and Alexa Barbush (Trinity HS junior). Also selected as Honorable Mention include Mary Butler (Cedar Cliff HS junior), Hailey Carangelo (Lebanon Catholic sophomore), Samantha Noss (Middletown HS sophomore) and Meghan Phillips (Cedar Crest HS sophomore).  Ashley Betz-White (Trinity HS freshman) was selected to the Little Six team, honoring underclassmen that are making an impact.