Scholar Athletes, October 2009
District 1
Eileen Ornousky - Trinity Catholic
Trinity Catholic senior Eileen Ornousky is a three-sport athlete for the Crusaders’ volleyball, basketball and softball team and has earned eight varsity letters during her athletic career thus far.
Ornousky was a two-year starter and captain with the Trinity volleyball team, and was a varsity player for three seasons. She is also a captain of the basketball team, after starting as a junior and earning an All-FCIAC honorable mention.
On the softball diamond, Ornousky has started for the varsity Crusaders since her freshman season. As a sophomore, she earned an All-FCIAC honorable mention and as a junior, she was named to the All-Conference Second Team.
Academically, Ornousky ranks ninth out of 133 students in the Class of 2010 and has a GPA of 3.78. She is also a member of the National Honor Society and a recipient of the 2009 Athletes for Veterans Scholarship. She is currently enrolled in four Advanced Placement courses, and is an AP Scholar.
Carly Shapiro - Greenwich
Senior Carly Shapiro is a four-year varsity player in the Greenwich High School volleyball program, and played at the varsity level for the past three seasons.
During the offseason, Shapiro competes with the Connecticut Impact Travel Volleyball Team and the Connecticut Juniors Volleyball team. In the summer, she attended University of Santa Barbara Volleyball Camp and Bentley College Volleyball Camp and won the “Coach's Award” at both.
She was named an “Athlete of the Week” by the Greenwich Citizen and also competed in the GHS tennis program for two years.
Shapiro’s GHS team took first in the State and top 10 in the Nation last year in the We the People competition, a national mock Congressional hearing held in Washington, D.C., where she spoke for the program on Voice of America television.
She is also a National Merit Commended Scholar, an AP Scholar with Distinction, and a member of the National Honor Society and the National Spanish Honor Society. Shapiro was a Science Student of the marking period for two years and on the High Honor Roll for four tears. She also sings with the Greenwich High School Honors Madrigal Choir.
William Newberry - Greenwich
William Newberry is a senior at Greenwich High School and has been a scoring member of the Cardinals’ cross country team since his freshman year. He was named a team co-captain as a senior, and consistently the team’s No. 1 or No. 2 runner. He also set his personal record time on the Cardinals’ home course last fall.
Academically, Newberry is a National Merit Semifinalist, a member of the National Honor Society and is the GHS student body president. His greatest area of academic interest is science, and he has participated in independent science research.
District 2
Betsy Hart - New Canaan
Senior Betsy Hart is a four-year player and three-year starter on the New Canaan Rams’ varsity field hockey team. She earned All-FCIAC First Team honors as a center-midfielder the past two years and was an All-State First Team player last season. As a sophomore, Hart earned an All-FCIAC honorable mention.
Hart was a co-captain this season, and helped lead the Rams to the championship games of both the FCIAC and CIAC Class M tournaments. She was also named New Canaan’s team MVP.
Hart competes for the Rams in all three athletic seasons, running track during the winter and playing lacrosse in the spring. She is a starting defender and a three-year player with the lacrosse team, which finished as the runner-up in the FCIAC and State Div. I tournaments last spring. During the winter, Hart has run track for three seasons and last year placed sixth in the 45-meter dash at the East Division finals.
Academically, Hart has achieved High Honors for 12 quarters at NCHS and is a member of the National Honor Society and the National Charity League.
Marisa Shields - Norwalk
Norwalk High School senior Marisa Shields is a four-year swimmer for the Bears’ varsity and was named a team captain as a senior. She has also competed with the Norwalk Zeus Swim Team since she was eight years old, and been on the Bears’ girls’ varsity outdoor track team for three years.
Shields received academic high honors recognition for each marking period during her freshman through junior years. She was a CAPT Master, the recipient of the Swim College Book Award and is a member of the National Honor Society.
She has been a member of student government for three years, serving as Treasurer during her junior year, and as Secretary during her senior year.
Shields also plays the violin for her schools’ orchestras since the third grade.
Jessica Schmidt - Norwalk
Senior Jessica Schmidt is a three-sport athlete at Norwalk High School, and competes for the Bears’ varsity field hockey, basketball and softball teams.
Scmidt was named a captain of the field hockey team during the fall and received FCIAC All-West honors for the second consecutive year. As a junior, Schmidt was the high scorer on the field hockey team. She is currently a captain for the Bears’ basketball team.
During the past four years, Schmidt has been a participant of B.R.O.W.N. (Bears Reaching Out Within Norwalk) and she is currently a co-president of the club.
She is a part of Spanish Club and has participated in many community service activities such as Silvermine's Trash Walk and numerous benefit walks for different causes.
Schmidt has also earned High Honors during each quarter of her high school career thus far.
She is a PAL (Peer Academic Leader) for two psychology classes and have been a part of the highest level orchestra for two years. She also mastered all four aspects of the CAPT test and currently hold two jobs as a sale's associate and waitress.
Ed Thomas - Brien McMahon
Ed Thomas is a senior at Brien McMahon High School and competes for the Bears’ varsity cross country and wrestling teams.
A two-year member of the cross country team, Thomas was a co-captain as a senior and improved his %K race pace from 6:55 to 6:30.
During the summer, Thomas wrestled at the Nutmeg State Games and took second place in the 135-pound weight class on August 2. In October, Thomas was fourth at the Nutmeg Wrestling Tournament.
Academically, Thomas has a 3.92 cumulative GPA, and is ranked fifth out of 385 students. During his junior year, he received the Harvard Book award from BMHS and the Dartmouth Book award from the Center for Global Studies at BMHS. He has studied Chinese for four years and traveled to China on a study tour for two weeks during his sophomore year. Thomas has also taken Spanish for about seven years, and is part of Building with Books and Model United Nations.
Gina Cervoni - Brien McMahon
Senior Gina Cervoni is a four-year member of the Brien McMahon volleyball program and played for the varsity squad during the past two years. She was named a captain of the team during her senior year.
Cervoni pointed out that her team faced some struggles during her junior year, when the Senators finished with no wins despite several hard-fought games. During her senior year, however, the Senators came out and won their first two games of the year.
In the classroom, Cervoni has kept her grades up and has had a good GPA during her high school career. She has also been in honor classes throughout her high school years.
Edwin Carvajal - Wilton
Wilton High School senior Edwin Carvajal has played for the Warriors’ varsity boys’ soccer team for the past three years and was a captain during the fall.
After starting his sophomore year as a captain on the JV squad, Carvajal was pulled up to the varsity team midway through the season. He was the starting sweeper as a junior and was a starter at midfield as a senior, when he earned a spot on the FCIAC All-East team.
Academically, Carvajal is in an honors language class and is in AP class for Spanish and French.
Diana Kurek - Stamford
Kate Rohn - Darien
Ellie Riegel - Darien
District 3
Brigitta Schuchert - Fairfield-Ludlowe
Brigitta Schuchert is a senior at Fairfield Ludlowe High School and a four-year player with the Falcons’ varsity field hockey team.
She began playing field hockey at Tomlinson Middle School, and continued at FLHS as a member of the freshman team, the junior varsity team as a sophomore, and the varsity team during her junior and senior years. This fall, Schuchert was part of a Falcons’ team that qualified for the State tournament for the first time in school history.
Academically, Schuchert is a member of the National Honor Society, and is currently taking three Advanced Placement courses: Biology, Literature and U.S. Government and Politics.
Joanna Groccia - Fairfield-Warde
Fairfield-Warde’s Joanna Groccia was a senior defender for the Mustangs’ varsity field hockey team. She started every game this fall, made three defensive saves and received an All-FCIAC honorable mention. Groccia has been with the field hockey program since her freshman year,
Academically, Groccia is a member of the National Honor Society, Italian Honor Society and Music Honor Society. She has made the Headmaster's list at FWHS during her all four years of her high school career and has received numerous awards such as Excellence in Math and Excellence in a Foreign Language. She is also a member of the school’s Chamber Orchestra.
Carly Birkhold - Fairfield-Warde
Senior Carly Birkhold is a member of the Fairfield-Warde varsity cross country team and earned a pair of top honors at this fall’s championship meets.
Birkhold raced to a fourth-place finish in the FCIAC championship meet in New Canaan’s Waveny Park and earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team. She followed up that performance with a fourth-place finish at the State Class L final, earning All-State First Team honors.
Academically, Birkhold has been a member of the National Honor Society for two years, and has been on either the honor roll or the Headmaster’s List during all four years of her high school career.
District 4
JoAnna Suriani - Trumbull
JoAnna Suriani is a senior at Trumbull High School and has been a standout volleyball player for the Golden Eagles for the past three years, including this fall when she was named a team co-captain.
Suriani attended Fairfield-Warde for one year and was a co-captain of the Mustangs’ freshman volleyball team. She moved to Trumbull HS for her sophomore season and was named the captain of the junior varsity squad. Suriani then moved up to the varsity level for her junior and senior seasons.
Suriani has played in the CT Juniors Volleyball League for two years, and took part in the CT Juniors Volleyball Camp as a sophomore. She also competed in the University of Connecticut Volleyball Camp in Storrs and the Trumbull Eagles Volleyball Camp during her junior year.
Suriani, who has a GPA of 3.9, ranks fourth in her class at Trumbull High and scored 5’s on her Advanced Placement American History, European History and Chemistry tests. She is currently enrolled in five AP classes, including U.S. Government & Politics, English Literature, Spanish Language, Calculus AB-Early College Experience (ECE) and Physics C-Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism. Suriani is also a member of the Honors Chamber Singers.
Ryan O’Connell - Trumbull
Ryan O'Connell is a senior at Trumbull High School and is both a four-year starter and a captain of the Eagles’ boys’ soccer team. O’Connell earned conference honors the past two seasons, first as a member of the All-FCIAC West team during his junior year and then as an All-FCIAC player this past fall.
O’Connell plays soccer year-round with the FC Westchester Academy U-18 team in Purchase, N.Y. He has also played on the State level with the Olympic Development Program and on the Regional level as a member of the Olympic Development Program Region 1 Pool, comprised of the top soccer players on the East Coast.
Academically, O’Connell has maintained a strong GPA throughout his high school career, and has made the honor roll during each marking period. He rabks in the top 10 percent of the 2010 graduating class.
O’Connell is currently an active member of the National Honor Society and has taken several Advanced Placement courses.
David Boudreau - St. Joseph
David Boudreau is a senior at St. Joseph High School and has been a standout cross country and track athelte for the past four years.
Boudreau has run with the Cadets’ varsity cross country team since his freshman season, and was a co-captain this fall, when he placed first on the team in several races. Boudreau has also run varsity indoor track for four years, and varsity outdoor track for three years.
In the classroom, Boudreau is am a member of the Spanish National Honor Society and has received honors regularly on his transcripts. He’s been in the school's Honors Level Program during his high school career, and has taken a couple of Advanced Placement classes.
Boudreau participates in a number of other extracurricular activities, including the Movie Club, the school news program, the school newspaper and the student ambassadors program.
Annie Buckley - St. Joseph
St. Joseph senior Annie Buckley has been a two-sport athlete in the Cadets’ volleyball and lacrosse programs since her freshman year.
She joined the varsity volleyball team as a sophomore, and was a captain and the starting setter for St. Joseph during her senior season. She also earned a spot on the All-FCIAC Third Team this past fall.
Buckley has also played volleyball in the CT Juniors program since the eighth grade,
In the spring, Buckley plays lacrosse for St. Joseph, and has been with the varsity team since her junior season.
Academically, Buckley has been on Principal's Honor Roll in all four years at SJHS has been an active member on the student council since her sophomore year.
She is also involved in community service at St. Pius X Parish in Fairfield, and Camp Sunshine, a camp for terminally-ill children and their families.
District 5
Melissa Michaelis - Danbury
Danbury senior Melissa Michaelis is a four-year starter for the Hatters’ varsity girls’ soccer team. Michaelis, who joined the team as a freshman, is a left-midfielder and was a team captain as a senior. She has also played premier soccer since 2001.
Academically, Michaelis has a GPA of 3.86, and is a member of the National Honor Society, Secretary of DECA and class representative for the Board of Governors.
Michaelis also earned second place at the 2009 CT DECA General Marketing Research Event, and placed in the top 20 percent at the international level.
Nicole LaFonte - Danbury
Nicole LaFonte is a junior at Danbury High School and has started for the Hatters’ varsity girls’ soccer team since her freshman year. As a junior, she earned a spot on the All-FCIAC Second Team, and has been named a team captain for the fall, 2010 season.
While not suiting up for the Hatters, LaFonte has played in the CT Olympic Development Program for the past four years. She also played on CFC Arsenal for the past four years and recently joined the club South Central Connecticut Premier.
LaFonte also runs varsity indoor track and plays for Danbury’s varsity lacrosse team. She has run indoor track since her freshman year and has qualified for the State Class LL championships in the 1000-meter run, and the FCIACs in the 1,000 and the mile.
Academically, LaFonte is on the Honor Roll and is a member of Key Club and DECA. She is a CAPT Scholar and a winner of the Key Club Award in 2007.
