Marsha Florio picked up quite a few honors during her storied athletic career, first at Penncrest and then at Penn State.
She added another to that list on Feb. 3 when she was inducted into the Penncrest Ring of Honor along with Dave Tarr and the late Larry Simmons.
It was the first time in three years that the Rose Tree Media School District held the ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Florio graduated in 1981 and was a standout field hockey, basketball and lacrosse player for the Lions. She was part of the Penncrest lacrosse team that won the district/state championship in 1979 and then went on to a record-setting career at Penn State.
She was a three-year starter for the Nittany Lions in field hockey and a four-year All-American in lacrosse. She still holds the program record for goals in a season (79) and a career (271), and points in a season (109) and a career (380).
Florio also still holds the NCAA Division I record for points in a game (17). She had nine goals and eight assists against Princeton in 1985. She also ranks sixth in career goals and 10th in career points. Florio also played lacrosse for the United States Under-21 team.
“There were so many great opportunities for girls and boys athletes at Penncrest,” said Florio, who resides in Massachusetts and serves as the executive director of athletic consortium for the America East Conference. “I had exceptional coaches and so many talented teammates. We learned so many lessons about loyalty and determination. I am so honored to be a part of this ceremony.”
Tarr graduated in 1961 after earning All-Delco honors twice. He was the first 1,000-point scorer in program history (1,028 career points). He averaged 19.2 points as a junior and 20.4 as a senior, according to former coach and athletic director Bill Kaufman.
Tarr, a 6-6 center, went on to play at Brown University, where he averaged 9.9 points and 7.9 rebounds in 73 career games for the Bears. He credited his high school coaches for his success.
“Mr. (Lou) Scott and Mr. Kaufman taught me to play basketball,” Tarr said. “I couldn’t have done what I did without them.”
Simmons, who died in 2004, was one of the most successful track and cross country coaches in county history. During his career he coached 72 outdoor state medalists, seven outdoor track state champions and two indoor track state champions. His cross country teams won five Delaware County championships and he had two district champion outdoor track teams.
“I know one of his proudest moments was when he was named honorary high school referee at the Penn Relays,” said former Penncrest coach Mike Clark, who replaced Simmons. “(The Ring of Honor) would have been another of his proudest moments. When (former Penncrest girls coach) John Lohn compiled a list of school records and the top 10 performers in every event, so many of those on the lists were from Larry’s teams.”
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It took a Delaware County guy to keep ninth-ranked Swarthmore from winning the Centennial Conference regular-season title and earning the top seed in the Centennial Conference tournament.
Carl Schaller, a two-time All-Delco guard from Garnet Valley, scored a career-high 24 points Saturday as Gettysburg stunned the Garnet, 78-65, to keep Swarthmore from winning the regular-season crown and clinch the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Centennial Conference tournament for the Bullets.
Schaller shot 6-for-13 from the field (1-for-4 from 3-point range) and 11-for-14 from the free throw line to pace the Bullets and set up a home match with Muhlenberg on Tuesday in the Centennial Conference quarterfinals. He also grabbed six rebounds.
The 6-0 sophomore guard leads the Bullets (15-10 overall, 12-6 league) in scoring (13.2 points per game), assists (2.36) and steals (1.04).
If Gettysburg wins that game it will visit Swarthmore in the semifinals Friday night.
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Cardinal O’Hara grad and Drexel guard Maura Hendrixson has been named one of the 10 semifinalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award, giving annually to the nation’s top point guard.
The 5-9 fifth-year senior ranked third in the NCAA in assists per game (7.7) heading into Sunday’s 67-55 victory over Delaware. She also is sixth in total assists (184) and 14th in assist/turnover ratio (2.56).
She had seven more helpers in the win over the Blue Hens to set the single-season record with 191 and move into fifth place in program history with 417 career assists.
Hendrixson was a three-time All-Delco at O’Hara, twice in basketball and once in soccer, and was the Daily Times Player of the Year in girls basketball in 2017-18.
The Lieberman list will be cut down to five finalists later this month.
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