Six high school sports takeways, starting with the last two Gatorade award winners

Despite entering July, the slowest month of the high school sports calendar, there’s still plenty of happenings to track.

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We’re hard at work on producing our All-Scholastics special section, recognizing the top athletes from the spring season. It will publish online on Friday, July 10, and will be in the Sunday, July 12, print edition.

We’re still going strong with Varsity News, your free, weekly high school sports email, and you can sign up to receive tonight’s edition, which delivers the 26 numbers to know from the 2025-26 school year.

And now, as Haverhill native Jordan Harris inks a one-year deal to return to the Bruins, we move onto the news:

The final two Gatorade Athlete of the Year honors were unveiled this week, with Cohasset junior Nicholas Askjaer and Westford senior Abby Hennessy taking home the top track and field honors.

Askjaer, a 6-foot-1-inch junior, won a New Balance national outdoor title in the shot put with a throw of 64 feet, 1 inch, and placed fifth in the nation in the discus. He won state titles in both events and was New England champion in the shot put.

“Askjaer was by far the state’s most engaging athlete to watch [this season],” said Xaverian coach Bill Foley. “He was absolutely dominant in the shot put and discus this year. Resilient and competitive, he’s definitely worthy of the award.”

Hennessy claimed her third Gatorade honor, to go with 2025 track and 2025 cross-country awards. The Washington-bound senior won the Division 2 two-mile crown and the Meet of Champions mile title before finishing second at nationals in the mile.

“I’m honestly not sure there’s any other [prep girl] truly on her level,” said Westborough coach Matt Wilson. “If she entered a race this spring, she was winning it. If I were putting a list together for the state, it’s Abigail Hennessy, then a big tier-drop to the next group.”

▪ After earning Gatorade Softball Player of the Year honors for Massachusetts, Taunton softball star Bella Bourque announced a change in her collegiate plans. Previously committed to South Carolina, the shortstop, who also plays for the Rhode Island Thunder, has flipped to Virginia.

“I am extremely grateful and excited,” she wrote on social media. Bourque hit .586 with 51 hits, 40 RBIs, 50 runs, and 14 stolen bases to lead the Tigers to their sixth consecutive Division 1 title.

▪ Central Catholic junior Chloe Salerno, the Merrimack Valley Conference’s MVP, announced her committment to play softball at Bentley. The pitcher/infielder batted .590 with 51 hits and RBIs, leading the Raiders to a 22-1 record. She also went 16-1 in the circle with 129 strikeouts.

▪ Tabor sophomore Mike Landers, a Duxbury resident, has committed to play football at Boston College. The 6-3, 210-pound defensive back was rated as a three-star recruit by 247Sports and joins Seawolves teammate Dominic Maser as BC commits.

▪ Haverhill graduate Matthew Harrold, a New England wrestling champion at 215 pounds, has committed to wrestle at Cowley College in Kansas at 197 or 285 pounds (215 does not exist at the college level). He finished his high school career with a 204-22 record and as a two-time All-State champion.

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▪ Catholic Memorial has promoted Jephte Soulouque to director of athletics. The school’s head trainer since 2018, Soulouque will also serve as the school’s head of performance. In 2024, he was named Massachusetts Athletic Trainer of the Year.

“In his new role, he brings a student-centered vision, operational excellence, and a deep commitment to the formation of young men through athletics,” the school wrote on social media.

▪ Bristol-Plymouth has named Matt Grenon as its new athletic director, succeeding Mark Lebedawho stepped down after five years to take over as the AD at Westborough. Grenon, a Bishop Stang graduate, coaches the Craftsman baseball team and has served as a behavior interventionist at the school for four years.

▪ Marblehead girls’ tennis coach Tracy Ackerman announced her retirement after 10 seasons, 126 wins, and nine tournament berths. The Magicians (12-7 this spring) won the Northeastern Conference Dunn division. JV coach Lu Ann Gabel is also retiring after 10 seasons.

▪ Former BB&N offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, a Phillips Andover graduate, was promoted to assistant head coach of the Jaguars under Liam Coen. Waldron, who coached the Knights from 2011-12, served as Jacksonville’s passing game coordinator last year after spending 2024 as the Bears’ offensive coordinator.

Franklin High graduate Austin Campbell announced he is entering the portal with three seasons of eligibility remaining. Campbell, a 6-foot, 195-pound lefthander who can throw 91 miles per hour, spent one year at UMass and one at Southern New Hampshire. He made three appearances for SNHU in 2026, walking three, striking out two, and allowing two runs on one hit. He appeared in five games for UMass in 2025, finishing with a 6.35 ERA in 5⅔ innings with seven strikeouts and seven walks. He’s pitching for the Worcester Bravehearts this summer in the NECBL.

Catholic Memorial lost one of its own in former athletic director Alex Campea, who died peacefully June 22 at age 72.

Campea, who coached the CM baseball team to more than 200 wins, 10 MIAA tournament appearances, and three Catholic Conference championships, was inducted into the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2014.

He graduated from Malden High and played on the 1975 Boston State College (now UMass Boston) Hall of Fame football team. He coached football at Christopher Columbus High, UMass Boston, Bridgewater State, and Oliver Ames, and served as head coach at CM.

▪ Northfield Mount Hermon graduates Lucas and Cesar Alvan, brothers from Ludlow, both won Brazilian national titles in wrestling last weekend. They will now represent Brazil at the world championships Oct. 24 to Nov. 1 in Kazakhstan.

▪ The 11th annual BostonLax All-American game is slated for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 7, at Xaverian. Tickets are $10 at the gate, with all proceeds going to the Ryan Kilian Foundation.

This year, instead of pitting the MIAA and ISL stars against each other, both teams have a mix of players from both leagues. Check out the rosters:

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