Winter Term Awards Announced

Director of Studies Betsy Heckman welcomed students and faculty to the Winter Term Awards Ceremony March 25 in Werner Centennial Center by saying how great it was to be together without masks, and “while all is not back to normal, we are inching ever closer and, for that, I am thankful.”

 

She spoke about some of the challenges of the winter term including stricter restrictions on campus due to the pandemic, some difficult community moments and watching as Russia invaded Ukraine. “But I bring up the bad to shine a light on the good,” she said.

 

She then shared two pieces of good advice she heard over the spring break:

 

The first was “to think about what is good in your life and to be thankful.” She cited personal things for which she is grateful and urged everyone to take a minute to do the same.

 

She then reflected on some of the moments of good from the winter term:

the Splash Sisters (Junior Varsity Girls’ Basketball) on the court, the record-breaking achievements of school swimmers, the Dramat musical, and the small moments from family-style lunches, ski trips, the Valentine’s Day Dance and the ability to attend school without masks beginning Feb. 28.

 

The second piece of advice she shared related to facing challenging times and what must be learned from the Ukrainian people: “When things seem impossible and even disastrous, instead of running away, we should do the opposite,” she said. “We should lean in and confront the challenge.”

 

She ended by saying: “So I put this challenge before you: As we head into the final third of the year, when things get hard or uncomfortable or messy or scary, instead of ignoring the problem or looking for someone else to fix it or making excuses, do something about it. You may surprise yourself. As the Ukrainians have inspired us, let’s all do what we can to throw off the shackles of inevitability and make this world, this school, the place we want it to be.”

 

She and Academic Dean Bill Sistare then announced the names of students who earned the honor of Summus for the winter term:

Zelin Hu, Xin Yang Huang, Mei Yin Ren, Avery Rodeheffer, Finnian Seeley, Lucy Wainwright, Maxwell Williams

Carolyn Cheng, Nora Davis, Margaret Dilks, Wills Erda, Shi Jin, Chung Hon Li, Tarapi Pyo, David Suit, Leyi Tao, Lily Wendler

Lucy Benoit, Samuel Bradley, Maris Cathcart, Thomas Cramer, Beck Hanypsiak, Qingyi Liu, Tia MacDonald, Alec Rosenbaum, Allen Zhou, Heather Zhu

James Breen, Sung Min Cho, Yufei Hong, Jeremy Hopsicker, Margaret Kennedy, Isaac Mullen, Olivia Olney, John Picard, Molly Rubin, Ethan Ruller, Kellen Seeley, Zhenxuan Shao, Elise Strawbridge

 

Director of Athletics Tim Joncas ’00 presented an overview of the winter season and announced the following awards:

 

The Berry Awards, which are named in honor of former faculty member Richard P. “Scott” Berry and recognize the player from each lower team who gave the best effort and demonstrated the best attitude throughout the season, were given to:

Junior Varsity Boys’ Basketball: Josh Mason ’23

Third Boys’ Basketball: Alex Chen ’24

Junior Varsity Girls’ Basketball: Nina Ahl ’22

Junior Varsity Boys’ Hockey: Stuart Dorman ’23

Third Boys’ Hockey: Jack Wainwright ’22    

Junior Varsity Girls’ Hockey: Lilly Marvin ’23              

Junior Varsity Boys’ Squash: Dane Moliterno ’24 

Third Boys’ Squash: Oliver Olson ’23

Junior Varsity Girls’ Squash: Maggie McCarthy ’23                

Third Girls’ Squash: Nora Davis ’24  

 

Varsity Boys’ Basketball

         Most Improved Player: Ray Liu ’22

         Keyes Foul Shooting Award: Kelechi Okworogwo ’22

          Donald H. Werner Most Valuable Player: Jay James ’23

Varsity Girls’ Basketball

         Most Improved Player: Lauren Neuman ’25

         Keyes Foul Shooting Award: Bianca D’Onofrio ’23

          Most Valuable Player: Isabella Tawney ’22

Varsity Boys’ Hockey

         Most Improved Player: Michael Bianco ’24

         Most Valuable Player: Danny Judge ’22 and Jacob Osborne ’22

Varsity Girls’ Hockey

         Most Improved Player: Remi Morello ’25

         Most Valuable Player: Amelia Molin ’23

Varsity Boys’ Squash

         Talbot/Edwards Most Improved Player: Gabriel Lugo ’23

         Fritz Zeller Most Valuable Player: Julio Palomino Perez ’23

Varsity Girls’ Squash

         Talbot/Edwards Most Improved Player: Wheatley Sutro ’22

         Fritz Zeller Most Valuable Player: Nicole Smith ’23

Varsity Boys’ Swimming and Diving

         Most Improved Swimmer/Diver: Spencer Kwan ’22

         Preston Pete “P” Test Most Valuable Swimmer/Diver: Charles Perks ’22

Varsity Girls’ Swimming and Diving

         Most Improved Swimmer/Diver: Margee Mahoney ’24

         Most Valuable Swimmer/Diver: Lucy Benoit ’23  

The Stephen Harris Squibb Bowl Awards, which honor the athlete from each first team who demonstrated the greatest sportsmanship, consistent effort and inspired performance throughout the season, were given to:

 

         Varsity Girls’ Basketball: Samantha de Kanter ’22

         Varsity Boys’ Basketball: Jim Breen ’22

         Varsity Girls’ Hockey: Margaret Sadak ’22

         Varsity Boys’ Hockey: Rich Mubler ’22

         Varsity Girls’ Squash: Shelby Oken ’22

         Varsity Boys’ Squash: Peter Miller ’22

         Varsity Girls’ Swimming and Diving: Margaret Breen ’23

         Varsity Boys’ Swimming and Diving: Max Larock ’22

 

The All-Founders League Award is given to two members of each first team in recognition of those student athletes who best exemplify the league ideals of sportsmanship, hard work and character in the spirit of competition and fair play at the varsity level.

 

Boys’ Basketball: Davis Wallon’22, Cooper Kistler ’22

Girls’ Basketball: Margaret Kennedy ’22, Jasper Paul ’22

Boys’ Hockey: Daniel Lurie ’22, Luke Holyfield ’22

Girls’ Hockey: Liv Fernandez ’23, Caroline Pratt ’22

Boys’ Squash: Gabriel Lugo ’23

Girls’ Squash: Shelby Oken ’22

Boys’ Swimming and Diving: Max Larock ’22, Charles Perkes ’22

Girls’ Swimming and Diving: Lucy Benoit ’23, Chiamaka Kanu ’23

 

The Hopley-Jackson Award, which is given to the Westminster lower team with the best season, was presented to:

                 

Junior Varsity Boys’ Squash

Coach: Peter Wood

                 

The Frederick D. Houghton Award, which is given to the Westminster team with the best season, was presented to:

        

Varsity Girls’ Swimming and Diving

Grant Gritzmacher, Amanda Rappold, Jake Cahill, Mary Pat Gritzmacher

Captains: Lucy Benoit ’23, Margaret Breen ’23

 

 

Director of Theater A-men Rasheed announced the recipient of the Frances Laurel Hopkins Award, which is given to a student for outstanding contributions to the Westminster Dramat Association, as Ariel Seidu ’22.

 

The newest members of Dramat, the student dramatic organization contributing at least 100 hours to a Dramat production, were announced as Maris Cathcart ’23, Carolyn Cheng ’24, Wills Erda ’24, Jay Henry ’23, Theo Massie-Vereker ’23, Molly Rubin ’22, Sophie Grace Stevenson ’25 and Mason Zottola ’23.

 

The newest members of the Williams Hill Players, requiring a total of 400 hours of work on Westminster Drama productions, were announced as Isaac Mullen ’22 and Olivia Olney ’22.

 

 

“Let’s end today by celebrating community,” said Head of School Elaine White in presenting awards to two individuals for their commitment to the school community. Members of the faculty had submitted nominations for the award. “These nominations are terrific proof of our formidable strength and commitment to one another,” she said. The two recipients, who each received a “W” pin, were:

 

Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Devonna Hall for “the courage to create and run community conversations that allowed us the space to have tough but necessary conversations and challenging us to describe our community.”