WOBURN
– Despite not holding events in 2020, Bay State Games is honoring athletes based on past participation in the Games and other athletic achievements. Bay State Games selects an athlete of the year in four categories. The 2020 selections for Athlete of the Year are:
Female Athlete 18 & younger
– Teagan Dymek
Male Athlete 18 & younger
– Reese Stevenson
Female Athlete 19 & older
– Ildiko Szekely
Male Athlete 19 & older
– Seth Trahan
Teagan Dymek
is a resident of Osterville, MA. Teagan is a three-sport athlete, competing in volleyball, rowing, and swimming. She was a member of the Central team in the 2019 Girls Volleyball Showcase. Outside the classroom, Teagan has been instrumental in developing the "Greenwood Gives Back" program in her community. This program started as a food drive, and more than 10 years later, it has grown to include the collection of eyewear to be distributed in Africa and hearing aids to be refurbished and distributed in to impoverished people within the United States. Teagan was also a Bay State Games High School Ambassador for the 2019-2020 school year.
Reese Stevenson
is a resident of Harvard, MA. Reese has competed in Bay State Games Swimming since 2015 and has won eight medals. He was a 2020 graduate of Kimball Union Academy (Meriden, N.H.), where he also played on the school’s rugby team. Reese swims on the Thoreau Sharks in Concord, MA and has won many league titles and set league records. Reese has competed for many years at the AAU Junior Olympics, having won gold in the 50 and 100 free in back-to-back years. He has broken several records at this meet, including one that stood for 22 years. Out of the pool, he was a member of the KUA Fire Brigade, which is a group of students selected and trained to help the local volunteer fire department. Reese was a Bay State Games High School Ambassador. Reese is currently a freshman at Bryant University and is a member of the men’s swimming team.
Ildiko Szekely
is a resident of Beverly, MA. She has competed in Bay State Games Masters Swimming since 2014, winning gold every year in the 200m butterfly. She holds the Bay State Games record in Women 35-49 200m butterfly. As a member of New England Masters, she has achieved many national and international accomplishments, highlighted by wining gold in the 100m and 200m butterfly at the 2014 World Masters Swimming Championships in Montreal, Canada. She has also won several U.S. Masters Swimming National titles and currently holds the U.S. Masters Swimming National record in the 400 freestyle relay (SCM). Her swimming resume includes 10 individual and three All-American honors and 59 top-ten swims. Prior to becoming an accomplished masters swimmer, Ildiko swam at Michigan State University, where she was a team captain and an Academic All-Big Ten. She held program records in the 100y and 200y butterfly and 400y IM, all of which she still ranks in the top ten in program history. Ildiko currently works as the Assistant Director at the Connors Family Learning Center at Boston College.
Seth Trahan
is a resident of Sturbridge, MA. Seth has been competing in archery since he was 8 years old. He has won numerous tournaments at the junior and national level. He has made the United States Archery Team (USAT) two years in a row and has been dominating junior men’s cadet competitions in 2020 so far. Seth made his first USAT podium in 2017 with a bronze medal at the Gator Cup Qualification and World Team Trials in Newberry, FL. He has been ranked #1 in the state and country. In 2018, he ranked #3 in 2018, #1 in 2017, and #8 in 2016, all as a cadet. Seth competes all over the country and his goal is to make the U.S Olympic team.
The Bay State Games Athlete of the Year program was established to recognize individuals who excel above and beyond their athletic participation in the Bay State Games. Individuals are chosen based on overall achievements, involvement in the Bay State Games, involvement in their community, effort, sportsmanship, overcoming adversity and attitude on and off the field. The selection committee reviews nominations submitted by coaches, commissioners, parents, volunteers, and other players.
Individuals chosen as Bay State Games Athlete of the Year have been submitted for recognition as the National State Games Athlete of the Year. If chosen as the National State Games Athlete of the Year, recipients will be recognized at the National Congress of State Games annual symposium. National Athlete of the Year winners will be notified in October 2020.