Dartmouth High athletes make their college choices official

May 13, 2019

Four accomplished Dartmouth High athletes made their next steps in sports official during a college signing on May 13.

Two seniors, Lauryn Coelho and Ben Rioux, signed national letters of intent, while Sophia Sousa and Chloe Martinez signed celebratory letters to continue their athletic careers in college.

Martinez will be heading to Johnson and Wales University to play soccer. She started out in Dartmouth High on the junior varsity team, but was moved up to varsity in her sophomore year.

She’s learned quite a bit throughout her years at Dartmouth High, and called this past season the best. Her top memory from Dartmouth High is moments after the team’s final game, looking around and seeing everyone smiling and hugging one final time.

“By far my senior year is definitely the best, especially being coached by such a close friend,” Martinez said. “The team had such a good record this year.”

She’s already eager to start at Johnson and Wales, having already met the team’s coaches and fellow players.

“It’s just something I’m looking forward to do, getting the lay of the land, and learning more about the sport,” Martinez said.

Sophia Sousa will be heading to Fitchburg State University to play softball and field hockey. At Dartmouth High, she’s known many of her softball and field hockey teammates for seven to eight years through both high school athletics and the town athletic leagues.

“We have a lot of history together,” Sousa said. “It’s always been fun being on the field with my friends.”

She’s most proud of defeating Bridgewater-Raynham in her sophomore year, a first in years for the team. At Fitchburg, she is looking forward to further developing her skills in her sports and making new friends -- and studying criminal justice.

“I’m really close with the coaches and I’ve talked to both of them,” Sousa said. “I stayed overnight, met the girls, and we did clinics. They’re super nice and welcoming.”

Lauryn Coelho is heading to Assumption College to play volleyball, and signed a national letter of intent at the May 13 event. She started out at Dartmouth High on the junior varsity team, but soon rose to the varsity team in her junior year.

She walked onto the court for the first time brand new to the sport, and credits her coaches Jessica Lassey and Rachel Lassey with helping her develop her skills.

“I had absolutely no skill,” Coelho recalled. “I just walked in pretty much knowing nothing, but I fell in love with the sport my sophomore year and I have transformed since then.”

This past year, Coelho and her teammates beat undefeated New Bedford, which is one of her proudest accomplishments, along with coming back to defeat well-seeded Hingham in the postseason in her junior year.

At Assumption, she’ll be playing volleyball and studying pre-med or biology. She hopes to apply to the college’s PA program.

Ben Rioux has been running in varsity for Dartmouth High since his freshman year, taking up both winter and spring track.

He accomplished one of his biggest goals just this fall: Running a 17 minute 5K.

“That was my goal all summer, to break that,” Rioux said. “I was working really  hard over the summer and early in the fall. What made it even better is I had a bad start to that race. I came back in the second half and got the time I wanted.”

In September, he’ll be running for Bryant University after he signed his national letter of intent. He knows it’ll be a challenge with tougher workouts and more mileage, but he said he’s excited for the higher level of competition.

“I really like the coaches and teammates,” Rioux said. “We have a really young team, and I think that team is going to keep getting better throughout the year.”

Rioux will be studying economics and finance.