2021: Reilly Gagnon
School: Triton.
MVP Season Highlights: After a breakout Fall 2 season that saw him named the CAL Kinney Athlete of the Year, Gagnon put together arguably the greatest individual season in Triton boys outdoor track history. The senior was dominant in the dual meet season, going undefeated in the 110 hurdles, 400 hurdles, 400 meters and in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. He went on to win CAL Open titles in the long jump (21-11, school record), 110 hurdles (15.91) and 400 hurdles (57.28), and was named the CAL Boys Athlete of the Year and CAL Open Boys Athlete of the Meet. Gagnon would then win the 400 hurdles (56.49) and take third in the long jump (21-3) at the Division 2 Sectional, then end his season — and high school career — by placing fifth in the hurdles (56.31) and 17th in the long jump (20-1.25) at All-States.
Post-Graduate: Following an excellent track career at Triton, Gagnon would go on to compete at the University of Rhode Island.
2022: Max LaPointe
School: Amesbury.
MVP Season Highlights: It was a senior season that saw LaPointe break the Amesbury discus record a remarkable four times, starting right away at the first meet of the year when he tossed a 156-9. The two-time Daily News All-Star was crowned a two-time CAL Open Champion, after winning both the discus (156-4) — by over 25 feet — and the shot put (47-10.25). He then earned the title of Division 6 State Champion in the discus (162-2) while also placing second in the shot put (46-7), then went on to Meet of Champions and broke the Amesbury discus record a final time to take home the silver medal (167-7). Finally, to end his season and high school career, LaPointe was named All-New England after placing fifth in the discus at the New England Championship (163-6).
Post-Graduate: LaPointe just wrapped up his junior year competing at the Division I collegiate level at the University of New Hampshire. He unfortunately battled some injuries over his first two years, but was back at full strength this spring and threw a personal-record in the discus to place fourth at the NEICAAA Outdoor Championships (50.72m, 166-5).
2023-24: Aiden Donovan
School: Amesbury.
MVP Season Highlights: The former baseball player switched to focusing on track, and was subsequently named our back-to-back Daily News Outdoor MVP. As a junior during the 2023 campaign, he helped Amesbury win the CAL Baker title and both the Division 6 State Relays and Division 6 State Championship. The CAL Open saw him win both the shot put (52-0.50) and the discus (146-1) to help the Redhawks place second as a team, then he would go on to Division 6 States and earn the silver medal in the shot put (52-5) and the bronze in the discus (157-4). Donovan would finish fourth in the shot put (53-1.50) and 12th in the discus (143-6) at Meet of Champions, then end his season taking 14th in the shot at the New England Championship (50-4), and ninth at New Balance Nationals in the Rising Stars Division (52-1.75).
And of course, a year later he would take it up another level.
The CAL Baker MVP as a senior in 2024, Donovan opened his season leading Amesbury to its second straight Division 6 State Relays title as a member of the winning shot put and discus units. He would then successfully defend his titles at the CAL Open, breaking both the meet record and the Amesbury school record to win the discus (171-11) and the shot put (59-0). That was only the beginning, though, as Donovan would next be crowned the Division 6 State Champion in both the discus (170-10) and the shot put (57-3.50). The 6-foot linebacker was hoping to break 60 feet at Meet of Champions, but still managed to earn the bronze medal with a toss of 56-2.50. He left Amesbury a two-time Daily News Outdoor Track All-Star (2x MVP), a three-time Indoor Track All-Star and a two-time Football All-Star.
Post-Graduate: Donovan is fresh off a record-breaking freshman year at the Division 1 level for UMass Amherst. During the indoor season he broke the UMass freshman record in the shot put (52-4), with that throw placing him third at the Atlantic-10 Conference Championship. Then during this spring’s outdoor campaign, he placed sixth in the shot put (53-7.75) and seventh in the discus (158-7) at the NEICAAA Outdoor Championships. He was named to the A10 All-Rookie Team as well as All-Conference, and during the A10 Outdoor Championships he set a new UMass freshman record in the shot put to place second (16.377m, 53-8.50), while also placing second in the discus (48.60m, 159-5).
2025: Jalen Wise
School: Newburyport.
MVP Season Highlights: The senior went out being named the CAL Kinney MVP this spring. After breaking the Newburyport triple jump record during the regular season (46-3.50), Wise raced to first at the CAL Open in both the 800 (2:00.25) and the triple jump (44-7), while also running the third leg on the second-place 4×400 relay (3:37.41). The Division 4 State Meet would then see him earn silver medals in both the triple jump (45-5) and with the 4×400 unit (3:32.26), then finished ninth in the 800 (1:59.10). Together, it all set the stage for Meet of Champions, where he placed 15th in the triple jump (43-6.75) and 24th in the 800 (2:03.48) to wrap up his excellent career. Wise leaves Newburyport as a two-time Daily News All-Star in both track seasons.
Post-Graduate: Wise will continue his track career at Bryant University at the Division I level.