LYNN — Two state championships, five league championships, four state finals appearances, five trips to the semis, and six Elite 8 bids. Simply put, there was a lot happening on Tremont St.
With football and girls basketball victories, St. Mary’s Athletics made it another year with at least one state championship – making it 16 consecutive.
“On the field, track, ice, I think it’s up there with one of the best seasons we’ve ever had,” St. Mary’s Athletic Director Jeff Newhall said.
Dunks and dimes aside, participation was “as high as it has ever been” according to Newhall.
“We had over 450 of our 720 kids compete in at least one sport,” he said. “That’s a huge number for us.”
With that kind of participation, comes support.
“I don’t know if it’s been at the level it’s at right now,” Newhall said. “It was a little more energetic and there were a lot more people who went to the games.”
When asked why that was the case, one of Newhall’s “number of reasons” was the coaching staff, many of whom are alums such as Derek Dana (baseball), David Brown (boys basketball), and recently-retired Mark Lee (boys ice hockey).
“I think each one of our coaches has a connection to the school,” Newhall said. “I think that’s why you see the results that we had.”
Newhall also pointed to the leadership of Head of School Dr. John Dolan and Associate Head of School David Angeramo.
“The school is thriving under its current administration,” Newhall said. “Our enrollment is higher than it’s ever been, so obviously that makes our fanbase a little bit bigger.”
Thirty-goal seasons and high-flying dunks don’t hurt the cause, either.
“The further you go, the more you pick up,” Newhall said. “The City of Lynn has always been a great sports city… You see a lot of people from Lynn who don’t have a connection to St. Mary’s, but it’s a Lynn school, so it brings the whole community together.”
Talk about the student-athlete experience. St. Mary’s teams played at Fenway Park, Gillette Stadium, TD Garden, and the Tsongas Center (Lowell).
“There’s a lot of professional athletes who have never been able to play in any of those venues, never mind high school athletes in one year,” Newhall said.
Newhall said he was never shocked, but rather, a tad surprised with a few teams and their success.
“The track team kind of flies under the radar a little bit,” Newhall said. “They won a league championship in the indoor season and in cross country and outdoor, they were in the mix for a state championship there as well.”
Most recently, the baseball team advanced to the semifinals in Division 3 after a sluggish start to the spring.
“The baseball team getting to the Final Four was probably the biggest surprise to me, just because they were 4-6 with a really young team,” Newhall said. “They reeled off nine in a row and made a great run in the tournament.”
Now, it starts all over again with the fall season. Newhall said “the most exciting” parts are seeing hard workers become captains, role players become stars, and students becoming leaders of their school.
“It’s on them to create their own identity and I think every new season brings that excitement,” Newhall said. “Who’s going to score the goals? Who’s going to run the 100m dash? Who’s going to be the captain of the swim team? All that kind of stuff. Everyone gets a reset.”
