The FCIAC awards Exemplary Scholar-Athlete honors to players from its 16 member schools every season. Each week, the league will be announcing eight of those award winners, two each from four schools, with bios and photos on FCIAC.net.
Here is the second group of honorees for the Fall, 2026 season from Bridgeport Central, Danbury, New Canaan and Staples:
Dana Baculima – Bridgeport Central
Dana has been awarded Honor Roll Excellence after having taken all AP, dual enrollment, and honors classes and she is also an AP Scholar
She has been cheering since the summer of her freshman year and is now a senior and a team captain. Dana has also been an athlete on the outdoor track and field team.
She is a part of NHS and 100GirlsLeading, which has helped to shape her future and responsibilities. The 100GirlsLeading is a Bridgeport-based non-profit organization which features mentoring programs for underserved girls aged 9-18.
Dana will attend her dream school of New York University for nursing, and she also plans to continue cheering there.
Hailey Tineo – Bridgeport Central
Hailey has maintained a 3.82 GPA while taking AP and honors courses and earning Honor Roll every marking period.
Since her freshman year, this member of the Bridgeport Central Magnet High School community has been committed to volleyball, while also serving as a basketball manager and playing tennis for two years.
Hailey was selected as co-captain of the girls’ tennis team and has volunteered to help raise money to support free tennis programs for the Bridgeport community.
Natalie Anderson – Danbury
Natalie is a High Honor Roll student who has achieved a 4.4 GPA while taking mostly AP and honors classes.
She has been accepted to the National Honor Society, Peer Leadership and is the vice president of her school’s Class Act.
Natalie is the captain of the girls’ cross country team. She competed for the Hatters at the CIAC Class LL Championship for cross country and she qualified for the state championship for indoor track.
She made varsity as a sophomore for the girls’ lacrosse team, and she is now the captain. Natalie has received the Sportsmanship Award for cross country, basketball and lacrosse.
Natalie also has over 100 hours of community service through her work with the Appalachia Service Project.
Jake O’Keefe – Danbury
This senior who has achieved a 4.45 GPA has been a four-year starting quarterback.
Jake played varsity baseball during his freshman and junior years, having missed his sophomore season due to injury, and he is set to be on the baseball team during his spring senior season.
Jake, who has earned multiple postseason honors in football, cites helping lead the Danbury Hatters to the state football playoffs for the first time in 22 years among his proudest accomplishments.
Last year he was selected to the 2025-26 FCIAC All-Division Football Team after having made the 2024-25 FCIAC All-West Division Football Team.
Outside of athletics, Jake is a member of his school’s Class Act program.
After graduation he plans to continue his football career at the University of Connecticut (UConn).
Whitney Hoegstedt – New Canaan
Whitney is a senior with a 99.7 weighted GPA and is a High Honors student who has taken mostly AP and honors courses.
She serves as class president and president of the National Honor Society and plans to study Anthropology and Sociology in college.
Whitney has been a varsity soccer player since freshman year and this year the center midfielder is one of the varsity soccer captains.
She was part of the double crown New Canaan team two autumns ago. Those 2024 Rams first prevailed in the shootout to win the FCIAC championship with a 1-1 (3-2 penalty kicks) victory over two-time defending conference champion St. Joseph and then they added the state Class L championship with a 1-0 victory over Sacred Heart Academy.
Last year Whitney was selected to the 2025 All-FCIAC Girls Soccer Second Team.
Whitney has also competed at the elite club level with Connecticut Football Club (CFC) for six years, where she was captain.
Outside of soccer, Whitney is a member of the New Canaan High School Band, where she plays trombone and serves as trombone section leader.
William Morawa – New Canaan
Will has maintained a 4.0 unweighted GPA all four years of high school while taking 13 AP classes.
He is a National Merit Commended Scholar, a member of National Honor Society, an AP Scholar with Distinction and an award-winning photographer.
A four-year varsity player and captain of the boys’ golf team, Will has maintained a scoring average of 38.5 in his senior year and had led the team to a 12-2-1 record and a ranking of No. 1 in the state for much of the season.
Will is Co-President of the NCHS Service League of Boys, Co-President of the New Canaan Community Foundation Young Philanthropists Program, and a Filling in the Blanks Student Ambassador and NCHS Club president.
He enjoys giving back to the game of golf as a volunteer golf coach and mentor at First Tee CT, and runs annual equipment drives for the organization.
Leah Larit – Staples
Leah is a senior at Staples High School with a 4.17 GPA and has been a First Honor Roll student throughout all four years of high school.
She has played field hockey for eight years, including four years on the very successful Staples varsity team, and serves as captain during this senior year. Leah has helped her team win two Class L state championships (2023 and ’24) and one FCIAC Championship (2024).
Leah has been named All-State First Team, last year she was selected to the 2025-26 All-FCIAC Field Hockey First Team one year after she made the 2024-25 All-FCIAC Field Hockey Second Team, and she has received the Coaches Award twice.
Outside of athletics, Leah has been involved with The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for five years, helping raise funds so children with cancer can experience summer camp while receiving treatment. Leah has also participated in A Shot for Life, helping raise money for cancer research and medical advancements. She is a Link Crew mentor at Staples, helping welcome and support incoming freshmen.
Leah plans to continue her field hockey career at Northwestern University.
Luke Cooper – Staples
This three-sport athlete has achieved a 3.97 unweighted GPA while taking mostly AP and honors classes.
Luke is a member of the National Honor Society, National Math Honor Society, and Science National Honor Society.
He is four-year varsity runner and senior co-captain for the Staples boys’ cross country and outdoor track teams who has earned multiple postseason honors by placing high in championship meets.
Last year he ran his way onto the 2025 All-FCIAC Boys Cross Country First Team when he placed ninth in the conference championship meet with a time of 16:09 on the five-kilometer (3.1 miles) race at Waveny Park in New Canaan. Last spring he placed second in the 3,200-meter race at the Class LL outdoor track and field championship meet with a time of 9:37.69 and earned all-state honors.
Luke has spent time volunteering as a voting member of the Westport Youth Commission, a Quest for Peace Liaison for the Staples Service League of Boys (S.L.O.B.S.) and he is a mentor to youngsters in math and STEM.