Send ‘Em To Sochi
Thursday, January 30, 2014
The athletes are Kacey Bellamy, Meghan Duggan, Michelle Picard, Alex Carpenter and Molly Schaus in women's ice hockey, John Carlson in men's hockey, Emily Cook and Annalisa Drew in women's freestyle skiing, Steve Langton in men's bobsled and Simon Shnapir in figure skating. To make sure fans can cheer on their fellow Bay Stater's, let's get better acquainted with the athletes.
Alex Carpenter:
Carpenter is a 19 year-old native of North Reading. The left hander attended high school at Governors Academy in Byfield, Mass. During her time at Governors Academy, Carpenter scored 427 career points off of 239 goals and 188 assists in just 100 games. She was named the Independent School League MVP in both her Junior and Senior seasons while leading her team to four consecutive New England Division II championships. She is currently attending Boston College where she has become one of the best young stars in the country. During her Freshman season, Carpenter was named unanimously to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team after scoring 21 goals and dishing out 18 assists, totaling 39 points. Carpenter's Sophomore was even better for the Eagles, as she was named unanimously to the First Team Hockey East All Star team while also being named the New England Division I Player of the Year by winning the Turfer Athletic Hockey East scoring title with 70 points. The 70 points set a Boston College single-season record. Carpenter also set a Hockey East record by recording a 24-game point streak. This will be her first Olympic Games.
Annalisa Drew:
Drew is a 20 year-old native of Andover who will be competing in Freestyle Skiing in Sochi. She currently skis for the Ski & Snowboard Club Vail where she competes in both half pipe and slope style competitions, a rare combination in the skiing world. Drew is most well known for being the first woman to ever attempt a 1260 in open competition during the 2013 Winter X-Games in both Aspen and Tignes.
Drew got her start on the mountain at the young age of three at nearby Loon Mountain.
Emily Cook:
Cook will be competing in her third olympics in 2014. The Belmont native is a six-time United States champion, including finishing 1st in the U.S. in 2013. Cook also finished second in the world during her 2013 campaign. Cook has also won two FIS World Cups in Moscow, making her the only U.S. women's skier to have tasted gold in Russia before the Sochi games.
John Carlson:
Carlson is a 24 year-old native of Natick, although he spent most of his life growing up in Colonia, New Jersey. Carlson was selected 27th overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals. The 6-foot 3-inch right handed defenseman has 18 points on the season on nine goals and nine assists. The Sochi Olympics will be Carlson's second international competition, after he competed in the World Junior Championships in 2009-2010, scoring four goals and adding three assists.
Kacey Bellamy:
Bellamy is a 26 year-old Westfield native who will be competing in her second Olympic Games as a defenseman the U.S. Women's National Team. Bellamy attended the Berkshire School where she was named the co-MVP of the New England Perp School Athletic Council for Division I. She totaled 110 career points, finishing with 30 goals and 80 assists. She went to college at the University of New hampshire, where she graduated in 2009. She ranks third in all-time points by a defenseman at UNH with 107 career points. In 2009 she was named one of the top-three players on team USA, earning her a spot on the 2010 olympic team.
Meghan Duggan:
Duggan is a 26 year-old Danvers native who will be playing in her second Olympic Games, serving as the caption of the U.S. Women's National Team in Sochi. Duggan attended Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Mass. where she earned the honor of being the school's top female athlete three years in a row. From Cushing Academy, Duggan went to the University of Wisconsin where she accumulated 151 points. Duggan also has excelled in international play, especially the Olympics, scoring four goals in the 2010 Games.
Michelle Picard:
Picard is yet another young star on the Women's National team at only 20 years-old. The left handed defenseman is currently attending Harvard University. She has competed in three competitions for the U.S. and won gold in two of them.
Molly Schaus:
Schaus is not native to Massachusetts, but the 25 year-old goalie played her high school hockey at Deerfield Academy and Assabet Valley school while living in Natick. Her family still lives in Natick and Schaus attended Boston College where she helped the Eagles win three Beanpot Tournaments, being awarded the Bertagna Goaltending Award all three times she won the tournament. In her Senior season, Schaus was named a first-team All-American by the American Hockey Coaches Association. Schaus will be competing in her second Olympics, but she did not start in the Gold Medal game in the 2010 Games.
Steve Langton:
Langton is a 30 year-old native of Melrose that will be competing in his second Olympics. His story is an interesting one, as Langton was a sprinter and jumper on Northeastern University's track team. He watched the 2006 Olympics and decided to fill out an athlete resume online before earning a spot on the U.S. team, according to his official biography on the U.S. Olympic team's page. Since then Langton has helped push to two world championships in Lake Placid, New York as well as a 10th place finish at the 2010 Olympics.
Simon Shnapir:
Shnapir is a 26 year-old native of Moscow, Russia but emigrated to Sudbury when he was just one year-old. He is a pairs skater who has trained his entire career in Boston. He and partner Marissa Castelli have won each of the previous two U.S. Championships, qualifying them for the Sochi games.
As the athletes head to Sochi for a chance at glory, the United States will follow them all. And while we will be cheering for all of them, the cheer will be a bit louder for those form our state.
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