For their accomplishments both in the classroom and in their respective athletic endeavors, Hamilton-Wenham lacrosse star Andrew Riccio and Newburyport lacrosse ace Margaret Cote have been chosen as the May recipients of the Moynihan Lumber Student-Athlete Award.
Andrew is closing in on 300 points for his career and holds the all-time scoring record at Hamilton-Wenham by more than 100 points. He also has more career assists than anyone else in school history has points. The attackman leads his team in scoring with 40 goals, 45 assists and 85 points heading into Monday’s Division 3 North semifinal playoff game against arch rival Ipswich. The Generals, who won the Cape Ann League crown for the first time in a dozen seasons, are 15-2 as a team and the No. 1 seed in the bracket.
In the month of May, Andrew had 23 goals and 23 assists for 46 points in just nine games, an average of over five points a contest. In many of these, he sat out large portions of the second half as his team had already built up a big lead. The Generals went 8-1 in May as Andrew recorded a career-high eight assists (plus 2 goals) in a victory over Lynnfield, then added five goals in a win over Melrose. He also scored in double overtime to defeat Division 1 Chelmsford, the second straight year he had tallied in an extra session to defeat the Lions (having done so in a 4-OT game in 2017).
Academically, Andrew has had academic honors in every marking period at Hamilton-Wenham Regional since his freshman year. He holds an overall grade point average of 3.92, including a senior course load of three Advanced Placement classes (Calculus, Stats and Psychology) and four Honors courses (English, History, Contemporary History and Spanish 5).
Dominance just scratches the surface when it comes to describing Margaret, who has helped the Clippers to an unbeaten season thus far (22-0) in girls lacrosse heading into Tuesday’s Division 2 North semifinal at home against Swampscott. An All-Cape Ann League selection in both girls soccer and girls lacrosse, her playmaking abilities and ability to advance the ball upfield and generate assists for her goal-scoring teammates has been a boon all spring.
A team captain, Margaret is a three-time Cape Ann League First Team all-star and led her squad to the state semifinals last spring. She also skis for Georgetown High School as part of her own school’s co-operative program with the Royals, captaining that squad as well. In addition, Margaret plays club lacrosse, soccer and skiing.
As the class valedictorian at Newburyport High, Margaret was set to attend MIT until she was notified by Harvard that she had been accepted in early May. Her grade point average was an astounding 5.00, having scored 34 on her ACTs and scoring a perfect 800 on her Biology SATs. Among her many honors include being the recipient of the Harvard Book Award, a three-time Academic Excellence Awards winner in multiple classes, High Honor Roll designation all four years of high school and a two-year member of the National Honor Society. She has also worked with Special Olympics for the last four years.