LYNN — It will be layups, picks and free throws at the Lynn English gym as basketball is the star of the show tonight as Agganis Week gets into its second day.
The girls basketball game will tap off at 5:30 p.m. at the Paul F. Cavanagh Fieldhouse, with the boys getting underway at 7:15.
The girls game will be coached by Jake Feraco of Pope John for the South Squad and Greg Dollas of Amesbury in the North.
Pope John was the Division 4 North champion this past winter, and lost by a point to Abington in the state semifinals.
Also suiting up for the Tigers will be Korine Haidul, and Milana Margetson from the Tigers, Skyler Crayton and Jazzmine Masse of Classical, Catherine Manning, Kristina Rossignoll and Elizabeth Zaiter of Peabody; Marissa Stockwell of Saugus and Sam Tache of Fenwick.
In the boys game, Antonio Anderson, who coached Lynn English to the state Division 1 title, will coach the South squad, opposed by Newburyport’s Dave Clay in the North
English players on the South include Alonzo Linton and Calvin Sang. Also playing from the Lynn area for the South are Javahn Carter and Dyrell Rucker, Classical; Jalen Echevarria and Chibuikem Onwuogu, St. Mary’s; Robert Wallace, Lynn Tech; Jackson Byrne, Swampscott; Billy Ackerman, Marblehead; Michael Tansey, Peabody; and Scott Montefusco, Revere.
Agganis Week got off to a good start Sunday morning under sunny and seasonable skies at Manning Field with the introduction of athletes and scholarship winners, and the induction of five new honorees into the Hall of Fame.
This year, the Agganis Foundation has a new chairman (Gregory J. Agganis) and vice-chairman (William Galatis), president (Andrew Demakes) and treasurer (Jeremy Hmura).
The five new Hall of Fame inductees are hockey coach Mark Leonard; Essex Media Group chairman and CEO Michael Shanahan; Dr. Nick Sarantopoulos, president and CEO of Community Credit Union, Phil Terenzoni, producer for Lynn Educational Television; and John Meklis, director of JGM Finances in Lynnfield.
Leonard, who received the Dr. Elmo F. Benedetto Athletics Award, coached hockey at Peabody High for 24 years and was appointed last month to direct the fledgling Essex Tech program.
“This means a lot to me,” Leonard said. “I’ve put in a lot of years and a lot of time, and all of it has been about helping kids.
“I wasn’t ready to just give it up,” he said, regarding his departure from Peabody. “Essex Tech has put its faith in me. I couldn’t be happier.”
Benedetto, Lynn’s former athletic director, was instrumental in helping scores of student-athletes get into college.
Shanahan received the Harold O. Zimman Foundation Award. He is managing partner of Egan-Managed Capital, a venture capital firm that he co-founded in 1997. He has worked in venture capital for more than 35 years.
Shanahan was also treasurer of the Agganis Foundation from 1993 through 2018, during which time its assets grew tenfold and more than $1.4 million in scholarship money was awarded.
Zimman helped establish the foundation after Agganis’ death in 1955 and was its chairman for 37 years, helping to keep the Agganis legacy alive until his death in 1994.
Sarantopoulos received the Attorney Charles Demakis Heritage Award. He is president and CEO of CCU in all three of its locations: Lynn, Peabody and Somerville. The award goes to someone who advances the foundation’s ideals of academics and ethics.
“It’s an honor for me to accept this award,” said Sarantopoulos. “The names — Harry, Charlie, and their families, have invested so much in this community. I had a chance to meet Charlie when I first came to this area.
“I believe in this community. If we all get involved in this community, things can get done. The CCU helps give me this opportunity.”
It was at Demakis’ urging that The Item and the Red Sox began the Agganis Foundation. Including this year, it has awarded $2,095,000 in scholarships to 984 students.
Meklis received the Paul F Cavanagh Community Award. He has served on the committee for the Harry Agganis Basketball Tournament for the past 15 years. Separate from the foundation, it also began at St. George Greek Orthodox Church the year after Agganis’ death.
“For all the Agganis Foundation has accomplished, I am honored to receive this, and to have Paul Cavanagh’s name on it is also impressive.
“I was somewhat familiar with what Paul accomplished,” Meklis said. “But once I was informed I was getting the award, I did some research.”
Cavanagh, an FBI agent, died in a plane crash in 1990 at the age of 43 while on assignment. He was a local recruiter for Boston College, and helped establish the boosters club at English, where the fieldhouse is named for him.
Terenzoni received the David C. Weidner media award, presented to someone who provides ongoing, outstanding coverage and support of youth sports, particularly the Agganis games. A former TV production teacher at Classical, he has run Lynn Educational Television since 1985, and has produced the various telecasts of high school sports by LETV.
“This is totally unexpected,” said Terenzoni, who lives in Peabody. “I haven’t done this alone. I’ve had plenty of help, a lot of good kids working for me, and it’s been a labor of love.”
Weidner was a promising sportswriter who worked at The Item when he died of a heart attack while covering a football game in 1992.
Also Sunday, a mural commissioned by the Lynn Downtown Cultural District that depicts Lynn’s football history was unveiled.
Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].
