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Student-athletes and coaches took center stage inside of the Tony C. Gymnasium at St. Mary’s for Thursday’s Daily Item All-Star awards ceremony, which recognized athletic achievements during the winter high school season. An estimated 175 people attended. (Spenser Hasak) Purchase this photo

An All-Star night celebrates winter sports season

Joey Barrett

by

LYNN — Shoot for the stars. They did.

The Daily Item held its All-Star awards ceremony inside of the Tony C. Gymnasium at St. Mary’s Thursday evening. Student-athletes and coaches from the winter sports season were recognized for their athletic achievements.

An estimated 175 people were in attendance. Nine sports (boys and girls basketball, boys and girls hockey, wrestling, boys and girls track and field, boys and girls swimming and diving) were recognized.

After a greeting from The Item’s sports staff, Lynn Mayor Jared C. Nicholson took the podium. The former Princeton University wrestler spoke about the importance of hard work, family, and community.

Sport by sport, All-Stars took center stage and received custom plaques upon hearing their names.

Player of the Year recipients: St. Mary’s Rolky Brea Arias (boys basketball), Bishop Fenwick’s Celia Neilson (girls basketball), Lynn’s Aaron Cook (boys hockey), St. Mary’s Avery Sico (girls hockey), St. John’s Prep’s Jimmy Lally (wrestling), St. John’s Prep’s Tyson Stroope (boys track and field), St. Mary’s Kelsey Kwiatek (girls track and field), St. John’s Prep’s Wes Ross (boys swimming and diving), and Swampscott’s Claire Slomski (girls swimming and diving).

Coach of the Year recipients: St. Mary’s Josh Keilty (boys basketball), Bishop Fenwick’s Adam DeBaggis (girls basketball), Lynn’s Brian Boisson (boys hockey), St. Mary’s Frank Pagliuca (girls hockey), Saugus/Peabody’s Wayne Moda (wrestling), St. John’s Prep’s Zach Lankow (boys track and field), St. Mary’s Tristan Smith (girls track and field), St. John’s Prep’s Jeff Fiore (boys swimming and diving), and Marblehead’s Susan Guertin (girls swimming and diving).

After a group photo of the All-Stars, another winter sports season was in the books.

The winter sports season brought several intriguing storylines: Keilty led St. Mary’s boys basketball team to the Div. 2 state championship in just his first season; Bishop Fenwick’s girls basketball team captured its first state championship since 2016; track and field standout Stroope broke a St. John’s Prep record in pentathlon (3,636 points); Boisson led the Lynn Jets to their first win against Greater Boston League foe Somerville in seven years; St. Mary’s girls hockey goalie Sico, a sophomore, made more than 400 saves with a 94.5 save percentage; St. John’s Prep wrestler Lally (53-2) lost just two matches; Fiore led the St. John’s Prep swimmers to a Div. 1 state championship three-peat; and Slomski was Swampscott’s team record-holder in the 100 free, 100 butterfly, and 200 free.

  • Joey Barrett is the Daily Item's Sports Editor. He reports on local high schools, colleges, and professional teams. Prior to his current position, he worked for UMass Athletics, the Cape Cod Baseball League, and Gannett Media, among others. Barrett was also Sports Editor at Endicott College and treasurer of Endicott's Society of Professional Journalists branch.

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