Bay State Games Announces 2020 Athletes of the Year
September 17, 2020
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.
For more information on the Bay State Games Athlete of the Year program and past winners, go to www.baystategames.org/AOY.
The 2025 Girls Basketball Showcase took place between July 18th and July 20th at Mount Ida Campus of UMass Amherst in Newton
The 2025 Boys Volleyball Showcase took place between July 12th and July 13th at Game On in Fitchburg
The 2025 Girls Volleyball Showcase took place between July 12th and July 13th at Game On in Fitchburg
The 2025 Field Hockey Showcase took place between July 11th and July 13th at Game On in Fitchburg
The 2025 Boys Soccer Showcase took place between July 10th and July 12th at Game On in Fitchburg
The 2025 Girls Soccer Showcase took place between July 10th and July 12th at Game On in Fitchburg
The 2025 Softball Showcase took place between July 8th and July 10th at Willard Field Complex in Devens
The 2025 Baseball Showcase took place between July 7th and July 9th at Howard and Maplewood Park in Malden.
WOBURN – Pat Connaughton (Basketball/Baseball), Brian Harris (Basketball/Softball Coach), and Ada Korkhin (Pistol Shooting) have been selected for induction into the 2025 Bay State Games' Hall of Fame. The inductees will receive their award at a pre-game ceremony at Fenway Park on Friday, June 27 prior to the Red Sox game against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Bay State Games Hall of Fame was created to recognize past participants who have gone on to prestigious and successful athletic careers, as well as former and current coaches, officials, sports organizers, and volunteers who have made significant contributions to the organization throughout its 38-year history. Past inductees among the over 60 previous honorees include the NBA’s Dana Barros (`06), Tom Thibodeau ('17) and the late Reggie Lewis (`02); WNBA’s Rebecca Lobo (’03), the NHL’s Bill Guerin ('09) and Keith Yandle ('14); Major League Baseball’s Carlos Pena ('11) and Rich Hill ('13); Olympians Nancy Kerrigan ('07), Jim Pedro (’04) and Bill Cleary ('14) as well as US Paralympic Gold Medalist Joe Lemar (’15). “The Hall of Fame has been a great way to recognize the many Bay State Games alumni who have gone on to prestigious athletic careers as well as those organizers and officials who have contributed to our success over the last four decades” said Kevin Cummings, the Bay State Games Executive Director. “It is an honor to recognize this year’s class that includes an NBA Champion, a US Olympic team member and a volunteer coach of over thirty years”. PAT CONNAUGHTON - BASKETBALL/BASEBALL Pat Connaughton was a two sport Bay State Games athlete in both Basketball and Baseball. In high school at St. John’s Prep, he earned the Massachusetts Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year Award. After an illustrious basketball and baseball career at the University of Notre Dame, Pat led the Irish to its only Men’s Basketball Conference Championship in the ACC. Pat was selected in the MLB draft in 2014 and NBA draft in 2015. In 2021 he became an NBA champion with the Milwaukee Bucks. Beyond the court, Pat is Co-Founder and CEO of real estate development company, Three Leaf Partners, headquartered in Milwaukee and he started the Pat Connaughton Foundation in 2016 based on the pillars of - courts, clinics, and character. BRIAN HARRIS - BASKETBALL / SOFTBALL COACH A lifelong resident of Somerville, Brian has volunteered as a Bay State Games coach in both girls basketball and softball for over thirty years. Brian is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Harvard Law School. He spent over three decades serving at the Somerville District Court. Brian is involved with several youth organizations and serves as board president of the Somerville YMCA. Brian has built an extraordinary coaching legacy across high school basketball and softball, amassing over 500 varsity wins and earning numerous Coach of the Year honors. ADA KORKHIN - PISTOL SHOOTING Ada Korkhin from Brookline, competed at the Bay State Games in Pistol Shooting. She also served as a Bay State Games Ambassador at Brookline High School. At the age of 14, Ada started competing internationally with trips that included events in Buenos Aires, South Korea and Egypt. She has medaled at multiple world and US events. At the age of nineteen, Ada made her Olympic debut as a member of the US Pistol Shooting team in Paris. She is currently a member of the Ohio State University shooting team where she is studying biochemistry. For more on the Bay State Games Hall of Fame and past inductees, click here. https://www.baystategames.org/hall-of-fame The 2025 Bay State Summer Games are currently underway with competitions spanning the months of June and July. For more details on the Summer Games, click here. https://www.baystategames.org/summer-sports About the Massachusetts Amateur Sports Foundation/Bay State Games The Massachusetts Amateur Sports Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was established in 1982 to host the first sanctioned state games of the Commonwealth. It operates with the mission of promoting personal development, education, physical fitness, teamwork, and sportsmanship to Massachusetts citizens of all ages and abilities. The Foundation is recognized for hosting high quality, Olympic-style events through the Bay State Summer and Winter Games, as well as educational programs, including the Future Leaders Scholarship Program, and the High School Ambassador Program.
On May 5, Jenny Pizza was awarded the Kristian Rose Memorial Scholarship at the 2025 McCormack Department of Sport Management Awards Banquet. Jenny is a freshman at UMass Amherst. She is originally from New Jersey and chose to attend UMass to pursue her passion for sports and management at the Isenberg School of Management. On campus, Jenny serves as a manager for the UMass Women's Basketball team and is active in Women in Sports Management (WISM). Her dream is work for the New York Yankees and hopes to work toward gender equality in every aspect of the sports industry. The Kristian Rose Memorial Scholarship was established by Bay State Games and UMass Amherst in memory of Kristian Rose, who was tragically killed in an auto accident during his Bay State Games internship. This scholarship is open to Sport Management students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with preference given to students with community service experience, and financial need. For more information on the Kristian Rose Memorial Scholarship and a list of previous recipients, click here .
