North Shore Sports Desk with Dom Nicastro

A key presence all over the field, Marshall is helping lead a Rockport squad that has shown improvement despite a challenging schedule. The Vikings have picked up victories over Triton and Everett, along with ties against Amesbury and North Reading, as they continue working to turn their progress into more wins.

In this interview, Marshall discusses the team’s development, her role as a captain and what it takes to keep teammates motivated through a challenging season. We also get to know Gretel beyond field hockey, including her accomplishments as a standout student and softball player.

North Shore Sports Desk – Dom Nicastro with Gretel Marshall

Cape Ann Bank’s Player of the Week  Kiernan Day

This ceremony honors six outstanding seniors whose excellence in athletics, academics, leadership and community service earned them recognition as the 2025-2026 Cape Ann Savings Bank Student Athletes of the Year. Join the North Shore Sports Desk for a special look inside this memorable celebration, which featured award presentations, scholarships from the Bank, exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes moments and highlights from an incredible afternoon recognizing the very best student-athletes on Cape Ann.

2025-2026 Cape Ann Savings Bank Student Athletes of the Year

Gloucester High School

Keagan Jewell – Jaylen Severino

Rockport High School

Gabby Lucido – Timothy Patrick

Manchester Essex Regional High Schooll

Anna Gardner – Charlie Thurlow

Hosted by Dom Nicastro and the North Shore Sports Desk, this video celebrates not only these remarkable student-athletes, but also the families, coaches, teachers and teammates who helped them reach this achievement. A special thank you to Cape Ann Savings Bank for its outstanding commitment to supporting local students and high school athletics throughout Cape Ann. Special thanks to: Marianne Smith, President, Cape Ann Savings Bank Jennifer Orlando, VP, Marketing, Cape Ann Savings Bank Congratulations once again to all six Student Athletes of the Year.

Your dedication, perseverance and leadership have made your schools and communities proud.

The Fishermen first baseman and captain discusses her team’s success, her reputation as one of the area’s top power hitters, balancing multiple sports and academics, and why she’s excited to study nursing at Merrimack College this fall.

From 11 career home runs and Boston Herald All-Scholastic honors to leadership on and off the field, Emma shares what made her senior year so memorable.

North Shore Sports Desk with Emma Carrapichosa

Dom Nicastro with State Tennis Champion Grace Scarbrough

State Champion Grace Scarbrough Leaves Manchester Essex With Lasting Legacy

For Grace Scarbrough, the ending could not have been scripted much better.

After years of battling rival Hamilton-Wenham and coming close to a state championship, the Manchester Essex senior helped lead the Hornets to the MIAA Division 4 state title this spring, closing out her high school tennis career atop the mountain.

Scarbrough was a model of consistency throughout the season, finishing undefeated while helping anchor a Hornets lineup that finally broke through against a Hamilton-Wenham program that had become the measuring stick in Division 4 with four straight state crowns. For Scarbrough, defeating the Generals in the championship match made the accomplishment even more meaningful.

It was the perfect way to end it, Scarbrough said during a recent interview. To win a state championship and do it against a team we’ve battled with for so long is something she’ll never forget, she said.

The title represented the culmination of years of hard work, not only for Scarbrough but for a program that had repeatedly found itself within reach of a championship. This time, the Hornets finished the job, and the senior leader was at the center of it all.

While tennis has been a major part of her life, Scarbrough’s next chapter is already taking shape. This fall, she will attend UMass Amherst, where she plans to study business and marketing. Her interest in business has been influenced in part by spending time working in her family’s dry-cleaning business, where she has gained firsthand experience interacting with customers and learning how a small business operates.

Those experiences have helped shape her goals beyond athletics and given her an appreciation for the work that goes into building and maintaining a successful business.

As she prepares for college, Scarbrough leaves Manchester Essex with more than an undefeated season and a state championship trophy. She leaves as part of the team that finally cleared the final hurdle, delivering a championship that players, coaches and fans will remember for years to come.

For a senior who got one final opportunity to chase a title, it was a finish worthy of the journey.

Wyatt Wilkinson makes his mark as one of Rockport’s most versatile and team-first student-athletes.

A standout on both the soccer pitch and baseball diamond, Wyatt embraces whatever role his teams need to succeed. Whether changing positions, taking on new responsibilities or simply doing the little things that help a team win, he earns the respect of teammates and coaches through his willingness to put the team ahead of himself.

That selfless approach pays dividends during a memorable senior year. Rockport’s soccer and baseball teams both qualify for the state tournament, with the Vikings’ soccer team advancing all the way to the Elite Eight. Along the way, Wyatt helps provide leadership and stability for programs competing at a high level.

Away from school sports, Wyatt has another passion that has shaped much of his life: sailing. A lifelong sailor who feels most at home on the water, he spends summers working at a yacht club and competing in sailing events. That passion will continue at the next level when he attends Boston College, where he plans to join the men’s sailing team. The opportunity is especially meaningful because his father serves as the team’s coach.

An outstanding student with a strong interest in math and business, Wyatt is excited to combine academics and athletics as he begins the next chapter of his journey at Boston College.

In this conversation, Wyatt reflects on balancing multiple sports, the lessons learned from team success, his lifelong love of sailing, and what he’s looking forward to as a future Eagle.

Dom Nicastro with Rockport’s Wyatt Wilkinson, another Cape Ann Savings Bank Player of the Week

Mariana DeBenedictis leaves an impressive legacy at Rockport High School as a standout student, athlete and leader.

Recently named the Cape Ann Savings Bank Student-Athlete of the Week by the North Shore Sports Desk, Mariana excelled both in the classroom and in competition. She played golf as Rockport’s lone female golfer, embraced the challenge of competing against top players throughout the Cape Ann League and beyond as the Vikings’ No. 1 girls tennis player, and built a reputation as one of the school’s most respected student leaders.

As class president, Mariana focused on bringing her classmates together. One of her most memorable initiatives was organizing a senior class gathering and dinner at her home before the school year began, helping strengthen relationships and create lasting bonds among her classmates.

Beyond athletics and student government, Mariana served on the Student Advisory Council, represented student voices before the school committee and took on numerous leadership responsibilities throughout her high school career.

In this interview, Mariana reflects on her experiences balancing academics, athletics and leadership, the lessons she learned representing her classmates, and her excitement about the next chapter at Bentley University.

Topics include:

Winning Student-Athlete of the Week honors
Competing as Rockport’s No. 1 tennis player
Playing golf as the team’s lone female athlete
Leading the senior class as president
Student Advisory Council experiences
Representing students before the school committee
Preparing for college life at Bentley University

Mariana’s story is a reminder that leadership isn’t just about titles — it’s about bringing people together and leaving your community stronger than you found it.

Cape Ann Student-Athlete of the Week – Mariana DeBenedictis, Rockport High School

The Cape Ann Savings Bank Student-Athlete of the Week was a key contributor to Gloucester’s Northeastern Conference championship track and field team, Jewell excels as a runner, hurdler and shot put competitor. Her versatility, work ethic and leadership helped power the Fishermen to one of their most successful seasons in recent memory.

But track is only part of the story.

Jewell is also a standout field hockey player whose Gloucester teams have been among the best in Massachusetts. In the classroom, she has matched her athletic success with academic excellence and will continue her education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she plans to study biology and explore a future in veterinary medicine.

Coming from a family with a rich athletic tradition at Gloucester High School, Jewell discusses her journey, the lessons she has learned through sports, her future goals and what it means to represent the Fishermen.

Gloucester track and field
Gloucester field hockey
UMass Amherst
Biology and veterinary aspirations
Northeastern Conference champions

North Shore Sports Desk with Dom Nicastro featuring Gloucester High School’s Maddie Jewell