Bay State Games Announces 2021 Future Leaders Scholarship Recipients

November 18, 2021

WOBURN (November 18, 2021) – The Bay State Games has selected six statewide scholarship recipients for the 2021 Future Leaders Scholarship Program. These student-athletes were selected from a large applicant pool after a process that included committee reviews of all applications and virtual interviews with selected applicants.

These future leaders were selected based on their achievements and involvement in academics, community service, athletics, and leadership roles. The Bay State Games Future Leaders Scholarship program was established in 1989 and has since distributed nearly $400,000 in financial aid. Each of the high school seniors will receive a $1,000 scholarship.

“While the pandemic has had a significant impact on the high school class of 2022 academically, athletically, and socially, it is extremely impressive to see the outstanding accomplishments this year’s scholarship recipients have achieved in the face of so much adversity," said Kevin Cummings, Executive Director of Bay State Games. "The success these recipients have attained in academics, athletics, community service, and leadership make them truly deserving of this scholarship.”

This year’s six scholarship recipients are:

Olivia Adelabu is from North Andover and is a senior at Pingree School. At Pingree, she competes on the track & field and volleyball teams. Olivia is captain of the track & field team, the school record holder in the high jump, 4x200m, and 200m, has competed in Bay State Games Track & Field for two years, and has been a Bay State Games Ambassador. She is the founder of the Banana Splits, a club for children from divorced families, and a member of the People of Color Coalition, the Student Equity and Inclusion Committee, and the Diversity Council. Olivia is also a poll worker during presidential elections and works to encourage others to register to vote and regularly volunteers at a homeless shelter. During the pandemic, Olivia provided cooking lessons over Zoom for young children in her church. She also made over 100 masks to ship to Louisiana. Olivia was also tasked with creating short stories and art projects to help young children who were just starting school during the pandemic to learn different ways to recognize emotion when everyone is wearing a mask. Olivia plans to study neuroscience and pursue her passion for social justice while also continuing to run track in college.

Leah DeLeon is a native of Lawrence and attends Central Catholic High School, where she is captain of both the volleyball and basketball teams and competes in track & field. In 2021, Leah played for the Northeast team in the Girls Basketball Showcase. She is on the leadership team of Peer Leadership and is also a student ambassador, classroom representative, a member of the Keystone Club, and a Marist Mentor, which pairs her with a child at the local Boys & Girls Club and allows children to have a mentor that helps them throughout the week. For the last 4 years, Leah has also volunteered at a soup kitchen. Leah plans to study psychology and pursue a career in psychiatrics.

Brielle Los is a senior at Chicopee High School, where she is a three-year captain of the soccer team and has also participated on the unified track and unified basketball teams. She played in the Girls Soccer Showcase three times, helping the West team to silver medals in 2018 and 2021 and a bronze medal in 2019. In 2019, Brielle played in the 2019 Norway Cup in Oslo and her team finished 9^th out of 64 teams. At school, Brielle is president of her class, president of National Honors Society, and a member of Best Buddies. She was also secretary of National Honors Society as a junior. Brielle won the 2019 AMVETS National Americanism Essay Content. She also organized the Angela Marie Santiago Memorial, a garden at school in memory of their resource officer. After graduation, Brielle hopes to pursue a career in health care.

Yamirelis Matos is a native of Springfield, MA and attends Chicopee High School. She plays basketball and soccer at Chicopee and serves as captain of the basketball team. She is also the captain of her AAU team. Yamirelis has been named Western Mass Super Seven and All-Western Mass First Team since freshman year. Yamirelis helped the Central/West team to a silver medal in the 2021 Girls Basketball Showcase. Yamirelis is a member of both the National Honors Society and Spanish National Honors Society, as well as Best Buddies. She was chosen by teachers at her school to speak to the entire district on the first day of school when returning from hybrid learning. After graduation this spring, Yamirelis will attend Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA where she intends to play basketball and study pharmacy.

Kaleigh Murphy is a senior at Pembroke High School, where she is captain for the field hockey, ice hockey, and softball teams. Kaleigh played in the 2021 Field Hockey Showcase, where she helped the Coastal team to the silver medal. Kaleigh is also a Bay State Games Ambassador. At school, Kaleigh is a member of National Honors Society and DECA. Kaleigh is also part of the art club and has volunteered at the Pembroke Art Festival. She is an assistant coach of the Great Blizzards of Massachusetts, a hockey team for players of all ages with cognitive, mental, or developmental disabilities. After graduation, Kaleigh plans to study sport management.

Nina Tiani is a senior at Hull High School, where she is the captain of the soccer, basketball, and lacrosse teams. During the Fall II season in 2021, Nina also competed in indoor track & field and was named a league all-star. Nina helped the Coastal team to a bronze medal in the 2021 Girls Soccer Showcase. She is vice president of her class and served as a class representative her first three years of high school. Nina is also the treasurer of National Honors Society and a founding member of the Inclusion Project, which is a club meant to teach others how to interact with people who are neuro-divergent. Nina has also completed several community service projects. Nina is ranked #4 in her class and hopes to study business in college.

For more information on the Future Leaders Scholarship Program, click here.

For a list of past recipients and the colleges and universities they've attended, click here .

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Bay State Games Inducts Three Into the 2026 Hall of Fame

August 26, 2026

Representative Patricia Haddad (legislative leadership), Representative John Barrett (legislative leadership), and Ryan McCarthy (baseball coach) have been selected for induction into the 2026 Bay State Games’ Hall of Fame. The inductees will receive their award at a pre-game ceremony at Fenway Park on Sunday, June 14 prior to the Red Sox game against Texas. 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), Pat Connaughton (‘25) and the late Reggie Lewis (‘02); WNBA’s Rebecca Lobo (‘03); Major League Baseball’s Rich Hill (‘13); Olympians Nancy Kerrigan (‘07), Ada Korkhin (‘25) and Samantha Livingstone (‘18) and US Paralympic Gold Medalist Joe Lemar (‘15). “The Bay State Games is proud of the many athletes who have participated in the program and gone on to achieve success at the collegiate, professional, and Olympic levels. We are equally proud of the coaches, sport organizers, community leaders, and supporters whose dedication, expertise, and generosity have helped make the Bay State Games possible.” Said Kevin Cummings, the Bay State Games Executive Director. “We are honored to recognize this year's Hall of Fame class and celebrate the significant contributions each inductee has made to the Bay State Games. Their commitment, leadership, and lasting impact have strengthened the organization and enriched the experience of countless athletes throughout the Commonwealth.” REP. PATRICIA HADDAD - LEGISLATIVE LEADERSHIP Massachusetts State Representative Patricia Haddad championed state support for the Bay State Games for over two decades. She has supported the recreation, health, and education-based programs of the organization that benefit thousands of Massachusetts participants each year. A former teacher for 14 years, Rep. Haddad represented the 5th Bristol District for 25 years and served as Speaker Pro Tempore of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for ten years. REP. JOHN BARRETT - LEGISLATIVE LEADERSHIP Massachusetts State Representative John Barrett from Berkshire County has been a strong supporter of the Bay State Games since the mid-1980s. Rep. Barrett was instrumental in bringing the Winter Games to Berkshire County, where they have been held for over 35 years. He has served as State Representative for Berkshire County since 2017 and was formerly Mayor of North Adams for 26 years. Rep. Barrett is also a leading advocate of the statewide Summer Games. RYAN MCCARTHY - BASEBALL COACH Ryan McCarthy from Portsmouth has served as volunteer baseball coach at the Bay State Games for over two decades. He has led the Northeast team to numerous championship medals. Ryan has devoted more than 25 years to coaching high school student-athletes in both baseball and football at Triton Regional High School, Newburyport High School, and Dighton-Rehoboth High School. He has had a positive impact on countless Massachusetts high school student-athletes. For more on the Bay State Games Hall of Fame and past inductees, click here. https://www.baystategames.org/hall-of-fame

Bay State Games Announces 2026 Athletes of the Year

August 25, 2026

Bay State Games is excited to announce its selections for the 2026 Athlete of the Year Awards. Any athlete who participated in the 2026 Bay State Summer or Winter Games was eligible to be nominated for these awards. Selection is based on participation in the Games and other athletic achievements. The 2026 selections are: Female Youth Athlete – Dana Howling Wolf Keller Male Youth Athlete – Holden Choma Female Adult Athlete – Kiara Cabral Male Adult Athlete - Jacob DeAndrade Dana Howling Wolf Keller , 17, of Shrewsbury, is a senior at Notre Dame Academy in Worcester and an enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Native American Tribe. Volleyball has been a major part of her life. She started unable to serve over the net but, after countless hours of dedication, has turned serving into one of her strengths and learned that confidence is built through persistence. Dana plays setter and right side for her high school team and SLAM national club team, and captains both teams. She was named to the 2025 Central MA Athletic Conference All-Star Team and represented her school as a MIAA sportsmanship delegate. Dana represented the Central region for Girls Volleyball in the Bay State Games in 2024 & 2026. This year, she was also named the sportsmanship recipient for the Central Girls Volleyball team. Dana has also been a Bay State Games High School Ambassador. She has committed to continue playing volleyball in college at the University of St. Joseph (CT). Off the court, Dana extensively volunteers at the Shrewsbury Public Library and Shrewsbury Special Olympics. Notre Dame Academy honored her with the Katherine Forbes Eskrine Award for her community service. Dana is also active in her parish's youth group and has participated in several Catholic leadership programs. She aspires to become a forensic pathologist, and last summer served as a lab assistant to Dr. Ann Burgess in Boston College's Forensic Science Summer Program. Holden Choma, 17, of West Newbury, is a senior at Pentucket Regional High School. Holden has competed in Track and Field since his freshman year and specializes in the high jump. He dedicated himself to jumping higher, and in his first year, he improved from 5'2 to 6'6.75, and was at the top of the MIAA. He is also a 2x USATF Region 1 champion in the high jump. He also competed at the 2025 USATF Junior Olympics and was the 15-16 National Runner-Up. This year he faced a setback after suffering a patellar tendon tear on his jumping leg. After nearly a year to fully heal, he was the MIAA Division 5 champion in the spring, and this summer he competed in his second Bay State Games after winning silver in the 2025 high jump. Holden broke his slump by shattering a 30-year-old Bay State Games record in the high jump at 2.05m (6'8.75) and took home the gold medal. Outside of jumping, Holden enjoys volunteering at Ipswich Junior Sailing, teaching children how to sail safely, and now works as an instructor. As a member of his school's band, he marched in West Newbury's Veterans Day Parade and held a private performance for local veterans. Kiara Cabral, 23, of Somerset, is a recent graduate of Bridgewater State University. She also competed as a student-athlete on the track and field team in sprinting events. She had a storied career as a Bridgewater State Bear achieving accolades from the school to the national level. Kiara was named 2026 Woman’s Athlete of the Year by Bridgewater State and holds five school records in 60m Indoor, 200m Indoor, 400m Indoor + Outdoor, 500m Indoor, and 4x100 Outdoor. In the MASCAC conference she holds six championship titles which she earned from 2022 to 2026. The conference named Kiara Athlete of the Week on 21 occasions and she holds two conference records in the 4x100 and the 400m. Kiara was placed on the All-Academic team for three seasons and the Sportsmanship team once. She has been nationally recognized as an NCAA All-American and qualified for both the indoor and outdoor nationals in 2025 and the indoor nationals again in 2026. Kiara was first team All-American in the outdoor 4x100 relay in 2025 and the indoor 400m in 2026, and was named second team All-American for outdoor 400m in 2025. This summer, Kiara competed in the Bay State Games in the 100m and 200m events. She was the gold medalist in both events running a time of 12.51 in the 100m and 25.35 in the 200m. Kiara graduated last spring with a degree in Mathematics and Secondary Education. She has always had a passion for helping children understand and enjoy math, and will enter her first year teaching middle school math this fall. Jacob DeAndrade, 26 , of Foxboro, graduated from Bridgewater State University in 2024 with a Master of Business Administration and currently works in finance. Jacob was an accomplished student-athlete at Bridgewater State. In his rookie season at Bridgewater State, the school named him Rookie of the Year. He was a 10x Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference champion and a 3x member of the DIII All-Academic team. He is a 2x competitor in the Bay State Games Track and Field event. This year, Jacob had an especially impressive showing, earning gold in the 100m Open and 200m Open events with times of 10.83 and 22.04. In his free time, Jacob enjoys running, lifting, and playing soccer. Bay State Games Athlete of the Year recipients will receive a plaque commemorating their accomplishment. For more information on the Bay State Games Athlete of the Year program and past winners, go to www.baystategames.org/AOY .