Hamilton High School West is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grade located in Hamilton Township, in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as one of the three secondary schools of the Hamilton Township School District; the other high schools in the district are Hamilton High School North-Nottingham High School and Hamilton High School East- Steinert High School.[4]
| Hamilton High School West | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
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2720 South Clinton Avenue , , 08610 United States | |
| Coordinates | 40°11′57″N 74°43′24″W / 40.1992°N 74.7233°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Motto | "Tradition, Pride, and Excellence" |
| School district | Hamilton Township School District |
| NCES School ID | 340654003092[1] |
| Principal | Brian Smith |
| Faculty | 99.4 FTEs[1] |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 1,348 (as of 2022–23)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 13.6:1[1] |
| Color(s) | Orange Black[2] |
| Athletics conference | Colonial Valley Conference (general) West Jersey Football League (football) |
| Team name | Hornets[2] |
| Rival | Hamilton High School East - Steinert |
| Newspaper | Criterion[3] |
| Website | www |
As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,348 students and 99.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.6:1. There were 485 students (36.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 103 (7.6% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
Awards, recognition and rankings
editThe school was the 222nd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology.[5] The school had been ranked 275th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 258th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[6] The magazine ranked the school 262nd in 2008 out of 316 schools.[7] The school was ranked 240th in the magazine's 2008 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[8]
Athletics
editThe Hamilton High School Hornets[2] compete in the Colonial Valley Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools located in Mercer County and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[9] With 933 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2022–23 school year as Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 761 to 1,058 students in that grade range.[10] The football team competes in the Capitol Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconference[11][12] and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group IV South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 890 to 1,298 students.[13]
The school participates together with Hamilton High School East - Steinert in a joint ice hockey team in which Hamilton High School North - Nottingham is the host school / lead agency. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[14]
Hamilton West competes in an annual Thanksgiving Day football game against Steinert High School.[15] The rivalry with Steinert was listed at 16th on NJ.com's 2017 list "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football". Hamilton West leads the rivalry with a 34–23–1 overall record as of 2017.[16]
NJSIAA state championships
edit- Boys basketball - 1935, 1953, 2006[17] The 1935 team won the Group III state title with a 35-27 win in the playoff finals against Ridgefield Park.[18] The 1953 team won the Group III title with a 56-52 win in the championship game against Linden.[19] With a 66-34 win against Shabazz in the finals of the tournament played at Rutgers University, the 2006 team won the Group III state title[20] and came into the Tournament of Champions as the sixth seed, falling by a score of 80-67 in the quarterfinals to third-seeded Haddonfield Memorial High School led by Brian Zoubek.[21][22]
- Boys soccer - 1947, 1948, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1962, 1976[23]
- Girls basketball - 1983 Group IV (vs. Plainfield High School)[24][25]
- Girls softball - 1999[26][27]
- Boys baseball - 2000[28][29]
Marching band
editThe Hamilton High School West Marching Band is a division of the Hamilton West Bands, which is comprised of the Marching Band, Symphonic Band, Saxophone Quartet, Brass Quintet and Jazz Ensembles. The Marching Band became competitive in the Fall of 2006, and competes in the USBands Archived October 30, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Marching Band Circuit. The Instrumental Program at Hamilton West was in place on the first day of school (September 8, 1930), and the first Director of Bands was Harlan D. Darling. The band is known as "The Pride of Mercer County." The school's fight song is called "Loyalty", and their Alma Mater is the melody of "Far Above Cayuga's Waters", which is the Alma Mater for Cornell University, and is played by the Marching Band at the end of every home football game.[30]
Administration
editThe school's principal is Brian Smith. His core administration team includes three vice principals and the athletic director.[31][32]
Sister schools
editHamilton High School West is the original Hamilton Township High School. The two other high schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[33]) are:[34]
- Hamilton High School North (Nottingham High School)[35] (also known as North; 1,005 students)
- Steinert High School[36] (East; 1,427)
Notable alumni
edit- Christian Burns, (born 1985), professional basketball player for Germani Basket Brescia of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A.[37]
- Jayson DiManche (born 1990), linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals.[38]
- Tom Goodwin (born c. 1951), politician and financial planner who was selected in March 2010 to represent the 14th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate, after the resignation of Bill Baroni.[39]
- Jim Hoey (born 1982), pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles. The school retired Hoey's number in a ceremony held on February 1, 2007.[40]
- Kevin Johnson (born 1976), former NFL wide receiver for seven seasons for the Cleveland Browns, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Baltimore Ravens and the Detroit Lions.[41]
- Tad Kornegay (born 1982) defensive back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League.[42]
- Nicholas Olhovsky (born 1974, class of 1993), First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York since September 2022.[43]
- Bruce Ritter (1927-1999), Catholic priest and one-time Franciscan friar who founded Covenant House in 1972 for homeless teenagers and led it until he was forced to resign in 1990.[44]
Gallery
edit-
2014-2015 Hamilton West (New Jersey) Football Team, known as the Hornets -
Hamilton West Hornets huddle, September 2013 in a football game vs the North Brunswick Raiders -
Hamilton West Hornets vs North Brunswick Raiders, football game played September 2013 -
Hamilton West Hornets vs North Brunswick Raiders; running play by North Brunswick
References
edit- ^ a b c d e School data for Hamilton West-Watson, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
- ^ a b c Hamilton High School West, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
- ^ Clubs and Organizations, Hamilton High School west. Accessed April 3, 2022.
- ^ About Our District, Hamilton Township School District. Accessed January 26, 2020. "The Hamilton Township School District is comprised of a diverse group of nearly 12,400 students. It consists of 23 schools; which include 3 high schools, 3 middle schools, and 17 elementary schools."
- ^ Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
- ^ Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed December 1, 2012.
- ^ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 26, 2011.
- ^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed February 26, 2011.
- ^ League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
- ^ NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
- ^ Hamilton Hornets, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023.
- ^ Home Page, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023. "The WJFL is a 94-school super conference that stretches from Princeton to Wildwood encompassing schools from the Colonial Valley Conference, the Burlington County Scholastic League, the Olympic Conference, the Tri-County Conference, the Colonial Conference, and the Cape Atlantic League. The WJFL is made up of sixteen divisions with divisional alignments based on school size, geography and a strength-of-program component."
- ^ NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
- ^ NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
- ^ O'Gorman, George. "High School Football: Hamilton rallies to top Steinert on Thanksgiving", The Trentonian, November 25, 2010. Accessed July 31, 2011. "The win put Hamilton's lead in Mercer County's only holiday rivalry to 32-19-1 and ended the Hornets season at 8-3 — their best record since Hoglen's 2001 team went 9-3."
- ^ Stypulkoski, Matt. "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 27, 2017, updated May 15, 2019. Accessed December 28, 2022. "16-Hamilton West vs. Steinert. This Thanksgiving, these intra-district rivals will meet for the 59th time in Hamilton West's only home game of 2017.... All-time series: Hamilton West leads, 34-23-1"
- ^ NJSIAA Boys Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
- ^ "Pennington Retains Basketball Crown; Routs St. Benedict's, 32-21, to Keep New Jersey Group 4 Prep School Title.", The New York Times, March 17, 1935. Accessed February 20, 2021. "Hamilton Township of Trenton [sic] won its first State basketball crown by subduing Ridgefield Park, 35 to 27, in the Group 3 final for high schools tonight."
- ^ "Bloomfield Tops Jefferson, 60-45; Gains Jersey School Division Title -- Hamilton, Weehawken and North Arlington Win", The New York Times, March 22, 1953. Accessed January 12, 2021. "Hamilton High of South Jersey pulled a surprise by defeating Linden, 56-52, for the Group 3 championship. Linden had defeated the defending champion, Hackensack, in Thursday's semi-finals."
- ^ "Hamilton West rolls to Group III title", Home News Tribune, March 13, 2006. Accessed February 20, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Hamilton West made seven of its first nine shots from the floor and never cooled off much from there as it posted a surprisingly easy 66-34 victory over Shabazz in the NJSIAA Group III Championship game before a crowd of 2,000 at Rutgers University yesterday. Senior forward Najee Lane scored 24 points on 11 of 20 shooting to lead Hamilton West (23-6), which shot 61 percent from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range.... Hamilton, playing in its first title game in over 50 years, is now 3-0 in those games having won in 1935 and 1953."
- ^ NJSIAA Boys Basketball Tournament Of Champions History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
- ^ Minnick, Kevin. "Zoubek takes over; Haddonfield advances as center gets 31", Courier-Post, March 17, 2006. Accessed February 20, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The 7-foot-2 Duke-bound center scored 21 of his game-high 31 points in the second half Thursday as the Bulldogs eased to an 80-67 victory over Hamilton West in the quarterfinals of the Tournament of Champions at the Ritacco Center on the campus of Toms River North High School.... Haddonfield never trailed in dispatching Hamilton West (23-7), the Group 3 state champion."
- ^ NJSIAA History of Boys Soccer, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 1, 2022.
- ^ Girls Basketball Championship History: 1919–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated March 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
- ^ Florczak, Brian. "Plainfield girls lose in finals at Meadowlands; Hamilton West wins Group 4 basketball crown", Courier News, March 21, 1983. Accessed January 13, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Perhaps we'll never know the reason why the Plainfield High girls' basketball team didn't show up for Saturday night's Group 4 state championship game. Granted, there were some players on the court at the Meadowlands Arena wearing red-and-white uniforms that had Plainfield stitched on the back.... Well for one thing, the authentic Lady Cards wouldn't have been dominated 61-51 by Hamilton West (26-1)."
- ^ Softball Championship History 1972–2023, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated July 2023. Accessed April 1, 2024.
- ^ "No. 1 Immaculate Heart beats Bishop Eustace in Parochial A", Asbury Park Press, June 6, 1999. Accessed November 30, 2020. "Hamilton West 4, Cranford 1: The No. 13 Hornets won their first Group m title behind the pitching of senior Jeannine Matuza. Hamilton West (23-3) had four singles in the first inning, including one by senior Kristin Cicale that drove in two runs."
- ^ Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated June 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
- ^ "Yesterdays' NJSIAA Baseball Finals", Home News Tribune, June 11, 2000. Accessed March 13, 2021. "Group III Hamilton 5, Cranford 0: Senior righthander James Hoey allowed one hit in five Innings and Pat Zegarskl had a home run and two RBI as Hamilton West defeated Cranford at East Brunswick Tech. It is the first state baseball championship In the 70-year history of Hamilton West (26-5)."
- ^ Home Page, Hamilton High School West "Hornets" Bands. Accessed March 25, 2015.
- ^ Administration Team, Hamilton High School. Accessed December 28, 2022.
- ^ Fisher, Rich. "Brian Smith steps down as Steinert AD", The Trentonian, July 29, 2011. Accessed July 31, 2011. "On Wednesday night, Brian Smith was appointed by the Hamilton Township School Board to be the new Vice Principal at Hamilton High, meaning Smith must step down after one year as Steinert's AD.... Although he is thrilled with his new position — working for newly appointed principal Katherine Taylor and serving as VP along with childhood friend Chuck Zalescik — Smith will miss the good friends he made at Steinert."
- ^ School data for the Hamilton Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
- ^ School Performance Reports for the Hamilton Township Public School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.
- ^ Nottingham - Hamilton High North Archived January 25, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Hamilton Township School District. Accessed February 7, 2024.
- ^ Steinert - Hamilton High East, Hamilton Township School District. Accessed February 7, 2024.
- ^ Eckel, Mark. "Hamilton grad Burns played NBA Summer League with Grizzlies", NJ.com, July 30, 2013. Accessed May 21, 2017. "Burns, the one-time Hamilton High School basketball star, just completed play in the NBA Summer League for the Memphis Grizzlies and played well enough in a limited role that he's waiting, and hoping, for a call."
- ^ Jayson DiManche Archived March 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Southern Illinois Salukis football. Accessed September 4, 2013. "High School: Hamilton West"
- ^ Abdur-Rahman, Sulamain. "Will Hamilton Township Council become Democrat or Republican", The Trentonian, November 1, 2009. Accessed April 13, 2016. "A graduate of Hamilton High West and Mercer County College, Goodwin said he first entered politics four years ago to 'take the town back.'"
- ^ WZBN Video Vault - Former Bronc Hoey to Have Number Retired at Hamilton West on February 1, 2007 Archived July 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Rider University, January 15, 2007. Accessed October 22, 2007. "Former Bronc and current Baltimore Oriole James Hoey will have his number retired by Hamilton West High School on February 1, 2007."
- ^ Weinberg, David. "Season Of Joy / Mcnabb Throws 4 TD Passes As Eagles Clinch Playoff Spot", The Press of Atlantic City, December 11, 2000. Accessed February 26, 2011. ""Johnson, who was an all-state quarterback at New Jersey's Hamilton West High School, appeared at quarterback for four plays and completed a 23-yard pass..."
- ^ CFL.ca Player Profile. Accessed December 17, 2007. "Thaddeus was An All-County and All-Area selection at Hamilton High School West in Trenton [sic], New Jersey"
- ^ Metropolitan Of Eastern America & New York, First Hierarch Of The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Of Russia, Russian Orthodox Eparchy of Eastern America and New York. Accessed December 28, 2022. "Bishop Nicholas (Olhovsky) was born on December 17, 1974, in Trenton, NJ. He graduated from St. Alexander Nevsky Russian Parish School in Lakewood, NJ in May 1991, and in 1993, graduated from Hamilton West High School."
- ^ Wosh, Peter J. Covenant House: Journey of a Faith-Based Charity, pp. 13-35. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. ISBN 9780812238310. Accessed January 17, 2018.
External links
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