A profile of Hudson County's top female scholar athletes

Recently, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association issued awards to the top student/athletes in the state, one from each participating school. We have decided to feature the recipients from Hudson County. Today, it will be about the female winners. Later this week, we’ll have the male honorees.

Anna Prilutsky, McNair Academic

Anna Prilutsky was about nine years old, when she decided she wanted to take up fencing.

“There’s a simple answer to that question,” Prilutsky said. “The club (Cobra Fencing Club) was five minutes from my house. The club is very unique. It’s an interesting community. We have members that range in age. It helps the older generation feel younger. I liked that it was an individual sport, one that requires athleticism, but also requires a lot of thinking. You always have to be reflecting on what you just did. It’s just a different kind of mentality.”

Prilutsky has the distinction of being the first fencer/volleyball player to ever be honored with the award. She is also part of the first-ever fencing team at McNair. Since she had been mastering the foil since she was in third grade, Prilutsky was enjoying an excellent first season with the Cougars, but then disaster struck. She came down with an emergency appendectomy after she qualified for the NJSIAA state tournament.

“By the time I was cleared to come back, I was very out of shape,” Prilutsky said. “It was a bit weird, but I was thrilled to come back (in February). It would have been nice to have an ending to the season (that was halted due to the coronavirus), but we were close to the top.”

As a junior Prilutsky was able to compete as an individual in the NJSIAA state tournament, where she took seventh overall in the foil weapon.

When Prilutsky attended the prestigious Hudson School in Hoboken, she was not able to participate in team sports, because the school doesn’t offer them.

“So when I came to McNair, I knew I just wanted to be on a team,” Prilutsky said. “My older brother David played volleyball at McNair, so I joined volleyball. On the first day of school, I went to see if I could be on the volleyball team. I had a general understanding of the rules, but the strategy involved and teamwork aspect was completely new to me. Being on a team makes you think about your teammates first. What you do always affects the team, so that was a little bit of an adjustment.”

Prilutsky played every position over her four-year stint with the Cougars. She thought her best position was as a setter, but she also liked being a defensive specialist.

As a fencer, Prilutsky once finished third in the North American Cup tournament for foil fencers, helping the Cobra team place second.

Here’s Anna’s biggest achievement. She was the valedictorian for the McNair Class of 2020, graduating with a grade point average over 4.0 and scoring an astounding 1570 out of 1600 in the Scholastic Aptitude Tests. So it isn’t any wonder that she’s headed to Princeton University in a few months to study computer science.

Needless to say, Prilutsky had a brilliant high school career, capped by earning the NJSIAA Scholar/Athlete award.

“I really enjoyed my time at McNair,” said Prilutsky, the first-ever volleyball/fencing recipient.

Jy’Nese Spivey, Ferris

Jy’Nese Spivey never participated in competitive track and field until she was a sophomore at Ferris High School.

“My cousin ran track and her coach was really close to our family,” Spivey said. “I just decided to join the track team. When I first joined, I noticed that everyone else was really good and I felt out of place. The others had been running for years. I didn’t have the experience.”

Spivey, who transferred to Ferris from Union Township a little more than three years ago, didn’t know what would be her best event.

“I started off running sprints,” Spivey said. “I then learned about distances. A friend of mine on the team was supposed to run the 800 (meter run), but didn’t feel well. So I told her that I would run it for her. Once I did that for my friend, I fell in love with it.”

Spivey then became a regular in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs.

“My first 800 was so bad,” Spivey said. “But once I started training, I got better.”

Spivey has only one regret.

“I feel like if I started off earlier, like in eighth grade, I would have been more prepared for high school,” Spivey said. “I should have started sooner.”

Spivey learned of her award during Ferris’ virtual graduation two weeks ago.

“During the virtual graduation, it said my name and I was a little shocked,” Spivey said. “My friend in Union got the same award, so I knew that was pretty good. I just figure that anything is possible if you work hard at it. If you put your mind to it, you can do it.”

Spivey is headed to Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, where she plans on majoring in biomedical engineering with the hope of one day attending medical school. She graduated from Ferris with a 3.4 grade point average.

Alicia Campbell, Snyder

Campbell, who rewrote the record books during her days as Hudson County’s most decorated track and field participant the last three years, also was an excellent student during her days at Snyder.

Receiving an award for being the top scholar/athlete at her school meant a lot to Campbell.

“As student/athletes, sometimes we don’t get recognized,” Campbell said. “At least I got recognized for being an athlete.”

Campbell had no idea that she was receiving the NJSIAA Scholar/Athlete award until it arrived in the mail.

“I just got the package and opened it,” Campbell said. “I didn’t even know. I had no idea that there was such a thing. Immediately, I called my coach and he didn’t know either. So it came as a big surprise. I’ve always said that schoolwork comes first. Even if sports didn’t work out, I could always have my schoolwork to fall back on.”

Campbell maintained a 3.4 grade point average and scored 1050 on the Scholastic Aptitude Tests. She will attend Rutgers University in New Brunswick in the fall on a track and field scholarship package. She will major in Kinesiology, which is the scientific study of body movement.

“I want to stay in the field of sports medicine,” Campbell said. “I always want to do something with sports and with medicine.”

Campbell knows about sports medicine from firsthand basis. She suffered a severely broken ankle competing in the NJSIAA state sectional championships last year, but she has since recovered. She stood to win four gold medals in the Hudson County championships for a second straight year if not for the coronavirus pandemic that put an abrupt end to the spring sports season.

Erin Murphy, St. Dominic Academy

Murphy was one of the busiest athletes at SDA, so earning the nod as being the top scholar/athlete is a remarkable feat considering her hectic schedule.

In the fall, Murphy was the goalkeeper for the Blue Devils’ soccer squad. In the winter, Murphy was a four-year starter for the SDA basketball squad, leading the Blue Devils’ to berths in the state and county playoffs. In the spring, she was a standout slugger for the softball squad, so to maintain a 3.78 grade point average in the classroom is no small feat.

“I always made sure I kept my grades up,” said Murphy, an honor student throughout her four years at SDA. “I always had to keep my academics in line. Even before athletics, I had to maintain good grades. I really didn’t have time for much else. I was always trying to keep track of the sports. I had some time after school to finish all of my work.”

Murphy found out about receiving the Scholar/Athlete award during her viral graduation.

“My name was announced and my name popped up on the screen,” Murphy said. “Until I saw my name on the screen, I had no idea. No one was expecting anything like that.”

If there’s one regret, it’s that the spring softball season would have marked a new chapter in Murphy’s athletic life, because her father, Brian, was set to be the head coach at SDA, and her older brother, Thomas, was going to be an assistant coach.

“That definitely would have been an experience,” Erin Murphy said. “My Dad has always been my biggest supporter.”

Murphy is headed to Loyola University in Baltimore, where she will major in psychology. She hopes to someday be either a psychiatrist or a teacher.

Murphy says that she leaves high school with mixed emotions.

“I put in a lot of time in high school and made a lot of friends there,” Murphy said. “So I’m sad about leaving. But I’m excited about the challenges of college.”

Emily Schroeder, Hoboken

Schroeder was first involved with the indoor track team at Hoboken High when she wondered about trying something different. It was a sport that was totally new to the school – namely girls’ lacrosse.

“Because I did track, I knew that lacrosse needed a lot of running,” Schroeder said. “So I thought I could do that. It was a little difficult, catching the ball with the lacrosse stick. That was definitely difficult. I kept pushing myself to do it. I didn’t give up. I got better after practices. I had older players on the team that helped me.”

Schroder also took a large amount of pride in her grades, even though she was juggling attempts at track and volleyball.

“I always took AP (advanced placement) honors classes,” Schroeder said. “I always found a way to do well in both. No matter what, I did my best. I always got good grades. My family also pushed me to do my best.”

Schroeder also didn’t know she was receiving the NJSIAA Scholar/Athlete award.

“I was honestly in shock,” Schroeder said. “I found out online. It was great to get recognized for all the determination that I had. But I definitely didn’t expect this. It was a surprise.”

Schroeder graduated with a 4.0 grade point average. She is headed to Felician University to study nursing and eventually go for her Master’s degree in nursing.

“My dream is to work at Hackensack (University Medical Center),” Schroeder said. “I always wanted to be there.”

Schroeder said that she was floored to receive the Scholar/Athlete award.

“I am really happy to represent my school,” Schroeder said. “To be able to get recognized like this is a remarkable achievement and I’m thankful for that.”

Angelina Moncrieffe, Secaucus

Better known as the lovable Angie, Moncrieffe was a four-year member of the Secaucus swim team, competing in the 100-meter backstroke, 100-meter freestyle, the 200-meter medley relay and the 400-meter freestyle relay.

Angie also swims for a private swim team, known as the Jersey Flyers Aquatic Club, an organization she has been a member with for 10 years. She was also the captain of the Secaucus swim team. She was also a member of the National Honor Society and volunteered feeding the homeless.

“I do love being in the pool,” Moncrieffe said. “I swim for three hours a day, six days a week. I’m able to juggle my work in school and work in the pool. I really could spend all day in the pool.”

Moncrieffe is headed to Bates College in Maine, where she plans on majoring in neurology in the school’s five-year STEM program. She will be on a pre-med track at Bates.

Angie said that she was also shocked by receiving the NJSIAA award.

“I was surprised and excited,” Moncrieffe said. “But I have to admit. I did a little research. I looked into it and found out I was getting it. It definitely means a lot.”

Angie was disappointed that there was no graduation ceremony.

“I’m an only child,” Moncrieffe said. “I didn’t get the chance to walk across the stage to get my diploma. I also didn’t get to take pictures for my prom. So that really stunk.”

Moncrieffe said that she will be part of the swim team at Bates.

“I know it’s going to be cold in Maine getting up at 5 a.m.,” Moncrieffe said. “I’m a little nervous, but I’m extremely excited to begin the next chapter of my life. I like to thank all the people in Secaucus who supported me, especially Mr. (Charlie) Voorhees (the school athletic director), who always made sure the swim team was funded. Anything we asked for, we got.”

Moncrieffe graduated from Secaucus with a 4.35 grade point average and a score of 1300 in the SATs. Obviously, Angie left her mark at Secaucus.

Later this week, the Hudson County boys’ top scholar/athletes