For their accomplishments both in the classroom and in their respective athletic endeavors, seniors Sydney Trout of Pentucket track and lacrosse and Nate Rosen of Marblehead swimming have been chosen as the Moynihan Lumber Student-Athletes of the Month for December.
For Rosen, being a senior captain has taken on a whole new meaning.
Over the first three years of his Marblehead High career, Rosen was mainly focused on posting the best possible times he could in his main events: The freestyles and the relays. And, yeah, that was something he was pretty good at, as the Salem News All-Star has posted stellar career-best times in the 50 free (23.5), 100 free (50.8), 200 free (1:50.88) and 500 free (5:10.21).
And it’s not like that’s not a goal for this year, too.
Rosen has already qualified for the Division 1 State Championship meet in the 500 free, and over a handful of his teammates have done the same in various other events. But now as a captain, with the inevitable end to his high school swimming career drawing closer, a new goal has risen to the forefront.
“I want to leave the team better than I found it,” said Rosen. “The clearest goal I had for myself was making States. But since I’m a captain, I really wanted to lean into having more fun with the team this year. I wanted to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves and loving the sport.”
Safe to say that attitude of excellence has translated over to the classroom.
With a sparkling 4.56 GPA, Rosen sits near the top of his Marblehead senior class. His five AP classes this year can certainly be challenging at times, especially Calculus and Physics, but he’s found that even the lessons learned in those two can go hand-in-hand. And when he gets that “ah-ha!” moment when a lesson finally clicks, for him there’s no better feeling.
“I’ve always tried to do the best I could in school,” said Rosen, who still looks back fondly on Mr. Fu’s computer science class as his favorite. “I’ve always showed up at school wanting to learn something, and looking back that’s the mindset that gets me through when I have like six tests in a row. I love feeling like I’ve achieved something mentally.”
Outside of class, the schedule is just as busy.
Rosen is the co-President of the National Spanish Honors Society, volunteers for the Marblehead Conservancy to help clean up the town’s woods and beaches, and also teaches swimming and lifeguards at the Marblehead JCC. Ideally he would like to continue swimming at the college level, but is still working through his plans after applying to various NESCAC schools.
“I’ve been used to this routine for a long time now,” said Rosen. “It forced me at a young age to learn how to handle my time. During high school season it definitely is harder to juggle. But I just try to get ahead as often as possible, and get homework done during open periods during the school day.”