Schools
Athletes of the Year: Gina Li and John Von Nessen
Gina Li (tennis) and John Von Nessen (football, lacrosse) are Hillsborough Patch's Athletes of the Year
Gina Li
A 4-year varsity tennis player, Li was the Raiders’ number 1 singles player from early in her freshman year. In 2011 she compiled a 24-1 singles record, only losing to eventual state runner-up Joanna Zalewski. Li was the 2011 Somerset County champion and was named first team all County, first team all Group 4 and second team All State. The Rutgers bound Li compiled a 79-12-2 singles record for Hillsborough, with all but her first five matches as a freshman as Hillsborough’s first singles player.
John Von Nessen
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A multi-sport athlete, Von Nessen has earned varsity letters in both football and lacrosse at Hillsborough. The Penn-State bound Von Nessen has been the Raiders starting quarterback since his sophomore year and in 2011 threw for 1,654 years with 10 TDs. He also handled the punting duties for the Raiders with a 36.6 yard per punt average. For the lacrosse team Von Nessen has been instrumental in the team’s success during his first three years with the team compiling 33-wins during that time, the most wins in any three-year period in team history. The team’s 13 wins in the 2011 season is a single season team record. In each of his first three seasons with the team, Von Nessen has been some combination of first, second or third in each of the critical categories of assists, points and groundballs.
Honorable Mentions
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Choosing one male and female athlete of the year from the many deserving Hillsborough High School athletes is a difficult job. Here are just some of the other athletes who had exceptional years for Hillsborough.
Rachel Pallay (gymnastics), Kristina Vangeli (lacrosse, basketball), Ellie Ewere (track), Brittany Ksiezopolski (softball), Gianna Minutillo (lacrosse), Kelly Janokowicz (cross country), John Jenkins(football, lacrosse), Mackey Price (wrestling, baseball), John Banaciski (football, basketball), Dan Sheldon (baseball), Brandon Young (baseball), Frank Batula (volleyball), Ed Jedziniak (volleyball), Michael Warn (volleyball, cross country).
