Speed, hustle, hard work pay off early for CHS senior

The CHS girls soccer team has enjoyed quite a bit of success over the past four seasons, and it has been due in no small part to the play of senior forward Hannah Link.

This season, Link’s offensive connection with classmate Tessa Cudmore provided for 17 goals and 12 assists and helped spark the team’s run to the Division 2 south sectional semifinals. Anyone watching her has likely noticed Link’s impressive speed and hustle.

Hannah Link signs her letter of intent to run track at Merrimack College.

This past fall, Merrimack College of North Andover noticed not only her athleticism, but also her strong academic record and her leadership and inked her to an early acceptance and a scholarship to join the college’s track team.

For Link, leaving soccer after playing four years at CHS was not an easy decision, but she found a new love in track and it is not going away.

She came away from her visit to Merrimack with great admiration for the college, its campus, and its track program, including the coaching staff.

Originally from Kansas City, Link moved to Canton in third grade and attended the Luce School. Over the years she has played for multiple youth teams in soccer, basketball and softball and continued playing all three sports her freshman and sophomore years at CHS.

Then she discovered the track team in her junior year and loved the coaching of Anna Amico and the camaraderie of the team.

“I always loved to run, still to this day,” she said. In her first indoor season, Link excelled in the 300m and as part of the 4×200 relay team that finished second overall at the Division 4 championships. She also placed a team-best seventh in the 400m at the D3 outdoor championships and was named an All-Hockomock selection and team co-MVP.

Link had initially shown an interest in both Merrimack and Assumption College but found the Merrimack campus “so awesome” that she reached her decision early. Next year she will be a part of the team’s 4×400 relay team that competes against Division I-2 schools.

Link said she loved her time with the CHS soccer team and has many fond memories of her teammates and coaches. “I met some great friends and teammates who pulled for one another and a great coach in Coach (Kate) Howarth,” she said.

Besides playing soccer and track, Link also serves as vice president of the political debate team and is a member of the National Honor Society. She plans to pursue a degree in either criminology or business while at Merrimack.

Her coaches at CHS also have great admiration for her.

“Hannah came in as a freshman and she was a very talented athlete,” recalled Howarth. “We could tell right away that she was a very raw, athletic kid. Those kinds of kids are very exciting to find because you’re able to refine them and take them from raw and talented to really quality players. She got tons of minutes as a freshman and just continues to become more and more important to our success.

“Hannah found ways to score goals and found ways to be successful. Those are the kind of kids you strive to have. She was a sponge and really tried to do the things we coached her on. It’s no shock that she turned out to be such a successful athlete. We are very happy for Hannah and know she’s going to do great.”

“Hannah is a really special student-athlete,” noted Amico. “She is one of those people that competes day in and day out at 100 percent. She always puts forth her best effort and pushes not only herself but those around her to be the best they can be.”

Amico said she was aware of Link’s athleticism when she joined the track team last season, but what impressed her most was her “competitive fire.” “She accepts nothing but her best and pushes herself to improve at all times,” she said. “More than that she is an exceptional leader and a role model to her teammates.”

“With only one year of high school track under her belt, there is so much potential for Hannah,” added Amico. “The sky is the limit for her and I can guarantee Hannah is the type of student-athlete that will do everything she can to reach her highest potential. Merrimack is extremely lucky to be gaining such a fantastic all-around student-athlete. I am so proud of the athlete and person Hannah is and am so excited to see where her hard work and competitive drive takes her.”

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Posted by Mike Berger on Dec 16 2016. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.