Look, I’m pretty sure my grandmother’s spaghetti-and-meatball recipe has only gotten better with age. Call her a veteran player.
I also like my politicians to have some experience – maybe not 80 years worth, ugh – and my favorite TV show of all-time, “The Andy Griffith Show,” debuted in 1960 on CBS.
Some things are just timeless. No need for anything new. No need for a rebuild, if we’re using sports language.
But that’s not always the case.
High school underclassmen – and a few middle-schoolers – have taken varsity sports by storm in Lynn.
And, guess what? I think it’s absolutely awesome.
Plus, you never know where some of these athletes could go. Just in my lifetime – I’m 25 – I’ve seen a 19-year-old Connor McDavid be selected No. 1 overall by the Edmonton Oilers. I’ve also seen LeBron, well, ya know…
In sports, age is just a number. Lynn included.
Let’s start with Marc Poste, an eighth grader on the Lynn Jets boys hockey team. Just last week, he dished out an assist in the Jets’ 1-0 win against Leominster. The playmaker delivered another assist in Lynn’s 4-1 win against Minuteman earlier in December and was named Player of the Game by his team on social media.
Staying on the ice, St. Mary’s girls have been led by sixth-grade sensation Emma Doucette, who has been piling up the points all season. She scored goals against Peabody-Lynnfield-North Reading and Archbishop Williams alongside a two-goal performance against Pope Francis.
And I can’t even skate…
The Spartans also have one of Massachusetts’ top basketball players in Bella Owumi. She finished her freshman season averaging 14 points and 10 rebounds per game, and has only improved as a sophomore this winter.
She has received offers from Syracuse, Louisville, Miami, Boston College, and Rhode Island, among others.
Lynn Tech freshman Hunter Flores isn’t afraid to get wet, either. He finished second among all swimmers (200 individual medley) in his team’s meet against Greater Lawrence last month. He also excels in the 100 butterfly and was Tech’s top point-scorer as an eighth grader last season.
Over at Lynn Classical, girls basketball star Divine Egbuta knows how to put on a show. The sophomore netted 18 points in a win against Everett and earned Most Valuable Player honors in the Walter J. Boverini city tournament. In two games across the tournament, she scored 32 points against Lynn Tech and secured a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) in the title game against Lynn English.
Speaking of English, freshman Jayliana Concepcion has made her presence felt. She scored 12 points in the Lady Bulldogs’ win against KIPP last week, among other strong performances.
Staying on the hardwood, KIPP’s girls team has been led by an underclassman, too, and it didn’t take long. In the Panthers’ first game, she recorded 11 points, five rebounds, and six steals, followed by an 11-point, nine-steal performance the following game.
Jake Fortier – one of the city’s top shooters – has been a man on a mission as a freshman on St. Mary’s. Just recently, the sharpshooter scored 22 points against Archbishop Williams and another 19 against KIPP.
See what I mean? I still love my grandmother’s meatballs, but sometimes, I’m in with the new.
Let’s see whose turn it is next. Winter is still young.
