Watertown’s Kennedy Named National Field Hockey Athlete of the Year

Charlie Breitrose

Watertown field hockey player Kourtney Kennedy added National Athlete of the Year to her list of honors.

Kourtney Kennedy had already enjoyed a successful senior season, winning a state championship and collecting many accolades, and now she has received an honor never given to any field hockey player from Watertown, or even Massachusetts – National Athlete of the Year.

Kennedy received the National High School Senior Field Hockey Athlete of the Year honor, the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) announced this week.

“Kourtney is an excellent example what this award stands for,” said Eric Hess, Executive Director of the NHSCA said in the award announcement. “Kourtney has excelled on the field and off.  She is a leader that led her school to national records for victories. We congratulate Kourtney on an outstanding high school career.”

She is the first winner from Massachusetts in the 18-year history of the NHSCA Field Hockey Athlete of the Year Award. As Senior Athlete of the Year, Kennedy will receive a trophy, plus she will be honored – along with honorees from 20 girls and boys sports – in the National High School Sports Hall of Fame Museum that the NHSCA will be building in the near future.

Charlie Breitrose

Watertown senior Kourtney Kennedy winds up for the winning goal against Oakmont in the 2016 state final.

Kennedy served as co-captain of the Raiders this season, and contributed to another state championship (the team’s eighth in a row), an undefeated and untied season, and she scored the winning goal in Watertown’s 4-3 victory over Oakmont in the State Final. She ended her WHS career with 112 goals and 92 assists.

During her time at WHS, the field hockey team set the records for longest unbeaten streak in 2015 and longest winning streak in 2016 – 183 and 123, respectively, and counting.

Her play earned Kennedy the Boston Globe’s Div. 2 Field Hockey Player of the Year award both her junior and senior seasons. She also was the Middlesex League MVP, and was named Second Team All-American for the second year in a row.

Next year Kennedy will play field hockey at UConn, where she hopes to continue her success, and perhaps add a national title to her four state titles.