The FCIAC awards Exemplary Scholar-Athlete honors to athletes from its 16 member schools every season. Each week, the league will be announcing several of those award winners with bios and photos on FCIAC.net.
Here is the third group of weekly honorees for the Winter, 2024-25 season from Fairfield Ludlowe, St. Joseph, Staples and Wilton.
Maggie Zaino – Fairfield Ludlowe
This senior with an unweighted GPA of 4.11 has been a member of the girls’ indoor and outdoor track and field teams for four years, serving as co-captain during both her junior and senior years.
Maggie earned All-FCIAC First Team in outdoor track as a junior and earned All-FCIAC Second Team in indoor track during her freshman and sophomore years. She also played varsity soccer for two years.
Additionally, Maggie has taken honors and AP classes while actively participating in leadership and service. She is the president of the Caroline House Club, a member of the National Honor Society, the treasurer of her class, and a volunteer on summer service trips.
Maggie is a recipient of the Rochester Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Book Award and aspires to major in engineering.
Maxwell Long – Fairfield Ludlowe
Maxwell has been a three-season athlete for all four years as a member of the boys’ soccer team in the fall, the boys’ swimming and diving team in the winter, and the boys’ tennis team in the spring.
As a second-year captain for the Fairfield Ludlowe/Warde cooperative boys’ swimming and diving team, Maxwell also serves as the team photographer. In addition, he qualified and competed in the FCIAC and state swimming and diving postseason championship meets all four years.
Maxwell maintains a 4.2 weighted GPA and is a member of the Latin and Math National honor societies. In 2023 he co-founded the popular Finance Club at Fairfield Ludlowe.
Besides his high school athletics and academics, Maxwell interfaces with the public as a waterfront lifeguard and a server at a local restaurant. He has spent his last four summers as a camp counselor in Westport, and he is undecided as to which university he will attend but plans to study engineering.
Sadie Plotkin – St. Joseph
This senior is a Presidential Honor Roll student who has achieved a 4.0 GPA throughout her four years while taking mostly AP and honors classes.
Sadie has been accepted to the National Honor Society, English Honor Society and Italian Honor Society.
She has been a member of the girls’ ice hockey and softball teams all four years. Sadie was the co-captain of the ice hockey team last year as a junior and has retained that role this year as a senior.
Sadie was a recipient of the St. Thomas Aquinas Award, she is co-president of the Italian Club, co-vice president of the Women’s Studies Club, and treasurer of the Feelings First Club.
She actively volunteers for Southern CT Storm Special Hockey, where she helps teach children and young adults with disabilities how to play hockey.
Sadie will continue her ice hockey career as a student-athlete at Hilbert College, where she will study crime scene investigation.
Michael Maroney – St. Joseph
Mike has earned a cumulative weighted GPA OF 100.6 while taking honors and AP classes.
He is an AP Scholar with Distinction and a member of the Math Honor Society, English Honor Society, and Chinese Honor Society.
Mike is two-year captain of the wrestling team who has accumulated many victories at postseason championship tournaments. Last year as a junior he advanced to the semifinals in his 144-pound weight class at the 2024 CIAC Class S Wrestling Tournament and eventually placed third when he pinned his opponent 55 seconds into their match which decided who would place third in that state tournament. He was All-FCIAC Honorable Mention as a sophomore two years ago.
Mike has volunteered with organizations such as Filling in the Blanks and his local church.
Alex Hackett – Staples
Alex has achieved a 3.75 GPA, and she will continue her academic and lacrosse athletic career at Dickinson College.
She is a three-sport athlete playing ice hockey, field hockey, and lacrosse throughout all four years of her high school career and is now a senior captain of both the girls ice hockey and girls lacrosse teams. She was also an assistant captain of ice hockey as a junior last year.
Alex was selected to the 2024 All-FCIAC Girls Lacrosse Tier 1 Second Team and All-State Second Team last spring. She made the 2024-25 All-FCIAC Field Hockey Second Team this past fall in her senior year when she and the Wreckers won the FCIAC championship and then won a second straight state championship with a 5-2 victory over Darien at the CIAC Class L Field Hockey Tournament. Hackett scored the goal that gave Staples a 3-2 lead in the third quarter and was named Player of the Game in that Class L state championship game.
Alex is also the president of the Pink Aid club, which helps to raise money and awareness for breast cancer.
Cooper Paul – Staples
Cooper has received Academic First Honors while achieving a 4.09 GPA. He is a recipient of the AP Scholar Award and the Excellence in Mandarin Chinese Award and was inducted into the National Chinese Honor Society.
He is also a bass player in the Staples Symphonic Orchestra and was the only bassist in the Staples Jazz Ensemble that placed second in the 2023 National Jazz Festival in Philadelphia.
Cooper has been a varsity player for the Staples boys ice hockey team since his freshman year and the senior forward currently serves as co-captain of the new STORMAC cooperative boys hockey team consisting of players from Staples High School, Norwalk High School and Brien McMahon High School. He was previously selected by the Connecticut Hockey Report for its All-Star Game, was a Staples High School Student-Athlete of the Week and voted The Ruden Report Player of the Week and PrepZone Student-Athlete of the Month.
Cooper is also a long-time volunteer for the Southern Connecticut Storm Special Hockey Program and for the Staples Service League of Boys.
Mya Salvino – Wilton
Mya has an unweighted GPA of 3.96 and is a High Honor Roll student while taking mainly AP and honors courses. She earned the University of Chicago Book Award and was a National Merit Commended Scholar.
This senior is a team captain all three seasons of this 2024-25 school year, having been selected captain of the girls’ cross country, girls’ indoor track and field, and girls’ outdoor track and field teams, and she has been a varsity member all four years. She has received All-FCIAC and All-State honors as well as being a three-time New England Championships competitor.
Mya is a nationally certified EMT, and she volunteers for Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
She is President of Spanish Honors Society and earned her Seal of Biliteracy. Mya is also President of Wilton High School Key Club as well as a Link Leader.
Daniel Babashak – Wilton
Danny is a four-sport varsity athlete who excels both in and out of the classroom. Currently a member of the boys’ varsity swimming and diving team, he maintains a 4.0 unweighted GPA while tackling a rigorous schedule of all AP and honors courses.
With 11 years of competitive swimming experience, Danny has earned multiple spots on CT Swim’s Top 16 list for the past nine years and has been a CT Scholar-Athlete for two consecutive years.
A dedicated leader, Danny captained Wilton’s boys’ cross country, boys’ indoor track and field, and boys’ outdoor track and field teams. He also serves as senior class president, president of the Symphonic Orchestra, and vice president of the Spanish Honor Society.
Passionate about environmental conservation, Danny is the volunteer land steward for New Canaan Land Trust’s Hawkins Preserve. He has earned Gold, Silver and Bronze Congressional Medals for his commitment to public service.