Jake McManus ’24 is the definition of a student-athlete. Jake is a tremendous student and an even better athlete, excelling in both baseball and Hockey. Jake has been a varsity athlete since Form III and an integral part of both the baseball and hockey teams.
Jake was elected as the captain of this year’s varsity hockey team, and no one will deny that it was the right decision. “Jake is the best captain I have ever had, he does not just lead with his voice but with this intense play style and passion for the game,” said Evan Dresser ’25 when asked about Jake’s leadership. Jake has been a tremendous asset to the team, both on and off the ice. On the ice, Jake has totaled a whopping 37 points, consisting of 27 assists and 10 goals. When asked about how he tries to be a leader off the ice, Jake said, “I try to lead by example and make sure that everyone is doing the right thing.”
Jake has led the varsity hockey team to a very successful season as of this moment. The team boasts impressive wins over a talented Saint Sebastian’s team and the current first-place team in the ISL, Nobles. Even though each of these wins was a terrific moment of the season, none of them are Jake’s favorite, which he said was “the Lawrenceville championship because it does not happen that often, and it is special to be able to get your year written up on the banners around the rink.” The team performed incredibly well at the Lawrenceville tournament going undefeated through their four games including a shootout thriller against Upper Canada College and a revenge match against the hosts, the Lawrenceville School.
When asked where the team has improved as the season progressed, Jake replied, “Penalties, we’ve been taking less penalties, and earlier in the year that really held us down, but in our game against Milton we didn’t take any.” The team’s performance against Milton was inspiring as they overcame a 3-1 deficit to take down the talented Milton team.
When asked what he was most looking forward to as the season comes to a close in the coming weeks, Jake said, “I’m looking forward to just playing in some big games. We got Nobles and Dexter coming up along with Tabor and Westy (Westminster). All those games are going to be big, and [I’m] just excited to play in big games with the boys.”
Since then, the team has defeated Nobles in a 5-3 thriller where the boys overcame a 3-1 deficit by scoring four goals in less than five minutes. They beat Tabor 6-3, lost to Dexter 4-1, and lost to Westminster 4-3. The team currently stands as the 6th seed in the Martin/Earl Tournament and would have a playoff game against Dexter. There is no doubt that this has been an impressive season for the hockey team and Captain Jake McManus ’24.
Jake still has another varsity season to look forward to when hockey ends, as he is the starting second baseman for the baseball team. When asked what he looking forward to for the baseball season, this is what he had to say: “Just having fun, this is my last year playing baseball, so I’m just going to try to have a good time with it.”
Jake is committed to continuing his hockey career at Williams College, where he will be a freshman in the fall. When asked what he was looking forward to at Williams, Jake responded, “It’s going to be a new experience, so hopefully meet some new people and have a great time and continue to play the sport I love to play.”
There is no doubt that this school will miss Jake when he graduates in June, but The Panel Staff wishes Jake the best of luck with his future athletic and academic endeavors at Williams and beyond!
