Athletes of the Week for September 21, 2024

Congratulations to Lyric Raysor ’25 and Benson Lu ’25 for earning 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.

Varsity Student-Athlete of the Week 

Lyric Raysor ’25 - Varsity Football

In his second year on the team, Lyric has emerged as a strong leader. He helps the team complete warm-ups, competes to the best of his ability, and assists in improving his teammates. He continues to push himself and those around him. The coaches are proud of his work and are excited to continue working with him for the rest of the season.

Sub-Varsity Student-Athlete of theWeek

Benson Lu ’25 - JV Soccer

Benson was a rock for the JV Soccer Team during the opening weeks of the season. His steadfast and silent confidence in the back proved invaluable as we started our season in short games against Holderness, New Hampton, and KUA. In our first official game of the season, he played every minute of the match and frequently cleared the ball from our defensive end. 

Other Varsity Nominations 

Riley Caples ’25 - Varsity Cross Country

Riley had a great week of running on the Varsity Cross Country Team. He has been a positive presence, giving 100% effort and supporting his teammates. He completed his first race as part of the team on Wednesday at Holderness School and ran the challenging 5km course in 23:29. Well done, Riley!

William Ahn ’25 - Varsity Soccer

Will is a new member of the team this year, rising to the varsity level after a solid season on the JV team last year. He is a fast, talented striker who challenges opponents with his aggressive play and superior speed. He also has a hammer of a shot and a good understanding of the flow of play. This week, he scored three goals and assisted on another in our first three games of the season. His attitude is excellent and his enthusiasm for the game and his team is wonderful. We hope this is the beginning of a profitable season for him as one of our standout forwards. 

Quinn Carbone ’26 - Varsity Mountain Biking

Steady progress in skills, tactics, and endurance helped Quinn Carbone earn our first Athlete of the Week award. He was also superb in the team’s first two races as the top Cardigan rider in the C class at the NNEMTB race at Proctor. Quinn finished 25th in a field of 176 high school-aged riders! He also showed grit in the VTYC enduro held at Mt. Peg. 

Other Sub-Varsity Nominations 

Charlie Costello ’26 - CORE

Charlie is this week’s Student Athlete of the Week for CORE. He has been demonstrating leadership qualities since joining the team. Although he has a quiet presence, he still leads with conviction and confidence. His comments and reflections often show a deep understanding of the outdoors, and he has a wonderful way of coaxing the best performances from his teammates. Keep up the good work, Charlie.

Max Jin ’27 - Thirds Mountain Biking

Max has been a positive presence on the trails, demonstrating excellent technical skills and a calm attitude. He has also been a dynamic teammate, able to lead the pack or help a Cardigan brother further back who might need some extra encouragement. His bike handling skills and focused approach to terrain has also been a great model to his peers; we can count on him to demo a feature anytime.

Zackary De Pretis ’26 - JV Mountain Biking 

Zackary has quickly ascended the ranks of our mountain biking program since joining the team this fall. He is a beloved member of our team and has a positive impact on the boys around him. He works hard and is focused on improving his skills. 

Wilson Yu ’25 - JV Cross Country

Wilson has been modeling incredible enthusiasm, positivity, and commitment to the team this past week. In our first meet of the season, hosted by Indian River School, he placed fourth overall in the 3-kilometer race. His time of 14:58 helped us place second as a team. Way to go, Wilson!

Kayden Im ’27 - Reserve Soccer

Kayden is a positive force on the Reserve Soccer Team and brings a competitive spirit that motivates his teammates each and every practice. 

Zac Petrini ’26 - Fourths Soccer

Zac has been a natural leader during practices and team meetings. His optimism and love for the sport are contagious amongst his peers, and he has been a tremendous asset to the team. Great job, Zac. Keep it up!

Mike Liu ’27 - JV Football

This is Mike’s first year playing football. He has adjusted well to the practices and has been working hard.

Caleb Clough ’26 - Rowing

Caleb has shown a great deal of courage in trying a brand new sport while competing at a high level. He also always helps with setting up and cleaning equipment.

Santiago Arambula Almada ’26 - Thirds Soccer

Santi played his heart out for the Thirds Soccer Team during a jamboree this past week against tough and strong opponents. When the defense was struggling, he even offered to give up his spot on offense to be switched back to help out, fighting hard to contain the offensive runs of a much larger New Hampton squad. In the rest of the games, though we lost by high margins, Santi never gave up and did his very best to keep the ball in Cougar possession, willingly playing any position that we needed and talking to his teammates to support them. Way to go, Santi!

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Athletics Program at Cardigan

Known as the Cougars, Cardigan athletic teams foster sportsmanship, teamwork, and School pride. We support multiple teams in 17 sports to meet the interests and develop the skills of all Cardigan student-athletes. Every boy has the opportunity to play, learn, and have fun.

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