HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS

New Jersey high school athletics has always operated with a certain edge—fast, physical, deeply competitive, and relentlessly local. But the 2025–26 season has elevated...

As New Jersey’s winter high school sports season hits mid-January, excitement is building across boys and girls basketball, wrestling, winter track, ice hockey, and swimming. From major upsets to record-breaking individual performances, athletes statewide are making headlines, shaping state rankings, and delivering memorable moments for their schools and communities. Boys Basketball continues to feature standout programs and intense matchups. Plainfield holds the top spot in state rankings, followed closely by Bergen Catholic, St. Peter’s Prep, Christian Brothers Academy, and Seton Hall Prep. The week saw a thrilling upset as first-year coach Erick Loften-Harris led Union to a dramatic 60-58 comeback victory over #5 Seton Hall Prep on January 8, putting the undefeated team’s ranking on notice....

Students in a 200-level linguistics course have “locked in” on this year’s submissions for the American Dialect Society Word of the Year, with a slang-heavy list of entries that have been amplified and boosted by social media. “Lock in,” meaning to focus, was on the list that was considered when the society chose a winner at its meeting in Philadelphia from January 9–12. While it didn’t win the word of the year, it did win the category of “Most Useful” word of 2024. Last year’s ADS winner was “enshittification,” a term used in a blog post by author Cory Doctorow to describe how digital platforms worsen over time. Some years, the submissions are more sober, such as...