On Top Of Their Games — Lynch, Fisher Earn Athlete Of Year Honors

By Andy Hutchison

On every team there are athletes who serve as role players, not necessarily taking the spotlight, but fulfilling key responsibilities to help their teams to success — sometimes as unsung heroes. Then, of course, there are the standouts who lead the way or claim individual championships depending on the sport.

Jess Lynch and Cory Fisher have each played lesser-noticed as well as in-the-forefront roles in various sports and, for their multiseason efforts, have been named The Newtown Bee’s Newtown High School Athletes of the Year.

Both are members of this year’s graduating class and capped off their high school playing careers in style. Lynch and Fisher, both of whom held responsibility as captains and earned All-South West Conference accolades during their careers, tasted championship success this past school year.

Lynch, as the volleyball team’s setter, was one of the go-to players on the court, racking up 500 assists in the team’s state championship run. She was also among the starters and top players on the basketball team. She assisted team leader Riley Wurtz (last year’s Newtown Bee’s female athlete of the year) as the Nighthawks clawed to a state title.

Fisher, meanwhile, was a linebacker on the football team who was a key cog on the defense with 49 solo tackles, four-and-a-half quarterback sacks, and four fumble recoveries. He was one of the faceoff specialists on the lacrosse team, also contributing with solid defensive work and chipping in with timely goals. Fisher really stood out his winter sport, on the wrestling mats, and earned the South-West Conference championship in the 170-pound weight division this past campaign. Fisher also became one of only nine grapplers in school history to earn 100 career victories.

Neither Lynch nor Fisher plan to continue varsity athletics in college, and both will miss their competitive playing days at Newtown High.

Lynch says she will take away fond memories of her teammates. “Over the past four years we’ve really made a connection in both the teams that I’ve been on and I’m definitely going to miss that in the years to come,” she said.

The success these athletes and their teammates shared did not come without sacrifice — lots of time in the gymnasiums in practice, and in the weight rooms during the campaign and in the offseason.

“The toughest part is just being mentally prepared every single time for practices and games, season after season,” Fisher said. “It’s been 12 seasons straight for me now, and just being able to come back every single day with the same mindset that we need to get better and do better has been tough. But you push through it and you end up working hard and it pays off in the end.”

It did for Fisher with an SWC championship in lacrosse in the spring of 2011, and back-to-back conference title game appearances on the football field, in addition to his wrestling championship.

“Cory Fisher is a throwback student-athlete who took great pride in playing three sports and excelling at each. While so many athletes have begun to specialize in a sport he proved that you can have great success in multiple sports. I personally have enjoyed watching Cory compete over the course of his career because winning or losing he always gave one hundred percent,” Newtown High Athletic Director Gregg Simon said.

“I’ve spent thousands and thousands of hours with these kids all throughout the four years, and just getting to know them and working with them day in and day out — I’m going to miss it,” Fisher added.

For Lynch, the most challenging aspect of high school sports stemmed from her role as captain during both the volleyball and basketball campaigns. “Definitely trying to keep up the morale of the team and trying to keep everyone motivated all the time,” she said was an important challenge to take on because motivation leads to success.

“If you were going to try to define the ideal student-athlete at Newtown High School the definition would begin with all the attributes possessed by Jess Lynch. She is a quiet leader who helped to lead the volleyball team and the basketball team to state championships. She embodies the phrase that true leaders lead by example and was always the hardest worker on the court,” Simon said.