The final draw was secured by Manchester Valley girls lacrosse and, fittingly, the ball found star senior midfielder Emma Penczek.

For the No. 1 Mavericks, the coveted state championship and a perfect 19-0 season were seconds away. Fully engaged in the moment, Penczek joyously sent the ball high in the sky as the raucous celebration began.

“It was so amazing. As the final whistle went off, I just cried hysterically because It was just so unreal to think we did something that doesn’t happen very often,” she said.

From the soccer season to basketball before her sensational closing act playing her top sport, Penczek, a three-sport varsity player since she was a freshman, pledged to max out her senior year.

And max out she did.

Highlighted by her record-breaking lacrosse career, Penczek, a two-time All-Metro Player of the Year and Inside Lacrosse’s No. 2 recruit in the 2025 class, has been named The Baltimore Sun’s 2024-25 high school girls Athlete of the Year.

She produced 14 goals and four assists playing forward on the soccer team and averaged 10 points, two assists and five steals playing point guard on the hardwood — earning first-team All-County honors by the Carroll County Times in both sports.The Clemson commit saved her best for last in leading the lacrosse team to its third perfect season in the program’s 19-year history with gaudy numbers: 89 goals, 56 assists, 124 draw controls and 39 caused turnovers.

Asked what her best memory is from the sensational senior year, Penczek looked at the bigger picture.

It was packed.

“That’s a good question,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of good memories here, so I feel like senior year just in general. So many good things happened this year and it just kept going, from the first day of school it could not have gone any better to the end of my high school career.”

In fifth grade, lacrosse took center stage for Penczek when she started playing club ball. While she poured more and more into that sport, she continued on with soccer and basketball and was able to thrive with her natural athletic ability, competitive spirit and emerging leadership.

A captain for all three teams, she said carrying on with the three-sport grind through high school helped define her as she leaves behind a profound legacy at Manchester Valley.

“Playing three sports with all the different coaches and teammates, I learned so much and was able to carry different things from each sport to the next one,” she said. “It helped me grow as a player on the field, but mostly off the field as a person. So being able to learn different life lessons and lessons as an athlete from the different coaches which had a different approach is something I will carry the rest of my life.”

The school’s girls lacrosse program has enjoyed mega success with the Mavericks’ 17-9 win over Glenelg in this year’s Class 2A final making it five state crowns. This year’s team finished No. 4 nationally by USA Lacrosse and was the highest rated public school.

Penczek has followed the lead of fellow Manchester Valley standouts Lizzie Colson (2018 graduate/Maryland) and Tayler Warehime (2018/North Carolina). Like them, she could have left the program to join a highly touted private school, but there was never a question in her allegiance.

“A generational player for sure,” Manchester Valley girls lacrosse coach Shelly Brezicki said. “There’s so much that comes with Emma and what she has done for our program and community. She’s the first one to sign up to help with clinics with rec stuff and camps. She loves it. The little girls at the end of the game want to get a picture with her and they’re going to watch her on TV next year and say she went to Manchester Valley.”

On the field, Penczek displays a rare ability to impact a game with exceptional two-way play. She finished her career with 329 goals, breaking the Carroll County record of 307 set by Century star Katie Schwartzmann in 2010.

In addition, her 158 assists, 487 points, 437 draw controls and 122 caused turnovers are all program bests.

“Offensively, defensively, the draw circle — she does it all,” said Century coach Becky Groves. “Normally, you have players that are high level at one thing, but she’s high level at everything. So she’s making the defensive plays, she’s getting the draw and she’s scoring the goal or assisting assisting the goal. She’s just incredible at everything she does.”

Every day playing soccer and lacrosse, junior Addison Meyer found a standard she could look to having Penczek as a teammate, citing her consistent performance, competitiveness and leadership.

“Emma took pride in leaving the place better than she found it,” Meyer said. “She will forever have an impact on this program and is a great person to look back on and say: ‘I want to work as hard as Emma.’ She made sure to have special moments with each person in this program. Having a one-on-one conversation with Emma is like finding gold. It’s a valuable opportunity and has such a large impact.”

Again and again, Penczek reiterated how grateful she is having her parents, teammates, coaches and teachers supportive during her high school journey. She was with her parents when she learned that she was being recognized as The Baltimore Sun’s top girls athlete for the 2024-25 school year.

“We just stood there with our mouths open in shock because we know how prestigious this award is. With how many great athletes there are in all the counties, all playing at such an elite level, I couldn’t be more honored,” she said.

Have a news tip? Contact Glenn Graham at ggraham @baltsun.com, 410-332-6636 and x.com/GlennGrahamSun.