A time to recognize the best of the best.
At Lynn City Hall Auditorium on Monday evening, the 2022 Item All-Star award ceremony was the first in Item history to feature every fall sport. In total, 76 student-athletes and eight coaches were recognized as applause filled the air, and iPhones clicked.
Kicking off the event was City Council Vice President Buzzy Barton, a former Lynn Bulldog who also coached both boys and girls varsity basketball. Barton took the time to recognize how special of a night it was for student-athletes in attendance, and that each and every one of them should feel proud.
Then, it was time for all-stars. Each all-star was introduced, followed by the players and coaches of the year in respective sports. Selections for each sport were made based on how many players play at a time. In other words, five golfers, 22 football players, and so on.
With golf kicking things off, it was Lynn Classical’s Brady Warren who took home Player of the Year. The Ram signed his national letter of intent to play Division 2 golf at Saint Anselm College on Friday. Classical’s John Morrison was named Coach of the Year.
Following golf was girls and boys cross country. Oddly enough, there were two sets of siblings who took the stage: Kyle and Kelsey Kwiatek of St. Mary’s, as well as Eamonn and Madisen McHale of Lynn English. Peabody was also well represented in the sport – Fernando Braz took home boys Coach of the Year, and Sarah DiVasta was named girls Player of the Year. John Hogan of Lynn Tech-KIPP was named girls Coach of the Year, and on the boy’s side, soon-to-be Michigan Wolverine Nathan Lopez won Player of the Year.
Volleyball followed, and after Lynnfield’s Ella Gizmunt – who reached 1,000 career kills this season – and Brent Ashley were named Player and Coach of the Year, Ashley took a moment to honor every student-athlete for the work it takes to reach their level in the sport.
In field hockey, St. Mary’s Maggie Pierce was named Player of the Year, and Swampscott’s Courtney Russo was named Coach of the Year after the Big Blue reached the Elite Eight of the Division 3 state tournament this fall.
For boys and girls soccer, Division 1 champion David Crowell of St. John’s Prep, and Jessica Gambale of Classical, who also led her team to the Division 1 tournament, were named coaches of the year. Peabody’s John Arruda (Northeastern Conference MVP) and Classical’s Ava Thurman (44 points this season) each received Player of the Year.
Last but not least, football all-stars took the stage. The Agganis Foundation’s offensive and defensive players of the year went to Peabody quarterback Shea Lynch (offense), and St. John’s Prep defensive back Joenel Aguero (defense) who will be taking his talents to play at Georgia next year.
The Ed Cahill Player of the Year went to St. Mary’s running back David Brown who had 1,254 yards and 21 touchdowns this season, while the Peter Gamage Coach of the Year went to St. Mary’s Sean Driscoll after the Spartans came off their Division 6 Super Bowl victory.
The last award of the night, the William F. Connell Scholar-Athlete of the Year award for football, went to Marblehead’s Miles O’Neill.
Every all-star received plaques with their name and school on it, and posed for a big group photo once every name was called. Applause filled the air one last time, and as said, it was a night for the best of the best.
