For their exploits in both the classroom and in their respective athletic endeavors, Pentucket senior Emily Rubio and St. John’s Prep junior Tyler Knox of Groveland have been named Moynihan Lumber Student Athletes of the Month for February.
A Middlebury College track commit, Rubio is fresh off a stellar winter season that ended with her earning All-American status at New Balance Nationals in New York after placing sixth in the pentathlon (3,178 points). Along the way, she also became Pentucket’s first ever athlete — boy or girl — to win an All-State title after she won the high jump by clearing 5-foot-4. and this was after she won both the high jump (5-4) and the long jump (17-6.75) at the Division 4 State Meet and the CAL Open. For the reigning Daily News Indoor Track MVP and three-time All-Star, it was quite the end to her high school winter career.
“Going into the season I didn’t really have any specific expectations,” said Rubio. “I wanted to more focus on myself, get my form down and not compare myself to others. At All-States and Nationals, the main thing was I just wanted to focus on one event at a time and one jump at a time.
“Looking back on the season, it was really special honestly. To be the first person from Pentucket to win at All-States, it was a pretty special thing.”
Rubio, who also ran cross country in the fall, is now gearing up for the spring track season. But all along she’s continued to excel in the classroom as well.
With a sparkling weighted GPA of 4.763, Rubio sits at No. 4 in her senior class of around 180. She’s taking three AP classes this year — Calculus BC, Physcology, Biology — and is planning on majoring in Biology at Middlebury to pursue a career as a physical therapist. She’s also helped out with the middle school track team, been a peer mentor for underclassmen to help them acclimate to high school life and has worked as a National Honor Society tutoring officer.
“I help people to find tutors and actually helped to tutor a student in math, which was quite rewarding,” said Rubio. “Academics have always been the most important to me. It’s been tough at times, and there have definitely been some nights that I’ve been up late studying or doing work. But I’ve really tried to balance athletics and academics and try to keep an agenda to help me stay focused on what needs to get done.”
Knox unstoppable on the mat
Those who tried to get in Knox’s way this winter were mainly left with their backs on the mat.
After running the through the state of Massachusetts with relative ease on his way to the 126-pound All-State title, Knox traveled down to Virginia Beach last weekend to compete in the National High School Coaches Association Nationals. He finished seventh there as a sophomore the year prior, but came back with a vengeance this winter. He earned four pins in five matches on his way to the 120-pound championship bout, and once there it took him only 86 seconds to pin his opponent and claim National gold.
What more, securing the national title ended his impressive perfect season at 58-0 with 47 pins.
“I came in as the No. 2 seed so I knew I had a good shot,” said Knox, who is already a Stanford wrestling commit. “Honestly, it was a lot of different emotions after I won. It didn’t really settle in for a while. It’s a massive arena with 60 mats in this huge sports center. The stands were packed, and my dad couldn’t even find a seat and had to stand. It’s definitely a big stage, so I just tried to stay calm and do my best.”
Knox, who was crowned an All-American after the meet, helped the Eagles go undefeated this winter while winning the Division 1 North, Division 1 state, All-State and New England team championships.
And in the classroom, he’s just as impressive.
Knox chose Stanford over Ivy League options in Cornell and Brown, and at St John’s he boasts a 4.36 GPA and is in the top-10 percent of his class. His toughest class this year is AP Economics, and next year as a senior he’ll be in four AP classes.
“My mom really stresses academics,” said Knox, who wrestles with the popular Smitty’s Barn in the offseason. “It’s tough to balance the two (academics and athletics), and sometimes I have stay up late to get work done. But it’s been nice to see the hard work pay off.”
