A much-deserved ceremony to acknowledge some of Cranston East’s most decorated student-athletes was held at the school on Tuesday morning, as faculty and coaches congratulated seven seniors that will be continuing their academic and athletic careers next year.

Molly Botts, Jacob Frost, Malik Gavek, Sam Hanley, Josh Hernandez, Sarah Coutu and McKenzie Richards all donned gear representing their respective schools during Tuesday’s ceremonies.

Richards, a talented three-sport athlete at East, will be continuing her softball career as a walk-on at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts, next year.

The infielder was a First Team All-Division II-West selection last spring as a junior, and she has continued her success at the plate this season for the ’Bolts in Division I.

“I visited a few schools, and then I stepped on (Assumption’s) campus and just felt like I was at home,” Richards said. “It’s not too far from home, but it’s also enough to get away. It’s Division II, so hopefully I can make the team and compete for a position to play. I know they have a good program there, so I think it’ll be a good fit.”

Frost has been a mainstay in East’s outfield for the majority of his high school career, starring in center field for the last two seasons, in particular.

He earned All-Division honors last season after hitting .321 with nine steals, 14 runs scored and three doubles.

Frost will look to patrol the outfield at the Community College of Rhode Island next spring.

“I wanted to go to CC because I wasn’t really sure where I wanted to go to college next year,” Frost, who excels both athletically and academically, said. “I know they have a very good program for baseball, and I definitely wanted to continue my career in baseball after high school. That was the big decision for me – to end my baseball career or go to CC and continue it, so that’s what I decided.”

Gavek will be walking on to the University of Rhode Island’s football team this fall after torching opposing defenses out of the backfield for East during his senior year, totaling 1,015 yards and 16 touchdowns.

He was equally impressive at defensive back, making 63 total tackles and 39 solo tackles.

To Gavek, the opportunity to play in his home state at the Division I level was too good to pass up.

“It feels really good to be able to play Division I for the state that I was raised in,” Gavek said. “There’s a lot of honor in that, and I just can’t wait to get on the field.”

Botts, who has excelled as a track and field standout at East, has accepted a scholarship to throw the hammer at URI next year.

She has put together a tremendously successful four years, taking seventh in the hammer at last year’s outdoor state meet, while also posting good results in the weight throw during the indoor season. Botts placed fourth in the weight throw at this year’s Indoor State Championships, and she also earned first at the Class Championships.

Thus far this outdoor season, Botts has placed fourth in the hammer at the Knights of Columbus Relays and third at the Classical Classic.

“I liked that it was in-state, and I liked the program they had better than other schools,” Botts said of choosing URI.

Hernandez, who helped set the school record in the 400 freestyle relay in the winter, will be taking his swimming talents to Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts.

He looked at a few other schools and also had a Division I offer on the table, but Gordon simply seemed like the right fit for him.

“Gordon just made me feel at home,” Hernandez said. “The coaching staff is really good, and the team has had a lot of success for a Division III program. They made it to D-III nationals. It’s a fast team, and I look forward to being a part of it.”

Hanley, another three-sport standout at East, will be continuing his basketball career at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York, next year.

The guard earned Second Team All-Division I-Central during his senior season, averaging 12.2 points per game and shooting nearly 90 percent from the charity stripe.

“They saw me at an AAU tournament last year, and I really like the coach,” Hanley said of choosing Hartwick. “He was actually at Bard College, another school in New York, and he got an assistant coaching job at Hartwick instead. He called me, and I really liked him and the program. They have a good accounting program too, so I was pretty interested in that.”

Coutu has arguably been the top point guard in the state over the last two seasons, earning Second Team All-State as a junior, before following that up with a First Team All-State selection this year.

She’ll move on to play at Manhattanville College, a Division III school in Purchase, New York.

However, Coutu did note that she had quite a bit of Division I interest, and is leaving the door open to potentially transfer to UMass Lowell after one season at Manhattanville.

“It was really hard because I was either going to (Manhattanville) or to a Division I school as a preferred walk-on or to redshirt,” Coutu said of making her decision. “Manhattanville gave me a lot of scholarship money and a merit scholarship, and I was really close to the coach, we’ve been talking for two years now, so I felt really strong about picking them. If I really like Manhattanville, I’m going to stay there for four years. I’m committed to them and their program.”

There’s no question that all seven athletes valued their time at Cranston East, as it helped to develop them both athletically and academically.

“It was an amazing experience and I’ll never forget it,” Richards said of her time at East. “It will be hard to let go, but there are good things to come. We’ll always have memories to look back on.”