Athlete of the Week: Maggie Mullins

Mullins won the 2-Mile race in a dramatic Andover win over Central.

Maggie Mullins, an Andover High senior, has been a remarkable runner for the Warriors since her career began four years ago. On Wednesday afternoon, Mullins added to her legacy as one of the school’s brightest track stars when she won the 2-Mile race in a time of 11:20.5. Andover won Wednesday’s meet 44-42 thanks to Mullins’ win and a win by the 4x400 relay team that sealed the deal as the Warriors sent home their rivals empty handed. Mullins was also a winner back on Dec. 21 when the Warriors took on Haverhill. In a blowout, 67-19 win, Mullins won the 2-Mile in a time of 11:36.6. This senior certainly did not get sluggish over the holidays; she improved her time by over 16 seconds. Mullins and the Warriors will have a big meet against …

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Athlete of the Week: Sam Dowden

Dowden and the Warriors are 3-0 after a tumultuous off season.

Despite a less than ideal off season, Dowden and the Warriors are rolling out of the gate in 2011-12. Dowden has scored 15, 25, and 15 points in Andover's three games this year. All three were wins over Methuen, Haverhill, and Lincoln-Sudbury. Sam is a junior who is now assuming a leadership role on the team after the Warriors lost one of their best players in history, Joe Bramanti, to graduation. Dowden, a forward, stands tall at 6-feet, 4-inches. His role as the team's big man includes copious rebounding and strong offensive moves in the paint. Andover will play tonight at Lawrence High School in the Greater Lawrence Christmas Tournament against Pinkerton Academy. 

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Athlete of the Week: Liam Centrella

Centrella scored in Andover's season opener as the Warriors won 3-0.

The Warriors took the ice on Wednesday night in their first regular season game of 2011-12. Liam Centrella was the first Warrior to put the biscuit in the basket for Andover this season. The Warriors won 3-0.  As a sophomore, Centrella did not see much playing time.  Centrella is looking forward to a strong senior season after being a leading point-scorer for his squad as a junior. He was tied for third on the team with 9 goals last season. He was second on the team in points with 24, earning him a spot on the team's top line.  Andover's win on Wednesday provided a nice debut for new head coach Mike Ciarletta.  Centrella, Ciarletta, and the Warriors return to action on Wednesday night at home against Waltham. 

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Athlete of the Week: Meagan Keefe

One of the state's best field hockey players has a pair of state championships and a senior season still to play.

For the second time this season, Meagan Keefe is Andover’s Athlete of the Week. This time it is for her overall effort on the Warriors field hockey team that recently won its second consecutive state championship. Keefe and the Warriors have not lost since 2009. This season she was by far the team’s leading scorer. Meagan scored in all but five of Andover’s 24 games in 2011. She had nine multi-goal games including four hat tricks. Keefe assisted on Andover’s final goal of the season which was scored by Julia LeBlanc. The goal was the only one scored in the state championship game against Longmeadow High. After Andover’s 1-0 win, the Warriors hoisted the title once again.

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Athlete of the Week: Joanna Robie

This Andover native and Newbury College softball star received a national honor recently.

Andover's own Joanna Robie was recently awarded the 2011 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America Scholar-Athlete award. Robie was honored for her dedicated both on the field and in the classroom at Newbury College. She and teammate Samantha Rios were the only two out of 4,339 student athletes across the country to be selected for the award. The athletes considered represented a total of 707 academic institutions. The criteria for winning the award includes a GPA of 3.5 or higher. On the field, Robie pitches and plays first base. She led her team with a batting average of .430. She had a .591 slugging percentage and 26 RBIs last spring.

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Athlete of the Week

Athlete of the Week: Will Heikkinen

The junior wide receiver is quarterback C.J. Scarpa's go-to target.

Andover High School’s junior wide receiver Will Heikkinen is this week’s Athlete of the Week having scored eight touchdowns in six games this season. Amazingly, Heikkinen has scored a touchdown in every single game this season including two in the season opener against North Andover and  two in a game against Haverhill three weeks ago. The junior is having a breakout season partially thanks to the Warriors’ new quarterback, C.J. Scarpa, who has been able to find the big wideout consistently. Heikkinen’s biggest game this season came against Haverhill on Sept. 30. He made seven catches for a total of 151 yards including two second quarter touchdowns (see videos above). His longest touchdown pass this season came last week in a tough loss …

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Athlete of the Week: Gabby Cappello

Tri-Captain Cappello and the girls soccer team are undefeated in 2011.

Gabby Cappello made the varsity team as a freshman and never looked back.  After the team finished at the .500 level last season, Cappello and the Warriors are undefeated throughout the 2011 season.  The Warriors are currently 7-0-2 and have outscored opponents 24-1. Cappello scored a hat trick in Andover's latest win, a 9-0 route of Methuen on Tuesday night.  The senior has five goals and two assists this season.  See her and her team in action next on Saturday night. The Warriors will host Lowell at 7 p.m. 

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Athlete of the Week

Athlete of the Week: Mark Zavrl

The 6' 1'' junior kicked two field goals to help Andover football improve to 2-0.

Against Gloucester on Friday, Mark Zavrl kicked a field goal that most high school kickers would never get the opportunity to take.  The 6' 1'' junior, also a tight end and linebacker, hit first half field goals from 28 and 45 yards to help Andover beat Gloucester 33-16. "Zavrl was tremendous, " said his coach E.J. Perry after the win that helped Andover pick up its second straight victory. The second of Zavrl's two field goals went from 45 yards and put a damper on Gloucester's spirits after the Fishermen put forth a respectable first half effort.  Andover's drive stalled out on the Gloucester 28 yard line with only a few seconds left in the first half and Perry called upon Zavrl who delivered in giving Andover a 19-8 lead as time expired…

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Athlete of the Week: Anne Farnham

Farnham and the Warriors field hockey team are 2-0 this season.

Anne Farnham, a key component of last year's Division 1 state championship winning team, is this week's athlete of the week. Farnham scored a pair of goals on Wednesday to lead Andover over Methuen in a 6-0 victory.  So far through two games, Farnham and the Warriors have yet to give up a goal and have outscored their opponents (Tewksbury and Methuen) 11-0.  The field hockey Warriors play at Lawrence on Tuesday afternoon as they continue their journey towards another state title. 

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Athlete of the Week

Athlete of the Week: Meagan Keefe

This three-sport athlete is a junior and already has a state championship under her belt going into the field hockey season.

Though she is pictured above in hockey attire, this week's Athlete of the Week is Meagan Keefe for her role on the Andover High School field hockey team, whose regular season starts on Sept. 12. The squad won 24 games in a row without losing once en route to a Division 1 state championship last year. They picked up their 25th straight win if you count yesterday's 2-0 preseason win over North Andover. Keefe scored the first goal of the game early in the second period yesterday afternoon to open the scoresheet on the 2011 season. Come winter, Keefe will be a major contributor as a junior on the AHS hockey team. The promise she has shown in the past two years certainly indicate a bright future for the young, multi-talented athlete.  In the …

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