Highlanders Honored at 2026 Athletic Awards Ceremony

“Together, we have celebrated exciting wins and suffered through tough losses. You have spent countless hours on the fields, courts, ice, stage, practicing and rehearsing your craft — all while creating lifelong memories with hopefully lifelong friends,” Fink said, adding, “On a personal note, I am deeply grateful for how welcomed I have felt in this community since day one. From the inception of the FERD, to the introduction of Scottie, to special events like the pep rally, the Dream Crazy Play for the Cure game, Winter Madness, and all of our spring competitions, it has been a phenomenal year.”

Gratitude is one of the pillars of the science of optimism, as outlined by the Center for Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, and by Dr. Michael Gervais, the founding psychologist of Finding Mastery, Fink explained.

“The practice of gratitude is one of the greatest tools we have for building optimism,” she said. “As I shared with one of our teams earlier this year, the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder has a great phrase for this. They call it ‘hunting the good stuff.’ As we head into these final weeks at The Frederick Gunn School, I want to challenge each of our student-athletes to do some hunting. Take a quiet moment to express your gratitude to a coach, a teacher, an advisor, or a teammate, who helped shape your experience this year. I encourage all of you to walk through life hunting the good stuff. It is incredibly easy to let daily trials and frustrations cloud your outlook. But it is infinitely more powerful to go through your day actively noticing the good. When you look closely, there is truly so much to be grateful for here at Gunn. In that exact spirit of optimism, I enthusiastically look ahead to the future of the Gunn Athletics program, while now turning our attention to reflect on, and celebrate, the past year.”

The Frederick Gunn School Triple Threat
The following student-athletes represented the Highlanders in three varsity sports this year. Their competitiveness, commitment to the community, and love for athletics are unmatched:

Evan Bailey ’26
Raven Bennett ’28
Izzy Blake ’26
Brianna Boulanger ’26
Maddie Caramante ’29
Cassy Cotton ’27
Sophia Dadd ’26
Alyssa DeSousa ’27
Ashley Edmonds ’26
Martha Ewing ’26
Kaitriona (Katrina) Githaka ’27
Harper Gritti ’28
Ella Jumps ’27
Sarah Low ’28
Pia Maccione ’26
Tommy Misukanis ’26
Curry Nye ’26
Abby Petersen ’29
Wylie Straten ’27
Briana White ’28

Captains Awards
The following students were recognized for their service and commitment to the school as captains of a varsity team this year:

Boys Cross Country — Johnny Bekov ’26
Girls Cross Country — Blake Baumgartner ’26
Field Hockey — Izzy Blake ’26, Angie Chase ’26, Sophia Dadd ’26, Ashley Edmonds ’26
Football — Evan Bailey ’26, Jack Fonte ’26, Nathan Marshall ’26
Boys Soccer — Rian Chandler ’26, David Low ’26
Girls Soccer — Maria Gilshannon ’27, Abby Gleason ’26, Pia Maccione ’26, Maya Edwards ’26
Volleyball — Olympia James ’26, Samara Kinyanjui ’27
Rowing (fall) — Isla Beckstrom ’26, Bridget O’Hara ’27, David Raginsky ’26
Boys Basketball — Tommy Misukanis ’26, Jah Reeves ’28, Justin Robinson ’27
Girls Basketball — Sarah Low ’28, Pia Maccione ’26
Boys Ice Hockey — Tyler Clouthier v26, Tucker Mears ’26, Ryan Tartaglione ’26
Girls Ice Hockey — Brianna Boulanger ’26, Sophia Dadd ’26, Maria Gilshannon ’27
Boys Skiing — Ely Steffen ’27
Girls Skiing — Curry Nye ’26
Baseball — Jonjon Feliciano ’26, Travis Lapinsky ’26, Evan Bailey ’26, Alex Karsch ’26, Robby Happy ’26
Softball — Brianna Boulanger ’26, Ashley Edmonds ‘’26, Maeve Feeney ’28, Sarah Low ’28
Golf — Billy Mascari ’26
Boys Lacrosse — David Low ’26, Tucker Mears v26, Sean Randol ’26, Bentley Roster ’26
Girls Lacrosse — Cassy Cotton ’27, Sophia Dadd ’26, Maya Edwards ’26
Boys Tennis — Michael Copen ’26, Aariz Sahadulla ’27, Jaime Zafra Gutierrez ’26
Girls Tennis — Abby Gleason ’26, Tamaki Nakane ’27, Curry Nye ’26
Ultimate Frisbee — Daniel Conlan v26, Chris Kwon ’27, Polly Ross ’26
Rowing (spring) — Bridget O’Hara ’27, Anya Zigmont ’26

Sophia Dadd is the only three-sport varsity athlete to captain all three of her sports. Congratulations to Sophia. 

All-League Honors
Fall All-NEPSAC Awards
Carly Mario ’28 — Volleyball 
Evan Bailey ’26 — Football
Nathan Marshall ’26 — Football
Abdul Meite ’26 — Football
Ethan Meyer ’27 — Football 
Cassy Cotton ’27 — Field Hockey
Izzy Blake ’26 — Field Hockey 

NEPSAC Football Player of the Year 
Abdul Meite ’26

NEPSAC Football Lineman of the Year
Nathan Marshall ’26

All-State Boys Soccer
David Low ’26
Alex Hufferdine ’27

Fall All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention Awards
Audrey Wang ’29 — Volleyball
AJ Karsch ’26 — Boys Soccer
Abby Gleason ’26 — Girls Soccer
Ezra Borstein ’28 — Football
Jack Fonte ’26 — Football 
Dylan Greiner ’26 — Football 
Brennan Protosow ’27 — Football 
Ashley Edmonds ’26 — Field Hockey
Ella Jumps ’27 — Field Hockey
Johnny Bekov ’26 — Cross Country 
Tommy Hagymasi ’28 — Cross Country 
Blake Baumgartner ’26 — Cross Country 

Winter All-NEPSAC Awards
Moira Landsverk ’26 — Girls Hockey 
Raven Bennett  ’28 — Girls Hockey 

Winter All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention Awards
Dylan Hall  ’26 — Boys Hockey 
Izzy Blake  ’26 — Girls Hockey 
Maria Gilshannon  ’27 — Girls Hockey
Justin Robinson  ’27 — Boys Basketball 
Morgan Riley  ’29 — Girls Basketball 
Ely Steffen  ’27 — Skiing 

Spring all-league honors will be announced at a later date.

Team Awards
Team Awards are selected by varsity coaches, and awarded to the athletes who they believe best exemplify the mores of the award.

Fall
The Hoadley Boys’ Soccer Award — David Low ’26
The Most Valuable Player for Girls’ Soccer — Abby Gleason ’26
Girls’ Soccer Coach’s Award — Maria Gilshannon ’27
The John Jacob Gunther Award for The Most Valuable Football Player — Abdul Meite ’26
The Varsity Football Coach’s Award — Nathan Marshall ’26
The Whitman Cross Country Trophy — Johnny Bekov ’26 and Blake Baumgartner ’26
The Cornell Field Hockey Award — Sophia Dadd ’26
The Most Valuable Player for Field Hockey — Raven Bennett ’28
The Most Valuable Team Member of Fall Crew — Isla Beckstrom ’26
The Most Valuable Team Member of Fall Crew — Anya Zigmont ’26
The Most Valuable Team Member of Volleyball — Olympia James ’26

Winter
Most Valuable Player Girl's Basketball — Morgan Riley ’29
Most Valuable Player Girl's Hockey — Moira Landsverk ’28
The James R. Haddick Basketball Award — Justin Robinson ’27
The E. Laurence White Hockey Award — Tucker Mears ’26
The Rice Bowl — Dylan Hall ’26
The Class of 2009 Leadership Award for Skiing — Ely Steffen ’27 and Curry Nye ’26

Spring
The Whalley Golf Trophy — Billy Mascari ’26
The Graham/Greenwood Tennis Trophy — Michael Copen ’26
The Rick Johnston Tennis Trophy — Aariz Sahadulla ’27
The MVP Award for Boys Tennis — Harry Yang ’28
The MVP Award for Girls Tennis — Izzy Blake ’26
The Baseball Awards:

• The Best Pitcher — Deven Dodge ’27
• The Best Batter — Travis Lapinsky ’26
• The Best Sportsman — Tommy Hagymasi ’28

THe MVP Award for Softball — Ashley Edmonds ’26
The Alumni Crew Award for MVP in Girls Crew — Bridget O’Hara ’27
The Alumni Crew Award for MVP in Boys Crew — Johnny Bekov ’26
The MVP Award for Girls Lacrosse — Cassy Cotton ’27
The MVP Award for Boys Lacrosse — Tucker Mears ’26
The MVP Award for Ultimate Frisbee — Daniel Conlan  26

“Athletics builds character. Mr. Gunn knew that. That’s why he played sports himself. That character-building happens when you push yourself. It happens when you try and come up short. It happens when you realize you can’t find success just on your own,” Associate Head of School Seth Low P’26 ’28 said in his opening remarks. “Sports allows us to practice being uncomfortable so that we get better at living in discomfort in other areas of our lives. When we’re running, or lifting, or spending hours honing a skill, we’re gaining something more. Once we build that endurance on the field, on the court, in the rink, we get to take it with us to the hard class in the classroom, to the challenging social situation. I’m proud of your collective accomplishments this year in our co-curricular spaces. I’m proud of your willingness to do hard things, to try new things, to build new friendships. Sports allow us and actually push us to practice something that’s fun, something that’s crucial to our own life.” 


Above: Johnny Bekov ’26 and Blake Baumgartner ’26 were the recipients of the 2026 Captains Awards for Boys and Girls Varsity Cross Country.

Photo by Lincoln Turner