Scott leaves mark on three sports
FCIAC Semifinals, varsity soccer. Time was withering away with five minutes left in the first half. The game, tied 0-0, was a crucial one for Staples—go big or go home—and one of their leaders, Mikey Scott ’11, was deemed unfit to play after receiving 35 stitches in his forehead after a severe collision with a teammate in practice.

It looked hopeless. Scott was one of the biggest contributing factors to the Wreckers’ success, and he was on the bench. The doctors warned that any contact to his stitches would cause them to instantly reopen.

But that didn’t stop him.

Scott had suited up for the game anyway, hoping that maybe he could do something, anything, to help the team.

“Sure enough, with 30 seconds remaining on the clock, I took a throw in and Frankie Bergonzi ’11 was able to score off it to give us a 1-0 lead,” Scott said. “Although I didn’t play the rest of the game, that moment was a huge momentum swing and we went on to win 2-0.”

With that big swing of morale, the Wreckers blazed through the rest of their FCIAC postseason, repeating for the third time in a row as FCIAC champions.

“This FCIAC championship was different from years past,” Scott said. “Winning it as a senior leaves a fantastic lasting impression of my soccer career at Staples. I’m just thankful to be a part of the Staples soccer dynasty.”

And Staples soccer is thankful to have Mikey Scott. Head coach Dan Woog says Scott is “a great young man.”

“More than just about anyone, Mikey was able to maximize his strengths and negate his weaknesses,” Woog said. “In the process—thanks to his always-positive personality—he brought everyone together.”

After his soccer season, Scott competed in his final ski season with Staples, and under the new coaching of Courtney Ruggiero he was satisfied with his last year.

The ski team qualified for the State Open race and finished with a record good for third in the division. Scott was third on the team and finished as high as ninth overall in a race during the regular season.

However, maybe the most prestigious honor of all, Scott was named one of the senior captains.

“It is a great honor to be recognized as a leader of your team and named a captain,” Scott said. “But how you lead your team to success is much more significant.”

While both soccer and skiing were great seasons for Scott, none of his individual seasons this year were as impressive as baseball. In a season that the majority of high-school ballplayers dream of having, Scott batted .509 with 20 RBIs, and threw in 10 stolen bases for good measure.

“I was playing for a state title and my own personal pride,” Scott said. “I wasn’t trying to impress any college scouts or pad stats for postseason accolades, and honestly that’s why this season felt so special to me.”

The state title unfortunately didn’t come to being, but he did help lead the team to an FCIAC championship. And, although he wasn’t trying to rack up any post-season accolades, he couldn’t help it: he was named to the class LL All-State team.

However, with all the success and impacts he has made on his teams, he still remains humble.

“I would like to thank all of my coaches I have had at Staples,” Scott said. “Not just my varsity coaches, but my freshman and JV coaches, too. And of course I want to thank all of my teammates I have played alongside with over the years. I couldn’t be happier with the group of friends I made through sports and plan to keep those bonds forever.”

Hussey’s training leads to excellence
One of the most commonly doled pieces of advice in the sports world is to have a good off-season.

For baseball, maybe take a few swings in the cage. For football, maybe keep lifting and go to the gym.

But, for Kelley Hussey ’11, a good off-season was not in her plan.

She wasn’t going to have productive jogs or tedious stints at the gym. No, none of those things.

She wasn’t going to have a good off-season. She was going to have a great off-season.

“To make sure I would have my best athletic year, I worked hard in each off-season, working out to make sure I was in the best shape for the regular season,” Hussey said.

“I played a lot of lacrosse in the winter with the team and ran all through fall.”

This, Hussey claims, was the key to her ultimate success this year—as she was able to build off of a dynamic off-season to have one of the best seasons of her career at Staples.

She dropped her three-year fall sport, field hockey, to work on lacrosse and running, which she said was very beneficial.

She ran all off-season and worked on several lacrosse drills en route to a strong regular season.

For track, she was named a captain of the girls’ side in a year where she was trying to focus on running for college. Additionally, she qualified to run for the 60-meter dash at the Armory in New York for nationals.

“The moment that defined my track season was definitely getting to run for nationals,” Hussey said.

 “I had gone to watch a college track meet there the week before so it was really cool to get to run where the collegiate athletes compete.”

According to Hussey, this was her best ever year for running, due to not only the off-season work but also the motivation to get specific times to get into the colleges she wanted to.

Hussey teamed up with three other runners to win gold at the FCIAC championship in the 4×200, and in the FCIAC western division championships earned herself a gold in the 50 and combined with the same three girls as in the championships to win the gold for the 4×240.

 Additionally, Hussey was named to the first All-FCIAC team for track and field.

Head coach Jesse McCray couldn’t be happier.

“She has a great personality, and she is a true leader,” McCray said.

“It’s great to see her finally able to get to the level of the other girls and she’s done well.”

According to McCray, Hussey’s a main cog in the collection of runners that broke 23 school records in a four-year run.

“She’s part of a very special group,” McCray said.

“I want her to be proud of what she’s done over these years here.”

Hussey also played on the girls’ lacrosse team, and was, like track, named captain of the sport.

“This has been the best lacrosse season I have been a part of,” Hussey said. “The intensity on the lacrosse team this year was different since we did so well. We beat teams that we have gotten killed by in the past, which is very exciting.”

Although she’s so accomplished in the sports, what she will remember about her career isn’t all of the titles and awards.

“I want to remember the friends I’ve made,” Hussey said, “and the fun I’ve had on each team.”