FILE PHOTO
Classical baseball’s David Barnard is one of two Moynihan winners for May.
By STEVE KRAUSE
PEABODY — They are the cream of their crop — the best to come out of nine sets of monthly Moynihan Lumber Student Athlete Award winners.
Katerina Hassapis of North Reading and Hugh Calice of Beverly — who, coincidentally both won their monthly awards in November, were recognized together again Tuesday at the annual Moynihan luncheon at Salem Country Club.
Calice was one of the premiere players for the Panther football team last fall when they made an improbable run to a Division 2 North sectional championship, upsetting both Tewksbury and Billerica by a point. Hassapis was a goalie on the Hornets’ soccer team last fall and was the Cape Ann League Player of the Year.
Both will be playing their sports in college — Calice at Merrimack, where he expects to major in civil engineering; and Hassapis at Bentley, where she wants to study business management in anticipation of taking over her family business in early childhood education.
Calice came to the United States from Haiti in 2010. English is his third language, yet he had a 3.9 GPA at Beverly and took several advanced placement courses.
“I have a great support system,” Calice said. “My parents, teammates, coaches .. they have given me everything I could ask for.”
Calice spent two years at Lynn English before moving to Beverly his junior year.
“Beverly,” he said, “has been an amazing town and city to be in.”
Hassapis, who has always been competitive, says it was much easier to maintain the balance between athletics and academics because she loves what she does.
“You have to love what you do,” she said. “I genuinely like school, and I love soccer.
“Also,” she said, “being busy actually helps you keep that balance.”
Moynihan presented its first-ever Career Achievement Award to former Swampscott High football and baseball coach Frank DeFelice, who stepped down from his assistant’s position at Endicott at the conclusion of the Gulls’ season. Next fall will be the first time in more than 50 years he’s not coaching somewhere.
“It’s always been a privilege and a tremendous honor to be called ‘coach,’” said DeFelice. “I just recently met a former player of mine, and he called me ‘coach.’ I love that.”
Others honored at the luncheon included Phil Sheridan, who is retiring as athletic director of Peabody High; and Ben Goodhue, an assistant coach at both Beverly and Marblehead. Both received the Lifetime Commitment Award within the schools.
Dick Wilson, who has worked on behalf of Gloucester sports for decades, received the Lifetime Commitment Award within the community, and Joe Censabella of Salem received the Fan Award.
Former Lynnfield girls basketball star Lauren Maney, who was the first girl to receive the student-athlete award, was the principal speaker. She reflected on her journey from being “a terrible loser in all sports” as a high school student to gaining some perspective on competition as she became a parent herself.
“Make your family proud,” she said, “but when you step off the court, be a good person.”
Those recognized as the Moynihan Student-Athlete of the Year each receive a $1,000 scholarship. The award was established in 1991 with Maney and Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt as the first recipients.
Others who have received it include Becky Blaeser, who is the communications director for the Massachusetts Golf Association; Peter Woodfork, a senior vice president for Major League Baseball; and Olympic silver medalist Shalane Flanagan.
May’s monthly winners were David Barnard of Lynn Classical (baseball) and Shannon Veilleux of Danvers (tennis).
Playing first singles for the Falcons this spring, Veilleux — a two-year captain — finished with a 15-3 record while leading her squad to the Northeastern Conference title.
Ranked in the top 10 percent of her class with a 97.48 average, Veilleux was a member of the National Honor Society, English National Honor Society, Art National Honor Society and World Language National Honor Society.
Barnard, a sophomore pitcher and first baseman, helped the Rams win the NEC/North regular-season title (19-1).
The definition of a power pitcher at 6-foot and 230 pounds, Barnard mowed down hitters all season by pounding the strike zone and mixing up a plus fastball with a strong curve. Among his season highlights were a two-hit shutout of Danvers (which is playing in the Division 2 state title game for the third straight season); another complete game win over Peabody in which he knocked in the game-winning run in the seventh inning.
He finished the season with a 5-1 record and a 2.63 ERA, and was enrolled in all honors and AP classes, and finished his sophomore year with a 3.5 grade point average.