Taylor Brown, Trumbull
This senior who will play for the Montclair State University women’s basketball excelled on the court and in the classroom.
Taylor is an honor student with a 3.4 GPA, she made the All-FCIAC Girls Basketball First Team and also was selected the MVP of the FCIAC Girls Basketball Tournament after leading the Eagles to the conference championship. Then the team captain also helped lead them to the championship game of the state Class LL tournament.
Taylor was a three-sport athlete as a freshman and sophomore, first running cross country in the fall and then playing basketball and softball. As a sophomore she was FCIAC Honorable Mention in basketball and as a junior she was selected to the All-FCIAC Girls Basketball Third Team and the All-FCIAC Softball Second Team.
Jake Cappello, Trumbull
This three-sport senior with a weighted GPA of 4.64 has been a National Honors Society member and a recipient of Honors with Distinction during all four years of high school.
Jake ran cross country in the fall and is also a member of the boys basketball and outdoor track and field teams.
He also has volunteered for several organizations. He helped preschool children with special needs at the Early Childhood Center, he taught baseball to children with special needs at Challenger Baseball and he helped coach and teach campers at the Trumbull Eagles Baseball Camp.
Shannon Huzina, Norwalk
This four-year member of the cheerleading squad has been a team captain as a junior and senior and she also has been on the High Honor Roll all four years with a cumulative GPA of 3.6.
Shannon has also been a member of the softball and outdoor track and field teams.
She was a member of AFJROTC for three years and has surpassed 10 hours of community service each year.
Sarah St. Surin, Norwalk
Basketball was a brand new sport to Sarah when she entered Norwalk High as a freshman and she elevated her game so much that she became the girls’ varsity basketball team’s captain and starting center as a senior.
Sarah earned High Honors through all four years of high school while taking many challenging AP and Honors courses.
This well-rounded youngster has several diverse interests in addition to volunteering for community organizations. She’s an excellent musician in the Honors Symphony Band and is a member/section leader for the award-winning Norwalk High School Marching Band.
Sarah is president of her local Youth Council Group and the NHS Comedy Club, a member of the school’s African American Club, and she has volunteered to put in many hours coaching basketball to youngsters at the Carver Center.
She also played a vital roll in helping the girls basketball team reel off a 12-game winning streak which enabled the Bears to qualify for FCIAC and state tournaments.
Will Haskins, Brien McMahon
This National Honor Society member has made High Honors every quarter in high school with his 3.7 cumulative GPA and he’s been a top player and leader for his sports teams.
As a four-year member of the boys ice hockey team Will was an All-State player as a sophomore, he served as a senior team captain this year, made the All-FCIAC Boys Ice Hockey Second Team and was selected to play in the Connecticut Senior All-Star Game.
Will is also a two-year captain, as a junior and senior, for the boys varsity lacrosse team.
He is a member in the School Senate, he mentors younger kids in the Peer Mentoring program, he is a volunteer firefighter at Rowayton Fire Department, as a member of the Junior RCA he volunteers at concerts and other fundraising events, and he helps teach special needs kids learn how to skate at Best Buddies Skating Day.
Areti Filippidis, Brien McMahon
Areti was selected Student of the Marking Period as a senior, she has 3.57 GPA and has made High Honor Roll all four years of high school.
She’s been with the girls basketball program all four years, was the junior varsity captain as a sophomore and junior and this year she was captain of the varsity team.
Areti has volunteered as an instructor for young basketball players in Grades 1-4, she operated the concession stand during the divisional games and she also was a cashier in the food tent last summer at the St. George Greek Orthodox Church Festival.
Kathlyn Pierre-Louis, Brien McMahon
This senior has earned High Honors and a 3.6 GPA while participating in several sports – indoor track and field, outdoor track and field and cheerleading and she is also a member of the Dance Club. She is a team captain in track.
Kathlyn has volunteered for the United Haitian American Society (HUAS) and Annual Hope for the Future from 2008-17 and for the soup kitchen at New Voice House of Life Orphanage from 2014-17.
Marissa Young, Stamford
This junior is an excellent student, gymnast, swimmer and leader who has an unweighted GPA of 4.0 and from 2014-15 she was a five-time recipient of the school’s D.R.E.A.M. Award which is awarded to students demonstrating qualities of Determination, Respect, Excellence, Asscepting responsibility, and Making good choices. She also received the school’s Positive Role Model Award in 2016.
Marissa was selected Stamford’s team MVP in gymnastics as a freshman and sophomore and she’s been team captain since 2015. She won a gold medal in 2014 and a silver medal in 2015 and ’16 in swimming events at the International Maccabi Games and in 2016 she was on the Teen Leadership Council at the 2016 International Maccabi Games.
Marissa has had prominent leadership roles for the BBYO Youth Group Stamford Chapter in helping lead 85 girls in weekly programs to provide peer support and raise funds to combat hunger and support many other causes, disabled veterans among the causes. She has been president since 2016 of that organization and its recording secretary from 2015-16.
She also volunteers for several community services and is involved in extracurricular activities, including being a writer for The Round Table school newspaper.
Jenna Martino, St. Joseph
This junior cheerleader has has a 3.75 GPA by having been on the Principal’s Honor Roll consistently throughout her high school career.
Jenna has been on the cheerleading squad since her freshman year and played a vital role on a team that has won two state championships and one national championship.
She became a National English Honors Society member this year and is also involved in many of the school’s organizations such as Campus Ministry, the Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) Club, the Debate Club and the Raising Awareness Against Abuse for Teens (RAAAFT) Club.
Jenna also volunteers for several community activities. She interacted with pediatric hospital patients and helped further the progress of a village by building stairs as a sophomore during her Peru Immersion Trip. She has also helped coach middle school cheerleaders.
Issac Keehn, Norwalk
This senior has a 4.0 GPA, having made High Honor Roll, and he is a National Honor Society member.
Isaac was on the boys swimming and diving team this past winter, he ran cross country his first two years in high school, he is is also a member of the baseball team and has plans of being a pitcher for Keene State College next year.
He is a tutor in English for the Bear Peer tutoring program after school.
Mary Fitton, Staples
Mary has achieved High Honors every quarter and has a 3.91 GPA.
She is a solid all-around gymnast who made the All-FCIAC Girls Gymnastics Second Team, she received the Coaches Award as a freshman and junior and next year she will be a team captain.
Mary has volunteered many hours with the National Charity League Chapter in Westport since her freshman year and during her freshman and sophomore years she received the Grade Level Service Award, which recognizes the girls in each grade with the highest number of philanthropy hours.
Claire Gulbin, Wilton
Claire has had an excellent career for the girls basketball team as either a point guard or shooting guard.
She was on Wilton’s 2015 team which won the CIAC Class LL Girls Basketball Tournament and finished 25-2. She was team captain this past year, averaged 15 points per game and was selected to the All-FCIAC Girls Basketball Second Team.
This solid student has a 3.7 unweighed GPA and has made either Honor Roll or High Honor Roll every semester.
Claire has volunteered for many community service organizations. She’s been a coach and referee for Wilton’s recreational youth basketball programs, she’s been a TopSoccer instructor in 2015 and was also a Relay for Life team member in 2012, ’13, ’14, ’15 and ’16.