Winter 2017-2018 John Witherspoon Middle School Sports
Basketball Boys JW:
JW Boys Basketball – B Team The JW Boys Basketball B-Team finished with a very respectable 6-7 record. The team showed tremendous growth, as they began the season with an 0-3 record, but finished their season winning their final three games. This improvement was evident in the results throughout the season. The team lost their first game to Kreps 22-41, but when the teams met up again at the end of the season the results would surely be changed. Ultimately, JW was victorious with a big 42-26 win over a notoriously unbeatable Kreps team. JW’s second game was against Lawrence, which we lost 19-39. However, when we played Lawrence again one month later, JW would nearly win the game with a final score of 30-37, all proof of the hard-work invested by these student athletes. The team was supported throughout the entire season by four of our 7th grade student-managers, each who were given a uniform and played in the final game of the season, contributing to an inspiring 33-29 victory over East Amwell.
Basketball Girls JW:
The John Witherspoon Girls’ Basketball Team had a successful season under coaches Alicia Perrine and Justin Mathews. The team finished 11-6 with wins over Lawrence, Timberlane, Stuart, Thomas Grover, Cranbury, Kreps, Stonebridge, Community, and PDS. The team was led by eighth graders Sofia Aguayo, Hillary Allen, Jane Biggs, Frankie deFaria, Dasani Kelly, Lauren Klein, and Grace Rebak. The top scorer for the team was Lauren Klein with 205 points and 94 rounds on the season. Lauren was also recognized as “The Heart of the Team.” She was a leader on the stat sheet and an example to every player on the team and every player she competed against. Sofia Aguayo finished her third year with JW basketball collecting the most rebounds with 113 rebounds and 76 points on the season. Hillary Allen ended her three year membership on the team with an impressive 74 points and 111 rebounds. All three starting eighth graders will be missed. Other offensive leaders included Macayla Rodriquez with 60 points and 50 rebounds, and Michele Granozio with 54 points and 84 rebounds. Casey Serxner proved to be a skilled ball handler and reliable point guard. She was recognized as the player “Most Likely to be on Sports Center’s Top Ten.” Ava Caruso earned 6th grade “Rookie of the Year” honors for her ability to shot and drive to the basket. The highlight of the season was the 38-36 win against Kreps Middle School toward the end of the season. After an earlier loss to Kreps by 4 points, the girls demonstrated their growth as a group and managed to earn a win in overtime away from home. We are very proud of the accomplishments of the girls and we look forward to more success next year. Good luck to our 8th graders as they prepare to enter PHS.
Swimming Coed JW:
Dual Meet Opponents- Wilberforce, Stuart Country Day, Edgars Middle School, Elizabeth
we posted wins against all of our opponents
Our roster held 73 active members for the swim team this year. The swimmers’
technique, knowledge and overall fitness improved immensely over the season. We started our season early, which I feel was beneficial to our program. The extra time gave Coach Knox and myself ample time to teach the different strokes and turns prior to our first meet. We held practice three mornings a week which seemed to help this season with attendance. I would definitely recommend we continue next year with the same practice schedule. Coach Rylak did an outstanding job with our special needs swimmers. These swimmers fully participated in practices and swim meets. All swimmers improved over the course of the season. Parents actively supported our team with providing assistance at swim meets, team breakfast and our end of season pizza party. Recording of times would be impossible without the continue support of our parents.
Wrestling JW:
The John Witherspoon Middle School Wrestling Team had a successful season. The team finished a 3-7 record, with wins over Cranbury, Timberlane, and Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart. This was one of the most successful seasons in recent memory. We had many first-time or new wrestlers, and many of them made clear strides in their ability and interest throughout the season. Thanks to increased student interest, we are hopeful that we can build a stronger program that will feed into and support the high school program. One of the turning points for our season was our match versus Timberlane. Against a consistently strong program, we won the majority of our matches. Many of the matches we won by pin or a major decision. In a year where we started with a very one-sided match against Kreps, the coaches viewed this match as a representation about how far the team had progressed through the first two months of the season. One highlight of our season was our county tournament at Robbinsville High School. Against teams from all over the county, we had two wrestlers come in first place in their weight brackets: 7th grader Marty Brophy and 8th grader Aaron Munford. Munford in particular excelled, he won Most Outstanding Wrestler at the tournament, a huge honor for a wrestler. We were very proud of their accomplishments! Overall, we were pleased with the team’s performance and growth this year. Good luck to our 8th grade wrestlers heading to the high school, and we look forward to continuing our work next year.
Wrestling JW:
This season JW has several season highlights by both individual wrestlers and as a team. On an individual level, Martin Brophy and Aaron Mumford both won the county title with Arron coming away with Most Outstanding Wrestler. Basil Rieger and Christian Paul posted winning records as first year wrestlers to accompany the winning records of several of the veteran guys. Multiple team wins were posted this season while occupying only 12 of the 19 weight classes. The team grew to finish with 17 active members. One third of the team were sixth graders and interest continues to build for next season.