Where Are They Now: Fall Alumni Retrospective

By Jay Turner

The 2018 fall sports season gave Bulldog fans plenty of thrills and a whole lot to cheer about as CHS teams combined to win a whopping 67 percent of their games (74-35-7) while hoisting three new Hockomock championship banners and garnering 17 league all-star nods.

Mary McNeil received tournament MVP honors after leading Merrimack to its 1st ever NE-10 title. (Merrimack Athletics photo)

But it wasn’t just the current crop of CHS stars getting it done on the playing fields and courts this fall; several alumni also warrant mention for their accomplishments at the collegiate level during the past season.

Headlining this list is former three-sport standout Mary McNeil, who cemented her place among the all-time greats in Division II field hockey after a historic senior season with the Merrimack College Warriors. A team captain and four-year starter in the midfield, McNeil was named an NCAA First Team All-American following a career season in which she posted personal bests in goals (17) and assists (15) while leading Merrimack to its first ever Northeast-10 Conference championship and a trip to the NCAA tournament. She was also named the conference tournament MVP and finished her career as the school’s all-time leader in assists (43) and second all time in total points (125).

While the Warriors ultimately came up short against eventual national champion Shippensburg (PA), they still finished the campaign with a No. 3 national ranking and a school-record 18 wins. And it wasn’t just McNeil but two other Canton field hockey alumnae who contributed to the team’s success: junior forward Lindsay Nolte and freshman goalie Riley Brown. Nolte, a two-year starter, scored the Warriors’ lone goal in the NCAA tournament game and finished with the fourth most points on the team, while Brown recorded a pair of shutout victories in her two appearances as a starter.

The Canton connections also extended to the opposition as Merrimack squared off against two former Bulldogs in the NE-10 title game, including Andrea McNeil, Mary’s sister and the youngest in a long line of McNeil women to play college field hockey. A freshman midfielder, McNeil saw action in 22 games in a reserve role for the nationally ranked Hawks, who fell to Pace University in the NCAA tournament. Fellow CHS graduate Mary Nee, meanwhile, started every game for St. Anselm and was a key contributor, finishing with two goals and two assists on the season.

Also competing in the NE-10 this season was Jackie Martin, a senior defensive player for the Bentley University Falcons. A former three-sport captain at CHS, Martin played in 32 games over her four-year career and six this season for the 11-8 Falcons.

Stepping off the field hockey pitch and onto the gridiron, the Bulldogs had several players scattered across the New England college football circuit, led by 2015 graduate Sterlin Garvin, who enjoyed a breakout season as a senior running back for the Fitchburg State Falcons. Garvin, whose previous season high rushing total was 173 yards as a sophomore, exploded for 1,055 yards and 10 touchdowns while garnering All-MASCAC Second Team honors. In his final game in a Fitchburg State uniform, Garvin punctuated his career year by running for 296 yards — just three yards shy of the school record — and four touchdowns to lead the Falcons in a season-ending victory over UMass Dartmouth.

Sterlin Garvin with his Gold Helmet Award. (Fitchburg Athletics photo)

Several of Garvin’s former CHS teammates also contributed for their college programs this season, including Woanyen Mahn, a junior defensive back at Wesleyan University, Mac Brown, a junior running back at Dickinson College; and former Hockomock League MVP Jake Ragusa, a redshirt sophomore linebacker at Merrimack. In six games this season, Ragusa collected 27 tackles, including five for a loss, and also scored a touchdown off a strip sack in a 31-28 victory over St. Anselm. Younger brother Alec Ragusa also joined the squad this year as a freshman linebacker and is poised to be a contributor in future seasons.

In addition to the Ragusa brothers at Merrimack, Canton is also well represented on the Dean College football team with three local natives on the roster: freshman lineman Chris Benjamin, freshman defensive back Marquise Montes, and sophomore defensive back Tristan Cahill (Blue Hills Regional).

Another fall sport where the Bulldogs have an impressive college pedigree is women’s volleyball, and this year was no exception with several former CHS standouts making an impact for their teams. Among them was 2015 graduate Erin Proctor, who earned All-Commonwealth Coast Conference Third Team honors after guiding the Salve Regina Seahawks to a 21-9 record. Proctor, a senior setter, played in 27 matches this season and finished fourth in the conference in both assists (719) and service aces (47).

Also enjoying both individual and team success this fall was 2016 graduate Elizabeth Hamilton, a junior outside hitter for the Johnson & Wales Wildcats. Hamilton saw action in 25 matches, recording 36 kills and 89 digs for a powerhouse J&W team that went 33-2 and advanced all the way to the regional final of the NCAA Division 3 tournament.

Meanwhile, out in the Midwest, redshirt senior Avery Devoe capped off a productive career at Division 1 Ball State University with a strong performance in her final match, collecting three kills and a season-high attack percentage against Valparaiso in the first round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. Devoe saw action in five matches this season and 62 for her career, finishing with 190 kills, 115 total blocks, and 45 digs.

Another former Bulldog volleyball standout, Chidera Nwankwo, also wrapped up her career this fall after an outstanding four-year run at Suffolk University. A senior middle blocker, Nwankwo led the Rams to their first ever appearance in the GNAC semifinals and finished the year as the team leader in several statistical categories, including kills with 205 and solo blocks with 25.

Wrapping up this season’s edition of Where Are They Now is another top athlete from the CHS Class of 2015: soccer standout Hailee Duserick, who started all 20 games this season and 66 in her career for Division 1 Providence College. An anchor on the back line, Duserick was named to the Duke Nike Classic All-Tournament Team in September and played a leadership role on a Friars team that went 11-6-3 and advanced to the Big East semifinal.

Have a collegiate accomplishment to share? Send us an email at submissions@thecantoncitizen.com.

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