[metaslider id=9645]Charlotte Cole (senior, skiing)

Skiing is something I spend a lot of time doing. I train really, really hard for it. It’s really nice to see all that work pay off, especially when you’re training year round for a sport you can only do during one season.

Obi Obiora (senior, basketball)

It’s a huge honor for me to be named an All Star out of all the players in our league. It sort of validates all the hard work I put in during the offseason, and it also motivates me to keep playing hard because there is a standard that I believe Bay State All Stars are held to, and it makes me play harder because of that.”

Elijah Rogers (senior, basketball)

My goal to be a state champion and have my name in the records with the great ones fell short, but I helped my teammates get better and inspired the younger kids in the program coming up.

Jake Paul (senior, hockey)

It doesn’t mean too much really– just kind of something they tell you at the end of the season. It’s something that you’re proud of, but not something you think about much.”

Anya Gorodentsev (junior, track)

For me, being a Bay State All Star has always been a big deal, and I’m so honored to have that title. It was a great experience that took a lot of work to get there.

Justin Cox (senior, track)

It’s an honor and it’s more of a pride thing than anything else. It’s a mark for my accomplishments during track. Track gives me a chance to push myself, and that’s probably the best thing about it.

Jeffrey Santos (sophomore, track)

It means a lot. It means I’ve worked hard, and that next year I’ll do even better. Also, you get a cool plaque.

Yuvi Shatil (senior, wrestling)

It’s a combination of hard work over four years and recognition that I accomplished something. Wrestling means terrible practices, cutting weight, really hard work with one goal in mind, and achieving that goal means more than anything else.

Ricardo Magny (senior, wrestling)

I’m very proud of myself because I’ve been working hard for four years, and it’s a big accomplishment. Wrestling builds character; it taught me how to work hard, to keep trying and to never to give up.

Andres Crespo (junior, wrestling)

The great thing about wrestling is that you win or lose as a team, but you wrestle as an individual. You can have an amazing match and your team can still lose, and you still feel good about yourself.

Stephano Magny (senior, wrestling)

To be a Bay State All Star means that all the hard work all year paid off.  I have many goals.  My first was to be undefeated, and I was undefeated.  My second goal was to be a Bay State All Star, and I made it.

Daniel Katz (freshman, swimming)

It’s pretty cool to be named a Bay State Conference All Star.  I am proud and excited to achieve this status. It gets me thinking about what I can accomplish over the next three swimming seasons. My long term goal is to break the high school record in the 100 meter backstroke.

Nathan Katz (junior, swimming)

It’s not a huge deal, but it’s good to get recognition. I started on the Brookline recreation team when I was seven years old.  A year later, I moved on to club swimming, and I’ve been doing that ever since. I love being in the water. I like what swimming does for me.

Michael Levin (sophomore, Swimming)

[Swimming] is a sport that I excel at and a fun thing to do every year at the high school. It’s fun to meet new people and old friends, it means a lot to me.

Ben Pollak (senior, swimming)

I love that there’s always something more to get out of [swimming]. I love that there is a goal that you’re working towards. I love that every pool is the same, so there isn’t any variation in every competition really.  It’s not like soccer or lacrosse where it’s hard to measure progress. In swimming, it’s just, ‘how fast did you go?’ It makes it a very rewarding sport and it makes it very fun to practice and compete and see your hard work pay off.

Franklin Yeo (junior, swimming)

This year, the Brookline swim team had more All Stars than any other Bay State Conference school. Having a total of seven BSC All Stars shows how well our team has done as well as the level of effort we have put in. I am very pleased to be recognized as an All Star of such a team.

Kia Shahbazi (junior, swimming)

It’s pretty cool. There’s definitely some other people who could have been named, but I think that’s it pretty cool that I was named an All Star. For me, it’s really just a fun sport with a bunch of cool people and it’s something fun to do in the wintertime.

Noa Dalzell and Aria Wong can be contacted at [email protected]. Photos by Sophie Rubin.