End of the Season Winter Sports Recap - Feb. 19, 2023

Basketball A Recap
Head Coach: Paul Clewell

The 2022-23 basketball season was met with excitement, growth and challenges as we spent the season working to develop our team and strengthen our abilities both on and off the court.  The players put together a great season, finishing with a record of 10-5 and completing the 5^th straight winning season for Basketball A. The team was led by an awesome group of eighth-graders and a great group of seventh-grade players. During the season, the team had some ups and downs, but they always kept the same demeanor and drive and worked hard. This year was highlighted with wins over PDS, Pennington, Rutgers Prep, Chapin, Newtown Friends and Hun. The team also notched a victory over Stone Bridge MS in the opening round of the Middle School Mercer County Tournament. This was the first win in this tournament since the 2018-19 season. It was also the first time since the 2018-19 season that two players scored over 200 points in a season. Gary Jennings and Walter Plimpton finished the season with 248 and 224 points. The team was full of heart and hustle, and the players stayed committed all season long. Coach Clewell and Coach Jeanes will miss this amazing group of 8th graders, but there are a lot of seventh and sixth-grade players ready to step up and fill their shoes.

Basketball B Recap
Head Coach: Denise Quenault

Since our very first day of practice back on Monday, November 14, the Princeton Academy B Team arrived at the gym every day with enthusiasm and excitement to play basketball. Through consistent practice, the boys became more and more comfortable dribbling, shooting, passing, and moving with and without the basketball. They spent 45 valuable minutes a day drilling various basic skills that allowed them to work on their game. With consistent effort and lots of drive, the boys were able to spend the last half of practice playing 3 on 2 - 2 on 1, reviewing our offense, defense, and out-of-bounds plays, as well as scrimmaging each other - honing in on those skills they were drilling every day. The heart of having a winning attitude and being "coachable" is being a team player. These young men quickly understood their job and what they needed to do to help our team the best that they could. All the boys were supportive and encouraging to one another, on and off the bench. The boys rolled through their season picking up a few wins and a few losses. They quickly learned what leadership was and what their roles were on the team. We couldn’t be prouder of this young team, who at times, were playing against teams that were older, and bigger than us. We hope the boys will continue to practice their basketball skills in the off-season so that they are ready and raring to go next season! We are already looking forward to next year! It has been a pleasure to coach your sons!

Wrestling Recap
Head Coach: Erich Trautwein

The "new look" Princeton Academy wrestling team took the mat for the 2022–23 season with 12 first-year wrestlers, a new assistant coach (Mr. Leonard), and new wrestling mats. This was also the first time in the 17-year history of the program that we were able to host multiple wrestling meets in the main gym area of the MACC as opposed to the mezzanine. With so many new wrestlers, the challenge was getting them up to speed and ready to compete while also making sure our returners were up to par. With some early success from our first-year wrestlers and our returners proving they could compete with anyone, the individual wins were mounting. The team score was a different story. We took some lumps throughout the year, matching up against some tough local public schools. One of the best parts about Princeton Academy's wrestling program is that we are the only middle school out of the ones we face that have fifth-graders competing. We also have a culture of making sure we get as many boys to have an opportunity to wrestle as possible against stronger competition, as this will make them better in the long term if they decide to continue to pursue wrestling more seriously. The season ended as it typically does with the Central Jersey Middle School Championships. Once again, we were the only independent school to attend, and we were able to add another medal to the trophy case as Kane Quenault '23, won his weight class (135 lbs.), and was voted by other coaches as the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. Given the fact that we are only losing one eighth grader to graduation, we have a solid nucleus of wrestlers that should continue to grow and develop if they continue with the sport. 

Squash Recap
Head Coach: Taylor Kenyon

2022-23 was an incredible year for the Princeton Academy squash program! One clear highlight of the season was a 6th place overall finish in Boys' Division I at the 2023 U.S. Squash Middle School Team National Championship in Philadelphia, PA. Our 2022-23 team was the third consecutive squash team from Princeton Academy to advance to the National Quarterfinal and to contend at the very pinnacle of Middle School Team Squash in this wonderful tournament. Moreover, we out-performed our expectations, finishing 6th after having been seeded #12 overall, more than any other team in Division I. 

With an incredible 25 total players involved in the squash program, 16 of whom represented the Varsity team in at least one match this season, this year's squash team was led by its Captain: J.J. Luo '23. J.J. stepped up in a big way this season, playing in ten of our 11 matches and always as our #1 seed, and finishing the season with a perfect 10-0 match record (and a perfect 30-0 game record!). J.J. rounded out his PASH Squash career with an incredible 17-2 individual match record over his last two seasons, and he went 7-1 in his eight matches at Nationals during that same stretch. Moreover, J.J.'s leadership during our practices and in guiding younger and less-experienced players throughout the season was crucial to our team's tremendous success and to our player's individual development over the winter months. Our program would not be set up for success in 2023-24 and beyond as much as it is without J.J. and his family. Our program is going to miss this young man wholeheartedly, and we coaches cannot wait to follow his squash career in the years to come! 

Jonathan Xu '24 and Yidrew Chen '24 also stepped up in big ways this year and emerged as our team's clear #2 and #3 players, respectively, very early on in the season. Jonathan built off his tremendous success playing in the #3 & #4 seeds as a sixth grader, appearing in ten matches as our #2 seed this season and going 8-2 on the year. Jonathan's only two losses of the season came against a tough opponent from Pingry School on both December 12 and January 17. One of the absolute highlights of the season was Jonathan's thrilling 3-1 victory over this same opponent from Pingry in the opening round of Nationals on January 27. Jonathan's early-match victory took the burden off of his Hawks teammates and propelled us into a third consecutive National Quarterfinal. It was an incredible win for Jonathan and for the Hawks! Yidrew was promoted from Developmental to Varsity squash halfway through his sixth-grade season, and his incredible work ethic and tremendous athleticism contributed to his arriving on the first day of PASH Squash tryouts this year as our clear-cut #3 player and as a promising top-contributor. Andrew Chen '24 and Allen Chen '24 were both new to the PASH Squash program this season, and they played in the #4 and #5 seeds, respectively, for the Hawks for most of the season. We are incredibly excited to return an experienced Top-5 next year that will be led by the likes of Jonathan, Yidrew, Andrew and Allen -- we are well-positioned to have a very successful season with them at the top of our ladder and under their leadership!

Jayden Lu '25 was another new-comer who made substantial contributions to the Varsity squash team, playing much of the season at the #6 seed, and Raymond Chen '23 had an incredible eighth-grade season to finish his PASH Squash career, playing mostly as our #7 seed. Raymond went 5-2 in his seven matches this season and impressed spectators, coaches and competitors along the way with his tenacity and strength on the court. Raymond grew as a squash player as much as anyone in our program over the last 12 months, and we are excited to watch his squash career continue into his high school years as well. Julian Zhu '24, Larry Hu '23, Lukas Tsui '25, Ethan Che '23, Raphael Zhu '23, Connor Chen '25, Mathew Robinson '25, Markintosh Barthelemy '25 and Jerry Dertouzos '25 also represented the varsity team in its matches this season. Julian, Larry, Lukas and Connor each earned the first individual match win of his PASH Squash career on January 6 against PDS, in what was a thrilling 7-1 team match win. Larry, Raphael and Ethan -- along with J.J. & Raymond -- balanced the demands of their eighth-grade school years and secondary school application deadlines, and they were able to arrive at squash practice at 6:30 p.m. each evening with smiles on their faces and ready to improve as squash players. Lukas had perfect attendance at PASH squash practices and matches this season; while Allen, Raymond and Julian each missed only one day of PASH squash this winter. The coaches are very grateful to these young men, and to all members of the PASH squash team, and their parents, for their dedication to the Princeton Academy Squash Program and their desire to improve as squash players. 

This year's team finished with three team match wins over rival PDS and a 5-6 record overall. We improved each and every day, and we got to play squash in five different and exquisitely beautiful squash facilities. Coach Kenyon and Coach McDermott are excited for next season and encourage all members of the PASH squash program to hit as often as they can between now and next November! The 2023-24 season should be a special one -- GO HAWKS!