PRINCETON: 2011 had special moments

Top 10 highlighted by records, achievements, comebacks

By Bob Nuse and Justin Feil, Staff Writers
   Record-setting performances, teams reaching new levels of success, and programs returning to glory were among the highlights of another successful year for Packet-area athletes and teams.
   There were many outstanding performances, highlighted by those that make this year’s list of the Top 10 Moments from 2011.
    10. Miss Consistency: Caroline Kellner had climbed a little higher in each appearance at the Meet of Champions cross country race. In her final race at Holmdel Park, Kellner raced to second place in the state by seven seconds. It was the best finish by a Mercer County female since 1974.
   Kellner went on to finish 36th in her second straight appearance in the Foot Locker National Championships to close out one of the most storied scholastic cross country careers in Mercer County.
   Kellner had opened the championship portion of the season with her third straight Mercer County title. In doing so, she became the first three-time champion since 1998.
    9. Growing up fast: In just five short years, the Montgomery High fencing program has established itself as one of the best in the state. In 2011, the Cougar girls not only captured the championship at the Santelli Tournament, but they added a title at the District 2 team championship and then capped the season when the epee squad earned a state title.
   The Cougars edged West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 63-58, to claim the District 2 team title for the second straight year. The epee squad of Sarah Caputo, Ting Liu and Katherine Couch won the district title, then went on to claim the state epee squad championship by a 35-31 margin over Mendham.
    8. Going out on top: In 11 seasons as the head boys and girls swim coach at West Windsor-Plainsboro South, Paul Hamnett enjoyed remarkable success. His girls program won the Mercer County championship all 11 years of his tenure, won nine sectional championships, and also captured a pair of state championships.
   The Pirates won the Girls A Division state championship in 2009, shared the title with Westfield in 2010, and then reached the state semifinals in 2011. Hamnett closed out his career with a 173-16-1 record on the girls side, while also winning a pair of Mercer County championships with the boys program.
    7. Par for the course: Golf season can mean just one thing, success for the teams in the Packet area. At the Mercer County Tournament, Princeton High’s Fraser Graham became the tournament’s first individual to repeat in at least 20 years when he defeated Charles Cai of West Windsor-Plainsboro North for the championship.
   Graham also won a state sectional championship, but fell short in his quest for a second straight Tournament of Champions title.
   On the team side, West Windsor-Plainsboro South captured the team championship at the Mercer County Tournament in Russell Wray’s final season as head coach. Meanwhile, Montgomery won the Central/South Group IV sectional championship, as well as the Skyland Conference and Cherry Valley Invitational titles. The Cougars finished eighth at the Tournament of Champions.
    6. Rising from the Asch-es: The Princeton Day School girls tennis team had enjoyed quite a bit of success over the last two-plus decades. But one title had eluded the Panthers over that time — the Mercer County Tournament championship.
   In 2011, PDS finally grabbed the top spot, using the first singles championship of junior Samantha Asch and the depth of the rest of the team to secure their first MCT team title since 1985.
   The Panthers edged Princeton High by a narrow one-point margin as Nicole Keim finished second at second singles and Mary Atkenson picked up a third-place at third singles. PDS’ freshman tandem of Hope Boozan and Emily Dyckman advanced to the consolation final, but their biggest win came in the second round when they rallied for a three-set win. Allie Persky and Emily Seto picked up two critical points at second doubles with their first-round win.
    5. Pooling their resources: The Princeton High boys swim team nearly had the perfect season. The Little Tigers went undefeated through the regular season, won the Mercer County championship, captured the Central Jersey B Division championship, and came up just short of their first state title. Princeton reached the state final where it fell to Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 90-80, finishing the season with a 16-1 record.
   The Little Tigers cruised to the Mercer title by a 338-193 margin over Notre Dame, capturing the county title for the first time since 2004. Will Stange, Derek Colaizzo, Matt Kuhlik won individual events and the Little Tigers swept all three relays on their way to the Mercer title.
    4. Dancing again: The Princeton University men’s basketball team had not been to the NCAA tournament since 2004. So when Douglas Davis hit a shot at the buzzer to give the Tigers a 63-62 win over Harvard in the Ivy League playoff for a berth in the tournament, there was plenty of reason to celebrate.
   It was a long road back for Princeton to make the return trip, where they lost to Kentucky in the opening round. The Tigers were just three years removed from a six-win season and finished the 2010-11 campaign with a 25-7 record.
   Following the loss to Kentucky, head coach Sydney Johnson took a new job at Fairfield University, setting the stage for former Tiger Mitch Henderson to take over as the head man at his alma mater.
   The PU men were joined in the NCAA tournament by the PU women, who advanced to March Madness for the second straight year. The Tigers lost in the opening round to St. John’s, 65-47.
    3. Sweet revenge: What a three days it was for the Montgomery High girls soccer team.
   First, the Cougars won the Central Jersey Group IV championship in dramatic fashion with a shootout win over Marlboro in the sectional final. Montgomery goalkeeper Rebecca Ravitz made two saves in the shootout to preserve the win. Abby Hewel’s goal in regulation helped the Cougars get to overtime.
   And then, just two days later, the Cougars topped their nemesis, undefeated Pingry, 1-0, in the Somerset County Tournament final. Sophomore Colby Ciarrocca scored in the opening half and the Montgomery defense made that goal stand up for the win. Pingry held the state’s No. 1 ranking at the time and had not been shut out all season. Montgomery had suffered its only regular season loss to Pingry earlier in the season, 2-1.
   The SCT title was the third for the Cougars, who last won in 2008.
    2. Lightning-fast pace: It has all the makings of a Meet of Champions classic. West Windsor-Plainsboro North’s Joe Rosa, who had fought his way back from an injury-filled cross country season, was on pace to set a new record in the 3,200 meters at the MOC.
   Rosa was on pace for a new state record when the race was stopped due to lightning with six of the eight laps completed. Joe and his brother, Jim, skipped the re-running of the seeded section of their event — a last chance for MOC gold — to concentrate on other races on the upcoming schedule.
   Joe Rosa shook off the disappointment of having the race stopped and two days later, he posted a personal-record 4:07.66 for seventh place in the Dream Mile. Another four days later, he ran a season-best 8:54.46 for second in the two-mile at nationals. The brothers also helped their teammates to a new school record in the distance medley relay at their final event.
    1. Reaching new heights: Montgomery High School’s Fiona Paladino just kept jumping higher and higher throughout her high school career. She made her senior season a special one when she finished first in the high jump at the Meet of Champions for the second straight year. She then went on to finish fifth in the nation in the event at the Junior Nationals in Oregon.
   While Paladino’s win at the MOC wasn’t a huge surprise, her classmate Rob Weimer made it a sweep for the Cougars when he won the boys high jump at the MOC.
   At the state Group IV meet and the Central Jersey Group IV meet, Paladino not only won the high jump, but also placed third in the long jump. She did not compete in the long jump at the MOC, instead focusing on the high jump.
   During the winter track season, Paladino showed off her versatility by winning the Meet of Champions title in the high hurdles, which is her second event behind the high jump.