The Lions Club hosted a celebratory luncheon on Wednesday, June 12, to honor nine of Rye’s best varsity athletes from the entire 2023-2024 academic and athletic year. Each of the young men and women (seen in the above photograph) were named the school’s “Athlete of the Month” over the course of the past school year, earning an invitation to the luncheon.
Also at the luncheon, the Lions Club announced field hockey and lacrosse star Lilly Whaling as the recipient of the club’s Athlete of the Year Award for 2023 – 2024. Whaling was an All-State, All-Section, and All-League caliber field hockey player during the fall season, and shined even brighter during the spring lacrosse season. The senior racked up 54 goals and 12 assists for 66 points, while helping lead Rye to the State Championship Game. The Cornell Women’s Lax commit was nothing short of brilliant in both sports across her senior year.
The monthly winners over the past year:
September: Lilly Whaling – field hockey (selected by coach Theresa Jelalian)
October: Maddy Walsh – soccer (selected by coach Rich Savage)
November: AJ Miller – football (selected by coach Dino Garr)
December: Tommy Anderson – wrestling (selected by coach Brian Scher)
January: Mali White – track (selected by coach Kevin Murphy)
February: William Squarek – track (selected by coach Blair Moynahan)
March: Jack Acciavatti – rugby (selected by coach Jim O’Hara)
April: Paige Vanneck – lacrosse (selected by coach Michelle Mason)
May: Shepherd Griffiths – baseball (selected by coach Michael Bruno)
