Williston Northampton celebrated its spring athletes during a special assembly on Thursday afternoon, and also handed out several senior awards, including the two most prestigious individual athletic awards given by the school: the George Denman Bowl for boys and the Alumnae Bowl for girls.
The two senior athletic awards are “awarded to seniors whose contribution to the athletic program have been characterized by exceptional achievement, faithful participation, and loyal devotion to the best interests of the school.”
The George Denman Bowl was awarded to Felix-Antoine Bouchard ’23, and the Alumnae Bowl was awarded to Emily Crovo ’23.
Bouchard, who attended Williston for two years, was a true dual-threat athlete that will go down in Williston history. A football-hockey star, Bouchard was a major contributor in the secondary for the football team, helping lead the defense and the team to its first bowl appearance since 2014. For his efforts, he was named both All-League and All-NEPSAC honorable mention. In the winter, he transitioned to the rink with full effect, leading the team in scoring, earning All-NEPSAC honorable mention status, and winning the team’s MVP award.
Crovo, a four-year boarding student, has been a leader since Day One on campus. A three-sport athlete, Crovo earned 12 varsity letters in her career across soccer, ice hockey, and lacrosse. In soccer, Crovo was the team’s captain this year, and earned all-league and Boston Globe All-Star accolades. In the winter, she helped lead the ice hockey team to its second straight NEPSAC championship, and along the way topped the 100-point milestone for her career. Crovo was also named the Most Outstanding Player of the NEPSAC tournament, and the New England Hockey Journal named her its NEPSAC Player of the Year. This spring, she was the girls lacrosse team captain, and earned All-NEPSAC honorable mention status.
In addition to the Denman Bowl and Alumnae Bowl, the school also honored two seniors with Athletic Leadership Awards, “presented to seniors who have distinguished themselves in terms of the quality of the leadership they have demonstrated as student athletes.”
Luke Ballard ’23 and Louisa Coughlin ’23 were the two honorees for the Athletic Leadership Awards.
Finally, the school also honored 24 members of the class of 2023 with the Blanket Award, to recognize exceptional participation in athletic. The honorees were:
- One-year students: Miranda Calderone ’23, Jenna Guglielmi ’23
- Two-year students: Coraly Siegel ’23, Kristen Trembley ’23
- Three-year student: Kaitlyn Williams ’23
- Four years or greater students: Luke Ballard ’23, Pippa Berry ’23, Will Chalfant ’23, Daniel Ciejek ’23, Austin Conroy ’23, Louisa Coughlin ’23, Emily Crovo ’23, Ava DeCoste ’23, Sophie Edmunds ’23, Cam Gillis ’23, Dyson Haaland ’23, Izzy Ireland ’23, Katherine Kang ’23, Garrette Ondrick ’23, Connor Queenin ’23, Jake St. Marie ’23, Peter Wang ’23, Andrew Yu-Hwang ’23, Daniel Zhang ’23.
Below are Director of Athletics Mark Conroy’s remarks in full.
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Good afternoon, Williston!!
I would like to welcome everyone to our Spring Athletic Awards Assembly. This assembly is actually the final time that of our entire community will gather together in this special space this year.
The program for this afternoon’s assembly is to recognize the individual spring teams that finished their seasons this past weekend, to honor the class of 2023’s distinguished participation in our athletic program and to reminisce through a slide show of our year in Wildcat Athletics.
Boys Tennis
Williston fielded three levels of tennis this spring. Our co-ed Thirds team made tremendous improvement over the course of the spring season under Coach Eugenio Garcia’s leadership. Coach Ken Choo’s JV tennis squad had one of its most competitive seasons in years highlighted by exciting wins over Pomfret, WMA and Suffield!
Our varsity boys tennis team was led once again this spring by Coach Josh Rilla. Highlights of the team’s season included three very exciting wins: A road win at Frederick Gunn early in the season followed by two terrific 4-3 wins at home—the first over Cheshire and the second over Berkshire. Both contests came down to the final matches of the day before the boys pulled out the victories.
In terms of individual recognition, our #1 singles and double player Jefu Lee was named All-NEPSAC honorable mention for his exceptional play this spring.
I would like to recognize the tennis program’s award winners and next year’s captains. Please stand and remain standing when I read your names. We will applaud you as a group at the end:
Thirds
MVP: Thuan Doan ’26
MIP: Aiyana Karanja ’26, Charlotte Jin ‘27
Sportsmanship: Lila Parsons ‘28, Sylvia Nguyen ‘26
JV
MVP: Omar Santoyo ’25 (second year in a row!)
MIP: Kenzo Endo ’26, Bennett Evelti ‘26
Sportsmanship: Seth O’Donnell ‘24, Peter Suranunt ‘26
Varsity
A. L. Hepworth Most Valuable Player Award: Jefu Lee ’23
MIP: Kei Imai ‘25
Sportsmanship: Nico Fonseca ‘23
Next year’s captains: Zac Pincus ’24, Est Sukcharoenyingyong ‘24
Girls Tennis
Led by Coach Sarah Levine, the JV girls’ tennis team enjoyed a season of great camaraderie and improvement highlighted by an exciting win over rival WMA.
The varsity girls’ team, led by new head coach Monique Conroy, played competitive, determined tennis all spring winning six matches. There were many highlights of their season including sweeping both Miss Hall’s and Cushing. Undoubtedly, their biggest highlight demonstrated their improvement across the season. In the team’s first match of the spring vs NMH, the girls had a difficult time competing losing decisively 8-1. When the teams met again in early May, the girls turned the tables winning several close matches including two key tiebreakers to win 5-4. Quite a turnaround! The team benefitted from exceptional team camaraderie this spring and with a strong contingent returning, they all look forward to next season. In terms of individual recognition this spring, junior Katya Krasnovskaya was named All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention.
I would like to recognize the award winners in the girls’ tennis program. Please stand and remain standing when I read your names:
JV
MVP: Blue Meyerson ‘26
MIP: Lauren Martinez ‘26 and Ava Medaugh ’25
Sportsmanship: Maya Zesiger ’26
Varsity
MVP: Katya Krasnovskaya ’24
MIP: Ashley Zhang ‘26
Sportsmanship: Amara Rozario ‘23
Captains for next year: Betsy Gaudreau ’24, Katya Krasnovskaya ’24, Annika Song ’25
Softball
Led by coaches Allison Marsland and Maggie Haas, JV softball fielded an enthusiastic team this spring that demonstrated great improvement. The highlights of their season were two thrilling comeback wins—the first one took place up at Miss Hall’s and the second was a season ending 6-5 win over Stoneleigh Burnham!
The varsity softball team was led once again by coaches Erin Davey and Janine Whipple. The team had a roller coaster season with some exciting wins and some heartbreaking losses. Amongst their highlights were decisive wins over Miss Porter’s, Ethel Walker and Marianapolis. Arguably their biggest win was a 1-0 win over KO at home on the final Saturday of the season. Maggie Fay earned the shutout on the mound while Violet “Purple” Carroll scored the winning run when she doubled, was sacrificed to third by Jenna Guglielmi and raced home on a passed ball.
For their outstanding play during the season, senior Jenna Guglielmi and junior Monique Lyons were both named league all-stars. Jenna was also named All NEPSAC honorable mention.
I would like to recognize the award winners in the softball program:
JV
MVP: Kat Martini ‘26, Bella Marinello ‘26
MIP: Elise Edmunds ‘28
Sportsmanship: Zah Ewen ‘24
Varsity
MVP: Jenna Guglielmi ‘23
MIP: Nora Curtis ‘25
Sportsmanship: Monique Lyons ‘24
Captains for next year: Maggie Fay ’25, Violet Carroll ’25, Monique Lyons ’24.
Boys Lacrosse
JV Boys Lacrosse, led by coaches Tanguay and Johnson, enjoyed a competitive season highlighted by exciting one goal wins over Frederick Gunn, Amherst HS and a season ending win over Eaglebrook.
Under Coaches Hawley, Syfu and Dietrich, varsity boys’ lacrosse battled hard and enjoyed a season full of very competitive games. Highlights of their season included decisive wins over Cheshire, Frederick Gunn and rival Suffield and a gritty 15-9 win over NMH at home. The team sent out their seniors on a high note with a terrific 14-9 win over Canterbury on a beautiful Saturday night on Sawyer Field! At the season ending Colonial Tournament held at Pomfret this past Saturday, the boys defeated Frederick Gunn in the semi-final 10-6 to advance. This set up a championship final vs a Pomfret team that had narrowly defeated us earlier in the season 10-8. This time, the Wildcats would have the final word as they pulled out a terrific 11-9 win to take home the Colonial Tournament cup.
Can I ask captains Tate and Noah to come forward to make a presentation to Mr. Hill?
In terms of postseason recognition, three boys were named to the all-league team: Noah Fox, TJ Sullivan and sophomore Joseph Killcommons. Tate Kuster was named all league honorable mention. Additionally, Noah also earned All-NEPSAC honorable mention honors.
I would like to recognize the award winners in the boys’ lacrosse program. Please stand when I call your name.
JV
MVP: Cam Gillis ‘23
MIP: Dylan Rovetti ‘24, Sergio Ramirez Argueta ‘23
Sportsmanship: Garrette Ondrick ‘23, Beckett Dunham ‘28
Varsity
Frank Dorsey MVP: Noah Fox ’23
MIP: Loic Thibault ’24
Sportsmanship: Dan Ciejek ’24, Adam Shatz ‘24
Captains for next year: Jack Ballinger ’24, Aidan Joyce ’24, Joseph Killcommons ’25, Chase Livingston ’24
Girls Golf
Coach Sarah Klumpp’s JV girls golf squad made steady improvement throughout the season finishing with a winning record highlighted by exciting wins over WMA and Miss Hall’s!!!
Under the leadership of longtime head coach Ann Pickrell, varsity girls golf enjoyed a competitive season including earning 6 victories this spring. Highlights included a 3-2 victory over a strong Westminster squad, wins over Kingswood Oxford and Miss Porter’s and a narrow loss to Ethel Walker School. Senior Cici Yu and junior Mayphia Zhou (Joe) represented Williston at the Pippy O’Connor NEPSAC championship tournament held at the Watertown Golf Club in Connecticut. Mayphia had a terrific tournament finishing 4th in the nine-hole division of the tournament.
Can I ask Mayphia to come forward so I can present a trophy to her?
I would like to recognize the award winners in girls’ golf this spring. Please stand when I call your names and remain standing –
JV
Most Valuable – Rinka Okuno ‘25
Most Improved – Haruka Okuno ‘26
Sportsmanship – May Nguyen ‘24
Varsity
MVP: Mayphia Zhou (Joe) ’24 (second year in a row!)
Most Improved: Gavin Kim ‘25
Sportsmanship: Cici Yu ‘23
Captain for next year: Mayphia Zhou (Joe) ’24
Boys Golf
The JV team, led by Coaches Whipple and Doubleday, enjoyed a very competitive season finishing with a record of 9-4-1 winning their last six in a row including big wins over Loomis, Berkshire, NMH and WMA!
Varsity boys golf, under coach Mike Fay’s leadership for the past 16 years, enjoyed another very competitive season on the links finishing with a record of 8-8-1. Highlights of their season included avenging early season losses to Suffield and NMH with wins later in the season and achieving our best team score of the spring to secure decisive wins over Pomfret and Worcester on a late May Saturday. At yesterday’s season ending KO Invitational held in Bloomfield, CT, co-captains Brayden Deschamps and Brady Clark had the top scores for the Wildcats with 82 and 84 respectively.
I would like to recognize the individual award winners:
JV
MVP: Ben Carlan ‘23
MIP: Patrick McCarthy ‘27
Sportsmanship: Hieu Duong ‘25
Varsity
Robert C. Varnum ’60 MVP: Eric Carter ’23
MIP: Michael Saliba ‘25
Sportsmanship: Brady Clark ‘23
Captain for next year: Michael Saliba ‘25
Baseball
Under the leadership of coaches Ketcham and Shelffo, JV baseball enjoyed another very successful season finishing with an excellent record of 9-3. Highlights of their season included exciting wins over Berkshire, NMH and Eaglebrook.
Varsity baseball, led by Coaches Sawyer and Shattie, enjoyed another very competitive season finishing its season with a winning record of 10-7. There were many highlights during their season including going 6-0 over divisional rivals Pomfret, WMA and Suffield—always sweet! Thanks to finishing second in the Cleary Division, we qualified for the league’s championship tournament and were matched up with Canterbury. Unfortunately, despite our valiant efforts, the boys came up short 8-5 to end their season.
Several players earned all-league recognition for their outstanding play this spring: First Team All-League honors went to James Elliott, Hudson Fulcher-Melendy and Colin Larson. Second team honors went to Quinn McDonald and Caleb Boyko. Earning All-NEPSAC honors were Nolan Puglisi, while junior Colin Larson earned honorable mention.
For his outstanding play this season, both on the mound and at the plate, Nolan Puglisi was named the Co-Player of the Year in the league’s Cleary Division.
Could I ask Nolan to come forward so we can recognize him?
I would like to recognize the award winners and next year’s captains in the baseball program. Please stand and remain standing when I read your names:
JV
Most Valuable Player: Danny Bussard ‘26
Most Improved Player: Xander Oleksak ‘25
Sportsmanship Award: Luke Grabowski ‘25
Varsity
Walter R. Miller ’41 MVP: Nolan Puglisi ’23
MIP: Wes Haynes ‘24
Sportsmanship: Caleb Boyko ’23 and Connor Capshaw ’23
Next year’s captains will be James Elliott ’24, Hudson Fulcher-Melendy ’24 and Colin Larson ’24
Girls Lacrosse
Girls Lacrosse at Williston had another terrific season. The JV team, led by coaches Garrity, Malinowski and Camacho-Sanchez, demonstrated great team spirit and improvement throughout their season highlighted by a season sweep of Bement and an exciting home win over Miss Porters.
Led by Coaches Lonergan and Tabb-Wood, the varsity girls’ lacrosse team had an excellent spring finishing their regular season with an 8-4 record including going undefeated in May winning their final five games. All four of their losses were extremely competitive games including a less second overtime loss to Deerfield. Benefitting from outstanding senior leadership, there were several victories that stood out including decisive wins over Pomfret, Suffield and Miss Porters as well as a gutty 11-7 victory at Choate under the lights. The girls finished their season by competing in the first annual lacrosse invitational hosted by Canterbury. In the semifinal game, the girls came out determined against a Berkshire team that had beaten us 10-8 earlier in the season. This time, the Wildcats would not be denied as they turned the tables on the Bears winning 15-10. Unfortunately, the girls came up short in the final to a very good Canterbury team to end their excellent season.
I would like to recognize the award winners and next year’s captains in the girls’ lacrosse program. Please stand when I read your names:
JV
MVP: Lauren Counter ’26, Sarah Martini ‘26
MIP: Ruthie Butler ‘26
Sportsmanship: Niamh Cleary ’26, Liza Hampson ‘25
Varsity
MVP: Louisa Coughlin ‘23
MIP: Miranda Calderone ’23, Brenna Ziter ‘26
Kate Risley ’93 Sportsmanship Award: Alyssa Matricciani ’25
Davis Award for overall contribution: Emily Crovo ’23
Next year’s captains will be: Camille Armaganian ’24, Emily Hamman ’24 and Anna Sawyer ‘24
Track and Field
Under the leadership of head coach Chris Pelliccia and fellow coaches Jonnie Bianchi, Jane Lucia, Michael Mailloux, Matt Liebowitz and Matt KaneLong, both the boys and girls track and field teams enjoyed successful winning seasons.
Our boys track and field team had a terrific season. Highlights of their dual meet season included victories over Westminster, Worcester, Berkshire and St. Paul’s. Sweeping their final meet in mid-May gave the boys their first undefeated dual meet season since 1996–27 years ago! They finished 15-0!
Going undefeated in any sport is a rare accomplishment. Could I ask all members of the boys track and field team to stand so we can applaud them!
At the NEPSAC championship held here at Williston last Saturday, the boys had a very solid final meet finishing in 7th place out of the 16 schools that competed. Earning All NEPSAC honorable mention for their performances were:
- Jonah Berry Brown with an 8th in the 3000.
- Max Fujimori with a 7th in the 400.
- Calvin Klumpp with an 8th in the 800.
- Grgur Brcic with a 7th in the shot put.
Also earning team points and All NEPSAC recognition for their top 6 performances:
- Inigo Sustacha with a 5th in the high hurdles
- Jeffrey Warner with a 5th in the 800
- Max Fujimori for a 5th in the long jump and a 4th in the high jump
- Gianluca Lanzilli for a 3rd in the long jump and a 4th in the 100 meter dash
- Dom DiFillipo with a 3rd in the shot put
- The 4 x 400 relay team of Jeffrey Warner, Connor Queenin, Max Fujimori and Javy Barrera that came in 5th place.
- The 4 x 100 relay team of Gianluca Lanzilli, Jayson Alegria, Javvy Barrera and MJ Charles came in 4th place.
Despite its smaller numbers, the girls’ team also had a terrific spring finishing their dual meet season with a record of 10-4. Highlights included exciting wins over Miss Porter’s, Berkshire, Worcester and Cheshire. At the NEPSAC championships, the girls finished in 8th place out of the 15 teams competing. Earning All NEPSAC honorable mention for their performances were:
- Jurnee Jones with an 8th in the discus.
- 8th grader Olivia Zaiken with an 8th in the 100 high hurdles and a 7th in the 300 low hurdles.
Earning team points and All NEPSAC honors for top 6 performances:
- 9th grader Livia Locke with a 4th in the javelin
- The 4 x 100 relay team of Livia Locke, Greta Saxe, Olivia Zaiken and Dore Adeosun came in 4th place.
Finally, two girls are deserving of special recognition. The first, one of our team captains this spring, finished her career by becoming a NEPSAC champion in the shot put with a throw of 29’2”. Could I ask Jurnee Jones to stand so we can recognize her?
The final girl I want to recognize not only became a NEPSAC champion when she won the 800 meter race but her time of 2:20.17 seconds broke the school record set just last year by Abigail Touhey. Could I ask junior Catie Spence to come forward so we can recognize her with a memento of this record breaking accomplishment?
I would like to recognize the track program’s award winners and next year’s captains. Please stand and remain standing when I read your names:
Girls
MVP: Jurnee Jones ’23, Catie Spence ’24
MIP: Olivia Zaiken ‘27
Sportsmanship: Coraly Siegal ’23 (second year in a row!)
Next year’s captains will be Elle Ash ’25, Catie Spence ’24
Boys
Frank Putnam MVP: Max Fujimori ’23, Gianluca Lanzilli ‘23
MIP: Junwon Park ’23, Onion Quan ‘26
Sportsmanship: MJ Charles ’23, Francesco Grumo ’23
Next year’s captains will be: Jeremy Dube ‘24, Manu Gonzalez Hudson ‘23
Ultimate
54 students participated in ultimate this spring at Williston on three different teams! Under the enthusiastic guidance of coaches Bryan Malinowski and Pam Maddock, 18 middle school students competed on our Thirds team. The team had a very successful season finishing its regular season undefeated going 9-0 before losing a couple of games in the season ending Amherst Tournament.
The JV squad was led by Lee Greener and Justin Brooks this spring. The JVs also enjoyed a very successful season highlighted by wins over NMH and Northampton HS. The team capped off their season when they won the NEPSUL (that’s the New England Prep School Ultimate League in case you were wondering!) JV tournament at MacDuffie in mid-May!
To say that the varsity team had a competitive season would be an understatement! Including tournaments, the team finished with a very impressive record of 23-3. Highlights of their regular season included two epic comebacks—the first when they came storming back from an 11-3 deficit to beat Four Rivers 15-14. The second was a huge come from behind 9-8 win over Hotchkiss with Will Chalfant getting a hand-block before scoring the critical upwind goal on a throw from Gunnar Tebo. The team won two tournaments this spring– the Middletown Tournament in Connecticut and we repeated as champions at the NEPSUL tournament defeating prep opponents NMH, Choate, Wooster, and Hotchkiss. In the final vs Hotchkiss, the team started off shaky, going down 3-7 at halftime but, true to form, they turned up the defensive pressure in the second half scoring the last 5 goals of the game to get the win 10-8!!
Can I ask both the captains of the varsity ultimate team as well as the JV ultimate leaders to come forward to make a presentation to Mr. Hill?
Ask Alex Hall-Witt to stay behind for a quick presentation!!!!
I don’t think it’s an understatement to say that Alex Hall-Witt is the most accomplished player in our school’s ultimate history. He has been our MVP every year since he was in the 9th grade. As I did a year ago, I want to recognize him for resetting school records for goals thrown in both a season (142) and a career (297). Congratulations Alex!
I would like to recognize the award winners in Ultimate –
WHEN I READ YOUR NAME, PLEASE STAND AND REMAIN STANDING. We will applaud them as a group at the end.
Thirds
MVP: Jack Choo ‘27
MIP: Henry Estes ’27, Rose Abel-Zucker ‘28
Sportsmanship: Jack Carter ’27, Zivia Parikh ’27
JV
MVP: Yahya Wilson ’26
MIP: Lateef Aiyeyemi ‘26, Brandon Gou ‘26
Sportsmanship: Saco Lively ‘25
Varsity
MVP: Alex Hall-Witt ’23
MIP: Noah Kooistra ‘23
Sportsmanship: Nate Kerr ’23, Nadim Smaira ‘24
Captains for next year: Aaron Hammer ’24, Weston Reardon ‘24 and Nadim Smaira ’24
Girls Water Polo
To say that it was another wonderful season for girls’ water polo would be an understatement! The girls were incredibly dominant in NEPSAC play decisively winning every game on their schedule handily. Their regular season included sweeping their home and away matches with Andover, Exeter, Choate, Deerfield and Loomis. Competing against NEPSAC schools, we finished the season with a perfect 16-0 record scoring a total of 279 goals averaging over 17 goals a game! Defensively, led by standout sophomore goalie Juno Aselton, the girls gave up less than 4 goals per game. Yes, their average score this spring was 17-4.
Their outstanding regular season earned them the #1 seed in the NEPSAC championship tournament held at Exeter last Saturday. In the semi-final game vs Choate, the girls jumped out to a 15-0 halftime lead before cruising to a 19-2 final and a berth in the championship game. In a repeat of the semifinal game, the team once again jumped way out in front this time leading at the half 12-0 before winning 19-2 again. Candidly, I can’t recall a more dominant season in any sport since I have been at Williston these past 23 years. While Coach Berghoff might admittedly be slightly biased, he has coached girls water polo for as long as it has existed in NEPSAC and he believes that this Williston team can make a strong argument as the most dominant team in NEPSAC girls water polo history.
Could I ask our team captains to come forward to make a presentation to Mr. Hill?
As expected, a number girls of garnered postseason individual recognition—junior Maisie Mattocks and seniors Kaitlyn Williams and Campbell Collins were named All-NEPSAC while three girls were named Honorable Mention—Andie Kinstle, Isabel Gargamelli and Hayden Hedstrom. Sophomore Juno Aselton, who had a save a terrific save percentage of stopping nearly 70% of shots attempted on goal, was named the Most Outstanding Goalie in NEPSAC for the second consecutive year!
Additionally, Kaitlyn and Campbell both finished their tremendous careers by etching their names into our record books again! Kaitlyn set the career assist record with 90 while Campbell set the record for most points scored in a season with 99. Campbell scored on almost 72% of her shot attempts—pretty amazing!! Not surprisingly, the NEPSAC coaches named Kaitlyn and Campbell Co-NEPSAC players of the year.
Could I ask both girls to come forward so we can recognize this very special honor as well as their school records?
I would like to recognize the award winners in Girls Water Polo this spring. Please stand and remain standing after I read your names.
MVP: Campbell Collins ’23, Kaitlyn Williams ’23
MIP: Caledonia McKeon ‘24
Sportsmanship: Lucy Hoyt ’25, Maisie Mattocks ‘24
Next year’s captains: Hayden Hegstrom ’24, Andie Kinstle ’24, Maisie Mattocks ’24
I would like to ask Ms. Brousseau and Mr. Lapan to come forward to help me with this next presentation.
As you all know well, students at Williston are encouraged to participate and get engaged in all aspects of student life here. Many of our graduating seniors have made an exceptional commitment to participating in our competitive athletic program. To honor this distinguished level of participation, the Athletic Department presents a senior award, the Blanket Award, to recognize exceptional participation. For students who have been at Williston for more than one year, they are eligible for the award if they missed only one season not including their senior year. I would like to ask the following 24 seniors to come forward when I read your names. Please remain up front and we will applaud you as a group at the end.
2 – One year students: Miranda Calderone, Jenna Guglielmi
2 – Two year students: Coraly Siegel, Kristen Trembley
1 – Three year student: Kaitlyn Williams
19 – Students who have been here at LEAST Four years: Luke Ballard, Pippa Berry, Will Chalfant, Daniel Ciejek, Austin Conroy, Louisa Coughlin, Emily Crovo, Ava DeCoste, Sophie Edmunds, Cam Gillis, Dyson Haaland, Izzy Ireland, Katherine Kang, Garrette Ondrick, Connor Queenin, Jake St. Marie, Peter Wang, Andrew Yu-Hwang, Daniel Zhang
It is now my privilege to award our senior athletic awards. I will be making four presentations—the Denman and Alumnae Bowls honoring the top senior athletes and the Athletic Leadership Awards given for exceptional leadership. All of these awards are determined by a vote of our program’s head coaches.
Let me start with the Athletic Leadership Awards.
The Athletic Leadership Award “is presented to seniors who have distinguished themselves in terms of the quality of the leadership they have demonstrated as student athletes. The recipients exemplify what it means to be an outstanding teammate, competitor and representative of the school. Their selfless leadership, sportsmanship and integrity have provided inspiration to their coaches and teammates throughout their time at Williston.”
The recipient of the senior Athletic Leadership Award for boys was a Blanket Award winner and tremendous contributor to all three programs that he participated in–soccer, squash and lacrosse. In the fall, he was one of the captains of our outstanding soccer team that made it all the way to the NEPSAC finals. In the winter, he switched from ice hockey to squash his junior year and quickly became an impact player in the program. He captained the team as a senior winning MVP and All NEPSAC honorable mention honors. In the spring, he lettered in lacrosse all four years. His coaches laud his commitment to being a leader and role model in each of his programs. He is widely known by both his peers as an enthusiastic competitor and teammate. It gives us great pleasure to award this 2023 Athletic Leadership Award to Luke Ballard.
The senior Athletic Leadership Award for girls this year will be awarded to an student who competed on a team in all 18 of her seasons at Williston—captaining three programs as a senior. In the fall, she won 5 letters in field hockey earning all-league honors as well as being named the team’s sportsmanship award winner. In the winter, she captained our squash team while also earning team MVP honors. In the spring, she captained our lacrosse team while being named team MVP and All-NEPSAC. While these accomplishments are noteworthy, her coaches unanimously laud her grace under pressure, her generosity of spirit and her interest in the experience of all of her teammates. It gives us great pleasure to present this Athletic Leadership Award to Louisa Coughlin.
Let me know turn to our two most prestigious senior athletic awards. The George Denman Bowl for boys and the Alumnae Bowl for girls are “awarded to seniors whose contribution to the athletic program have been characterized by exceptional achievement, faithful participation, and loyal devotion to the best interests of the school.”
This year’s Denman recipient has made a terrific impact on our community and athletic program during his two years at Williston. Candidly, the football/hockey two sport impact athlete is extremely rare these days in prep school sports so to play both at such a high level is even more rare. During the fall, he was a major contributor in our secondary helping to lead our defense and team to its first bowl appearance since 2014. Following the season, he received both All League and All-NEPSAC honorable mention honors for his outstanding play. In the winter, he transitioned to the rink where his contribution was equally impactful. A skilled forward, he led our team in scoring and was named both most valuable player and All NEPSAC honorable mention. Beyond these outstanding accomplishments, he is widely considered by his coaches to be an exceptional competitor and teammate. It gives us great pleasure to award the 2023 Denman Award to Felix-Antoine Bouchard.
The 2023 Alumnae Award recipient has been an impact player and leader in our athletic program since the day she stepped foot on campus four years ago. Earning 12 letters in four seasons, her coaches say that it is no small coincidence that all of her teams have been incredibly successful. In the fall, she was a major contributor to our soccer program for four years captaining the team as a senior while earning all-league and Boston Globe all-star accolades. During the winter, she enjoyed a tremendous career capped by a story book senior year leading our team to our second consecutive NEPSAC title. How about these for accolades for a great seasons–broke the 100 point milestone, was named both All NEPSAC and the Most Outstanding Player of the NEPSAC Tournament and, to top it all off, the New England Hockey Journal named her the NEPSAC Player of the Year! In the spring, she headed out to Sawyer Field where she captained our lacrosse team while earning All NEPSAC honorable mention honors. Beyond her significant contribution to our program, she is widely considered by all of her coaches as one of the finest leaders they have ever coached, a terrific competitor, and a wonderful teammate. It gives us great pleasure to award this 2023 Alumnae Award to Emily Crovo.
