Upper School Winter Athletics

Athletics

Upper School Winter 2019-20

Ice Hockey Coaches: Tom Horsley, Chauncey Farrington, and Elliot Coates

This was a rebuilding year for the Pennington School Ice Hockey team. The team was led by co-captains senior Deon Kraft and junior Bill Bernal. Several younger players were required to step into significant roles. Freshman Chris DeLellis led the team in scoring with our best two-way player, sophomore Andrew Stournaras, close behind. Senior Malcolm McGill split time this year, starting out on defense and transitioning to offense in the second half to take advantage of his speed and energy. Freshman Wolfie Meinhart used his hockey sense and skills to lead the defense. Goalie Bernal was named to the first team All League for the third straight year and the Trentonian first team All Prep for the first time. DeLellis made second team All League and honorable mention All Prep.

Boys’ Basketball Coaches: Chandler Fraser-Pauls ’11, Ryan Stokes, and Ryan McCoy

Progress: That is the word Coach Fraser-Pauls would use to describe the 2019–20 Pennington Boys’ Basketball season. Although there were ups and downs throughout our season, there is no doubt the young men became better players, a better team, and, most important, better people over the course of this year. Winning the John Molinelli Holiday Classic over Winter Break was one of the highlights of our season. Coach Fraser-Pauls said, “Overall, I could not be more proud of our group for buying in and setting the foundation for our program for years to come.” The team will have a majority of the players return next year, and everyone is excited to continue to work hard and make progress as a program going forward. A special thanks to our seniors Max Henry and Rickey Eng for their leadership throughout the year, and we wish them the best as they move ahead!

Winter Track Coaches: Rick Ritter and Long Ding

From early meets at Peddie to qualifying for and competing at the Eastern States Championship, this has been a season to remember. The boys’ team ended the season with a record of seven wins and six losses. Early in the season, the teams ran at the Bishop Loughlin Games on Staten Island. Drayton Kolaras took second in the Frosh 600 Meter and third in the Frosh 1,000 Meter, while Isaiah Muse took seventh in the 300 Meter and a strong fifth in the 55-Meter Dash. Muse once again ran well representing Pennington at the Mercer County Championships, placing fourth in the 55 Meter. The team did well at the State Championship meet, placing third overall. A highlight that day was the 55-Meter finals with Pennington sweeping it! Jabril Walker came in third, Aidan Israel came in second, and Muse took first place. Muse then came back and won the 200 Meter and 400 Meter, ultimately anchoring the 4x400 Meter Relay with a gold medal. While running at the North Shore Invitational meet in New York City, Muse set a new School record of 51.00 in the 400 Meter.

The girls’ team was young and resilient. Our final record was three wins and seven losses. We ended with a respectable fourth place at States despite being outmatched by teams with more girls and more experience. There was personal growth and there were little successes along the way. The team effort at States was palpable. The team has many positive things hopefully to build upon for next year!

Girls’ Basketball Coaches: Jeff Eckerson and Holly Jones

After losing six seniors to graduation last year, the Varsity Girls’ Basketball Team had no seniors on this year’s team. The young group, including two freshman starters, worked hard every game and finished with a 7–15 record. Sophomore MK Kramli led the team in scoring, including sinking 47 three-pointers. Junior Sophia Kavulich was the second-leading scorer and also led the team in rebounds and assists. Freshman Reagan Amberson led the team in steals. Freshman Macayla Rodriguez was also a starter and contributed significantly in all statistical categories. Season highlights included two wins over Princeton Day School and a close victory over Perkiomen School. The team improved significantly throughout the season and has a very bright future ahead with all players returning next year.

Swimming Coaches: George Ward ’88, Scott Doughty, Maria Kane ’09, and Marisa Ferrari

Varsity Boys’ and Girls’ Swimming had a season for the ages. The boys finished 6–1 and the girls finished 5–2 in dual meets. The boys won their first 2020 Mercer County Tournament (MCT) championship by three points and their third NJISAA Prep B State championship in a row. The girls placed second at MCT and won the NJISAA Prep B State championship meet, scoring the most points for both the A and B divisions.

At Easterns, Pennington finished a best-ever sixth place in combined team scores, finishing ahead of local teams such as Peddie and Lawrenceville. It was a season of eleven new School records, as well. Three for our girls (Ellie Schinsky, Makenna Urbanek, Elena Nechay, and BB Kim) as well as eight for the boys (Ben Eckerson, David Curtiss, Oliver Gassmann, and Mark Usiskin) as well as new Mercer County records that included Liam Rodgers in the medley relay as well as Eckerson, Gassmann, Usiskin, and Curtiss. New state and pool records were written by Eckerson in the 100 Back at Lawrenceville; he also won “Swimmer of the Meet” honors. New Easterns meet and pool records were set by Curtiss at the Franklin & Marshall pool, where he also set a new National Independent Short Course Yards record in the 50 Free (19.42), breaking the 2012 record of American swimmer Ryan Murphy. This achievement is in addition to Curtiss’s national record in the 50 Meter Free (22.38) from the County meet!

According to SwimSwam.com, Curtiss finished his season as the seventh-fastest American ever in the 17–18 age group in the 50 Free, moving ahead of former Olympians Anthony Ervin and Gustavo Borges, who are now tied for eighth. Curtiss had planned to train for the Olympic Trials. The team says goodbye to thirteen incredible seniors, including captains Harper Usiskin, Blake Hart, and Jack Fancher.

Above: Boys' Swimming won the NJISAA Boys’ Swim Championships, which took place on February 4 at The Lawrenceville School.

Below: Girls’ Swimming won the NJISAA Girls’ Swim Championships, which took place on February 5 at The Lawrenceville School.

Upper School Athletic Awards Winter 2019–20

VARSITY

Ice Hockey Coaches’ Award—Malcolm McGill ’20 100% Hustle Award—Andrew Stournaras ’22 Total Dedication—Connor McAlister ’21

Winter Track Boys Red Raider Award—Isaiah Muse ’22 Leadership Award—Aidan Israel ’20 Stoker Award—Kenzo Takeda ’20

Winter Track Girls Red Raider Award—Julia Alito ’20 Leadership Award—Hope Blair ’20 Stoker Award—Shreya Krishnan ’20 Boys’ Basketball Coaches’ Award—Max Henry ’20 Coaches’ Award—Ryan Bowen ’21

Girls' Basketball Red Raider Award—Mary Kate Kramli ’22 Coaches’ Award—Sophia Kavulich ’21

Swimming Boys Greatest Contribution—Jack Fancher ’20 Red Raider Award—Blake Hart ’20 Coaches’ Award—Chris Long ’20

Swimming Girls Greatest Contribution—Harper Usiskin ’20 Coaches’ Award—Kate Long ’20 Red Raider Award—Jenna Kollevoll ’20

JUNIOR VARSITY

Boys’ Basketball I Coaches’ Award—Hieu Nguyen ’22

Boys’ Basketball II Red Raider Award—Ronan Hwang ’23 Coach’s Award—Patrick Riley ’23

Girls’ Basketball Red Raider Award—Holly Kennedy ’21 Coaches’ Award—Taylor Li ’20

Pool Construction UPDATE

In February 2020, the School started a major renovation project on the Michael T. Martin Aquatic Center’s pool, which was originally built in 1962 and later upgraded. Included in the massive overhaul was new plumbing, water filters, a new gutter system (which will make the pool considerably “faster”), new deck, brand-new custom SR Smith starting blocks, new in-deck components for the Colorado timing system, and the addition of underwater music!

The project should be near completion by the beginning of summer 2020 as you read this magazine!