Oxford High's Lauren Puishys has done it all

Photo and text by Steev Riccardo

It’s hard to imagine a high school student who has been involved in as many activities and at the same time has the grades that Oxford High School senior Lauren Puishys has had.

Ranked third in her class, Puishys has been one of the school’s top athletes, playing three sports, captain of the school band, class secretary for four years, National Honor Society secretary, and a member of the schools “Best Buddies” program. How is that for a resume? We didn’t even mention that she is one of the most popular and well-liked girls on campus! 

As Puishys prepares for her final few months at Oxford High School and one more season on the girls' softball team, the Worcester Poly Tech-bound senior took some time to reflect on all her accomplishments at the school.

Perhaps her greatest accomplishment, aside from her stellar grades, has come on the girls' field hockey team where, as the teams goalie, she was named to the Southern Worcester County League all-star team three year straight and was a Central Mass honorable mention all-star in her senior year. 

“I started playing field hockey in the seventh grade in intra-murals on a team called the Super Power Thingies.  That really was our team name and we made these weird looking shirts,” said Puishys.

The Super Power Thingies (you really can’t make stuff like this up) went on to change their name to the Fruity Fielders in the eighth grade and even though the names were funny, the core of the team was serious and very good on the field.

These “Fruity Fielders,” which included Puishys and teammates Linda Truong, Kadye McCarthy, Jenna Mandella, and Michelle Williams, would go on to form the core of the Pirates field hockey team for the next four years.

During her freshmen year, Puishys split the time with another goalie and eventually won the starting job in her sophomore year and was the starting goalie for the remainder of her remarkable high school career.  

Puishys had 13 shutouts, a pretty incredible feat for a high school goalie, in her spectacular junior season. However the real highlight of her field hockey career came during her senior year when the Pirates team went 18-0 during the regular season.  She calls beating rival Shepherd Hill during that astonishing run “the biggest highlight” of that unforgettable season.

She went on to have a fantastic senior year as the captain of the girl’s basketball team, averaging 14 points a game. It was her third straight campaign as the team’s starting center and despite a 6-14 season, she was clearly a bright spot.

As she gets ready for a final season as the Pirates' first baseman on the softball field, Puishys said her three-sport career has been “a little exhausting at times but is still a lot of fun.”

Once the season ends she will begin preparing for WPI, where she will study to be a veterinarian and also continue her field hockey career for the Division 3 School. She said that she is “excited to go to college to play field hockey” but will miss playing the other sports.

Several members of the Puishys family have attended WPI, so she is happy to keep the family tradition alive.

One of those members is her grandfather “Poppa Al,” who she calls a role model. “He really pushed me into sports and helped me learn everything.”

Puishys, who has lived in Oxford in the same house with her parents Debbie and Bob her entire life, is excited about school but will miss people like her best friend Laura Holmes who “was always there for me,” and of course there are the Super Power Thingies or the “Fruity Fielders” if you prefer.  “I was always close with the girls I played volleyball with. We were all together for a long time and went through a lot together.”

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