READFIELD — Maranacook Community High School recently announced its top 10 scholars for the class of 2020. They are listed in order of standing, according to a news release from the school.
Emma Hagenaars Photo courtesy of Maranacook Community High School
Emma Hagenaars, valedictorian, lives in Manchester with her parents Tammy and Courtney Hagenaars. Throughout her four years at Maranacook she has participated in varsity field hockey, serving as captain her senior year, and also participated in varsity softball her freshman and sophomore years.
She has been a member of the Senior Dance Society at Vicki’s School of Dance for all four years, performing a large variety of different styles. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Student Senate/Council, Middle School Peer Mentoring, Medical Explorers Club and Interact Club.
During the summer she volunteers at Togus VA Hospital. She also is involved in music at Maranacook, and has played French horn for the concert band all four years.
Hagenaars plans to attend Brown University in the fall and to major in biomedical engineering as a pre-med student.
Nina Gyorgy, salutatorian, of Wayne, is the daughter of Margot and Dean Gyorgy.
Nina Gyorgy Photo courtesy of Maranacook Community High School
She has been a member of the Alpine Skiing and Track teams for all four years of high school and was a lead choreographer for the musical her junior and senior year. During her freshman and sophomore years she was a competitive dancer at Rising Sun Dance Studio.
At Maranacook, she is a member of National Honor Society, Model UN, the Civil Rights Club, the Medical Explorers Club, concert band, Student Senate and Council where she was the secretary. The summer after her junior year she attended the National History Day Competition at the national level after placing first at the state level.
She also attended Maine Dirigo Girls State at Husson University. During the summer she maintains a job at the Wayne Ladd Recreation Center and is a youth researcher in a social science study.
Gyorgy has been admitted to Boston College to study neuroscience and psychology in the fall.
John McLaughlin Photo courtesy of Maranacook Community High School
John McLaughlin lives in Manchester, and is the son of Michael and Catherine McLaughlin.
He is a three-season athlete; skiing Alpine, soccer and tennis throughout his high school career. He has won two state championships in his time at Maranacook, in soccer and Alpine, as well as numerous sportsmanship awards.
In addition to playing sports, he has participated in student government, holding office his junior year. He has also participated in several years of the arts, and is working on a mural in the high school with the Sustainability Committee. He is a member of National Honor Society and finds time to benefit his community with volunteering.
McLaughlin plans to attend the University of Maine at Orono to study mechanical engineering.
Carter McPhedran, from Readfield, is the son of Patty Gordon and John McPhedran, brother to Jackson McPhedran, and grandson to Alex McPhedran.
Carter McPhedran Photo courtesy of Maranacook Community High School
He has been involved in a plethora of activities at Maranacook. He was a captain to the soccer, Nordic skiing, track and field team, and also was a varsity Alpine skier for the first three years of high school. He also is a member of chamber choir, jazz band, concert band, and has participated in every school musical since eighth grade.
In addition to sports and music, he has been student body president, co-chairman of School Spirit Committee in Student Senate, a member of Civil Rights Team, National Honor Society, Rho Kappa Honor Society, Operation Breaking Stereotypes, a peer mentor, and more.
McPhedran’s plans for the fall are not finalized yet, but he plans on taking his Maranacook experience with him wherever he goes.
Robbie McKee Photo courtesy of Maranacook Community High School
Robbie McKee, of Wayne, is the son of Kimberly and Chris McKee.
During his four years at Maranacook he participated at the varsity level in Alpine skiing, tennis, cross country and competitively raced mountain bikes his junior and senior years. He served as captain of the tennis team and captain of the Alpine ski team for three years, and recently led the men’s ski team to a state championship.
Aside from sports, he has been an active leader of the Maranacook Sustainability Committee, president of the National Honor Society, and founded the Maranacook Outdoor Club. In the past year he has branched out and joined the jazz band, playing tenor saxophone, started learning to play the banjo, and began painting his first mural.
McKee plans to attend Bowdoin College in the fall.
Ashley Cray, of Readfield, is the daughter of Cynthia Cushing and Chad Cray.
Ashley Cray Photo courtesy of Maranacook Community High School
During her four years at Maranacook, she has participated in all four of the fall musicals, and has been a varsity athlete on the Nordic skiing and track and field teams. She was captain of the Nordic team her junior and senior years.
She has also been involved in Maranacook’s community as the head of the Outreach Committee for the past three years, a member of Maranacook’s Student Senate and National Honor Society. Her favorite part of high school has been partaking in Maranacook’s music program playing the trombone in the jazz band and concert band, and singing in the chamber choir.
Outside of school, she is a part of two community choirs, CODA Chorus of Winthrop and the Wescustago Chorale of Freeport. Cray plans to attend the University of Maine at Orono next fall to study music education.
Amanda Goucher Photo courtesy of Maranacook Community High School
Amanda Goucher lives in Wayne with her parents Ann and Lee Goucher and her brother Kody Goucher.
During her time at Maranacook, she participated in varsity field hockey, basketball and softball. She has been captain of her varsity softball team since her sophomore year and was on the KVAC All-Conference 1st team in softball her junior year. She also served as captain in her senior year of basketball.
Besides playing sports, she is a member of the National Honor Society and the Interact Club. This spring, she traveled with her Spanish class to Spain.
Goucher plans to study political science at either Stonehill College or Saint Anselm College and continue her education at law school.
Wyatt Cannell lives in Readfield with his parents John and Gwen Cannell, and his sister Lily.
Wyatt Cannell Photo courtesy of Maranacook Community High School
He has been a member of the Maranacook chamber choir for all four years of high school, singing in the bass section. He also has been a member of the Maranacook theater program for the last four years, acting in four musicals and three plays.
Outside of school, he has earned his black belt in shotokan karate at the Buker Community Center in Augusta, where he is the assistant instructor. He is a member of the National Honor Society, and is the only senior this year graduating with an associate degree from Thomas College through the Pathways program.
Cannell plans to attend college to study biomedical engineering.
Allyse Bonenfant Photo courtesy of Maranacook Community High School
Allyse Bonenfant lives in Mount Vernon with her parents Brent and Kelly Bonenfant.
Throughout her four years at Maranacook, she has participated as a varsity soccer and softball player. She served as captain her senior year for soccer and was part of the team’s first Class C regional title. Along with sports, she has been involved in the music program since her freshman year. She was involved in the school’s chamber choir for four years as a soprano and was a part of each musical since her sophomore year.
When she’s not singing, she loves playing the piano and has begun to learn the guitar and ukulele. She also enjoys painting anything that inspires her, and has been drawing since she can remember.
Bonenfant plans to attend college for criminal justice and psychology and wishes to pursue a career in forensic psychology.
Sydney Birtwell has grown up in Wayne. She is the daughter of Mark and Tammy Birtwell and has three older siblings.
Sydney Birtwell Photo courtesy of Maranacook Community High School
She has always been active in her community, volunteering for several local organizations, and is a member of the Wayne Fire Department.
During her junior year, she was selected to go to Germany with the GAPP program and was able to visit Austria and the Netherlands while on this trip. In her four years at Maranacook she enjoyed her Industrial Arts class.
Birtwell plans to study precision machining technology in the fall.
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