Shining a Light on Spring Activities

So much to celebrate! Just two days before the class of 2022 kicked off their graduation festivities, coaches and classmates celebrated athletes and afternoon activities participants for their accomplishments.

About two dozen students were honored during Brooks' annual Spring Activities Awards in the Center for the Arts theater on May 27.

It was a season full of things to tout, from Brooks School boys crew earning gold, girls getting silver and another boys boat clinching bronze at the Northeast Regional Championships — qualifying all three boats for Youth Nationals — to girls lacrosse standout (and commencement student speaker on athletics) Kate Coughlin '22 hitting 100 goals scored!

(Sports photography courtesy of Lindsey Stafford '24)

The golf team made Brooks proud at the Independent School League's championship tournament, The Kingsman, on May 16, by finishing fifth out of 14 schools and with one player, Jack McDermott '23, besting more than 65 competitors to finish fourth overall and earn a spot on the All-ISL team.

"We had a strong finish to the year," said golf coach Dan Callahan. Indeed, two days after their best-ever finish at the Kingman they played that tournament's number-one team and beat them.

"Next year we could be very good, knock on wood," Callahan added, noting that they only graduated two players this year and that fifth-former Payne Plum's winning record, plus his win over the league's undefeated MVP, bodes well. "Payne has shown he can beat the best players in our league... I fully expect him to make a run at being the league MVP next year."

Though they don't have the best matchplay record, he added, "I would say this is the most talented team I have had here at Brooks."

Softball coach Andrea Heinze is similarly excited about her squad's performance this year and has high hopes for the next. Reaching the semifinals of the eight-team Big East tournament that Brooks hosted in conjunction with Phillips Academy last month was a highlight of the season — especially after Jackie Giordano '25 threw a no hitter and made the all-tournament team.

"Jackie was one batter away from a perfect game during the Big East," Heinze added. "That's pretty impressive!" — as is the fact that Kyliegh Matola '25 hit over 600 this season.

The whole squad has impressed her this spring, in fact. "We had an incredible group of players who really gelled quickly in terms of team chemistry in both how they played and how they supported one another," she said. "It's talent at a young age that we haven't had in a long time. ...With our players already at the level that we're at, and we only lost one senior, we're only going to go up!"

Read on to see all of the players honored during our spring awards ceremony. Congratulations, Brooksians!

Best Teammate Award:

• 2nd baseball: Othar Zaldastani '23
• 2nd boys crew: Ben Pettorelli '25
• 2nd girls crew: Shelley Grant '25
• 2nd golf: Aidan Jarvis '22
• 2nd girls lacrosse: Lauren Zion '22
• 2nd boys tennis: Tri Nguyen '22
• 2nd girls tennis: Anna Weed '22
• Community service: Daelly Osorio '22
• Dance: Samantha Lee '22
• Drama: Performer Saisha Prabhakar '22, Preston Wong '23; Theater crew: Abbie Duckworth '23, Kiara Mejia '24

1st Team Awards

Baseball
Allen Ashburn Bowl: Owen Christopher '23
ISL All-League: Owen Christopher '23
ISL Honorable Mention: Isaiah Pinto '22, Edo Spadaccini '22
Francis Jackson Bowl: Edo Spadaccini '22

Crew
Howard T. "Ox" Kingsbury Award: Luke Desmaison '22
Katherine V. Liddle Award: Shalini Navsaria '23
Courtney Crew Prize: Ashley Brzezenski '22

Golf
ISL All-League: Jack McDermott '23

Lacrosse
ISL R. Jeffrey Parker Award for sportsmanship: boys 1st lacrosse team
Robert C. Best Award: Will Creevy '22
Sportsmanship Award: Shane Burns '23
All-ISL: Alex Dixon '23
ISL All-League Honorable Mention: Shane Burns '23, Will Creevy '22, Aian Shea '22
Merit Award: Kate Coughlin '22
All-ISL: Kate Coughlin '22, Molly Driscoll '23
ISL Honorable Mention: Lucy Adams '22, Lydia Tangney '25

Softball
Coaches Award: Kathryn Duane '22
ISL All-League: Jackie Giordano '25, Bella Hacker '24, Kyleigh Matola '25
ISL Honorable Mention, All-ISL: Sophia Alvarez-Backus '24, Maria Pierce '23

Tennis
Baird E. Haney Award: Diego Torio '24
ISL All-League: Evan Wirth '23
ISL Honorable Mention: Vivian Gal '22, Jayden Malouf' 23, Celia Powers '24
Coaches Award: Chloe Leonard, '22

At the awards assembly basketball player Taina Mair '22 was also presented with her banner for being named the Gatorade Player of the Year!

Follow Brooks School on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to see all the activities, projects and happenings in our community each day during the school year.

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