Seacoast All-Star Sports Awards: Athletes shine on stage with Charlie Coyle of Bruins
PORTSMOUTH — After two years of virtual celebrations, the best high school student-athletes in the Seacoast gathered in front of a crowd at The Music Hall on Monday night for the sixth annual Seacoast All-Star Sports Awards Show.
Haley Kavanagh,15, of the Oyster River High School cross country and outdoor track teams was among those gathered outside before the event.
"I am excited to be here," she said. "It's really special."
Her coach, Nicole Toye, said Kavanagh is pretty spectacular.
"I know she won't tell you that, but she is," said Toye. "On and off the track; she is an amazing young woman."
Boston Bruins forward Charlie Coyle, following in the footsteps of former special guest speakers such as Danny Amendola (2017 inaugural show, New England Patriots), Pedro Martinez (2018, Boston Red Sox) and Paul Pierce (2019, Boston Celtics), engaged the crowd.
Coyle, who played in all 82 games for Boston this past regular season and had 16 goals and 28 assists, talked about getting traded to his hometown team in 2019, growing up in Weymouth, Massachusetts, and reaching his childhood dreams of playing in the NHL.
Asked to give advice to the aspiring athletes, Coyle told them to remember why they play — for the love of the game.
"The secret is, there is no secret," Coyle said. "Do the work, get better and have no regrets. Work hard and be a good person. Enjoy it and stay in the moment."
Local comedian Juston McKinney, a Seacoast native, opened the show. McKinney, who has appeared on "The Tonight Show," Conan O’Brien's and other national television shows, will return to The Music Hall in December for four shows.
"I have done this three times now and I love it," McKinney said. "It's a really fun environment and to see all these high school athletes and their parents coming together like this, is great."
Team of the Year
The St. Thomas Aquinas boys hockey team, which beat Portsmouth/Newmarket, 7-1 in the Division II state championship in March, was named the Team of the Year.
Colin Chrisom, co-captain of the team, credits the success to the whole team.
"Everyone on the team pushes each other, makes us work harder," he said.
Coach Dan Strabone said he is happy for the boys on the team.
"They work really hard and it's a total team effort," said Strabone. "We have a great group of kids and a great group of parents. I am happy for the athletes and that we are coming out of COVID. These kids get one shot and they work hard for it."
The two other finalists were the Exeter High School field hockey team and the Marshwood High School boys soccer team. The Blue Hawks beat Windham, 2-1, in the Division I title game last fall, while the Hawks beat Brunswick High School in the Class A title game, the first championship in program history.
Seacoast news and sports: Download the Seacoastonline mobile app and the Fosters.com mobile app to stay connected.
Boys Athlete of the Year
Winnacunnet High School senior Tucker McCann was named Boys Athlete of the Year. The other two finalists were York junior track standout Matt Charpentier and Marshwood’s senior three-sport athlete Trevor Wozny.
In addition to this honor, McCann also was chosen as Offensive Player of the Year for football.
"I was surprised, but it's great," he said. "I think I will hang it on my wall of plaques. I share a room with my brother, and he has a few of his own, too."
McCann, who will play football next year at Western New England, had an outstanding senior season in three different sports. He led the Winnacunnet football team to an 11-1 record and a berth in the Division I state championship game; a 24-14 loss to Londonderry. He rushed for a team-high 1,322 yards and scored 14 touchdowns while being named MaxPreps Player of the Year, Division I East Conference First Team and Seacoast Sports Awards Offensive Player of the Year. He had eight 100-yard rushing games, including 151 yards and a pair of TDs in a 21-14 semifinal win over rival Exeter.
In wrestling, he advanced to the Division II championship match at 170 pounds and advanced to the Meet of Champions.
In the spring, McCann started for the Winnacunnet boys’ lacrosse team that advanced to the Division II quarterfinals.
Girls Athlete of the Year
York High School sophomore Cary Drake was named Girls Athlete of the Year. The other two finalists were Dover freshman golfer Carys Fennessy and St. Thomas Aquinas senior swimmer Megan Reich.
Before winning this award, Drake had already won two others, for cross country and for winter track.
"I was kind of stalking the other athletes in line for this award," she said. "I knew there was some really strong competition. So, yes, I was happy but surprised it was me."
Drake had a breakout sophomore year in every season, developing into one of the top distance runners not only in Maine but also New England. She started the year by climbing to the top tier in cross country. She was second at both the Maine Class B South and Class B state meet and was the fifth fastest girl in New England.
Drake capped an outstanding winter season at the New England Championships by placing second in the mile run in a photo finish – by 3/1000th of a second. Her time was 5 minutes, 1.515 seconds, improving on her school record by 13 seconds. At the Class B state meet, she won both the mile and the two-mile runs to lead York to Class B team runners-up honors. She also ran a leg of the victorious 4x800-meter relay.
In the spring, she participated on two sports teams, helping the York girls lacrosse team to the Class B state championship game, while leading the Wildcat track and field team to the Western Maine Conference and Class B championships. In both meets, she won the mile and two-mile runs, while also running a leg of the winning 4x800-meter relay.
Coach of the Year
Ben Deschenes, who led the Marshwood High School boys soccer team to its first Class A championship in program history, was named Coach of the Year. The other two finalists were Dan Strabone, who led St Thomas Aquinas to its hockey championship, and Kristen Morissette, who led the Exeter High School softball team to its second Division I title in four years, beating Concord, 1-0 in eight innings.
Deschenes attributed his success to a team effort.
"You don't win an award like this by yourself," he said. "You need really good people around you and I have that. I think this is a shared award."
Deschenes spent 10 years building the Marshwood program up, and in 2021 the Hawks, as the No. 4 seed, finally broke through. They went 16-2-1 last fall, winning the final 10 games of the season.
Marshwood capped off its historical season with a dramatic 2-1 come-from-behind win over Brunswick in the waning moments of the state final.
In his 10 years with the Hawks, the team had nine winning seasons and made the playoffs eight times (there was no tournament in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
'I am Sport Award'
York senior Joe Neal received the The Piscataqua Savings Bank Partner "I Am Sport Award."
"I read about this award in the brochure, but I wasn't expecting to get it," said Neal. "I love playing sports, but I also like to do more, to do more for other people. I think that's important."
Neal ran cross country in the fall, placing 16th in the Class B state meet. In the winter, Neal got the green light from his athletic director and coaches to compete in both wrestling and hockey.
What did he do? Neal won the Maine Class B wrestling state championship at 160 pounds, and then went 3-0 in the Maine New England Qualifier to advance to the New England Championships. He suffered a knee injury playing hockey the day before he was scheduled to compete in the New England Wrestling championship and couldn’t compete.
For hockey, Neal, a team captain, had 12 goals and 23 assists for a team-high 39 points, leading York to the Class B South quarterfinals. This March Neal received the 18th annual Evans Spear Award. This award is given each year to the most outstanding senior boys' hockey player in Class B South, not only in terms of significant on-ice success at the varsity hockey level in their high school career, but equally in terms of character, passion, and spirit in the memory of Evans Spear. Spear, a 2000 graduate of Yarmouth High School, died in May 2004 after a battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Neal was also a two-year varsity catcher on York’s baseball team. He batted .383 with seven doubles and 15 RBIs this season.
Neal, who has served as his class president for the last three years, graduates with a GPA of 4.0. He has been involved in 19 different fund-raisers during his time at York High School and helped raise more than $25,000 for various projects.
Neal will attend the U.S. Air Force Academy in the fall.
'Courage Award'
Newmarket High School junior Lena Nicholson received the Wentworth-Douglass Hospital Partner "Courage Award.”
"It's exciting," said Nicholson. "I was surprised but I like it."
Nicholson was 10 pounds, 7 ounces and 26.6 inches at birth, and was diagnosed with Sotos syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by excessive growth before and after birth.
By the time she was 9 years old, Nicholson was 6 feet tall, and reached 6-foot-5 when she was 14. Nicholson, due to her size, was often bullied. When she was in second grade, a group of boys backed her into a corner and were making fun of her because of her size and her speech. Lena, someone who was always aware of her differences, was trying to look away, ignore them, and pretend they weren't there, but she couldn't get away. A member of the cafeteria staff saw it happening and stepped in to help.
Nicholson, according to her mom, always wanted to be goofy and funny and play like most kids did but was always aware that people saw her differently. Over the years she would try to "shrink" so people wouldn't notice her. It is only when she started basketball in seventh grade that she saw her size as a positive.
Nicholson plays varsity basketball and throws the discus and shot put in spring track for Newmarket. She was a Division IV honorable mention basketball selection this year, scoring a career high 27 points in a first-round tournament win over Hinsdale. She averaged 10 points and 7.8 rebounds this past season.
Nicholson placed fifth in the shot put in this year’s Division III state track meet with a throw of 30 feet.
Fall players of the year
Players of the year are Dover senior Tyler Sheedy (boys cross country), York sophomore Cary Drake (girls cross country), Exeter junior Addison MacNeill (field hockey), Marshwood senior Andrew Goodwin (football, defense), McCann (football, offense), Exeter senior Will Ducharme (boys golf), Dover freshman Carys Fennessy (girls golf), Marshwood senior Trevor Wozny (boys soccer), Exeter senior Maggie Hall (girls soccer) and Oyster River junior Emma Hampton (volleyball).
Winter players of the year
Players of the year are Marshwood senior Aiden Sullivan (boys basketball), York senior Emily Rainforth (girls basketball), Portsmouth senior Luke Suhesky (boys hockey), St. Thomas Aquinas junior Diana Pivirotto (girls hockey), Charpentier (boys indoor track and field), Drake (girls indoor track and field), Dover senior Noah Kurr (boys swimming and diving), Reich (girls swimming and diving) and York senior Will Orso (wrestling).
Spring players of the year
Players of the year are Winnacunnet senior Joe Allen (baseball), Exeter sophomore Annie Christiana (softball), Exeter senior Aiden Drunsic (boys lacrosse), Portsmouth senior Mia Smith (girls lacrosse), Portsmouth senior Nate Fletcher (boys track and field), Exeter senior Sydney Lavelle (girls track and field), Dover senior Griffin Leach (boys tennis), and Winnacunnet sophomore Stella Sebeny (girls tennis).