Athletes of the Week for May 15, 2022

Congratulations to Griffin Cepiel ’23 and Joshua Kim ’23 for receiving Cardigan’s Student-Athlete of the Week Awards. Read what their coaches have to say about them below, and meet all the students who were nominated. Learn more about Athletics at Cardigan Mountain School.

Varsity Student-Athlete of the Week

Griffin Cepiel ’23 - Lacrosse

This past week has been full of highs and lows for the Varsity Lacrosse Team. After a challenging game at Groton during which the Cougars were unable to play with any consistency, Griffin and the other team captains had a meeting to help reestablish the team culture, focus, and drive to "Be the Best." The Cougars came out fired up on Saturday and took an early lead over Eaglebrook School. Our friendly rivals responded by pushing their lead out to as many as four or five goals. Griffin stepped up to score several big goals and assisted on a few others. His relentless effort, energy, and outstanding play helped propel the Cougars to an 11-10 lightning-ending win over the Eagles and helped set up a great rematch for the final game of the season. Way to go, Griff!

Sub-Varsity Student-Athlete of the Week

Joshua Kim ’23  - JV Lacrosse

Josh has been our face man all year, winning over 80%. Against Eaglebrook School, he won all the face-offs, leading us to a 5-1 victory!

Other Varsity Nominations 

Enrique Rojas ’23 - Varsity Tennis

Enrique has worked hard all spring, despite never securing a spot that would allow him to play singles at every match. Then last Monday during our match against Proctor, he was tasked with playing against Proctor’s number two player. He jumped on the tennis court full of confidence and dominated the game from beginning to end. His effort on the court allowed the team to secure another victorious day. He was cheered by his teammates and coaches enthusiastically after winning his match point. Well done, Enrique!

Liam Murphy ’22 - Varsity Baseball

Liam has been a steadfast leader on the Varsity Baseball Team this spring. Even though he cannot throw because of an injury, he has contributed tremendously to the positive team culture and camaraderie. In addition, Liam has been a significant influence on the underclassmen and is a tremendously passionate player.

Other Sub-Varsity Nominations 

Elan Abramson ’23 - Thirds Lacrosse

Elan has made steady improvements in effort, focus, and execution in the last two weeks. He has quietly become our top-scoring attackman with goals in three out of four games. His poise in front of the net is excellent, and he is impressive when finishing. He has also shown solid toughness when riding and battling d-poles for loose balls. Perhaps a hat trick is in his future!

Xinyuan “Clark” Hu, ’23 - Thirds Tennis
 
Clark is our Athlete of the Week. He was upbeat and invested great energy at practice this week, and his shotmaking and physical strength have impressed his teammates and coaches. He also won his doubles match against Eaglebrook School on Saturday. He is patient and efficient, hitting shots from the baseline and forcing his opponents to make mistakes.

Kaiyang “Stephen” Chen ’23 - JV Tennis 

Stephen has really upped the ante the past few weeks on the court. "The Chen Master" and his very powerful forehand shot have wreaked havoc against his opponents, and he has scored many big wins in recent weeks. He works his sorcery on his opponents with his strong mental game and his ferocious attack. He embraces the "Team First" attitude and has been very vocal and supportive of his fellow Cardigan brothers. He continues to work very hard both in the classroom and on the courts, and that is why we feel Stephen should be Cardigan’s Sub-Varsity Athlete of the Week. 

Dekun “Benson” Lu ’25 - Reserves Tennis

In addition to always following instructions and giving his best effort, Benson has emerged as a tour de force on the team, having vastly increased the speed and accuracy of his serve in just a few days. He is now a coveted opponent in the seeding matches for our upcoming inter-team tournament.

Channing Rice ’24 - Rock Climbing 
 
Channing has a palpable passion for climbing and always comes to practice with a smile on his face and a "ready to send" mindset. He has demonstrated his commitment to improving his skills throughout the season, which is evident through his myriad attempts at increasingly complex bouldering problems/top rope routes. He has genuinely impressed the coaching staff with his growth in the sport, and we believe he should be a Student-Athlete of the Week.

Yuehan “John” Liu ’23 - JV Baseball

John has continued to be one of the most improved players on the team, as his latest pitching outing against Claremont showed. He had an 11-pitch first inning, which is by far the best inning on the team this season. He continued throwing strikes as the teams remained tied through two innings. Though a little bad luck hurt John’s efforts at helping his teammates win their first game of the season, his solid pitching performance was the highlight of the game.

Pavel Milone ’25 - Fourths Lacrosse 

Pavel has steadily been improving this year. He is a dominant force in the midfield, regularly winning faceoffs and constantly being one of the leading goal scorers on the team. Pavel has worked to improve his behavior as a teammate and is without a doubt one of the biggest reasons for all of our success this season.  

Kai Mansharamani ’25 - Thirds Baseball

Kai is a great asset to our team, and in a very diverse group, he is the glue that keeps our troops together. Even though he is younger, he is able to federate our boys and make sure that practices run smoothly! He has been developing as a second baseman, and it is nice to see his love for the game. He is an excellent teammate, displays great sportsmanship, and is very coachable. We are quite proud of this Cougar. For these reasons, Kai deserves our nomination.

Chak Shing “​​William” Li ’23 - Fourths Tennis 

William has been a coachable, positive, and hard working teammate all season. He also demonstrated remarkable effort and patience at the JV Lakes Region Invitational Tournament.