SERVING UP A WINNER: Princeton High girls’ volleyball player Naomi Lygas blasts a serve in action this fall. Junior outside hitter Lygas starred as PHS went 28-1 and won its second straight New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 3 state title. Lygas tallied a team-high 318 kills, breaking the program record for career kills in the process. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Naomi Lygas realized that the Princeton High girls’ volleyball team wasn’t going to sneak up on anyone this fall after rolling to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 3 state title in 2023.

“Last year we were the underdogs, we were coming up putting Princeton on the map and this year we had a lot of pressure coming into it so that was a big thing,” said PHS junior outside hitter Lygas. “We were trying to prove ourselves. People have asked us if it is an option not to repeat and we said not really because of how hard we work.”

It didn’t take long for the Tigers to prove that they were going to be dominant once again as they brought a 19-1 record into the Burlington County Scholastic League (BCSL) tournament. PHS ended up rolling to its third BCSL title, defeating Princeton Day School 2-0 (25-6, 25-10) in the final.

In a win over fellow powerhouse Williamstown in mid-October, Lygas moved her career kills total to 736, breaking the previous program record of 724 set by Gillian Hauschild ’20.

“I think it is so cool, I honestly didn’t know it was coming,” said Lygas “Gillian was amazing. I could not have done without my team and everybody around me. It is such a team effort but to reach it is so cool.”

In reflecting on her record-breaking star, PHS head coach Patty Manhart credited Lygas with displaying versatility and a competitive fire.

“Naomi is clutch 100 percent,” said Manhart. “She is so well-rounded, she can do anything. Other schools know who she is. Even when they try to put the focus on blocking her, she is able to just go right through it. She is fearless being matched up. She knows she has the power to win those points.”

With Lygas continuing her powerful play at the net, the Tigers cruised to the second straight Group 3 state final posting four 2-0 wins as they won the Central Jersey Group 3 sectional title and then topped Moorestown in the Group 3 state semis.

In the final against Ramapo, Lygas led the way with a game-high 11 kills as PHS jumped out to a 15-3 lead in the first set and never looked back on the way to a comprehensive 25-8, 25-11 win as it ended the fall with a 28-1 record and ranked No. 1 in the state by NJ.com.

“We had never played that team before, we watched some film on them,” said Lygas, who ended the fall with a team-high 318 kills to push her program record total to 852. “The biggest thing was

getting out to an early lead. We didn’t really know what they had with them. We know we play the best when we have that confidence going.”

In reflecting on winning a second straight title, Lygas pointed to the squad’s camaraderie and work ethic as keys to its success.

“It is everything about it; we are so connected, we are such a hardworking team,” said Lygas, who has committed to attend Tulane University and play for its women’s beach volleyball program. “If there is something that is not working, we find it and fix it. That is something that is so huge about us. We probably spend the most time together out of a lot of teams. We have lunches, we have after school bonding. That just makes it so easy to play together, it is such a supportive team.”

For producing another huge season in helping PHS continue its Group 3 state dominance, Lygas is the choice as the top girl performer this fall.

Top Boy Performer

Jack Moran soaked up some valuable lessons in his first three seasons with the Hun School football team, biding his time backing up star quarterback Marco Lainez Jr. and then sharing playing time with Myles O’Neill.

“My first couple of years with Marco, it was just kind of absorbing everything that he did to see what it took to be able to play at the level that Hun plays at, especially at the quarterback position,” said senior Moran. “So I definitely looked up to him. And then my junior year with Myles, it was kind of a tough situation because we were both obviously very good quarterbacks splitting reps. But we made the best out of that situation. We both had great seasons. I definitely got better playing with him last year.”

Moran got his season off to a great start, passing for 517 yards and five touchdowns as Hun defeated Mount Carmel (Ill.) 42-38.

“This is all I’ve wanted ever since I got to Hun was to be the starting quarterback,” said Moran, reflecting on the win. “So the excitement was unmatched. I couldn’t wait to lead the guys out the first series we had in Chicago. But there was definitely some nerves too, though. Obviously not having as many reps as most kids would get, there was still some question marks, ‘Can I do this? Can I play four quarters?’ I’d never done it, but as of right now, I think I’m definitely making the best out of it.”

Hun head coach Todd Smith wasn’t surprised to see Moran take advantage of his opportunity to start.

“We wanted him to prepare last year like he was the starter and I think he did that week in and week out,” said Smith. “He is the guy now, so he’s going out there and I think he takes charge of the huddle a little more. But overall there’s really not much of a difference between last year and this year, just other than the amount of attempts he has each game. And he’s responding. He’s got a great arm and he’s got a quick release. He’s not afraid to get rid of the ball and he can put it wherever he wants to throw it and we have the guys who can go catch it.”

Moran’s stunning performance in the opener proved to be a harbinger of things to come as he ended up with astronomical stats, connecting on 203-of-278 passes for 4,513 yards and 47 TDs as Hun went 9-1. Those numbers show that Moran was primed to lead the Hun air attack.

“We’ve definitely been a run heavy team in the past,” said Moran, who has committed to play at Charlotte. “We’ve always been pretty balanced. We’re definitely not afraid to line up in the I-formation and run the ball if we have to, but we have so many weapons. Any kid who’s on the field at any times, I know I could trust them to make a play. So I’m not afraid to put the ball up there for them, make tough throws and just let them go get it.”

Moran’s amazing production in his first year as a starter for Hun earns him the nod as the leading boy performer this fall.

KICKSTARTER: Hun School boys’ soccer player Sasha Mykhalchuk dribbles the ball against Hopewell Valley in September. Junior midfielder Mykhalchuk, a native of Ukraine, joined the Hun squad this fall and made an immediate impact, tying for the team lead in goals with six and tallying a team-best assists with 10. Mykhalchuk helped Hun go 13-4-2 and advance to the Prep A state final. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Top Newcomers

Coming off a 2023 season which saw the Princeton High girls’ tennis team advance to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 3 final, the Tigers brought a battle-tested squad into this fall.

“With six returners and a freshman at the top of the lineup we hope for good things,” said PHS head coach Sarah Hibbert.

That freshman, Kathleen Xu, emerged as a star at first singles.

“Kathleen is a tournament player, she trains a lot, she works very hard,” said Hibbert. “She started off the season really well. She has a good all-around game. She does stay at the baseline a lot but she has a good serve and is willing to move the ball around, move forward, and volley.”

Xu produced a superb debut campaign. She took fourth at first singles at the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) tournament as the Tigers placed second in the team standings.

“Kathleen played great against two really strong opponents,” said Hibbert, reciting on Xu’s permanence at the event. “It’s a lot of tennis.”

Playing some more good tennis, Xu helped the Tigers advance to the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 sectional final and finish with a 12-2 record. Xu, for her part, ended up with an 8-5 record as she faced the best players on PHS’ foes.

Xu’s solid performance at first singles for PHS in her freshman season makes her the pick as the top girl newcomer.

Hun School boys’ soccer head coach Pat Quirk knew he had something special when Kyiv, Ukraine native Sasha Mykhalchuk joined his squad this season.

“Sasha plays out on the wing,” said Quirk. “He is a strong, fast player. There are times when he just puts his head down and wants to dribble.”

Junior midfielder Mykhalchuk was motivated to come to the U.S. for the combination of soccer and academics offered by Hun along with the opportunity to be reunited with his older brother.

“American can provide soccer and an education, that is why I came here,” said Mykhalchuk. “My brother is here, that is a big reason as well. I didn’t see him for three years. Being with family is very important for me as well.”

Joining the Raider team this summer for preseason training, Mykhalchuk fit right in.

“It was like a family since the first day, it was not hard to settle,” said Mykhalchuk. “I found friends, the guys are like my brothers now. It is very easy.”

Settling in with his new friends, Mykhalchuk developed into an offensive catalyst for the Raiders.

“I thought I would score more goals at the start of the season,” said Mykhalchuk. “I feel like I pass more. I feel like I can pass and shoot. I am trying to provide for my teammates as well as trying to score myself. I don’t care whether I score or whether my teammates score as long as we win the game.”

Quirk credited Mykhalchuk with stepping up in big way this fall as Hun went 13-4-2 and advanced to the Prep A state final.

“Sasha has been great, he has the most assists,” said Quirk of Mykhalchuk, who tied for the team lead in goals with six and had the most assists with 10. “I think in the preseason we might have expected him to score a little more. Now that he is getting a little more assists, it frees him up a little more to be a little more creative. He is physical, he can hold on to the ball. He can battle shoulder to shoulder with any of them.”

Mykhalchuk’s immediate impact as he helped Hun produce a memorable campaign earns him the selection as the leading boy newcomer.

RYAN’S HOPE: Princeton High boys’ soccer head coach Ryan Walsh, right, makes a point to his players during a game this fall. Walsh guided the Tigers to a superb campaign as they went 18-3-4, winning the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) tournament and the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 sectional title. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Top Coaches

In early October, the Princeton High girls’ cross country team served notice that despite a lineup featuring only one senior, it’s lack of experience wasn’t going to keep it from being a powerhouse.

In early October, the Tigers won the Girls Varsity B race at the Shore Coaches Invitational at Holmdel Park in dominant fashion as their top five all placed in the top 20.

That victory set the tone as PHS produced a historic campaign, taking first in Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) championship meet, winning the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 sectional meet, finishing first in the Group 4 state meet for the first time in program history and then coming in second in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions, the highest-ever finish for the program at that competition.

“A big part of our success is we’re really deep and we’ve got a lot of a lot of girls who are hungry to get race opportunities,” said PHS head coach Jim Smirk in assessing his squad’s superb campaign. “So there’s a lot driving that team component and everybody looking to contribute.”

For Smirk, winning the Group 4 title was a product of the group’s hunger to excel.

“I’m incredibly proud of our team,” said Smirk. “They’ve grown tremendously in the year. I think if anybody coming out of the fall last year pegged us to be Group 4 champions this year, they have a better crystal ball than I do. But the girls put in a ton of work. They’ve set their goals. They stuck to it. They committed to doing the work. And I think more importantly, they committed to each other.”

That commitment was further demonstrated by the second-place finish at the MOC.

“It proves that if you commit to the people you’ve got and you give them opportunity to find success, that there’s a lot of opportunity there,” said Smirk. “And I think that’s what we showed. We have some new bodies on the team, and some new athletes on the team with Phoenix coming over from track and a couple of freshmen. But the reality is these are people who are involved in our program and we invested in them and they invested in each other. And this is kind of the end result.”

With so many young runners in its lineup, the future looks bright for the Tigers.

“The big thing is, can we take the lessons we learned this year about caring about each other, finding joy in hard work and commitment and seeing ourselves through the entire season,” said Smirk, whose team took fourth at the Nike Cross Nationals Northeast Regional meet on November 23 to cap its stellar season. “If we can take those lessons and build on them, then I think we’ll be where we are now and have a shot at maybe the next step, which would be challenging for that top spot at Meet of Champions.”

For guiding his squad to new heights, Smirk is the choice as the top coach of a girls’ team this fall.

Coming off a historic 2023 campaign that saw it go 22-2 on the way to winning the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 4 state title, the Princeton High boys’ soccer team knew that it had a big target on its back this fall.

Despite losing nine seniors to graduation from last year’s squad and with two other stars not coming back this year to play academy instead, PHS head coach Ryan Walsh believed his players wouldn’t be fazed by wearing that bull’s eye.

“The guys know that every team is going to bring their best against us but they are really excited,” said Walsh, who was in his second year at the helm of the program. “These guys love the competition and they love the challenge.”

The Tigers got off to a bit of a shaky start, going 3-1-1 and scoring only six goals in these first five games. With senior stars Azariah Bretiman and Archie Smith leading the way, the Tigers caught fire as they went on a 7-1-2 run heading into the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) tournament.

PHS outscored its first three foes 15-2 in the CVC competition on the way to a title game clash against Notre Dame. The Tigers ended up edging the Irish 1-0 on a second half goal by Chase Hamerschlag.

“We are really happy to bring this trophy back to PHS,” said Walsh, reflecting on the title “Pennington has won it a lot recently; it is different without them but we are still excited to win.”

Continuing the postseason run, the Tigers won their second straight NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 4 sectional crown, nipping Monroe 1-0 in the final

“It has been great, this team is so different from last year,” said Walsh after the win over Monroe. “There is great leadership and togetherness on this team, that is a similar feel from last year. You can tell all of these guys just want to win so bad. They do all of the dirty work to win games 1-0, 2-1. That is what it takes to win a tournament.”

Although the Tigers came up short against Southern in the Group 4 states semis as they suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 loss, that setback didn’t dim what PHS achieved this fall as it went 18-3-4.

“The message to the team was how proud I was of them this year, the seniors especially,” said Walsh. “They have won everything that they could win in the last two years. To have so much success they should be proud of what they accomplished at Princeton High School.”

For Walsh, helping the squad achieve that success required some creativity and flexibility.

“Early on after losing so many important players from last year, we had to fill this team in,” said Walsh. “I thought that after about five or six games, we really started to catch our stride. There was so much growth from August 19th all the way until the end. It was great to see. There was a lot of mixing and matching, we tried some things out. Some things didn’t work but we figured it out.”

In figuring things out and leading PHS to another superb postseason run, Walsh gets the nod as the top coach of a boys’ team.