Help a local family
Some tragic news unfortunately hit the community recently when it was announced that former Amesbury High athlete Henry O’Neill has been diagnosed with leukemia. A two-time Daily News Football All-Star and co-captain for the Redhawks (Class of ‘23), O’Neill is now a rising-junior playing the sport at Curry College.
Of course, the life-altering news has hit the community hard.
The Amesbury Football “X” account said, “’Hank’ is one of the absolute best human beings you’ll ever meet and is a tremendously tough individual. Please consider donating or sharing to support his family in this challenging time.”
A Go Fund Me has been set up to help support Henry and the O’Neill family, as they prepare to deal with the emotional, physical and financial challenges that come with this diagnosis.
Organized by family friend Colleen Arsenault, the page reads in part, “Henry is one of the strongest, kindest people in this world. I have been so fortunate to know the O’Neills over the years in Amesbury. Henry is an amazing friend to my boys, who see him as another brother in their lives. He always has a smile on his face and exudes positivity. Henry is extremely grateful for the love and support of his parents, sisters Emma and Lily, and his numerous friends. Now, it’s our turn to stand by Henry and his family during this battle to beat Leukemia.”
To donate, please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/54sr3-support-henrys-fight-against-leukemia.
Coffin commits to Union College
It’s another college commitment for the Newburyport girls soccer program.
Recently, rising-senior Sevilla Coffin announced that she’ll be continuing her career at Union College in upstate New York. The talented center midfielder arguably had the best vision in the Cape Ann League a year ago, finishing with 11 goals and a team-high 19 assists to help the Clippers (13-4-3) reach the Division 3 Round of 16. She was named both a Daily News All-Star and a CAL Second Team All-Star, and is a member of a supremely talented class that enters their senior year with a combined 42-11-6 record.
Coffin joins her goalie, Chloe Raby, who earlier this summer announced her commitment to DeSales University in Pennsylvania.
Zahornasky makes the team
A big congrats is in order to a now-former Triton standout.
The volleyball career for Laura Zahornasky is not over quite yet, as she’s made the team at the University of New England as a walk-on. The defensive specialist was a Daily News All-Star as a junior in 2023, when she put up multiple 25-plus assist games to help the Vikings make the Division 3 playoffs and win a game. She put up similar numbers as a captain last year, despite the Vikings being a bit younger and relying on new faces.
Her older sister, Nicole, was a former volleyball captain at Pentucket who graduated with the Class of 2022.
Captains Corner
The high school sports fall preseason is officially underway, and we at The Newburyport News want to again honor the area’s high school captains as part of our Captains Corner series. Coaches — or parents or the athletes themselves — who would like their captains featured are welcome to submit a photo to kgaudette@newburyportnews.com. Photos should have all captains featured and ideally in uniform.