By BRIAN CUNNIFF
CapeAtlanticLive.com
When Bridget Ruskey finished her stellar athletic career at Middle Township High School, quite a few people were of the opinion that she was the best female athlete in school history.
It comes as no surprise, then, that the time would come for her number to be retired.
And it’s not just one number; it’s all the different the numbers she wore for multiple sports.
Ruskey, a three-sport standout in soccer, basketball and lacrosse who graduated from Middle in 2017, will have her numbers in each of those sports retired in a ceremony between games of a basketball doubleheader Wednesday against Mainland. The girls game is scheduled for a 5:15 p.m. start, with the boys scheduled to tip at 7:15 p.m.
Ruskey’s three numbers – 21 in lacrosse, 12 in soccer and 5 in basketball – will be displayed on a banner in the school’s gymnasium.
“It came as a very, very big surprise and I was honestly speechless when they reached out to me,” Ruskey said in a telephone interview. “I still can’t believe all this is happening. One number is a big deal but all three being retired? I’m very proud and very happy I chose Middle as my high school because of the community around it. Everything’s kind of come full circle. I really enjoyed playing there and going to school there. It’s surreal to me and it’ll still be surreal to me at the ceremony. It’s going to take a while for all this to sink in.”
At a time when lacrosse was still a fledgling sport at Middle, Ruskey emerged as one of the Cape-Atlantic League’s – and the state’s – all-time greats and helped lift the program to great success. She still holds the state record for career goals with 485 and helped lead Middle to the CAL title in 2016 and the program’s only South Jersey championship and an appearance in the state title game in 2017.
As a junior, Ruskey’s goal total of 135 was tops in the nation.
She was a four-time CAL all-star and a three-time Press of Atlantic City Player of the Year in lacrosse.
BRIDGET RUSKEY
In soccer, Ruskey led Middle in scoring as a sophomore, junior and senior, finishing her career with 41 career goals. She was a three-time CAL all-star and helped Middle to a combined 54-19-4 record over her four years in the program.
And in basketball, Ruskey was a four-year starter who finished her career with 1,081 points. She was part of an excellent four-year stretch for the program, which went 83-23, won two CAL championship games, appeared in another CAL title game and reached two South Jersey championship games.
Ruskey was a three-time CAL all-star and was the Press of Atlantic City’s Player of the Year as a junior in 2016 in basketball.
Ruskey was also named the Press of Atlantic City’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2016 and 2017 and the Philadelphia Inquirer's South Jersey Female Athlete of the Year in 2017.
Ruskey went on to an outstanding lacrosse career at Division I LaSalle University. She led the team in goals scored three times, was named to the Atlantic 10 Conference’s All-Rookie Team as a freshman and was twice named an Atlantic 10 Conference all-star. Her 121 career goals place her seventh all-time and her 162 draw controls place her second all-time at LaSalle.
Ruskey will be the eighth former Middle Township High School athlete – and third female athlete – to be honored with number retirement. The others are John Roberson, Ricky Harmon, Jen Snyder, John Leahy, Stephano Anderson, LaMarr Greer and Tara Davies. Ruskey, however, will be the first former Middle athlete to have numbers retired for three sports.
“Not only is Bridget Ruskey eminently deserving of this honor, but retiring her jerseys from all three sports serves as a shining example of what can be accomplished by passion, commitment and dedication,” Middle Township High School athletic director Josh McCarty said in a press release. “To all current and future Middle Township athletes, Bridget’s banner serves as a reminder of the adage – hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
At least two of the previously honored athletes will be in the gym Wednesday – Leahy and Greer are the respective head coaches of the girls and boys basketball teams. Leahy was the coach during Ruskey's basketball career at Middle.
“I think it’s crazy that my name is going to be up there with them,” Ruskey said. “A few of the people I know, and some of them I’m very close to. I think it enhances how important this is. When I think of Jen Snyder-Legler and LaMarr and Tara Davies and Mr. Leahy, I didn’t see any of them play but I heard all the stories about how good they were in high school and how much people praised them. Knowing some of those people personally, it just shows me how special this is. People saw them as superstars and you can see how high regard they were held to have their numbers retired. There’s definitely a threshold you have to meet and it’s definitely a high standard.”
Ruskey, 26, graduated from LaSalle in 2021 with a degree in marketing and international business. She currently lives in New York City and works for a software manufacturing company.
She’ll travel south for a number retirement ceremony on Wednesday that will no doubt be one of the highlights of her still young life.
“I definitely think it’ll be an emotional night,” Ruskey said. “Whether there’s a lot of people there or even just a handful of people there, it’s really going to be special to me. That gym means a lot to me. Middle means a lot to me. It’s really going to be a special, special night to me.”
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