For their accomplishments both in the classroom and in the athletic arena, St. John’s Prep senior lacrosse standout Luke Kelly and Triton Regional senior softball star Emma Penniman have been chosen as the Moynihan Lumber Student-Athletes of the Month for April.
It’s pretty clear that Kelly knows what excellence looks like.
This spring, Kelly and the Eagles (14-1) are competing for their fifth straight Division 1 state championship, and they’ll be in position to do it currently ranked No. 3. All the Marblehead native has known throughout his career is winning titles. He was named a Salem News All-Star a year ago after scoring 27 goals with 14 assists — potting five in the championship game victory over Needham — and so far this season he’s scored 16 with 12 assists.
Not as potent, sure, but there’s a big reason why. “We have a super unselfish group this year,” said Kelly, a midfielder. “It’s just crazy how spread out and balanced the scoring is. We’ve got a bunch of guys committed to play at the Division I college level and at Division III, so it’s just been a lot of fun to be apart of.”
And Kelly is one of those athletes committed to play Division I.
The moment he stepped onto the University of Michigan campus last September, he knew it was home. Getting to attend a football game at “the Big House” certainly didn’t hurt either. But ultimately, the coaching staff got Kelly to pull the trigger quick over other interest from Harvard, Dartmouth, Brown and the Naval Academy. Plus, it fulfilled a lifelong dream of playing Division I lacrosse, following the footsteps of older brothers Connor (Richmond) and Michael (Princeton).
“I honestly wasn’t expecting to go (to Michigan) at the start,” said Kelly, who will study business. “I didn’t have my sights set on one particular school. But they reached out early last September, and when I went out there the coaches and the guys were just awesome. It felt right.”
But for years now, Kelly knew that if he wanted to play Division I collegiate lacrosse, he would need to have the grades to back it up. He’s taken six Advanced Placement courses over his high school career — four this year as a senior — and leaves the Prep with a sparkling 4.54 GPA and as a member of National Honors Society and Chinese National Honors Society.
“I’ve never felt like school was a burden,” said Kelly. “I’ve always enjoyed going to school and learning, and I’ve always loved being in challenging classes. I view those AP courses as a way to get better, just like going to a lacrosse practice.”
Then like so many who have earned this award in the past, Penniman has a need to stay busy.
Beyond her work on the softball diamond and in the classroom, Penniman is equally as prolific in everything she does in life. She’s a member of Student Council, Spanish Club and Captains Council, and over her high school career she’s received a whopping eight Community Service Awards. Plus, she also works at Sunset Club on Plum Island, as well as hold pitching clinics for youth softball players in the surrounding communities.
“I just like being busy,” laughed Penniman. “I don’t know what to do with myself when I have nothing to do.”
When it comes to athletics, Penniman is one of the best softball players that Triton Regional has ever produced. She is both the back-to-back Newburyport Daily News and Cape Ann League Kinney Division MVP, and is also a two-time Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic. This season at the plate she’s hitting .569 (29-for-51) with 30 RBI and 2 home runs, while in the circle she’s led the Vikings (9-6) with a 2.12 ERA and an incredible 195 strikeouts in 95.2 innings pitched as of Wednesday.
And during Wednesday’s 1-0 walk-off victory over a previously-undefeated Pentucket team, Penniman tossed a no-hitter with 13 strikouts to eclipse the 700-K milestone mark for her career.
“We’re a freshmen and sophomore-based team this year, but we’re getting better each game,” said Penniman. “It’s been a lot of fun to watch the team grow and improve each time we play.”
Penniman was originally committed to play softball at UMass Boston, but that was before getting accepted to Syracuse, her “dream school,” which caused a flip. She will study Business Management over in upstate New York, and will hopefull find some place to play club softball. It was easy to see why Syracuse gave Penniman the thumbs up, though, as the National Honors Society Officer accomplished a 4.25 GPA during her high school career while taking a total of six AP classes.
“I’ve always tried to put academics before softball and be in the top-10-to-15 percent of my class,” said Penniman. “Time-management has always been a major key. I try to get as much done during the day as I can, and just do my best to stay ahead on assignments and projects so I’m not constantly under a lot of stress.”
