Lacey Downey, Brady Clark named recipients of the Butch Dellecave Award
Bayport-Blue Point senior Brady Clark and West Babylon senior Lacey Downey hold the Butch Dellecave Awards for Suffolk high school athlete of the year at the 23rd annual Dellecave Award Ceremony at Villa Lombardi Catering Hall in Holbrook on Sunday. Credit: Morgan Campbell
Lacey Downey has had an exceptional high school sports career. The West Babylon senior has been recognized for her performance on fields and courts more than any other student-athlete in Long Island history, collecting eight Newsday all-Long Island selections in girls lacrosse, girls basketball and field hockey.
Now she has a trophy that might stand out above all the rest.
Downey on Sunday was named the recipient of the Butch Dellecave Award as Suffolk County’s top female scholar-athlete of the year. The Dellecave Award recognizes a student-athlete not only for performance on the field but also in the classroom, community service and outside activities.
Brady Clark, the two-sport star of the football and baseball teams at Bayport-Blue Point, received the Dellecave Award as Suffolk’s top male scholar-athlete of the year at the 23rd annual Dellecave Awards breakfast at Villa Lombardi’s in Holbrook.
The awards are presented by Newsday and the Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk.
Both Downey and Clark were selected from a pool of 53 nominees, one from each of 53 schools located in the county, in a process that seeks what Dellecave’s son, Guy, termed “the best of the best.”
The other five female finalists were Sophia DeBonis of Bay Shore, Leah Treglia of Smithtown West, Lauren Hoppe of Centereach, Stefania Abruscato of Hauppauge, and Caitlyn Gabrinowitz of Longwood.
The other five male finalists were Evan Spagnoletti of Huntington, Matthew Garside of Kings Park, Chris Carson of Lindenhurst, William Francois of Longwood and Chris Trebing of Smithtown East.
“To win this award is a superb feeling,” Downey said. “Look at the other [nominees]: people who are going to Navy, people who are joining the Army, people who work in the neonatal [unit] at a hospital. It’s a surreal feeling to have been chosen among all those incredible people.”
“The award is a really big honor because it’s about both athletics and academics,” Clark said. “High school has been filled with so many great things and this is a really nice way to end it. I am so happy about this.”
Asked about this year’s collection of 106 nominees, Guy Dellecave said, “The athletic prowess of these kids and things that they’ve accomplished on the court and on the field is amazing, but to see what they’ve done as people as members of their communities? That is something that my father would have been especially proud to see here.”
The eight all-Long Island selections may not even be the most staggering number associated with Downey. She posted a 107 weighted classroom average and her array of community service contributions includes helping to raise money for those affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center by helping to run the annual Ray Downey memorial 5k race. The event is named for her grandfather, an FDNY deputy chief who perished on 9/11.
She credits her ability to balance classroom work with athletics to parents Christine and Ray, who are both teachers.
“I definitely was just lucky with my genes,” said Downey, who will attend Boston College in the fall and will play lacrosse while pursuing an engineering degree. “It kind of just comes naturally . . . and I love to learn. I know that athletics isn’t going to take me as far as academics . . . so it’s always been on my mind to be the best in the classroom.”
Clark’s award caps an exceptional final year of high school. In the fall, he helped Bayport-Blue Point to an unbeaten football season, guided the Phantoms to the Long Island Class IV championship and won the Hansen Award as Suffolk’s top player. This spring, he helped the baseball team win 23 of its first 24 games and earn a berth in the Suffolk Class A championship series.
He excelled in the classroom with a 97.4 weighted GPA and scored 1,310 on the SAT. He also was a volunteer instructor for community youth sports programs.
“I feel very lucky in that I have been part of a great community that I have really enjoyed playing for,” Clark said. “My parents, my coaches and my teachers have all [had an impact]. They have [nurtured] my willingness to work hard and try to be great. And I believe what really separates people is that willingness . . . I’m nothing but grateful to be picked from all these great [candidates].”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
