Enfield High School Duo Named Scholar-Athlete Award Winners

ENFIELD, CT — A pair of seniors from Enfield High School have been named as recipients of the prestigious Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Scholar-Athlete Award.

According to the CAS-CIAC web site, the Scholar-Athlete Program annually recognizes two high school seniors – one girl and one boy – from each member high school whose academic and athletic careers have been exemplary, whose personal standards and achievements are a model to others, and who possess high levels of integrity, self-discipline and courage.

Enfield’s honorees for 2016-17 are Jessica Maier and Alex Jensen. They will receive their awards at the annual Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet May 7 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.

Maier, daughter of Jennifer and Alan Maier, is a three-time All-State field hockey player at Enfield, who recorded 52 goals and 31 assists during her tenure. She is also entering her fourth varsity season of softball, twice garnering all-conference honors.

In the classroom, she is a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society, and has won awards in biology, geometry, physics and physical education/health. She was a Governor’s Scholar semifinalist in 2016, received a Rachel’s Challenge Kindness Award in her senior year, and is ranked seventh in her class.

“Jessie demonstrates exceptional leadership qualities,” legendary Enfield field hockey coach Cookie Bromage said. “As a captain of her team, she led by example. She was a tremendous role model for her teammates. She was truly like an assistant coach to me, loyal and true. She truly put every bit of energy and all that she had into being the best that she could be for the success of her team. This year she was selected as an All-State Academic player. To achieve this award, a player must first make the All-State field hockey team as a skilled player, and then meet the criteria for academic excellence.”

Jensen, son of Anne Marie and Tim Jensen, played baseball, basketball and cross country at Fermi High School, then captained the cross country team at Enfield in his senior year following the merger of the two high schools. He was named to the Central Connecticut Conference All-Academic baseball team in 2016.

He is an officer of both the National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society, and has received excellence awards in world history, chemistry and Spanish III. He attended the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Seminar in 2015, received a Bausch + Lomb Honorary Science Award from the University of Rochester in 2016, and is ranked third in the class of 2017.

“Alex Jensen is an excellent role model and depicts the definition of what a scholar-athlete should be,” said Bob Cressotti, his former baseball coach at Fermi. “Achieving his goals is something for which Alex has worked very hard. He has impressed me since his freshman year with his academic and athletic discipline, cooperative attitude and integrity. He has demonstrated the dedication that the pursuit of success requires. I have had the sincere pleasure to coach Alex during his high school baseball career. He is a gifted and well-rounded young man who has much to offer. He is a highly intelligent, caring and dependable young man who I am so proud of.”

Enfield High School principal Andy Longey said, “The entire Enfield High School community is so proud of their accomplishments, and we wish them only the best in their very bright futures.”

Photo credit: Ryan Radziewicz