ALEX CARUCCI, pictured here on a long touchdown run at Gillette Stadium during North Reading’s first Super Bowl victory this past December, was recently named the 2022-23 MIAA Student Athlete of the Year. Carucci will move on to Union College in the fall where he will play football and pursue a degree in Biomedical Engineering. (File Photo)
By DAN ZIMMERMAN
NORTH READING — Shaquille O’Neal, former National Basketball Association icon, once said, “Excellence is not a singular act but a habit. You are what you do repeatedly.”
Alex Carucci, North Reading’s premier athlete, has delivered repeated excellence in recent years, as a captain on the gridiron, the baseball diamond, the basketball court and in front of a podium as a two-year Student Class President.
Several weeks ago, family, friends, and supporters acknowledged Carucci for his selection by the Shriners Organization to compete in the 2023 All-Star Football Classic. Along with North Reading football teammate Sam Morelli and head coach Ed Blum, Carucci made the trip to Bentley College in Waltham and contributed as a defensive back to a 17-14 North squad win.
The tributes recognizing the achievements of this celebrated student-athlete, continue to emerge. Two weeks ago, Carucci was bestowed with the 2023 Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletics Association Student-Athlete of the Year Award, which provides a $1500 scholarship for the recipient.
“I didn’t even know I was in the running for it,” said Carucci, when asked about his reaction when he learned about the award. “When I got the phone call, I thought it was a spam call and immediately hung up. They called back and it was then that I realized it could be something important. I was selected by the Agganis family from the pool of athletes selected monthly during the school year.”
In 2022, within days of leading his team to a first-ever North Reading Super Bowl win, Carucci received the December MIAA Student-Athlete of the Month award. Nominated by Blum, he was praised for managing 6 AP courses and maintaining a 3.93 GPA, as well as his activities as Class President and working with disabled students.
“Alex’s pursuit of greatness in academics and athletics is unmatched,” stated his Coach in the MIAA press release at the time. “He has been able to achieve so much individually, while giving back even more by his volunteer work.”
Carucci, 18, will move on to Union College in Schenectady, New York this Fall and plans to pursue a degree in Biomedical Engineering while contributing his talents to the school’s topnotch football program. In the meantime, he will continue to work a summer desk job at Athletic Evolution training center in Wilmington, as well as take part in youth baseball clinics and enjoy a senior trip to the Bahamas.
Carucci spoke highly of his 21-year-old brother Aidan, who is currently a senior at Providence College.
“When my brother was in high school, he didn’t get as involved as he would have preferred,” Carucci recalled. “He encouraged me to get more involved, including running for Class President. I was a little timid at first but then I decided to go for it. It was an honor to represent such a great class over the last two years.”
Carucci is excited about joining the college ranks but admits he is “sad” about leaving behind the community that made him the person he is today.
“While it’s tough to leave North Reading behind, I am looking forward to the next chapter,” he shared. “But my family is one that tends to come back to this special town and that could potentially be in the cards for me, as well.”
When asked the most pressing question – does he intend to claim a keepsake swatch of the soon-to-be-replaced turf at Arthur J. Kenney Field, where he enjoyed unequaled success as the Hornet’s quarterback for the last two years, Carucci was steadfast.
“I was thinking about going over there with a knife and cutting a piece out,” he admitted. “I’m glad I didn’t because construction hasn’t even started yet and they’re still using the field. That wouldn’t have been a good move on my part.”
