Lee, O’Reilly share Springside’s Vare Award

Vare Award winners
Ariane Lee (left) and Bunny O’Reilly

by TOM UTESCHER

One has been at Springside School since Kindergarten, the other arrived for the last year of middle school. One is a lively, vocal source of encouragement for her teammates, the other is quiet and leads by example. Together, they’ve been a significant asset to their varsity sports teams, so it seems fitting that Ariane Lee and Bunny O’Reilly share the 2005 Phyllis M. Vare Award, given each year to the outstanding athlete of Springside’s graduating class.

In the fall season, O’Reilly played soccer and Lee was a member of the field hockey team, and both played lacrosse in the spring. They each were team captains in their respective sports. A Springside “lifer,” Lee will attend American University, and is not sure at this point whether she’ll participate in a college sport. O’Reilly, who came to Springside from Gwynedd Elementary School in the eighth grade, is also headed to Washington, D.C., where she has accepted a lacrosse scholarship at Georgetown University.

“I think it’s great that they’re sharing this award,” remarked Brooke Fritz, the Lions’ lacrosse coach and the school’s Assistant Athletic Director. “They’re such good friends, but they’re very different people, and when they’re on a team together they really complement one another.”

Fritz also coached O’Reilly in soccer, and observed, “This year Bunny really stepped up in leadership and took on the challenge of being a captain. Soccer is not her primary sport, but she gave it everything she had, and even though she was out with an injury for three of our league games, she still made honorable mention on the All-Inter-Ac team.

“In lacrosse,” the coach continued, “she had to do almost everything for us because Emery [Maine, the team’s top midfielder] was out with mono for most of the season. Bunny had to come outside of her comfort zone and do a lot of extra things for the sake of the team.”

Describing Lee, the Lions’ lacrosse mentor said “She’s fun; she’s everyone’s favorite person. She’s easy to coach because when you ask her to do something she just goes out and does it. She had a great senior year and her play really improved. Her goal at the beginning of the season was to score three goals a game, and that’s what her average turned out to be.

“As a captain, she was our problem solver,” Fritz went on. “If anyone had an issue, they went to Ariane. She was the go-to person for moral support.”

Like Lee, O’Reilly was an attacker in lacrosse, and emerged as Springside’s leading scorer. As a lefthander with impressive open-field speed, she was recruited by numerous Division I schools. She chose Georgetown over Dartmouth, signing a scholarship agreement with the Hoyas last November. Two of her former Springside teammates are already there, goaltender Maggie Koch, who’ll be a junior, and midfielder Zan Morley, who’ll be a sophomore.

At this point, O’Reilly’s not sure exactly what her major will be, but thinks she will choose to concentrate her efforts in the humanities, possibly in English or comparative literature.

Lee has always thrived in her math classes, and enjoys history as well. A Business major is an attractive option, but she too is not ready to be pinned down just yet.

She had many college options, and liked the total package American University offered.

“It’s in a city, but it has its own campus atmosphere,” she said. “It’s got a great study-abroad program, and a great Business program.”

It’s also got three of her classmates from Springside: Carmelia Estriplet, Maggie McGrath, and Kia Muhammad.

In their final year at Springside, the Vare winners and their fellow seniors had imposing footsteps to follow, because the classes ahead of them had produced many talented athletes.

“It seemed that Springside might be worse off this year because the class ahead of us was so strong in sports,” O’Reilly commented, “but I think we shouldered that burden well, not just in the sports I played, but across the board.”

Lee noted, “My main thing was to keep everybody motivated. I never liked captains who screamed and yelled and carped on your weak points. I wanted the team to have fun, and I wanted to be there if someone needed to talk about a problem they were having. If I saw someone frustrated or upset, I’d go over and try to pick up their spirits.”

Both of the departing Lions leaders feel good things are in store for their successors at Springside.

“I think with the new field house opening, Springside can’t go anywhere but up,” O’Reilly said. “They’re poised to take a step forward with the athletic program, and I think there’s support for that from the school administration, which is important.”

O’Reilly has concrete plans to continue her athletic pursuits at the college level, and it seems that Lee, who was once almost certain that she wouldn’t play, is starting to realize how much she’ll miss being part of a team.

“I’m still in the deciding phase,” she explained. “Now I’m contemplating trying out. I talked to the lacrosse coach, and she said just to come see her when I get down there in August, so it’s nice to know the opportunity is there.”

“I hope she changes her mind about playing in college,” said Brooke Fritz, “because I feel she definitely could play at American if she wanted.”