Based on their achievements both in the classroom and in their respective athletic endeavors, basketball star Divine Egbuta of Lynn Classical and ski champion Owen McLain of St. John’s Prep have been selected as the Moynihan Lumber Student-Athletes of the Month for February.
For McLain, he’s always found joy in downhill competitive skiing. But don’t get it twisted — he likes to win, too — something the Manchester-by-the-Sea resident has done a lot of during his illustrious career at St. John’s Prep.
The senior has known nothing but winning, as this winter he led the Eagles to the program’s fourth straight MIAA Div. 1 state championship. He was second overall at States in the slalom, then raced to 31st in the giant slalom.
And this all came after McLain finished first in the North Shore Ski League regular season standings, and backed it up with a first in the slalom and a first in the combined results (44.01) at the league’s Interscholastic Meet. He leaves a four-time All-League selection, having finished fourth in the standings as a junior, third as a sophomore, and 10th as a freshman.
“It was pretty exciting to win (States) all four years,” said McLain, who started competitive downhill racing when he was 10. “It’s just been great to have so many hard-working and nice people in the program, and to see the work that we’ve all put in pay off.”
That same success has certainly translated to the classroom, too.
A straight-A student all four years of high school, McLain didn’t hold back his senior year with five Advanced Placement (AP) courses on his schedule. He admits to his bias, but points to ski coach Tim Brockerick’s AP Economics class as his favorite.
For many good reasons, though.
While nothing is official yet, he’s leaning towards attending Notre Dame to study finance — which is also where both of his parents, Simon McLain and Sarah Stock, went to college.
So Broderick’s class has only helped to fuel that choice of a career path.
“It’s been super rewarding to have good grades for sure,” said McLain. “Freshman year, you come in and you really don’t know how it’s going to go. But one of the biggest things is obviously time management. A lot of my days are sort of already structured with school, ski practice, and then coming home and making sure I don’t get distracted. I always try to plan ahead for the work that needs to get done, and be disciplined with staying ahead.”
Meanwhile, for Egbuta, it’s all about trust, communication, and a competitive fire that’s always burning. Traits that were all displayed this winter, as Egbuta averaged a stunning 15.2 points and 17.1 rebounds per game to lead Lynn Classical (13-5) to the Div. 3 tournament and a road playoff victory over Falmouth.
The Rams lost a lot of talent from last year’s team, but were still able to improve this season thanks to Egbuta. The junior is now a three-time Greater Boston League All-Star, and will head into her final campaign next year with 876 career points.
“I’m always just trying to do my best,” said Egbuta. “Basketball is a team sport. I trust my teammates to make plays and I know that they trust me as well. We lost a lot from last year, but we put in a lot of work to still win a lot of games this year.”
And that competitiveness follows her in all aspects of life.
Egbuta actually grew up in Nigeria, with her family moving across the world to Massachusetts when she was 9 years old. Her older sister, Destiny, was also a fantastic student, so early on, Divine made it her mission to live up to that standard.
It’s something she has certainly achieved, currently boasting a 4.3 GPA while being ranked No. 14 in her junior class of 419. Egbuta challenged herself with three AP courses this year and has never received a grade lower than a straight A.
“Academics have always been really important to me,” said Egbuta. “You can’t be an athlete without being a student first, so if my grades aren’t up, I won’t be able to play basketball.”
But academics and basketball just scratch the surface of what she does.
Egbuta is a Youth Leader at the Boys & Girls Club of Lynn and also volunteers at My Brothers Table, which is a service for those who are food insecure. She spends multiple hours at the Club after school — and basketball practice — helping kids, and was a past president of the Keystone Club within the Boys and Girls Club. And if that wasn’t enough, on Sept. 17, 2023, Egbuta began her entrepreneurial career and started her own small business, D&D Signature, which deals in the cosmetic space.
Where does she find the time to do all of this?
“Trial and error,” laughed Egbuta. “I do what I can, and I became a Nurse Aid at school, which allows me to get some homework done during those hours. Then, it’s just about communication. Talking with my teachers and letting them know what I do, and they’re all very understanding if I need an extension on an assignment.”
She’s also playing softball for the first time this spring.
