Monomoy Celebrates Senior Athletes’ College Commitments

A historic accomplishment deserves a special celebration.

That’s exactly what Monomoy Regional High School had for its 13 senior student-athletes who are planning to continue their sports careers at the next level. Monomoy celebrated the group Thursday morning during a signing ceremony held in the school cafeteria.

“It’s really special because a lot of us grew up together for so long and we played sports together or by each other’s side,” said Emma Burnie, a Harwich resident who will head to Bridgewater State for lacrosse. “It’s really special for us to get to do this together. It’s never been done before — everyone signing together.”

In past years, the school has recognized seniors’ commitments separately during individual signing ceremonies throughout the year. This year, Monomoy athletic director Karen Guillemette decided to hold one ceremony for all the seniors, a decision she said she hopes will become an annual tradition.

It was fitting for this year’s class, which had more commitments than ever before.

Seven of the athletes will play lacrosse at the next level, including two girls — Karah Deveau and Susannah Brown — who will play two sports. Deveau is set to play lacrosse and soccer at Mass Maritime, while Brown will play lacrosse and field hockey at Johnson and Wales.

“I knew I wanted to play field hockey from the moment I started playing,” said Brown, a Harwich resident. “I committed for that back in October, then I reached out to the lacrosse coach and decided to commit to that as well, but I didn’t start playing lacrosse until sophomore year.”

Ana Alexander is committed to play women’s lacrosse at the University of St. Joseph, while Braeden Darling (UMass Boston), Christian Whittle (Dean College) and Max Barrett (University of New England) will play men’s lacrosse.

Ciarra Terry (Rivier University) and Karlie Monteiro (Salve Regina) are both set to play women’s soccer, and Tatiana Malone is signed to play women’s tennis at UMass Boston. On the gridiron, Harrison Aristhomene (Bridgton Academy), Quinn Connors (Norwich University) and Reign Stephens (Dean College) will all continue their football careers at the next level.

“I’m incredibly excited,” said Monomoy football coach Rob Sliney. “I think all three of the guys that signed today are up to the task of accepting that responsibility to go to the next level. They all have a good work ethic, they all want to be there and I think that’s going to lead to success for all three of them.”

Thursday’s ceremony began with comments from Guillemette as well as keynote speaker Emma Mawn, a 2018 Monomoy graduate who went on to play field hockey at Stonehill and now serves as Nichols College’s field hockey coach.

“Today is a celebration of your hard work, dedication and all those early mornings and late nights. Cherish it,” Mawn told the seniors. “Moving forward, remember that time flies by. Everyone says it but no one believes it. These next few years will go by faster than you’ll imagine — make the most of every practice, every game and every opportunity.”

While the ceremony was the perfect way to honor each of the seniors individually for their hard work, it also served as a reminder of just how important the athletes are to each other.

“I went to D-Y for one year and it was cool there, but Monomoy felt more like home to me,” said Aristhomene. “Playing with these guys and being coached by coach Sliney and coach Turner and coach Wiz and all of the coaches — I love them so much and they played a big role in helping me get to where I am.”