Swimming 2019-20
The JW swim team consisted of 52 swimmers this season. We continued our undefeated record with wins over Wilberforce, Metuchen, Edison, Elizabeth as well as a nail biter against Wardlaw- Hartridge School. The latter meet was the closest any opponent has come to defeating our middle school swim team in recent history.
Four team records were broken this season. Henry Xu broke the 50 breaststroke record three times over the course of the season. Lauren Girouard broke the 100 free record and now holds four records. Kyleigh Tangen broke the oldest record which was established in 2013, with a time of 12.30. for the 25 yard freestyle. The relay team of Courtney Weber, Henry Xu, Lauren Girouard, Kyleigh Tangen broke the 100 Medley Relay which was established in 2015 with a time of 55.26. Besides the record breakers, the overall team improved tremendously on starts, turns and stroke technique.
Attendance was outstanding for an AM practice time. The swimmers were respectful of one another and great friendships were forged. It was a pleasure coaching this group of middle schoolers this season.
Many JW swimmers are interested in pursuing swimming on a club team or summer league team after their participation on the JW team. 15 participants were 8th graders. The Princeton High varsity coach has already made contact with our eighth graders for next year, asking them to consider swimming for PHS. The middle school program has been a great feeder program for our high school varsity program. For the coaches it has been a great joy seeing our students continue to participate in high school swim.
Chelsea Yousko was a helpful addition at the morning workouts, not only for providing supervision as a lifeguard but also for helping swimmers develop stroke technique. Chelsea also filled in as a coach when one was unable to attend a meet. Every year without fail, we are truly impressed with the improvement of our swimmers over the course of a three month period of time. Special thanks to the parents who worked the meets so each child would have their times recorded.
GOOD LUCK TO THE 8TH GRADERS! Submitted by Coach Welsh and Coach Knox
Girls Basketball
The JW Girl's Basketball Team played an excellent season with many personal bests. The top scorers of the team included 8th graders Casey Serxner, Riley Devlin, and Ava Caruso. The team saw many hardships through games but ultimately came out on top not by the score, but the attitudes that they portrayed. The girl's constantly encouraged each other and made sure that all the girl's concerns were heard. They worked as a team on and off the court, through practice and games. The A team entered the country tournament but lost a heartfelt battle at the end of the game. The B team played an awesome season with many 6th graders becoming leaders on the team. The 7th and 6th graders worked together to achieve their goals as well as learn development techniques to further their skills in basketball. Although the record was not one that the girl's wanted, they still did not get down on themselves. They made sure that they had fun, whether it was at practices, away games, or on the bus.
Good Luck to the 8th graders! Submitted by Coach Yousko and Coach White
Wrestling
This past season the wrestling team finished with a record of 4 wins and 9 losses. The team was composed of 25 wrestlers, occupying 14 of the possible 17 weight brackets. Three wrestlers placed in the county tournament including Basil Rieger placing third and Christian Paul pacing second. Cole Rose placed first in the county tournament as a 7th grader while finishing the season holding a perfect 15-0 record. Of the 25 team members, 13 were either first year wrestlers or 6th graders who were new to wrestling at the middle school level. The team graduates only 5 of the 25 members to the high school this year with hopes of having a team of at least 30 next year with hopes to occupy all weight brackets. Some of the major areas of change in regards to practice have included more routine drills that have proven effective in matches and revisiting moves for instructional break-down that’s have already been taught in the past. Rather than focus on learning many moves, spending more time on a smaller selection has allowed the team to be more experienced and comfortable using those moves in a match setting.
We consider the season, as a whole, be a success even with a negative record. After graduating 8 of our strongest wrestlers after the 2018-2019 season, the number of wrestlers has remained consistent with a similar amount of wins. Many of the wrestlers have expressed interest in pursuing wrestling outside of the middle school and regular winter season to enhance their skills for the seasons to come. Next year, given the wrestlers that will not graduate, 4 may be likely to place in the county as we look forward to the 2020-2021 season.
Submitted by Coach Gonzalez and Coach Hoamn