Azar Swain '17 Named Gatorade Player of the Year to Headline Winter Athletic Awards
The winter season is the longest of the high school athletic calendar, beginning just before Thanksgiving, stretching through the Winter Break and into the New Year before coming to a close in the early part of March. Several of Rivers’ student-athletes earned individual recognition for their contributions this winter, led by ISL Co-Player of the Year, NEPSAC Class B Player of the Year, and Gatorade Massachusetts State Player of the Year Azar Swain ’17.
Azar earned these three prestigious awards – sharing the ISL award with classmate and co-captain Jermaine Samuels ’17 – by posting impressive per-game averages of 23.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.9 steals. He became the first Rivers basketball player to eclipse the 2,000-point mark and is the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,185 career points.
He is the third Rivers student-athlete to earn a Gatorade Player of the Year award, joining Brooke Heinsohn ’16 (girls’ soccer) and Charlie Rugg ’09 (boys’ soccer). The award is given annually to student athletes who demonstrate “outstanding athletic excellence, high standards of academic achievement, and exemplary character.”
For Jermaine, the 2016-17 season was the second time he earned the ISL’s highest honor after winning the award as a sophomore. Jermaine posted per-game averages of 17.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.4 blocks, and 1.9 steals while making 52.6 percent of his shots. His career point total of 1,998 – just two points shy of 2,000 – places him firmly in second behind his classmate.
Michael Young ’17 was named the ISL Eberhart Division Player of the Year after helping lead the Red Wings to their third division title in the last four years. With Michael leading the way, the Rivers defense paved the way for an undefeated run through the Eberhart Division by allowing just seven goals against division opponents.
The Red Wings earned their first-ever invitation to the NEPSAC Stuart/Corkery Open Tournament by finishing the regular season as the fourth-ranked team in New England regardless of enrollment, becoming the first Eberhart Division team to do so in the process. Rivers toppled Belmont Hill and Phillips Exeter en route to the final, where they fell to Kimball Union Academy.
Frankie Ferrara ’17 was named the 2017 recipient of the ISL Eberhart Division Flood Shield, which is given annually to the player whose “enthusiasm for hockey and true devotion to the game is marked by his playing ability and physical toughness and yet whose competitive spirit is balanced by emotional control and a real desire to play within the rules of the game.”
See below for a complete list of winter athletic honors.
Gatorade Massachusetts Player of the Year
Azar Swain ’17, boys’ basketball
ISL Player of the Year/Boston Globe All-Scholastic
Jermaine Samuels ’17, boys’ basketball
Azar Swain, boys’ basketball
Michael Young, boys’ ice hockey
All-New England
Grace Bradley ’18, girls’ alpine skiing
Jermaine Samuels, boys’ basketball
Kaitlin Shaughnessy ’19, girls’ ice hockey
Azar Swain, boys’ basketball
Michael Young, boys’ basketball
New England All-Star
Maren Durant ’19, girls’ basketball
Fiona Finn ’19, girls’ basketball
Tess Sussman ’18, girls’ basketball
All-Independent School League
Maren Durant, girls’ basketball
Fiona Finn, girls’ basketball
Georgia Freeland ’18, girls’ alpine skiing
Brendan Hamblet ’17, boys’ ice hockey
Frank Ferrara, boys’ ice hockey
Charlie Lawrence ’17, boys’ ice hockey
Jenna Letterie ’18, girls’ ice hockey
Camille Phelan ’19, girls’ ice hockey
Aidan Porter ’18, boys’ ice hockey
Brett Rahbany ’17, boys’ ice hockey
Jermaine Samuels, boys’ basketball
Missy Segall ’17, girls’ ice hockey
Tess Sussman, girls’ basketball
Azar Swain, boys’ basketball
Thomas Tresca ’17, boys’ ice hockey
Michael Young, boys’ ice hockey
Independent School League Honorable Mention
Grace Bradley ’18, girls’ alpine skiing
Meghan Gazard ’18, girls’ ice hockey
Charlie Parsons ’17, boys’ ice hockey
Matt Paul ’17, boys’ ice hockey
Emma Roush ’17, girls’ basketball
Marissa Tomaino ’18, girls’ basketball
Teddy Wooding ’18, boys’ ice hockey
© 2021 The Rivers School. All Rights Reserved
Rivers admits academically qualified students and does not discriminate against students or families on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or ethnic or national origin in the administration of its educational programs, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic programs, and other school-administered programs.