As the class of 2016 prepares to graduate Sunday, senior captains reflected upon how their athletic career has shaped them into the people they are today.

said. “Peddie athletics has made me competitive while also keeping me humble and friendly. I have made many friends through track meets that will continue to go on through my college experience,” track and field captain Christopher Albino ´16

Girls’ soccer captain Kelsie Sirak ’16 explained how Peddie has made her feel part of a community. Sirak also learned the importance of commitment, revealing “once you make a commitment, you have to do everything you can to keep it.” “I have enjoyed every minute I have been on a Peddie team and would not have traded it for anything,” she said.

Boys’ soccer captain Danny Hallowell ’16 said that Peddie athletics has “given me more awareness of what it means to have good sportsmanship. In every sport that I have participated in, especially soccer, the common attitude of the team and coaches has been positive and futuristic. In addition, bad sportsmanship is reprimanded by all coaches. Apart from sportsmanship, Peddie athletics have helped me grow as an athlete. I have become smarter, better, faster, and stronger with the help of my coaches and Mr. Volkmar, bringing me to a college-athletics-ready level.”

Basketball and crew captain Angela Glazer explained how Peddie athletics was influential throughout high school. “Freshman year, I was very quiet and reserved all the time and worried so much about making mistakes and letting my teammates down. Over my four years here, being on the basketball and crew teams has helped increase my confidence. In addition, being the captain of both teams my senior year has helped me become a vocal leader. My teammates have taught me how to push myself, be empathetic towards others, and when to just relax and have some fun. Being a part of two teams with such different dynamics has been a great experience, and my teammates are what I’m going to miss most from Peddie.”

Men’s swimming captain Kyle Halbrecht ’16 said that “being on the swim team at Peddie the last three years of my life has shaped me in ways that words alone cannot describe. Having the opportunity my senior year to be a captain on any team here would be an honorable privilege as it is, but I feel my experience was even more special. Attempting to fill the shoes of Olympians that have swum here, whilst motivating the underclassmen so that the near future may see another national title, drove me to want to do more.  The entire swim team is unique from any other team on campus in the sense that our camaraderie, work ethic, and appetite in and out of the pool are unmatched and I hope this remains true in the future.”