Thanks to our continued partnership with Univest Financial, SuburbanOneSports.com is once again recognizing a male and female featured athlete each week. The recognition is given to seniors of high character who are students in good standing that have made significant contributions to their teams or who have overcome adversity. Selections are based on nominations received from coaches, athletic directors and administrators.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Female Athlete (Week of Nov. 7, 2025)
Madlen Potrusilova. Mention the name to Jynell Brunt, and the North Penn volleyball coach doesn’t immediately talk about her senior captain’s accomplishments on the court. She doesn’t mention Potrusilova’s role in the Knights’ run to the SOL Continental Conference crown and her selection as the conference Player of the Year. She makes no reference to the senior’s versatility and her ability to play every position on the court from setter to outside hitter, libero to middle hitter. She certainly could have since all are true, but none of that according to Brunt, is what stands out the most. “More than anything, it’s her attitude, her personality,” the Knights’ coach said. “When I first met her, she’s so friendly and so nice, and you question – is this genuine? But it is. She is absolutely one of the nicest, most genuine people I’ve ever met. She’s really sweet, and she brings that to the team. She’s kind to everyone, she’s always positive and encouraging, and it’s real. I’ve never seen anything but that from her.”
Throw in the fact that Potrusilova also excels on the volleyball court, and it’s safe to say Brunt had to feel as though 
Christmas arrived early when the now senior transferred to North Penn as a sophomore after spending her elementary and middle school years at Calvary Baptist, a private Christian school. Potrusilova credits her ninth grade volleyball season at Calvary Baptist as a significant time in her development as a player. “The coach really believed in me, and I think she saw my potential,” Potrusilova said. “So even though I wasn’t great, she actually made me a starter on the varsity team as a freshman. I think that really grew me as a player, so that when I transitioned to North Penn in 10th grade, I was able to be a starter and had a lot of experience playing and being in tough matches.”
The Knights won 14 straight games to open the season this fall and rolled to an SOL Continental Conference title that was – to say the least – unexpected. And a far cry from last year when the Knights were 7-5 and in third place in the conference standings and 9-10 overall. “This year, actually, we all came into the season as kind of – ‘Okay, we lost a lot of really good players. This season is going to be a growing season,’” Potrusilova said. “We won our first match of the season against Lansdale Catholic. The game was incredible, and I think we realized – okay, we might actually be able to do something, and we really did. It was an unprecedented season.”
Potrusilova played a major role in her team’s success on the court and - perhaps more importantly - as a leader and team captain. “She’s maybe 5-7 or 5-8, and for volleyball, that’s not tall, but she’s got a really great vertical jump,” Brunt said. “She’s just an athlete, and she works really hard. Her mechanics are all really good.”
Despite her talents on the volleyball court, Potrusilova does not plan on playing at the collegiate level. “I decided to go into dentistry, so I really want to focus on my academics,” she said. “But I think I’ll play volleyball recreationally for the rest of my life.” An outstanding student, Potrusilova was named a National Merit Scholarship Commended Student. She has taken eight AP classes and next year plans to major in some form of biology or kinesiology. Outside of school, Potrusilova volunteers at her church and is a small group leader.
Potrusilova’s will be tough shoes to fill next season. “One of the things that I think made our team so successful this year - I don’t remember one game, even when we lost, that there was negativity or finger-pointing,” Brunt said. “You often see that - you can see the girls are getting upset, you can see them start to snap at each other, but to have someone like Madlen who everyone respects and knows is a genuine person say, ‘Hey, guys, it’s fine. We’ll get the next one,’ and she just is constantly encouraging and positive, keeping everyone’s spirits up. The mental game is so huge, and she’s phenomenal as a leader.”
To read Potrusilova’s complete story, click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/madlen-potrusilova-00121768
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Nov. 7, 2025)
The docket shows that the William Tennent football team only won one game in 10 tries this past season. But that doesn’t account for the wins the public doesn’t see. Among those was the fact that middle linebacker and part-time running back Tre Noll (birth name Joseph Noll III) got back onto the field after missing his entire junior season with a severe injury. He sustained an infusion fracture to his ankle that was similar, though not quite the same, as his favorite player, Cam Skattebo, who is admired for his all-out playing style.
When the severity of Noll’s freak injury was eventually revealed, it was third-year Tennent coach Colin Leach who then felt
the same level of deep empathy toward Noll. “It was heartbreaking last year,” said Leach. “He got hurt in two-a-days, in one of the last days of camp. He hurt his ankle while just catching a pass on the sidelines. It was just a super simple play. He went to the doctor, and that’s when he learned that his season was over.” While players have bounced back from injuries before in his orbit, Leach sees Noll’s journey back to the field as a one-of-kind story of rising above adversity. For starters, there was the initial thought that it may have been the end of Noll’s career.
What hit Noll the hardest was that he couldn’t play alongside many of the seniors on that team for their final season. “I just wanted one more game with them,” he said. “I would have given anything, just to take one more snap. I had been playing varsity since my freshman year, so I had played with all of them throughout high school.” Those concerns were put to rest when Noll came back as determined as ever to be present and accounted for before it was too late for his own career. “The biggest thing for Tre is that he didn’t stop showing up for practice all that year,” said Leach. “He was there, and he was active with his teammates. He showed that bond and that brotherhood that you really want to see in football.”
About a month or so after surgery, Noll was completely focused and determined to come back. “I’m just not a quitter, period,” he said. “When I thought about it, I thought, you know, ‘I don’t even have to do this for the college aspect. I can just do it for fun.’ I realized that I’m just going to ball out and just go out there and do the best that I can. I just started doing upper body stuff and decided that I wanted to play my senior year, no matter what.” Leach continued to be impressed with Noll’s offseason dedication. “When it really clicked for me, in terms of how special of a kid he was, came from watching him in the offseason,” said Leach. “He dedicated himself to the weight room. I don’t think he missed a single day.” Inspired by the motto that you only live once, it was just a matter of giving it all he had before the sands ran through the hourglass.
The dedication was not just observed by the coaches, it also served as an inspiration to Noll’s teammates. “He got named a captain,” said Leach. “It was incredible to watch, seeing him just transition into the kind of a person that he is. He really took on the role of captain, too. The language that he uses in the weight room and at practice, along with on game days, is one of the separating factors for him. He keeps people motivated, and that’s because he is always positive. He is always talking about the next play and the positives of just staying in the moment.” At middle linebacker for Tennent this fall, Noll was an All-League Honorable Mention selection after recording 43 tackles (including three for losses) and forcing a fumble. “He’s not the tallest kid or the biggest kid, but he is always fighting out there,” said Leach.
Because he excels in the classroom, Noll has opened doors for himself and has a bright future as a result. “I always try to get my work done before anything else,” said Noll, who carries a 3.59 weighted GPA and is involved in multiple extracurricular clubs (Business, Spanish and National Honor Societies, Future Business leaders of America, Student Government and Athletic Council).
All things considered – the past injuries and the time commitment – Noll is currently leaning against playing at the college level. “I think just going to college for my degree would be the smarter thing for me and my future,” said Noll, who hopes to be the owner of a residential construction company. While his coach gets it, he added that Noll would be a good fit in a right program. Said Leach: “If he chooses to keep playing, I think he will do really well at the collegiate level, and that’s just because of his work ethic and his style of play.”
To read Noll’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/tre-noll-00121765
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