For many student-athletes, the school year started long before September 11, 2017. Members of Haddonfield Memorial High School’s cross-country, field hockey, football, soccer, tennis, cheerleading, and crew teams for began having official practices in late August. Training for many of those athletes got going weeks, if not months, beforehand. Due to the construction at the high school this year, teams unfortunately have had to deal with many inconveniences. The lack of access to the B gym, weight room, locker rooms, stadium, and available space for home games for some teams has made the start of the fall season challenging, to say the least. However, Haddonfield’s teams have not been deterred by these setbacks.

Haddonfield’s sports teams have a tradition of excellence. The 2016 fall sports season proved that—the girls’ cross-country and field hockey teams were state champions while the boys’ cross-country, girls’ soccer, and girls’ tennis teams were state runners-up. Notably, the boys’ cross-country team has won 198 dual meets in a row starting in 1997. CBS Philly even did a feature on the team. The girls’ cross-country team has not lost a dual meet in years.

Although the graduation of the class of 2017 took away many stellar athletes from teams’ rosters, returning athletes as well as new talent are sure to continue Haddonfield’s winning streak. Seton Hall soccer commit Madison Bee, James Madison soccer commit Jack Dugan, La Salle soccer commit Sam DeCencio, Georgetown field hockey commit Megan Maynes, and Columbia field hockey commit Jaimie McCormick are only a handful of Haddonfield’s current players who will make an impact on the playing field this season. As of press time, boys’ cross-country, girls’ cross-country, football, and boys’ soccer remain undefeated. The ShopRite Cup has been claimed by Haddonfield multiple years in a row now, and it does not appear as though that streak is going to end anytime soon.