After each high school sports season, Sports Editor Ben Conant selects the top athletes and hands out the seasonal awards. Here are the best of fall.
BEST MALE ATHLETE: Isaac Bacon, ConVal football
Isaac Bacon did it all for the ConVal football team. The long-armed receiver with incredible ups racked up a division-leading 804 yards to go with his 11 TDs. On defense, he translated those receiver skills to cornerback. And, he even punted and kicked for CV, giving the Cougars an extra edge on special teams that many opponents couldn’t match. The senior wrapped up his high school career by throwing a TD of his own to quarterback Dan Spezzaferri on the final play.
BEST FEMALE ATHLETE: Shannon Agonis, Mascenic girls’ volleyball
Sophomore Shannon Agonis is a force of nature that will be rampaging over DIII opponents for years to come. Part of Mascenic’s vaunted duo of middle hitters, along with Meagan Brand, Agonis is dominant at the net, using a superior leaping ability to play higher than almost anyone the Vikings take on. A year-round volleyballer, Agonis keeps getting better and better, and her next two seasons will likely be something to behold.
BEST TEAM: ConVal boys’ soccer
The 2016 ConVal boys’ soccer team will go down in history as one of the best the Cougars have ever fielded. The 16-2 overall record is the finest in program history, as is the 15-1 regular season mark. ConVal took an 11-game winning streak into the playoffs, knocking off No. 1 Windham along the way. And though the senior class saw their careers end too early with a 1-0 playoff loss to Goffstown, the junior class is formidable and should form a solid core next year.
Jake Movsessian, Mascenic cross-country
Movsessian was Mascenic’s top runner coming into the season, and he lived up to it, making it all the way to a top-100 finish at the New England Championships this weekend.
First-year head coach Carlos Fuertes sure figured out how to use Banish this year. The forward nearly doubled her goal output as the Orioles surged in the standings.
Claire Van Houten, Conant cross-country
Van Houten doesn’t get all the headlines in the cross-country world, but the senior has steadily improved, and she was rewarded with a much-deserved spot in the Meet of Champions this year, where she placed 121st.
Paul Landau,
ConVal football
Landau and the Cougars tied the school record for wins in a season, with six, as ConVal had a year to remember. When they were down, Landau picked them back up, and when they were up, they soared to unforeseen heights.
Dylan Coyne, ConVal unified soccer
No soccer player scored more than Dylan Coyne, who totaled nearly as many goals (41) as the top girl and boy in the area — combined (42). Safe to say he played a big part in ConVal’s undefeated regular season, in just their second year.