Rivers Athletes Celebrated at Varsity Awards

 

Red Wings highlights included the field hockey, girls’ ice hockey, and boys’ ski teams earning NEPSAC Championships; the girls’ soccer team’s ISL Championship; a pair of Rivers Holiday Tournament championships by the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams; Chloe Smith ’17 winning a New England Championship in the 3000-meter race; and two players – Kristen Daley ’15 and Jermaine Samuels ’17– scoring their 1,000 career points.

 

This year the school boasted one All-American selection in Liz Webber ’16 of the girls’ soccer team, 18 All-New England selections, four All-State, eight New England All-Star selections, 37 All-League selections, and 19 All-League honorable mentions. Jermaine Samuels ’17 and Liz Webber were both named Boston Globe All-Scholastics after earning ISL Player of the Year awards.

 

Earning recognition were Paddy Daley ’15, who received the ISL Eberhart Division Flood Shield; Jordan Cross ’15, who was named the MVP of the NEPSAC Division II Girls’ Ice Hockey Tournament; and Kaitlin Wood ’17, who was named the MVP of the NEPSAC Class C Field Hockey Tournament.

 

The James A. Navoni Athletic Prize, given to the male athlete who has contributed most to the advancement of athletics at Rivers, was awarded to Ryan McCaffrey ’15. The consummate teammate, Ryan was a force on the lacrosse field and a leader by example on the football field. He served as the captain of both the football and lacrosse teams his senior year, bringing his signature energy and commitment to both squads.

 

Winning the Priscilla Wallace Strauss Athletic Prize was Jamie Navoni ’15, who earned 12 varsity letters during her high school career. She was a captain of the varsity field hockey, girls’ basketball, and girls’ lacrosse teams, helping each to exceptional seasons in 2014-15.

 

New for 2015 is the ISL Award of Excellence, given to one boy and one girl who “exhibit the Independent School League ideals of integrity, sportsmanship, fair play, and good citizenship while participating as a multi-sport athlete during their ISL career.” The inaugural recipients of this award were Sean Sullivan ’15 and Jordan Cross.

 

Receiving the Distinguished Service to Athletics Award was Director of Advancement Jan Hicinbothem. Ms. Hicinbothem has led the school’s fundraising initiatives for the last 18 years, spearheading the campaign that led to the construction of MacDowell Athletic Center among other projects.

 

The speaker was John Krause ’02, who was a member of the 2001 boys’ soccer team, which captured an ISL and NEPSAC Class A championship. From Rivers, he attended Boston College and Vanderbilt University, helping both programs reach new heights. John’s career as a professional soccer player took him all over the world and peaked with his call-up to the Puerto Rican national team for a friendly in 2012 against the reigning World Cup champions, Spain.

 

John spoke about the impact his coming to Rivers had on his life and how the lessons imparted to him by his coaches, teachers, friends, and classmates guided him through his soccer career and now inform his current profession in sales for a medical device company.

Click here for a gallery of photos of the Varsity Awards Evening.