Nestled in the ground floor of Sweeney Gymnasium is the room in which all Hill School varsity athletics teams aspire to have their team photo hung: the Trophy Room.  Inside the Trophy Room are photos, trophies, and other mementos commemorating the greatest teams and individuals in the School’s illustrious athletics history.

Each spring, the Hill Athletics Executive Committee votes on teams for trophy room induction.  This year, five teams were chosen based on their outstanding seasons.  Below are brief blurbs about each team’s accomplishments. 

Girls’ Cross Country

Empirically the fastest team in program history, the 2019 girls’ cross country team reset the standards for best performances, both individually and as a team, at several meets.  The most historic day of the season occurred at the Paul Short Invitational, when Hill finished 10^th overall out of 41 teams, the highest the team has ever finished at the prestigious event, and co-captain Olivia Tullman ’20 became the first runner in program history to break 20 minutes in a 5K race, crossing the finish line in a school record time 19:35.  Another milestone occurred at the MAPL Championship when Hill placed five runners in the top-10, narrowly finishing in second place overall.   

Field Hockey
Mid-Atlantic Prep League Champions

On September 4, Hill traveled to Newtown Square to take on an Episcopal Academy team that was ranked fourth in the nation.  After 50-minutes of action, Hill had registered arguably the most high-profile win in program history, setting the stage for the season to come.  In late-September, the team won both games in the inaugural MAX Field Hockey National High School Invitational, earning Hill a spot in the national rankings.  Hill won the MAPL for the third time in four seasons and finished the season ranked ninth in the nation with an overall record of 17-3.

Boys’ Soccer
Mid-Atlantic Prep League Champions

For the first time since 2012 and 2013, the boys’ soccer team repeated as Mid-Atlantic Prep League champions, sweeping the league schedule for the second-consecutive year.  After a slow start to the season, the team posted a record of 12-1-1 throughout its final 14 matches to finish the 2019 campaign with an overall record of 14-4-1.  A 1-0 victory over nationally ranked Northwood School kicked off the team’s torrid conclusion to the season.  In MAPL play, Hill outscored its opponents 18-4, including four consecutive matches in which the team scored four goals.    

Girls’ Ice Hockey

With 13 sixth formers on the roster, Hill left the Women’s Interscholastic Hockey League of the Mid-Atlantic (WIHLMA) to pursue a fully independent New England Schedule.  The move paid tremendous dividends as Hill posted the best season in program history, finishing 21-3-3 overall.  For the majority of the season, Hill appeared in the top-10 of the New England prep hockey poll and finished the season ranked tenth.  The team won both tournaments in which it participated, the midyear Exeter Invitational and the season-concluding Hill Invitational.    

Boys’ Indoor Track and Field
Pennsylvania Independent School Athletic Association Champions

The 2019-2020 boys’ indoor track and field team’s resume is nearly identical to the 2018-2019 team’s: three new school records were set this season, one individual qualified for the state championship meet, and the team defended its PAISAA title, finishing 86 points ahead of runner-up Mercersburg Academy.  Perhaps the most impressive performance came at the Lavino Relays, a meet consisting of 54 teams from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.  Although it is an unscored meet, if it were scored under the standard large meet scoring system, Hill would have been meet champions.  The team finished with a 6-0 record in dual and tri-meets.