A boy who’s quick on his feet, and a girl who can stop anything with her hands.
The Moynihan Lumber North Shore Student-Athlete award is a monthly achievement given to one male and one female for their excellence in the classroom and in athletic competition. The October recipients are St. John’s Prep’s star cross country runner Nathan Lopez and Newburyport’s brick-wall soccer goalkeeper Gabby Loughran.
Lopez, who recently committed to the University of Michigan to run track and cross country, has been running his way to success ever since arriving at St. John’s Prep. He ran in his first cross country state championship as a freshman.
The Lynnfield native is the Catholic Conference MVP in cross country, undefeated in conference competition this season, winner of the conference championship race in a meet-record time of 15:20 for the 5k course, and broke a St. John’s Prep record in the mile with an eye-catching time of 4:13.3.
“I enjoy it every day and I have fun with my teammates, but also just getting excited for big events and really working to those goals that I aspire to hit every year,” Lopez said.
Somehow, his classroom abilities are just as fast to impress. Lopez collected a 4.1 GPA through three years and is taking four AP classes. Some of his toughest classes include calculus and statistics – which he says are difficult, but enjoyable.
“Academics are definitely important all around,” Lopez said. “I’ve always kind of had the mindset to try and do my best in school, even while running and stuff.”
Lopez says he prioritizes keeping up with school, mapping out a schedule, and getting rest at night so he doesn’t feel like a “zombie” during the day.
Earlier this fall, Lopez made the decision to become a Michigan Wolverine. A fitting response for Lopez, he said the dealbreaker was Michigan’s strong mix of academics and athletics. He also noted that the pride and environment of campus is something to marvel at, and that Ann Arbor can’t come soon enough for him.
“I think it’s going to be a super good time out there,” Lopez said. “We have a big recruiting class coming in with me, so I think we’re going to have a really good time together and hopefully produce some good performances as a whole.”
In girls soccer, Newburyport was the Cape Ann League Kinney Division champion this season. The Clippers went 16-1 and won an MIAA tournament game against Fairhaven before being eliminated by Medway in PKs.
One big reason for all of Newburyport’s success: Loughran in the net. The keeper – who has played all four years on the varsity team – had 12 shutouts this season, allowed just seven goals, and didn’t allow a goal for the entire month of October.
One of her favorite parts about representing the Clippers is playing for those who came before her.
“I just really like the history of the program. Girls soccer at Newburyport has always been really impressive,” Loughran said.
That’s all outside, but inside, she’s impressed in the classroom as well. Loughran is currently taking five AP classes and excelling (A or A+) in all of them. She holds a 3.99 GPA and a 4.92 weighted GPA.
She says her hardest class is calculus while her favorites all revolve around science. Similarly to how she is on the field, one of her favorite parts about her academics is the competition.
“Going in for tests and things like that,” Loughran said. “Academics is definitely my main priority.”
Despite their different goals in competition, Lopez and Loughran have both portrayed the same work ethic, grit, and passion for what they do. That said, fans of Prep and Newburyport have had two of a kind to root for over the years.
