By Miles Park ’16, Staff Writer

Amidst the short days and bitter cold there exists a beacon of hope for downtrodden Newark Academy students: our very own Minutemen sports teams. On the court, in the gym, and in the pool, the Minutemen are smashing preseason expectations en route to one of the most promising seasons in years. With a variety of sports coming to their post-season finales, there is still a wealth of wonderful opportunities to support our beloved Minutemen.

In winter’s marquee sport, Men’s Basketball, Newark Academy has an impressive 14-5 record to lead Essex County’s Independence Division. After a lackluster season and the departure of senior captain Eric Szlosek, expectations were relatively low. However, Coach James Wallace has guided the Minutemen to a hot start and looks to maintain the team’s success into postseason play. Junior Guard Demarco Jones ’16 points to good coaching and strong leadership from star guards Nick Martino ‘15 and Gebereal Baitey ‘15 as key reasons for the team’s success. “They really lead by example,” said Jones about his two captains, “they set the tone for the rest of the team and we would never be in the position we are without them”. The team prides itself on a renewed sense of toughness that it looks to carry into a massive clash in the prep tournament final against #1 seeded Pennington. Elsewhere the Lady Minutemen have worked hard to maintain their sustained level of success despite the absence of superstar Jocelyn Willoughby due to injury. Senior captains Rachel Neiman ’15 and Hernell Gabriel ’15 both led their team in a vein similar to that of the Men’s team, pulling off an outstanding record of 10-11 thus far in the season. The Girl’s team will be playing in the State tournament throughout Spring Break.

In the pool, the men’s swimming team has shocked everyone with a strong season that resulted in a winning record of 6-5. Junior captain Matt Wei ’16, who attributes the team’s upstart success to improvements made across the board by each individual swimmer and their coaching staff, leads the team. Wei believes that in the absence of any senior swimmers, the underclassmen has “stepped up their game”, while coach William Blomn’s “aggressive and strategic seeding of swimmers” has allowed the team to gain the maximum amount of points. The team is well positioned for sustained success as “each swimmer set personal records” and they will not be graduating any seniors while welcoming in a new class of freshmen.

Finally, the men’s fencing season is having an absolutely phenomenal season and punching well above their weight. Star George Haglund ’16 says a run to the elite 8 in the state tournament has contributed to the team’s “best ever season”. Haglund genuinely enjoys being a part of the team and points to “strong team camaraderie” as well as new coach Phil Brillant as the key ingredients in the team’s recent success. He really values the influence of Coach Brillant and believes the program will continue to drive forward under his leadership because “he knows what needs to be done and how to do it”.

Just as no one player makes a successful team, no one team makes a successful season, and all of Newark Academy’s winter athletes have come together to make this a magical season for the athletic program. Phenomenal team efforts have been supplemented by impressive individual performances such as those of star wrestlers Brendan Seyfried ‘15 and Steve Bonsall ‘16 who have, once again, excelled. The winter season is far from over and with postseason play still to come there is plenty to look forward to.