UPDATED FEB. 6, 2025
Middle Township High School athletics honors three-sport athlete Bridget Ruskey’s accomplishments by retiring her jerseys
Bridget Ruskey standing with her family and former coaches in front of her jersey retirement banner – which will be hung in the MTHS gymnasium.
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, NJ – For the first time, Middle Township High School (MTHS) recognized a multisport athlete’s accomplishments by retiring jersey numbers in three sports – lacrosse, soccer and basketball – during a Feb. 5 ceremony.
Attacker Bridget Ruskey, MTHS class of 2017, is universally regarded as one of the best high school girls lacrosse players in New Jersey history. She holds the state record with 485 career goals, plus 136 assists. Most memorable were the six goals Ruskey scored to lead Panthers girls lacrosse to its first-ever South Jersey championship in 2017.
“When I think of Bridget, I think of competitor. She was relentless. She was a winner,” said MTHS basketball Coach John Leahy during the ceremony. “Most importantly, she was probably the best leader, one of the best leaders that I’ve ever coached. She was someone who never shied away from hard work. Never shied away from putting in extra time. After we had a touch game, she was always the first one at practice the next day shooting extra foul shots. Not only was she shooting extras, she was pulling her teammates out there with her.”
“I knew a jersey was being retired, and then I was told all three would be retired,” said Ruskey as she stood alongside her retirement banner. “That’s just so so special, and means so much to me. I never thought I would be in the realm of all these other people who are up here on the wall. And to know that I made this impact with my team and the coaches that I played for, it’s just very special.”
Ruskey’s jersey retirement ceremony took place at 6:45 p.m. in between the girls’ basketball game beginning at 5:15 p.m. and the boys’ basketball game at 7:15 p.m. vs Mainland Regional. Her three numbers – No. 21 in lacrosse, No. 12 in soccer and No. 5 in basketball – will be hung on a banner in the gymnasium.
Bridget Ruskey playing lacrosse for Middle Township Public Schools during her high school career.
“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,” said Middle Township Public Schools Assistant Principal of Athletics Josh McCarty. “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.”
“There’s a lot of words that describe Bridget, but I’ll leave you with one, and that’s special,” said Leahy.
Ruskey scored 1,081 career points as a guard for the Panthers girls’ basketball team. As a soccer midfielder, she led the team in scoring in her sophomore, junior and senior seasons, finishing with 41 career goals. In Ruskey’s senior year, her three teams had a combined record of 53-13-2.
“I just always played my hardest and wanted to be the best for my team and teammates,” said Ruskey. “I hope future athletes understand that you get out what you put in. You will forget a lot of the wins and losses, but you always will remember the experiences you had with your team throughout the years.”
Ruskey racked up many accolades, including being named the Philadelphia Inquirer 2017 Girls High School Athlete of the Year and two-time Press of Atlantic City Athlete of the Year. After graduation, Ruskey went on to have a stellar lacrosse career with the LaSalle University Explorers, where she scored 121 career goals.