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 are the second weekly honorees for the Spring, 2025-26 season from Brien McMahon, Darien, Fairfield Warde, and Norwalk.
Daniela Alvarez – Brien McMahon
Daniela is a Brien McMahon International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme candidate who has achieved an unweighted cumulative GPA of 3.94.
She has been a member of the girls’ soccer team and the girls’ outdoor track and field team since her freshman year. She is also now one of the captains for her soccer team.
Daniela was a recipient of an AP Scholar Award, and she stays engaged with school clubs such as All Paws In and Unified Sports.
Ryen Waters – Brien McMahon
Ryen Waters is in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program at Brien McMahon High School.
Academically, he has achieved a 4.4 weighted GPA and will be inducted into the National Honor Society this spring. He was a finalist in the Lieutenant Governor’s Coding Challenge.
Ryen is starter and a versatile baseball player who plays center field, second base, shortstop, and pitches. He is also a soccer player for BMHS in the fall high school sports season and he’s a middle-distance runner for the boys’ indoor track and field team in the winter.
Outside of athletics, Ryen is treasurer of the Orchestra Student Executive Board, playing cello for Honors Principal Orchestra and Chamber Ensemble. He serves as a BMHS House Representative and competes on the Math Team. As a peer tutor for Carver Center’s BMHS SAT Prep program, he has helped promote educational equity.
Outside of high school, he volunteers with Open Door Shelter and the local civic association. In the summer, one can find him coaching at Packer Soccer Camp and lifeguarding at local pools.
Sofia Coppola – Darien
Sofia has earned a weighted GPA of 4.22 while taking a full schedule of AP and honors courses and competing as a four-year member of both the girls’ soccer and girls’ golf varsity teams, serving as captain of each team during her senior year.
She was chosen to the All-FCIAC Girls Golf Third Team last season as a junior and has been recognized as an AP Scholar, demonstrating excellence both athletically and academically.
Sofia is a member of the National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society, and Mu Alpha Theta Math National Honor Society, and serves as the leader of elementary outreach for the Science National Honor Society. She is also a Blue Wave Anchor and earned bilingual certification during her sophomore year.
Beyond academics and athletics, Sofia organized a fundraiser for the Bronx Charter School for the Arts that raised over $7,000, funding three free book fairs for students. She is also involved with Respect Works and Smiles for Seniors and volunteers weekly with Epic Challengers, playing sports with special needs children. Additionally, she works at Browne & Co. in Darien after school and during weekends.
Sofia plans to attend the University of Georgia next year as a business major.
Roman Gagliardi – Darien
Roman is a National Merit Finalist with a 4.02 weighted GPA while taking a demanding academic schedule including many AP and honors classes.
He is a three-season athlete who serves as co-captain of the boys’ cross country and swim teams and he’s a runner for the outdoor track and field team.
Roman ran himself onto the All-FCIAC Boys Cross Country Second Team during the past 2025 fall season when he placed 22nd at the FCIAC Cross Country Championships and qualified for the State Open in both cross country and swimming (500 freestyle).
He is a member of the Science National Honor Society and Quiz Bowl team, and he was a member of Darien’s 13th place team at Quiz Bowl Nationals in 2025. He was also selected for Team USA for the 2026 International Geography Olympiad (iGeo).
In the community, he volunteers at Food Rescue and teaches sailing at the Darien Junior Sailing Program during the summer.
Roman will attend the University of Chicago this fall, where he plans to study Geophysical Sciences.
Paige McKenna – Fairfield Warde
Paige has excelled academically, earning a 4.47 weighted GPA through a rigorous course load consisting of AP and honors classes.
She is a consistent High Honor Roll student and a member of multiple honor societies, including the National Honor Society, Math Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, and Science Honor Society.
Paige also excels as an athlete. She’ss had so much success on the links that she’s been among the best female high school golfers in the FCIAC and in the state since she enrolled at Fairfield Warde High School as a freshman.
Paige has served as team captain since her sophomore year. She was selected to the GametimeCT All-State Girls Golf First team two years in a row after her sophomore year and junior year after having made the GametimeCT All-State Second Team as a freshman.
Paige was chosen to the All-FCIAC Girls Golf First Team after her freshman and junior seasons. In between those seasons she made the 2024 All-FCIAC Second Team after her sophomore season. As an individual golfer she has also won both the FCIAC and CIAC state championships.
Ryan Tully – Fairfield Warde
Ryan is a member of the National Honor Society and a four-year High Honor Roll student with a 4.3 GPA. He achieved an excellent score of 1,540 on his SAT and is a National Merit Scholarship Commended Student.
He is also a College Board National School Recognition Award recipient, and a College Board AP Scholar With Distinction, excelling in 10 AP classes throughout high school.
Ryan is a multi-sport varsity athlete who has played basketball all four years and lacrosse during his freshman and senior years.
He was a captain of the basketball team, and he had a very good senior season this past winter as he was one of the conference’s seven players selected to the 2026 All-FCIAC Boys Basketball Second Team.
Ryan is also involved in Special Olympics, SASO, and Schoolhouse SAT Tutoring.
Ryan is studying Finance at the University of Florida next year.
Zoey Wilds – Norwalk
Zoey has been accepted to the National Honor Society and has achieved a 4.0 GPA while attending P-TECH Norwalk High School.
She is also dually enrolled at Connecticut State Community College Norwalk, where she is working toward earning her associate degree in web development before graduating high school.
Zoey plays softball and she had such a good season last year that she earned 2025 FCIAC Honorable Mention.
She has volunteered with youth softball camps, helping mentor and support younger athletes in developing their skills and love for the game.
Zoey will continue both her academic and athletic career at Southern New Hampshire University.
Jaxon Ermo – Norwalk
This Norwalk High School senior has been a High Honors student-athlete throughout his high school career, maintaining a 3.95 GPA.
Jaxon has been a four-year, three-sport varsity athlete. He has served as team captain in all three of them as a senior and he’s a two-year team captain in boys’ basketball, having also served in that role as a junior.
He has been a recipient of several postseason all-conference honors. Last spring Jaxon was selected to the 2025 All-FCIAC Baseball First Team along with being selected to the CIAC Junior Class All-Star Baseball game. Those achievements occurred a year after he made the 2024 All-FCIAC Baseball All-West Division Team as a sophomore.
More recently Jaxon was selected to the 2025 All-FCIAC Football All-Division Team as a tight end after this past fall high school sports season.
Jaxon is enthusiastically looking forward to developing as both a student and an athlete will when he attends Iona University on a baseball scholarship this coming fall.