With a bat in his hand, Jensen Bergman ’22 strikes the ball far out into the field. While the opposing team chases after the ball, Bergman quickly runs past several bases. Seconds before the defenders are able to secure the last base, he scores a home run.

    Bergman was introduced to baseball by his family at the age of four. Coming from a family of baseball superfans, he had much exposure to the sport during his childhood. Coached by his  dad when he was younger, they developed a strong relationship through the sport. Along with being his coach, Bergman’s dad is also his role model.

  “My dad always supported me in my practices but he never put too much pressure on me. Every time I wanted to go out to throw, he would throw with me. But when I [decided] I was done, he supported my decision. Like he was always my coach growing up. Yeah. Like, obviously, special players, but my main role models for baseball is my dad,” said Bergman.3

 After experience playing on the local little league and club teams, Bergman joined the PHS team his freshman year. Early on, Head Boys Baseball Coach Dominick Capuano noticed his talent and commitment to the sport. 

   “My first impression was that he was a little guy. But he definitely grew with a lot of work on his body, and he’s now one of the stronger kids on the team. As a freshman, I thought he could make an impact down the road, which he is now,” Capuano said.

   Although he is not team captain, Bergman is a great leader and team player. 

“He controls an important position for us in center field, and he really does a good job of leading, even the little things that improve the team,” Capuano said.

Bergman  has won the favor of many teammates through his hard work ande dedication as well as his,    outstanding plays and his character.

“Jensen is truly amazing. He’ll surprise you in every way imaginable, he has no weakness. You’d think, ‘oh he just has power and will crush the ball 400 feet,’ but then casually steals 15 bases in a season. Then you’d say, ‘okay, so he can hit and run, that’s it though, right?’ No. Defensively, he’s also the best center fielder in the CVC, and has been since last year,” s

Even though he has the stats to prove he’s the best, that’s not the biggest reason why he’s the best. Jensen is a remarkable teammate. He carries an uplifting attitude and a heartwarming spirit that really helps him get along with the team. He is the heart, soul, and muscle, of the team.” said teammate Carl Birge ’22.

Baseball is a very frustrating sport because, most of the time, the duration of the games are long and require physical and mental stamina. However, through his training as a track athlete, Bergman  was able to adapt to this environment and prove to be an asset, as his speed has allowed him to effectively steal bases. Along with being a committed baseball athlete, he also excelled in track, making New Balance Indoor   nationals this past winter track season. 

     “if you had told me as a freshman that I was going to go into nationals, like I wouldn’t believe it. worked really hard this year. And in the last week of the season, we qualified for like the group events early on. And, like, I was, like, really ecstatic. I couldn’t believe it.” said Bergman

Being a multisport athlete made Bergman a greater asset to the team, as track gave him the proper base needed to be a hitter.  He noticed the difference that track made on his fitness over the years during the baseball season.He hopes to still run in college. Besides being a multi-sport athlete, Jensen has also maintained a healthy mindset throughout the years, 

“Baseball is a game of failure. Even the best players will get out seven times out of ten and that’s Hall of Fame numbers for the major leagues. This has helped me learn how to deal with failure better. You can’t be perfect 100 percent of the time so it has helped me accept that failure is a part of life and you just have to keep going,” Jensen said. 

Bergman himself, had times in which he had trouble with staying motivated, especially during his injury. 

“I actually did want to quit. At the end of my junior fall. I completely hurt my arm. I wasn’t really having fun. But I stopped playing for the winter. And then I really missed it. So I came back in the spring and had like one of the most fun seasons of my life. So I knew I wasn’t gonna quit, I couldn’t, I love the sport too much”

Bergman has committed toVassar University, his dream school,  after meeting with the Vassar baseball coach during a summer training-camp. He plans to play Division III baseball  there in the fall. Although baseball is his mainsport, he hopes that in the off season, he can also run track. 

“I met the Vassar coach, and he’s so cool. He is one of the best coaches I’ve ever met. He is super nice, and cares about the team. So when I like, he offered me a spot. I knew I was gonna take it” Bergman said. 

Jensen Bergman: baseball

With poise and confidence, Kendall Williamson ’22 steps onto the starting line of the 55-meter girls sprint. Ready, set, go! Pushing off the starting block with all her strength, Kendall Williamson ’22 swiftly flies into first place. With five years of running experience, Williamson has become one of the best girls sprinters in PHS track history.

   Growing up, Williamson was an avid gymnast in pursuit of becoming a collegiate gymnast. However, after multiple injuries during her eight year career, including fracturing her back, she decided to quit the sport. Looking for a sport to replace gymnastics, she started running track in the spring of eighth grade. During her first season, she noticed that her experience with the vault in gymnastics aided her transition to sprinting, both of which require the ability to initiate a strong start. 

   Joining track at PHS in her freshman year, PHS short-distance track coach Ben Samara was impressed by both her natural talent and perseverance. Williamson’s track career quickly began picking up pace and in her sophomore year, she won two county titles, one for the 55-meter dash and another for the 200. In her junior year, she was named a co-captain of the track team.

   “She’s a very talented athlete, like one of the best ever at PHS. I think she even scored a record on one of the relay teams when she was a freshman or a sophomore, which is definitely a huge accomplishment. At every meet she's always placing very high in the rankings, and we're all super proud of what she's accomplished,” said teammate Katherine Monroe ’23. 

   While Williamson likes to joke around with her teammates beforehand, her focus sharpens as soon as she puts one foot on the block. Over the years, her commitment and tenacity have led her to win many competitive titles, break a PHS record in the 4x100 relay, and qualify for prestigious national meets. At the 2022 New Balance Indoor Nationals, her 55-meter dash time was 7.39 seconds, achieving a personal record and missing the school record by two hundredths of a second.

   “[She’s] improved her mental focus. We work on new stuff every single day, and she's done a great job improving on those points.” Samara said.

   Of course, Williamson’s success didn’t come overnight. Long hours of training her timings on the block, practicing her strides, and improving her mentality, are what allowed her to build sufficient stamina and mental resistance.

   “It gets hard sometimes, but quitting has never crossed my mind. I love running and I want to continue to do it,” Williamson said.

   COVID-19 was one of the biggest challenges Williamson had to face. During the track season in 2020, her favorite feeling of flying across the finish line was temporarily put on hold as many meets were canceled. To keep training, the team transitioned onto the PHS track. 

   “We are very used to being able to practice twice a week at Jadwin gym at Princeton University in the winter and for two seasons now we haven't been able to do that. Having to adjust to doing workouts outside is something that we're still working on, but we're trying to make the best of every moment,” Samara said.

   Looking towards the spring season, Williamson hopes to break the school record for the 100-meter and 200-meter dash and place in the top ten in the state for the same events. 

   “It's looking like she's right there,” said Samara. “Right now she’s one of the top three or four we've had and is close to breaking a bunch of school records this year.”

   Williamson plans to continue her track career as a DI commit to Wake Forest University. Becoming a collegiate track athlete was a dream turned reality for Williamson, and she hopes to inspire others to work towards their goals.

   “Work hard. Stay positive. It's really important to have a good mindset because if you're negative that really affects your performance. Just keep working hard because it really does pay off in the end,” Williamson said.

Kendall Williamson ’22: track and field

   On the rink, Emma Traylor ’22 is not afraid to be bold. With the goal of hitting the puck into the net on her mind, she accelerates across the ice. Swiftly intercepting the puck, she shoots it toward the goal with no hesitation. Narrowly missing the goalie, it slides straight into the back corner. In high spirits, the crowd erupts in cheers.

   Traylor’s ice hockey career started when she joined the cheerleading team during her freshman year. While coaching fall tennis, girls ice hockey Coach Christian Herzog noticed her cheering on the adjacent field.

   “She was one of the girls in a leadership position on the cheerleading team. I was looking for players that had an interest in going outside of their own comfort zone. It took some coaxing for [Traylor] to try ice hockey, but once she started, I think she developed a passion for the sport,” Herzog said. 

   While Traylor was new to the sport, she was willing to do whatever it took to excel. Although early 5 a.m. practices could be draining, she always dedicated 100 percent of her energy to improve her skills. During her first season, after mastering the basics of skating and maneuvering the stick, she scored two goals. After making significant progress in her technique through continuous practice in her second year, she was voted “most improved player” by her teammates.

   “She is constantly one that wholeheartedly exerts every ounce of energy she has on the ice. Wherever the chips fall at the end of the game, that’s where the chips fall, but she always knows that she put in her best effort. I think it is something that other players really look up to,” Herzog said. 

   Now, as a senior and starting center on the first line, Traylor demonstrates her passion for the sport through the aggression and tenacity she brings to the ice. 

    “Sometimes we’ll get athletes who you have to get into an aggressive mode. It's not always the easiest skill or attribute to teach. But some student athletes have the ability to turn it on and off and [Traylor] is one of those,” Herzog said.

   In addition to demonstrating her own love for the sport, Traylor extends her love to all her teammates. Her favorite moments on the team were their annual overnight trips to compete in Maryland at the Women’s Interscholastic Hockey League of the Mid-Atlantic competition. The quality bonding time Traylor had with her teammates translated well to their chemistry on the ice.

   “Out on the ice, Emma is a pro when it comes to communication skills. [This] has greatly benefitted the general team dynamic,” said teammate Tessa Solvibile ’22. 

   During quarantine, Traylor and her team only had the chance to play three games and had to wear masks under their helmets per the COVID-19 guidelines. Since many rinks were closed, the team only practiced basic skills off the ice. Although these setbacks were discouraging, Emma stayed focused by recognizing her improvements and maintaining her work ethic.

   Although she does not want to pursue varsity hockey in college, Traylor plans to continue playing ice hockey on a club team. 

   “I like to pick something and stick to it. I don’t like to quit. I feel like I need to constantly keep that mindset to improve,” Traylor said.

The Tower

Cody Jiang's Work

The Tower