SAUGUS — Throughout the winter season, the Lynn English boys and girls basketball teams developed a sense of chemistry as they shared the school’s Paul Cavanagh Field House and rooted for each other in support.
Monday night at Victor’s Italian Cuisine in Saugus, the two teams came together to celebrate their respective seasons at their annual team banquets.
“The environment in the gym allowed these kids to be themselves and have fun,” English girls coach Mackenzie Charles said. “They improved in basketball and it was really fun to see. It was just a great environment all season long between the boys and the girls. That’s why we wanted to come together at the end of the year.”
The night began with Charles handing out the season-end awards for the girls team. English went 6-14 this past season and landed two players on the Northeastern Conference all-star team in senior guard Ely Guity and sophomore guard Julianna Perry.
“This is appreciation for all our girls and their parents, for putting in all the hard work and sacrifices that it takes to be a student athlete,” Charles said. “I think that’s important too. It’s not easy all the time to maintain grades and then get to practice. We have long days, sometimes we don’t start practice until 6 at night. You have to be in school, go to study halls and be in the weight room. It’s nice to be able to applaud these kids sacrifices to play basketball at English. We appreciate it.”
Award winners for the girls were Alana Espinosa and Scarlet Garcia, JV Most Improved; Vannesa Paul, JV Leadership Award; Ashley Martinez and Tiffany Duong, JV Scholar Athlete Awards; Maylin Echevarria and Jessica Ruiz, Varsity Most Improved; Julianna Perry, Varsity Leadership Award; Ravyn Rapley and Tommi Hill, Varsity Scholar Athlete Awards.
The English girls also held their own in the classroom, maintaining a 3.1 GPA as a team. For their efforts in the classroom, the Bulldogs were recognized with an Academic Excellence Award by the MIAA.
“For the second year in a row the varsity girls earned the Academic Excellence Award from the MIAA and I think that’s really big,” Charles said. “We maintained a 3.1 GPA as a team. That’s really impressive for that group and I was happy for them.”
The English boys team finished its season at 16-4, earning the No. 5 seed in the Division 1 North state tournament and showing no signs of doubt under first-year head coach Antonio Anderson. English’s season ended in the quarterfinal round of the tournament after a 71-63 loss at No. 4 Lowell. The Bulldogs landed two players on the NEC all-star team in junior guard Alonzo Linton and freshman forward Ademide Badmus.
Award winners for the boys were Anthony Lora, Freshmen Offensive MVP; Josh Transtamar, Freshmen Defensive MVP; Zion Taylor, Freshmen Mike Carr Sportsmanship Award; Josh Transtamar, Freshmen Scholar Athlete; DJ Brathwaite, JV Offensive MVP; Darryl Thompson, JV Defensive MVP; Josh Castillo, JV Mike Carr Sportsmanship Award; Sean Calnan, JV Scholar Athlete; Alonzo Linton, Varsity Offensive MVP; Ademide Badmus, Varsity Defensive MVP; Javonte Edwards, Varsity Mike Carr Sportsmanship Award; Mason Jean-Baptiste, Scholar Athlete.
“I think we had a good year,” Anderson said. “I think our biggest accomplishment was academically. We had a number of guys above a 2.5 GPA and a lot of guys with 3.0’s. That makes a difference. The offense and defense is secondary. I preach that to them: academics, academics, academics. That’s a big part of our program.
“We did well on the court but off the court we did even better,” Anderson added. “I’m really proud of the team.”
