Varsity Coaches Reach Milestones in Their Sports

Coach Stanek reached the milestone with a 58-17 victory over Rye Country Day School. He came to Hackley as a collegiate wrestler and has done an incredible job as the wrestling head coach the last 30 years. In his tenure thus far, Coach Stanek has had 57 Ivy champs, 37 NYSAIS champs, four All-Americans (Andrew Friedman ’98, Elijah Ngbokoli ’16, Demetra Yancopoulos ’18 and Lara Schechter ’21), two All-State wrestlers (Jack Bosco ’20 and Cole Joseph ’23), and three Con Ed Student-Athletes (Justin Seim ’12, Elijah Ngbokoli ’16 and Cole Joseph ’23). The team also won the 2013 Ivy Team title.

Considering the nature of wrestling and the limited number of dual meets each year (less than 10), this is an incredible accomplishment. Coach Stanek’s time, dedication and love for the sport show every day on the mat, and his commitment as a teacher and coach of multiple sports on the Hilltop has touched many.

Earlier in the fall, Girls’ Varsity Soccer Coach Natalie Hopp-Gaven won her 100th game in a 2-0 win over Horace Mann. Coach Hopp-Gaven has been at Hackley since 2007, starting as an assistant under Julianne Puente and eventually taking the program over in fall of 2012. In her time on the Hilltop, she has won two Ivy titles as an assistant in 2007 and 2008, and she won both the Ivy and NYSAIS Championships as head coach in 2013.

Congratulations to our talented and hard-working coaches!