Brookfield High School Honors Senior Student Athletes

One by one their names were called and 105 Brookfield Seniors were recognized in front of friends and family gathered inside the auditorium at Brookfield High School (BHS) on Tuesday night.  The Boosters of the BHS Athletic Program honored the achievements of their many seniors in a warm ceremony where hugs and tears were shared equally by parents, coaches and athletes.

Brookfield Athletic Director Chris McDougal felt the emotions of the night along with family members. "It's a little bit more emotional for me because I coached some of these kids before I became Athletic Director," he said. "It's going to be a different school next year without these seniors."

Every senior on stage represented the class and sporting culture of Brookfield. The students walked up from their seats to the stage and were met by their coaches, who presented them with small gifts to commemorate their time on the field and in the classroom.  The emotion among those in attendance was palpable as parents watched sons and daughters walk to the podium to receive their final moment in the spotlight at Brookfield High School.

It was a year that saw several Conference and State Championships for Brookfield High including state titles for the Boys Soccer team, Boys Track and Field, Swim and Dance teams.  These seniors were winners in the classroom as well, with 39 percent of senior student athletes receiving All-Academic status by earning a GPA higher than 3.75.

Eleven seniors received special honors for completing eight or more seasons on their respective Varsity teams: Christina Rooney, Claudia Bartoli, Jackie Brown, Kayla Berardi, Chelsea Janssen, Rose Willey, Brendan Allen, Melissa D'Arcangelo, Caitlyn Stauffer, Alanna Poppe and Cassie Bonenfant.

As much as the night was about the entire senior class, 14 seniors walked away with Athletic Honors from the Boosters. The SWC Leadership Award was presented to Jackie Brown and Tom Gilligan.  Both Brown and Gilligan were captains of the respective lacrosse squads, with Brown also captaining the girls basketball team.

The CIAC Scholar Athlete of the Year award is the highest academic honor in Connecticut given to student athletes.  This year the award went to Mike Becker and Rose Willey.  Becker was the captain of the Championship swim team and was an All-American nominee.  Willey leaves Brookfield as one of the most decorated athletes in her class.  She was named to the All-State team three times in Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track, having earned a spot on the varsity team every year.

The Frank Gavel Sportsmanship Award was presented to Caitlyn Stauffer and Nick Martin.  The Robert Brown Leadership Award went to Kathleen Marrese and Matthew Bonn.  Kayla Berardi and Robert Murray were named Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year.  This was also the first year the Boosters presented the Athletic Coordinator Spirit Award, given to Stephanie Moss and Pat Colavito.

Lastly, the Boosters awarded the honor of Athlete of the Year to Brittany Martelle and Jordan Burandt.  Martelle was BHS's first All-State basketball representative, broke the high school point record and was nominated as a McDonald's All-American.  Burandt captained the All-State Football team, captained the Championship Track team and broke the school record in the pole vault.

In addition to the awards given by the Boosters, the United States Army presented two student athletes with the Department of the Army Scholar Athlete award.  The recipients were Michelle Duong and Mike Palicz, both captains of the respective teams and members of National Honor Society.

The students crossed the stage to thunderous applause from their friends and family as the Boosters sent their seniors out in style, marking an end to their illustrious high school playing careers but staring the chapter on potential collegiate accomplishments.

"They are a great bunch of athletes," said McDougal, "and if they are lucky enough to play in college I know they are going to represent us as best they can."

Check in with Brookfield Patch this summer as we follow up with departing student athletes as they get ready for college.