Holding on to senior memories, Agganis Scholar Kinchley awaits new ones

It was arguably the coldest day on record for the MIAA Eastern Mass. Super Bowl games. But Swampscott’s Peter Kinchley won’t remember it for that reason.Kinchley was under center, or in the shotgun of the Big Blue’s spread offense, at Gillette Stadium in front of 5,000 screaming fans. And you wouldn’t have blamed him if a case of stage fright set in.”That wasn’t as nerve-racking as the first time we went there during the week,” Kinchley said. “The first time we walked out of the tunnel it was like, ‘Wow, we’re going to play here.'”But for someone who has been in championship games in Little League, American Legion baseball and the Northeastern Conference, the Super Bowl in Foxborough was the culmination of four years at SHS. And Kinchley – recipient of the Angelopulos/Oppenheim Scholarship that is given to a Swampscott senior chosen for the Agganis games – played well on arguably the biggest stage of his sporting life, leading the Big Blue to a dominating win and the team’s first championship in over 30 years.”It all seems like yesterday,” Kinchley said about that day at Gillette. “But I knew that we would have these memories forever. It’s something that you can keep with you and say that you’ve done.”Excellence on the field for Kinchley went hand-in-hand with excellence in the classroom, as the recently-graduated senior will attend Middlebury College this fall, where he will play baseball and football in the New England Small College Athletic Conference, one of the toughest Division 3 leagues in the country.”(Middlebury) is such a great place,” Kinchley said. “The people are awesome and I loved the atmosphere there. The campus is so scenic.”Middlebury is renowned for its academic standards, but also has put some fine athletic teams on the field. And that balance is something that Kinchley is looking forward to absorbing.”The guys on the football and baseball teams love it. They told me it will be the hardest, but also the best time of my life,” Kinchley said.Another thing that Kinchley enjoys is spending time on the water. He works as the launch driver at the Swampscott Yacht Club, which gives him a chance to relax and enjoy his love of boats.”My parents have had a sailboat forever and because of the baseball schedule, it’s hard to get out,” Kinchley said. “So this is another opportunity to be on the water, and it’s relaxing.”In his job, Kinchley runs into many people he knows from the town, providing the opportunity for several interesting conversations.”Swampscott High is so connected with the Swampscott community. And I’ll be driving people around and they’ll be asking when the next Legion game is,” Kinchley said.Receiving the Angelopulos/Oppenheim scholarship was particularly special for Kinchley, as he had Oppenheim’s wife as a teacher at Swampscott.”It was a great honor,” Kinchley said, “because (Peter’s) wife is a teacher at Swampscott and I had her for art. And we know each other quite well, and this is an honor because the award means so much to someone I like.”Kinchley will pick up his award at the Agganis breakfast on July 14 at Fraser Field. He then will come back to play in the baseball game that afternoon and will complete his high school career on the following Wednesday at Manning Field in the football game.”To be with this group of guys is awesome. And it’s a great way to end my high school career,” Kinchley said.(This is the seventh of 13 stories on the 2008 Lynn-area Agganis scholarship winners. Since its inception in 1955, the Agganis Foundation has awarded $1,253,525 in college scholarships to 798 student-athletes.)