ESPNBoston.com and its High School section announced that Duxbury Dragons’ senior captain and defenseman Martha Findley is the recipient of its second annual “Miss Hockey” award, presented annually to the top female high school hockey player in Massachusetts.

Findley helped Duxbury to back-to-back Division II state titles in 2011 and 2012 and was part of a blue-line group that held the opposition to just 21 goals in 23 games this year.

The honors keep coming for the Lady Dragon hockey team that won its second consecutive Division 2 championship when the Boston Globe named three Duxbury players to its All-Scholastic Super Team over the weekend.

The Dragons opened their season with perhaps their easiest opponent of the year last Thursday afternoon when they took on Patriot League foe, Quincy HS, and overwhelmed the Presidents to the tune of 16-0.

Playing at the JV level during the 2011 season due to a lack of bodies, Quincy had the misfortune of returning to a varsity schedule and opening its season against the eight-time State champs on the road.

The Duxbury varsity sailing team is off to a strong start with a 4-1 record against some of the toughest competition in New England.

The varsity season started last Wednesday at the Duxbury Bay Maritime School with a 3-2 victory over Portsmouth Abbey: a strong team and perennial finalist in the New England team race championship. It was important for the Dragons to get a win over them early in the season in the best-of-five series under cloudy skies and cold temperatures

Senior forward Kelsey Powers has been named a Boston Bruins-MIAA Hockey Sportsmanship Award winner and was honored between periods at last week’s Bruins-Lightning game at the TD Garden.

The Duxbury boys’ tennis team split a pair of matches during opening week action, disposing of Marshfield, 5-0, and taking it on the chin against Cape Cod Academy, 4-1.

Senior Peter Muncey (6-1/6-0) barely broke a sweat at No. 1 singles, while classmate Connor O’Keefe (6-0/6-0) was even more efficient at No. 2 singles at Marshfield.

Last Wednesday night, the recently opened Quan’s Kitchen in Hanover played host to the Duxbury wrestling team’s awards banquet.  Outgoing Takedown Club president, Annemarie Kates, thanked the wrestlers, coaches and parents for their support and dedication throughout the season.

As is tradition from years past, the first award of the evening was presented by long-time Duxbury resident and teacher, Mary Barclay, who along with the coaches, selected junior Brian Leddie as the 2011-2012 recipient of The Brett and Kevin Barclay award given in memory of her two sons who were former DHS wrestlers. Leddie has had the last two wrestling seasons cut short due to injury, but he should be a big contributor to the team next season.

Freshman Pat Williams (DHS ’10) is an outfielder on the Westfield State baseball team. In a doubleheader earlier this season Westfield played Bowdoin with former Duxbury Legion teammates, Matt Savard (DHS ’10) and Danny Findley (Roxbury Latin ’09), on the other side of the diamond. Bowdoin swept the double header, 13-2 and 3-2, with all three players getting a base hit.

As with most extracurricular activities, fund raising is the backbone that enables the athletic department to function.  The funding that the school provides pays for the basics of our student-athletes: transportation, coaches, officials and fundamental equipment.  Booster Club, through its various fund raising activities, is able to give the student-athletes of Duxbury extra needed items.

The Duxbury High School Athletic Boosters Club (duxburyboosters.org) which ‘umbrellas’ all sports, purchases many big line items that are outside of the fiscal scope of the athletic department.  In the past few years, just a few of the items they have purchased are the following:

(GOING FOR TWO IN A ROW: DHS lacrosse captains for the 2012 season include, front: Max Randall and Henry Buonaguiro, while  Assistant Coach Tony Fisher and Head Coach Chris Sweet flank James Burke and Paul Hellar.)

The Duxbury HS athletic program is on another hot streak after winning the Division II girls’ hockey title earlier this month. Since the start of the 2010 academic year the Dragons have won State titles in five consecutive seasons. Could Chris Sweet’s lacrosse team make it six?

Having won eight State titles in the last 10 seasons, the Dragons are once again the favorites to repeat with a slew of college-recruited veterans returning for their final high school seasons.

Fairfield University freshman Bryan Barry (DHS ’11) was credited with 5 groundballs in the Stags’ 10-9 OT win against UMBC earlier this month. He was also credited with 2 groundballs in Fairfield’s 14-7 win over Vermont… Colby College freshman Brett Sahlberg (DHS ’11) is a member of the spring track team…

If there was any doubt about the confidence level of the Duxbury High School girls’ hockey team, it was never in evidence prior to Saturday night’s game with DII North champions, Belmont HS, when the Lady Dragons danced to the music of The Village People’s YMCA before taking the ice at the Gallo Arena in Bourne.

Considered by many to be the best girls’ hockey team in the state, regardless of division, the Lady Dragons had their iPods blaring and the PA system blasting away with enough tunes to induce a pre-game jump to their skate.

Freshman Clark Demos (DHS ‘11) and his Skidmore lacrosse team beat Bates last week, 14-10. Demos caused 3 turnovers and had 2 ground balls… Freshman Keri Gould (DHS ’11) has been named to the Northeast-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll for the Fall of 2011”. It recognizes all varsity athletes who achieved academic honors in the NE-10 conference…All-New England senior attack Trisha Babson (DHS ’08) had 3 goals and 3 assists, won 12 face-offs and corralled eight draw controls to power the Babson College women’s lacrosse team to a 15-4 victory over Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon. Earlier in the week she had a goal and an assist in an 11-8 loss to Bates… Cornell senior Scott Austin (DHS ’08) scored 2 goals and dished out an assist in his team’s 19-4 win over Canisius on Saturday in Ithaca… Senior Gus Quinzani (DHS ’08) secured a groundball in St. Joseph’s 11-3 loss to Brown on Saturday in Philadelphia…Senior John Keating (DHS ’07) started in left field for the Wheaton College baseball team in its 4-3 season-opening loss to Cortland State in Florida… Senior Mark Murphy (DHS ’08) was credited with 2 groundballs in Bates’ 7-1 loss to Middlebury on Saturday in VT… Senior Charlie Willauer (Proctor ’08) scored the go-ahead goal in Wheaton’s 7-5 win over UMass-Dartmouth last Wednesday in Dartmouth. He followed that on Saturday with a goal in an 11-10 loss to Roger Williams… In that same game sophomore John Ricciardi (DHS ’10) was credited with an assist for Roger Williams… Senior Elwin McCarthy (DHS ’08) was credited with 4 groundballs in Nichols’ 7-2 loss to Salem State on Saturday in Salem… Senior Chris Casey (DHS ’07) and his Sacred Heart lacrosse team stunned Yale, 13-12, last week. He followed that with a 5-shot performance in a 9-6 win over Manhattan on Saturday… Senior Harry Holden (Portsmouth Abbey ’09) scored a goal for Endicott in its 10-9 win over Eastern Ct. State last Tuesday… Junior Derek Sweet (DHS ’08) had an assist in Lynchburg’s 17-2 pounding of Marywood… Junior Mike Griffin (DHS ’09) was credited with 2 groundballs in Babson’s 6-5 loss to Union for its first loss of the year… Junior Cory DeCollibus (Tabor ’09) and her College of Charleston Sailing team placed third at the Graham Hall team races in Annapolis, MD… Junior Zack Runci (DHS ’09) led his Old Dominion sailing team to a third-place finish in the A Division of the ODU Spring Open in Norfolk, VA last week… Sophomore Dan Buonagurio (DHS ’10) recorded 2 groundballs in Bentley’s 13-7 loss to C.W. Post on Saturday on Long Island…  Freshman Hakeem Leckey (DHS ’09) scored a goal last week in Syracuse’s 14-10 loss to Virginia… Freshman catcher Joe Coyne (DHS ’11) went 2 for 3 with a double and scored a run in his varsity debut in St. Joseph’s 5-1 win over Endicott on Sunday in Lake Wales, FL.

DHS Athletic Director Thom Holdgate has announced the following students as nominees for the 2012 Patriot League Scholar Athlete Award:

Female: Lindsay Jordan, Kristin McHugh, Emile Munson and Deidre Murphy.

Male: Jason Angell, Adam Fitzgerald, Aidan Garrity, Jack Guilfoile, Rob Johnson, Justin Marino and Andrew Padula.

Nominees were chosen for both their excellence in the classroom and participation in multiple varsity sports at Duxbury High School. The winners will be announced by April 1. Duxbury’s two winners will attend a league wide banquet on May 8 at the South Shore Country Club in Hingham