The Moynihan Lumber North Shore Student-Athlete Award, an idea conceived by Gerard Moynihan to recognize students for their academic and academic achievements, returns for its 34th year.
Launched in the fall of 1991, the program will again honor a male and female student-athlete each month throughout the school year. The Moynihan Lumber North Shore Male and Female Student-Athlete of the Year will be chosen next spring and honored at a luncheon in June.
Sydney Trout of Pentucket and Tyler Adamo of Lynnfield were the 2024-25 Moynihan Lumber North Shore Student-Athletes of the Year. Trout is playing lacrosse at Duke University, while Adamo is playing baseball at Columbia University.
This year’s student-athlete recognition program will be the first since the passing of Gerard Moynihan in July.
“Gerard’s leadership and advocacy for student-athletes will be sorely missed,” said Paul Halloran, who has coordinated the program on behalf of Moynihan Lumber since its inception. “It is great news that Moynihan Lumber has decided to continue this program, which provides well-deserved recognition to student-athletes throughout the North Shore.”
Moynihan Lumber has been a 39-year supporter of high school sports on the North Shore, dating back to sponsoring football broadcasts and the popular Saturday Scoreboard Show on the former WESX.
A sportswriter after he graduated from Holy Cross, Moynihan noticed the extensive coverage of high school sports by daily newspapers, local radio and cable TV and decided to start a program to honor athletes who were equally proficient in the classroom.
In 1991 he connected with a few members of the local media and asked if they would be willing to help him create a vehicle to honor student-athletes, resulting in the Moynihan Lumber North Shore Student-Athlete of the Month program.
Coaches and athletic directors are encouraged to nominate student-athletes monthly. One male and one female winner are selected by a group of local media members representing the Salem News, (Lynn) Daily Item, Gloucester Times, Newburyport Daily News and msonewsports.com. The monthly winners are eligible for the male and female Student-Athlete of the Year Award, which comes with a scholarship.
The future accomplishments of the annual winners serves as the best example of the success of the program. The list includes: Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt (1992), Providence College women’s track and field head coach Catarina Rocha (2012 and 2013), Major League Baseball Senior Vice President of Minor League Operations Peter Woodfork (1995), New York Marathon champion and three-time Olympian Shalane Flanagan (1999 and 2000), professional hockey player Colin Blackwell (2011) and NCAA All-American wrestler Tyler Knox (2022).
“Gerard took tremendous pride in the accomplishments of the past honorees,” Halloran said. “They exemplify what being a true student-athlete means and that is reflected in their career achievements.”
