Courtney Colantuno, Marblehead - 2008 Salem News Student-Athlete Awards

By Matt Jenkins
Staff Writer

April 02, 2008 09:45 am

— In her academic resume Courtney Colantuno writes that balancing school work and athletics is an ongoing challenge, something she has worked on since her days in junior high. The three-sport captain (field hockey, ice hockey, softball) makes no mention of how she fits volunteer work into that equation, however. Yet her list of extracurricular activities includes a Best Buddies Program for students with special needs, a Thanksgiving Food Drive at the Marblehead Food Pantry, a DVD drive for soldiers in Iraq and a Marblehead High School Peer Mentoring Program.

On top of the volunteer work, Colantuno has still been able to maintain a 3.74 GPA while playing a vital role on each of her three varsity teams. The Salem News Player of the Year in softball as a junior, Colantuno will continue her career on the diamond next year at Bowdoin College.

While her best sport is softball, it would be a mistake to overlook her other two sports. Colantuno was an NEC all-star in field hockey and will graduate as Marblehead's fourth all-time leading scorer in girls ice hockey.

"Courtney is no doubt the finest player that I have ever coached in my many years of being associated with the game of softball," Marblehead softball coach Johnny Gold said. "Not only will we miss her next year as a player and leader, but more importantly we will miss her as a person. She is a coach's dream."