Podcast: Moynihan Lumber Student Athlete of the Month: Jimmy Ayers, St. John’s Prep Ice Hockey

NORTH SHORE (Podcast) For their exploits both in the classroom and the ice rink, Alyse Mutti of North Reading High School and Jimmy Ayers of St. John’s Prep have been chosen as the Moynihan Lumber Student-Athletes of the Month for February. Alyse Mutti Interview

Jimmy Ayers – St. John’s Prep – Ice Hockey with Bill Newell

Jimmy Ayers knows exactly how that feels. A senior at St. John’s Prep, he’s a captain of both the hockey and lacrosse teams — having won Division 1 state championships with both programs — while carrying a 4.27 GPA taking courses such as Honors English, AP Calculus, and Financial Algebra among others.
“I take it very seriously. To me, it’s always academics over sports,” said Jimmy, whose favorite subject is math. “From a young age I’ve been told that academics were the key to opening doors for all my opportunities, so I’ve always taken that to heart. I wanted my grades to put me in a position to go where I wanted to go.”
His grades, and his proficiency as a scoring attackman in lacrosse, have landed Jimmy a spot at one of top academic institutions in the country: Johns Hopkins University.
Having led his squad in scoring each of the last two seasons, Jimmy — the second of Kate and Andy’s four children — is hoping to close out his high school career with a third consecutive lacrosse state crown this spring.
In hockey, he served as a senior center for the Eagles and led the club in goals (17) and was third in points (30), helping them reach the state semifinals. Last winter, he was a major part of the Prep’s fourth state hockey titlists in school history.
“I played on the eighth grade team at St. John’s Prep’s middle school, then was lucky enough to make the freshman team and play for Coach (John) Zimini, then make the varsity as a sophomore,” he said. “Playing for Coach (Kristian) Hanson and (assistant) coaches (Scott) Hentosh, (Jeff) Tache, and (Dave) Hennessey was a great experience, and my teammates were the best I could’ve asked for. We made memories together and achieved goals we set out to reach that will be with me the rest of my life.”