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Newburyport's Bayko recipient of prestigious award

Friday, April, 04 By John Shimer
Staff writer

Dramatic drum roll. And the winner of the Francis T. Bresnahan Scholar Athlete Award for the 2008 graduating Newburyport High class is....

Alli Bayko.

Although Bayko will not receive the award until April 16 at the Newburyport honors banquet when she will be not only the guest of honor, but also the keynote speaker. The two-sport Clippers captain was informed earlier this week that she would be receiving the prestigious award for this year's class.

"I had no idea that I was even in contention to get the award," said Bayko of the great news she received out of the blue. "I was called down to the principal's office and I thought I was in trouble because the senior prank had just happened. The first thing Mr. (Michael) Parent said was, 'Alli this is one of the great parts of my job and you are going to be this year's Bresnahan Scholar-Athlete recipient."

According to Kay Bresnahan, who instituted the award after her husband passed away 14 years ago, which later became a scholarship,| the award goes to a Newburyport senior that exemplifies both athletics and academics throughout their high school career.

"Alli we felt lived up to all the outstanding qualities that my husband thought was important to have in a high school student," said Bresnahan of the selection that will be presented at the 50th anniversary of the honors banquet her husband began. "We wanted to start a scholarship that would honor the scholar-athlete of the Newburyport High School senior class, and Alli fits the mold."

Additional qualifications include playing in no less than two varsity sports and being ranked at least third in the class for academics (the valedictorian and salutatorian are not eligible). Other activities outside academics and athletics are also weighed, but with the emphasis being placed on the latter two aspects. What is usually a lengthy list is then narrowed down to a list of somewhere around 10 names before the final name is picked.

Playing both field hockey and softball for the Clippers over the years, Bayko's true talent has been in figure skating where her synchronized skating team has participated in competitions all over the United States and across the globe. The 19th ranked member of her senior class has been to Nottingham, England; Rouen, France; San Diego, Calif.; Colorado Springs, Colo., and several other glamorous destinations with the Colonial Juniors of Acton.

Yet, Bayko has also been a pillar of community service in her senior class being a member of the Interact Club, which does volunteer work in Newburyport at events like the Harvest Festival and the Santa Parade. She was also part of a group that went to Costa Rica last year to help build a community center in an especially impoverished area of the country.

In all her travels and countless hours away from school, Bayko said it has been hard for her to keep up with school work at times, but added it was such an honor to be distinguished in a class full of bright scholar athletes.

"I was also surprised because there are a lot of really smart kids on varsity teams throughout the school, and it's hard for me to keep up sometimes when I am away from school. The key I think is I manage my time really well," explained Bayko. "My name is not really in the paper like a lot of our great athletes, and I'm mostly known as the figure skater in our school, so it's really nice to be recognized alongside some of our school's best."

Other recent winners, include  Meg McCormick in 2007, Matt Summit in 2006, Natalie Dudar in 2004, and Margaret Frash in 2003. In addition to the award, Bayko will receive a model Clipper ship and a $1,000 scholarship.