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Vol. LXIV, No. 48
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Wednesday, December 1, 2010
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Vol. LXIV, No. 48
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Wednesday, December 1, 2010
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(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction)
BRIAN’S SONG: Princeton University men’s cross country star Brian Leung heads to the finish in a meet last season. Junior Leung, a former WW/P-S standout who won New Jersey state titles in cross country and the 3,200, enjoyed a big finale this fall. He placed fourth in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on November 13, leading the way as Princeton won its first regional team title. Then on the Monday before Thanksgiving at the NCAA Championship, Leung placed 21st to earn All-American status. |
It was a message that Princeton University men’s cross country junior star Brian Leung saw first thing everyday while he worked in Montana this summer on an internship for Project Vote Smart.
“I put a poster on my ceiling this summer when I was in Montana ‘NCAA Top 10 … Believe, Believe,’” said Leung, a former WW/P-S standout who won New Jersey state titles in cross country and the 3,200.
“I would wake up every morning at 5:45 looking at that and getting ready to train.”
Suitably inspired, Leung got in some great training during his 10-week stint in Montana.
Over the second half of last season, Kareem Maddox emerged as a force off the bench for the Princeton University men’s basketball team.
The 6’8, 230-pound forward filled the super sub role, seeing double-digit minutes as a reserve in each of the final 19 games, during which Princeton went 15-4. Maddox posted seven double-digit scoring games, all in the final 15 contests.
In reflecting on ending his junior season with a late surge, Maddox said he felt a sense of urgency.
For the Princeton High boys’ ice hockey team, its improbable run to the Mercer County Tournament championship game last winter was an eye-opener on several levels.
First, ninth-seeded PHS surprised No. 8 Notre Dame, top-seeded Hopewell Valley, and No. 5 WW/P-S on the way to the county title game.
More importantly, the Little Tigers proved something to themselves about their ability.
There is roster turnover and then there is the 2010-11 Hun School girls’ basketball team.
Hun returns just one player, senior guard Ashton Dwyer, from a team that went 9-14 last year.
While some coaches may be daunted by the prospect of welcoming eight new players, Hun head coach Bill Holup is relishing the challenge.
Last winter, the Princeton Day School boys’ hockey team put a lot of responsibility on its core of talented freshmen players.
While the eight newcomers struggled at times early in the season, they helped a key late-season run that saw PDS win its first-ever Mercer County Tournament title.
In the view of PDS head coach Scott Bertoli, the title run was critical to the development of the younger players.