Murray

Murray

Lin

Male:

BOBBY MURRAY, Junior—Hockey

* Holt Conference MVP

* Holt Conference all-star

* Top goal scorer in NEPSAC

* Assistant captain

Murray lit the lamp with regularity and helped the Panthers enjoy their finest season since becoming a Prep program a decade ago.

Murray started playing hockey at a young age and it quickly became his top sport. He spent his freshman year at Yarmouth High School, then came to NYA as a sophomore.

Murray also plays soccer, but is a natural on the ice and never was that more obvious than this winter, when he excelled.

In 30 games this season, Murray went off for 37 goals and added 21 assists to finish with 58 points. He was the top scorer in all of NEPSAC hockey and his points total left him in the top 10. His excellence earned him mention as a conference all-star and MVP.

“We had a lot of fun this season,” said Murray. “We had a tough start, then we picked it up. We had high expectations. I want to be the best player I can be. I was surrounded by good teammates.”

Murray plays hockey year round and plays the piano and guitar. He hopes to play hockey in college and will likely be highly coveted.

Passion and hard work have led to great things for Bobby Murray, North Yarmouth Academy’s Winter Male Athlete of the Year. He’ll go down as one of the finer players this proud and storied program has produced.

Coach Eric Graham’s comment: “Bobby is an excellent player who established himself this year as a solid Division I prospect. He’s a goal scorer who continues to project as a high-end power forward. He’s the most natural athlete I’ve coached and he’s worked hard to improve all areas of his game. He’s found so much success due to the effort he put in to refine his skill set and improve his play away from the puck. He takes hockey very seriously and dedicates himself on and off the ice. He’s also a top student, a talented musician and a multi-sport athlete, taking pride in being much more than just a good hockey player.”

Previous winners:

2014-15 Brad Potter (hockey)

2013-14 Michael McIntosh (track)

2012-13 T.J. Daigler (hockey)

2011-12 Asad Dahia (basketball)

2010-11 Ian Moore (skiing)

2009-10 Henry Sterling (track)

2008-09 Henry Sterling (track)

2007-08 Ian Nichols (swimming)

2006-07 Chris Engel (swimming)

2005-06 Rob Carpenter (track)

2004-05 Tim DeLuca (basketball)

2003-04 Dan Bartlett (hockey)

2002-03 Steve Lawrence (hockey)

2001-02 Matt Smith (hockey)

Female:

SONIA LIN, Senior—Swimming

* Class B champion, 100 breaststroke

* Class B state meet record holder, 100 breaststroke

* Southern Maine Swim League first-team, 100 breaststroke

* SMSL first-team, 200 freestyle relay

* SMSL first-team, 200 medley relay

* SMSL second-team, 50 freestyle

* All-State, 100 breaststroke

* All-State, 200 free relay

* All-State, 200 medley relay

* Randy Comeau Scholarship Award winner 

* Nationals qualifier

* All-Academic team

Lin capped her high school career as it began, as a champion who is highly respected by teammates and foes alike.

Lin, a Topsham resident, started swimming at a young age, honed her skills with the Long Reach Swim Club in Bath and came to NYA, which doesn’t have an official team, and trained with Greely. As a freshman, she was the champion in the breaststroke and placed second in the individual medley and was named Winter Female Athlete of the Year. As a sophomore, she repeated  as breaststroke state champion and Athlete of the Year and came in third in the IM. Last year, Lin was second in the breaststroke and third in the IM.

As a senior, Lin continued to dominate and put a punctuation mark on her career with strong postseason showings. At Southwesterns, Lin won the 50 free and placed runner-up in the 100 backstroke. At the Class B state meet, Lin won another breaststroke title with a time of 1 minute, 6.15 seconds (breaking her own meet record in the process) and placed second in the 50 free.

Lin graduates as a four-time member of the All-Conference and All-State teams. She won the Randy Comeau Scholarship from the swimming officials, holds three NYA records and a Greely pool record as well.

“I wanted my senior year to be about fun and enjoying the team experience,” Lin said. “Being with Greely was great. Everyone was so welcoming. I’m pretty competitive. I’ve always been self-driven. I really love swimming. I”ve always been passionate about it. Everything came together this year.”

Lin also ran track, served as the co-editor of the school yearbook, plays in the wind ensemble, Jazz band and Steel band and is a member of the math team. She hopes to swim in college. 

Sonia Lin, North Yarmouth Academy’s Winter Female Athlete of the Year, made the most of being a swimmer without a team and made her mark for four seasons. She won’t soon be forgotten.

Coach Rob Hale’s comment: “Sonia is a Renaissance women. She is as good a musician and artist as she is a swimmer. Her mantra is, ‘If it is worth doing, it’s worth doing well.’ She is the most humble young lady I’ve coached. It’s like pulling teeth to get her to talk about herself. For years, she’s been a consummate team player. She represents NYA, but has given her all to the Greely team through her work ethic, attitude, competitiveness, sharing her knowledge and being a part of team activities outside of the pool. We will miss Sonia the swimmer and more importantly, we will miss Sonia the wonderful person. ”

Previous winners:

2014-15 Alex Barnes (hockey)

2013-14 Sonia Lin (swimming)

2012-13 Sonia Lin (swimming)

2011-12 Morgan Scully (basketball)

2010-11 Blair Haggett (basketball)

2009-10 Emily McKinnon (swimming)

2008-09 Courtney Dumont (hockey)

2007-08 Courtney Dumont (hockey)

2006-07 Ingrid Knowles (Nordic skiing)

2005-06 Ingrid Knowles (Nordic skiing)

2004-05 Kathryn Engel (swimming)

2003-04 Teddy Fortin (hockey)

2002-03 Bobbi Dennison (basketball)

2001-02 Ashley Spicer (basketball)

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter:@foresports.