English’s Calnan balances sports, academics

LYNN ? English High senior Joe Calnan has a knack for keeping all the balls in the air and that includes those of the golf, basketball and tennis variety, as well as some of the more intangible ones, like his academic priorities.Calnan, who helped lead the English High golf team to its first tournament appearance since 1997, is recipient of the Moynihan Lumber Student-Athlete of the Month award for October along with Hanna Stasiuk of the Pingree School in South Hamilton. The award is based on excellence in the classroom and athletic achievement.Calnan?s academic resume is impressive. He?s ranked second in a class of 308 students with a 4.39 grade point average. His SAT scores are a lofty 2160 and his MCAS scores were among the best in the district. He also scored a four or better on every Advanced Placement test he has taken.He?s a captain on the Bulldogs golf team that finished 8-4 in what turned out to be the program?s best season in years. Coach Tara Friedman said as dedicated as Calnan has been to golf, academics have always been his top priority.?I?ve coached him for four years. He?s turned into quite an amazing individual,” Friedman said. “He eats, sleeps and drinks school.”Calnan makes no bones about his priorities.?I feel like I?m a very committed student,” he said. “I take my academics very serious, but I?ve dedicated myself to sports as well.”Calnan attended Sisson Elementary School and Pickering Middle School before heading to English. He participated in the Gannon Golf Junior Golf program when he was younger and he played St. Pius V CYO basketball for many years.Calnan also plays basketball at English. A 6-foot-3 center, he played junior varsity basketball last year and will be trying out for varsity this year. He is the top single on the tennis team in the spring.Calnan?s school involvement goes beyond athletics. He?s a member of the Math Team, the History Bowl and the Latin Club and has collected an assortment of awards and honors in those areas as well.English High guidance counselor Matt Wilkins recommended Calnan for the Moynihan. In the recommendation, Wilkins also cited Calnan?s volunteer work with the Tree of Life Food Pantry, English High freshman orientation and inner-city youth basketball camps. He also mentors underclassmen and has served as a counselor at Camp Bulldog, an educational and recreational summer program for ninth and 10th graders that Wilkins coordinates.?Joe was my first selection for a camp counselor position,” Wilkins wrote in his recommendation. “I needed someone who was responsible, reliable, honest, engaged, cooperative and accepting of criticism. I got all of that and more with Joe.”English High athletic director Gary Molea said the school strives to get students to focus on the classroom first and Calnan does just that while still finding time to be a part of all the school has to offer.?Joe?s had a great (high school) career. He?s a great kid and very deserving of the Moynihan Award,” Molea said.Calnan is currently doing what most high school seniors do this time of year and that?s deal with the college application process. He said he wants to become an engineer and is looking at a number of schools including the UMass Lowell, MIT and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.UStrasuik, the female Moynihan Lumber Student-Athlete award winner, is from Ipswich and is a junior at the Pingree School where she?s ranked third in her class with a 98.25 average. She earned high honors and highest scholarship bowl, by maintaining an average of 95 or above, during both her freshman and sophomore years of high school. She has taken honors classes in English, history and Spanish. A middle hitter on the Highlanders’ volleyball team, Strasiuk is a three-year starter who leads the team in both kills and blocks.