Female Athlete of the Year: Allegra Grant

As a shot from the opposing team skids the puck towards Big Red’s net, senior Allegra Grant dives to the left, deflecting the puck and helping Exeter retain its lead for the final minutes of the game. A dual-varsity captain and tri-varsity goalie, Grant is known as a formidable presence in the goal, whose sharp skills and impressive saves have carried the girls’ ice hockey, field hockey and lacrosse team to many close wins.

Under Grant’s leadership, girls’ field hockey finished with a 5-8-4 record this year, cutting three losses from their record from the previous season. Despite this improvement, the fall still proved to be a difficult season for the team. Grant’s numerous saves and strong leadership played an important role in the team’s success. Girls’ hockey’s head coach Melissa Pacific praised Grant as “the reason we had a chance every game.” Similarly, Upper Bonnie Labonte observed that she “embodies [girls’ field hockey].”

On the ice, the hockey team produced a solid season with 10 wins, during all of which Grant was indispensable. In addition to her skill in the net, Grant’s teammates described her leadership as one of her greatest contributions to the team’s success. “Allegra is a leader by nature,” upper Caroline Colbert said. “She was someone to look up to both on and off the ice. As an ice hockey captain, Grant led by example, always giving 100 percent in each drill and demonstrating her passion for sports on the ice and on Hatch field.” Throughout the season, fostering a close team atmosphere was one of Grant’s highest priorities. “I loved getting to know my teammates better,” she said. Grant would organize team dinners, movie nights and trips to Stillwells in an effort to make every girl on the team feel included—she encouraged even the shyest of preps to partake in the festivities.

“I definitely have felt pressured to work my hardest every day and to learn something from every play in order to make up for my lack of experience in both field hockey and lacrosse.”

Grant’s care for her teammates, compounded with her humility on and off the ice, established her as the girls’ hockey team’s emotional leader as well. “Allegra was the center of our team and carried us humbly through our high points and gracefully through our low points of the season,” Colbert said. “In between periods, Allegra always kept a positive attitude and tried to explain both the positives and negatives of the period, always keeping in mind that anything could happen in the next 15 minutes of the game.” While maintaining a focused demeanor during the games, Grant still liked to have fun with her teammates, a personality trait that is evident through her bond with LaBonte. “Allegra and I have pretty specific game traditions. We wear the same outfit for each game day and as soon as we see each other we ask, ‘What day is it?!’ The response is always: ‘IT’S GAMEDAY.’ And before games we warm up by playing ProKadima, which is a type a paddle tennis,” LaBonte said.

Grant’s teammates looked up to her as a valued peer and role model, but the respect she garnered extended well past the students. Coach Pacific described Grant as “one of the most humble and successful athletes she has ever coached” in her 11 years at Exeter.

“She has that calm, yet intense look in her eye,” Pacific explained. “Her teammates look to her for guidance and rally around her.” Grant will graduate from Exeter with a school record for most assists made by a goalie and a record-high save percentage. Pacific attributes Grant’s success to her technically sound game, derived from years playing in her hometown Winnetka, Illinois. Picking up a hockey stick for the first time around 10 years old, Grant began her career with the local Chicago Young Americans with whom she has experienced a degree of success, playing in the national championship game twice.

While still playing goalie, Grant’s role on the lacrosse team differs from her other two sports. Grant went from one of the more experienced girls on the hockey team to a new lacrosse player, starting only last year. She said that her experience starting new sports at Exeter has been a challenge due to the difficulties of balancing several sports and schoolwork. “It has been really tough over the last two years to start playing two new sports.” Grant said. “I definitely have felt pressured to work my hardest every day and to learn something from every play in order to make up for my lack of experience in both field hockey and lacrosse.” Regardless of her lack of previous experience, Grant shone as one of the team’s brightest stars. Helping the team to a 15-1 record going into E/a, Grant anchored Exeter’s defense with a multitude of saves. Upper Kate Haering recalled one particular play that showcased Grant’s constant athleticism. “We were at Middlesex, and Allegra had run out of the goal circle to get the ball from an opponent who dropped it,” Hareing said. “Unfortunately, we got a foul and Middlesex ended up having a free position in front of an empty goal. Grant was just a step outside the crease, and since the score was really close this goal might have cost us the win. When the ref blew the whistle, Allegra dove for it and somehow managed to knock the ball away from the far-side corner of the net. We had thought that there was no way even she could save a shot like that from so far away, but when she did we all went crazy—it was a great moment.”

A positive influence for her peers and her sport, Grant admitted that her time as an athlete at Exeter has had a similar effect on her life. “I think that sports have made a huge difference in my Exeter experience,” she said. “My teammates have always been there to pick me up, and my coaches have been an integral part of my support at Exeter. I’m not sure if I would have made it through the last four years without them.” Grant cites her own role models as Marley Jenkins and Carly Perreault, two of her teammates from the class of 2015.

“Since prep year I was inspired by watching Marley work her hardest everyday on the ice, even though it was her third sport. Carly is one of those people that you meet and think, ‘Wow, she’s a good kid,’” Grant said.

A hardworking student as well as an athlete, Grant enjoys chemistry and astrophysics. She will attend Wesleyan University in the fall, taking her talents to the school’s hockey and lacrosse teams, two well-respected Division III athletic programs. While she graduates from Exeter today, her impact as a goalkeeper and role model at Exeter will not be forgotten.