Winter Sports Heat Up: Dragons Poised for Another Strong Season

The winter season sees seven Kent Place teams competing on a variety of surfaces. The teams are in basketball (Middle School and Varsity), fencing (Varsity), ice hockey (Varsity), squash (Varsity), swimming (Middle School and Varsity), volleyball (Middle School), and winter track (Varsity).

Earlier, the Dragons boasted many notable performances across all sports. Varsity Basketball had its best season in years, fencing won gold for sabre at the District 5 tournament, ice hockey won the Cohen Division, squash went to its second Nationals in Philadelphia, swimming placed third in the Union County Championships, and a number of athletes achieved personal bests in winter track.

Swimming looks to pick up where it left off on a very strong 2024–2025 season, with a core group of veterans and an exciting underclasswomen group. Last winter, the team placed third in the Union County Tournament and Ayah Bedri ’28 won gold at the Meet of Champions in the 100 breast. Ayah Bedri was named a Scholastic All-American by USA Swimming. This year’s captains Kate Lee ’26, Delia Callahan ’26, and Gillian Callahan ’26 are looking forward to another great showing. “We hope to grow closer as a team and continue the success we had last season,” they say. “We’re confident that the new swimmers joining our team will help us continue the momentum from last year, which we hope will lead to even better results at meets such as Preps, Counties, and States.”

Ice hockey advanced to the Librera Division, the highest in the NJGIIHL, to compete with the top teams in the state. Senior Molly Brozowski returns as the leading goal scorer in all the NJGIIHL with 94. 

The winter track team is looking forward to a great indoor season. A strong group of returning athletes will compete in a variety of events. Runners will try to lower their times, and we have athletes trying field events for the first time in the winter. 

Squash will go to Nationals for the third year in a row after a very successful trip last season. The team won three out of four games at Nationals, placing third in its bracket.

The fencing team welcomes new and returning fencers to a team that achieved numerous successes at various tournaments last year, among them a sixth-place finish in Sabre at the Santelli Tournament. “Fencing is one of the most amazing sports because of the community we build together each year,” say Captains Allison Ameo ’26, Amelia Ing ’27, and Ava Kwon ’27. “This winter, we’re excited to start with a classic motto: ‘All for one, one for all.’”

Basketball has continued to grow each season, and last year’s team was its best in years. Not yet satisfied, however, the captains are determined to improve yet again. “In our upcoming season,” say Eve Goldsmith ’26 and Anne Bugliari ’26, “we’re excited to develop a strong team. Our motto this year is ‘Stay hungry,’ which we believe encapsulates our drive to succeed and grow together. We’re eager to start the season, and we hope to accomplish even more than we did last year.” 

Winter season began on December 8. You’ll find the schedule here, and please come out to cheer on our Dragons!