NORTH SHORE (Podcast) For their excellence both in the classroom and in their respective athletic endeavors, Peabody High cross country superstar Sarah DiVasta and Super Bowl winning quarterback Alex Carucci of North Reading have been chosen as the Moynihan Lumber Student-Athletes of the Month for November. For Alex Carucci detail – Click Here
Sarah DiVasta – Peabody High School Cross Country / Track with Bill Newell
For their excellence both in the classroom and in their respective athletic endeavors, Peabody High cross country superstar Sarah DiVasta and Super Bowl winning quarterback Alex Carucci of North Reading have been chosen as the Moynihan Lumber Student-Athletes of the Month for November.Sarah has blown past the competition in Northeastern Conference cross country competition throughout her time in Tanner blue. She is the two-time reigning NEC Most Valuable Runner and has captured first place at the league championship race each of the last two years, including a winning time of 18:43 this fall at Gloucester’s Stage Fort Park. She also placed second overall at the prestigious Catholic Memorial
Invitational.Her favorite race of the season came at All-States at Fort Devens, where she hadn’t run since seventh grade. Not expecting anything going into the race, Sarah stayed with the lead pack for better than two miles and ultimately finished ninth overall (18:48) against the best harriers in the state.“From the get-go I felt better than I ever had. My legs were cooperating, and I was in a strong headspace, so I just ran with that feeling and never let that strong mentality go,” said Sarah, a three-season track captain at Peabody High as both a junior and senior. “Knowing I could stay with the front pack allowed me to hold my position.“Any success I’ve had, I owe it all to my coaches and their training,” she added. “I wouldn’t have been able to embrace any natural ability without their workouts, training runs and strategic planning, which helped bring out the best in me.”Sarah sports a stellar 4.0036 grade point average on a 4.0 scale and is ranked 11th in her senior class of 403 students. She scored 1,280 on the SATs and is a member of the National Honor Society.Striking a balance between all facets of her life, said Sarah, is key to getting the most out of her studies.“I have a very strong work ethic and don’t like to let myself down from it because I know what I’m capable of,” said the 17-year-old. “Some of it comes naturally, but it’s also a lot of hard work and studying. I spend a lot time between school, practices and work (at the Torigian Family YMCA as well as at the Ultimate Dress Shop, both in Peabody) on my homework and studying.”As someone who’s a self-professed “math brain”, she’s both loved the classes she’s taken at Peabody High in that subject (AP Stats, pre-calculus, calculus, etc.) and the math teachers that’s she’s had. A class that did give Sarah some difficulty as a junior — AP Economics — was worth it in the end because of the reality check it gave her that things won’t always come easily.Sarah has narrowed her college choices down to the University of South Carolina and Elon University in North Carolina. She’ll be making official visits to both in February before making her decision. She’d like to study either math or finance and will run at whichever school she chooses.assroom by watching lectures and understanding the information at home. “It takes independence,” he said, “but I like that because it’ll help prepare me for college.”
