As the fall term was coming to an end, Peddie Falcons were working on the preparations for – or the aftermath of – important exams, and were more than ready to head home after all their hard work throughout the term. The athletic season was also a huge success, with many strong teams across a multitude of sports. After an entire trimester of training, the progress of which was sealed by the victory on Blair Day, there was only one more occasion left for the Peddie fall term athletes to attend: the Letter Day Ceremony.
The Letter Day Ceremony is a Peddie tradition where all fall term athletes gather together for a recap of their progress, as well as an awards ceremony that recognizes some of the greatest accomplishments of athletes of each sport, such as initiating cooperation and healthy competition within teammates, securing some of the most important records or making a significant amount of progress throughout their athletic careers.
The ceremony, hosted by Director of Athletics Mr. D’Andrea and Associate Director of Athletics Ms. Sheldon, celebrated the finishing point of Peddie’s seven fall term sports as well as their accomplishments, which were boys cross country, with a 4th place in MAPL; girls cross country, with a 3rd place in MAPL; field hockey, with a 10-10 record; football, with a 2-7 record; boys soccer, with a 11-6 record; girls soccer, with a 9-5-3 record; and girls tennis, with a 16-2 record.
Two athletes from each team were presented with awards. Awards and recipients included the Weed Honor Trophy given to Elie Meyer ’26 and the Coach’s Award given to Ethan Sbarro ’26 from boys cross country; Weed Honor Trophy given to Charis Chien ’27 and the Coach’s Award given to Sophie Winn ’26 from girls cross country; the Most Valuable Player Award given to Anna Treese ’26 and the Coach’s Award given to Lucy Guarini ’26 from field hockey; the Howard Clark Memorial Football Award given to Griffin Brennan ’27 and the Maurice P. Shuman Football Award given to Jeremiah Davis ’26 from football; the Joseph R. Wilbert Award given to Pote Sophonsiri ’26 and the Evans Hicks Soccer Trophy given to John Giblin ’26 from boys soccer; the Raymond H. Cabot Girls Soccer Award given to Aubrey Shaulis ’26 and the PGS Competitor Award given to Tessa Hughes ’26, Melania Amer ’26 and Maggie Gladkowski ’26 from girls soccer; and the Most Valuable Player Award given to Brielle Quaye ’26 and the Coach’s Award given to Eloise Mendelson ’26 from girls tennis.
The ceremony ended with the presentation of the final Rock Award, which is a major award presented multiple times throughout the season, and according to Ms. Sheldon, “earned by a Peddie student-athlete that exemplifies heart, pride, grit and courage – characteristics that each member of this community is capable of demonstrating.” This applies to all fall sports in general. This year, recipients included Charis Chien ’27, MaryKate Giblin ’29, Maggie Gladkowski ’26, Reed Oliver ’26, Christian Tharney ’27, John Giblin ’26, Lexie Hoffman ’27, Griffin Brennan ’27 and Victoria Vahi ’26.
