Welcome to 2024!

High school winter teams are rolling along, with spring sports set to start practice in mid-March. It's an Olympic year, with trials already underway leading up to the Summer Games in Paris. The NFL playoffs start in a week. Major League Soccer players start preseason Jan. 13. Pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 14.

Regardless of which teams you support, here are some Morris and Sussex county athletes to keep an eye on in the new year.

Development fights, school lawsuits: Morris County storylines that may dominate 2024

School days

Jack Alexy

Mendham, swimming

A three-time NJSIAA Meet of Champions winner at Delbarton, Alexy is a junior at Berkeley. A three-time USA Swimming junior national team member, he made his senior Team USA debut at the 2023 World Championships, winning gold in the 400 medley relay. Alexy, a Mendham resident, is slated to compete at the Olympic Trials on June 15-23 in Indianapolis.

Alexia Lacatena

Stanhope, softball

A junior pitcher at Kentucky, Lacatena went 20-11 with a 3.52 ERA in her first two seasons. The Lenape Valley grad also pitched for Italy at the 2020 Olympics, and should be on the roster again this summer in Paris.

Mia and Mya Pauldo

Morris Catholic, basketball

Known collectively as Twin Back Court, the sisters from Paterson, had multiple NCAA Division I scholarship offers before they'd even played a minute at Morris Catholic. Before their sophomore season, they signed a NIL deal with Puma. They've since led the Crusaders to two Morris County Tournament titles, and won NJSIAA Non-Public B last winter. Can they three-peat? We'll find out soon enough.

Brian Soldano

Wantage, wrestling

A three-time NJSIAA champion at High Point, Soldano placed at the Big Ten Championships and qualified for the NCAA Championships as a Rutgers freshman. Are All-America honors next?

Michael Zheng

Montville, tennis

Zheng had a 32-9 record in his freshman season at Columbia University, and is the first Ivy League men's tennis player to earn Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and First Team All-Ivy in singles and doubles in the same season. A NJSIAA singles champion and two-time Morris County Tournament first singles winner at Delbarton, Zheng reached the Wimbledon boys singles finals and won two rounds at the Roland Garros and U.S. Open Junior Championships in 2022.

Professional leagues

Trevor Baptiste

Denville/Roxbury, lacrosse

A faceoff specialist for New York Atlas in the Premier Lacrosse League, Baptiste, 27, grew up in Roxbury and Denville and played at Morristown Beard. A four-time All-America at the University of Denver, Baptiste has also been part of Team USA since the 2018 World Championships.

Jermaine Eluemunor

Denville, football

Growing up playing soccer and rugby in London, Eluemunor got into football and wrestling at Morris Knolls. After playing at Texas A&M, he was selected in the fifth round by the Baltimore Ravens. He finally earned a starting role on the offensive line for the Las Vegas Raiders, his fourth team in nine months. He's scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the season.

Alex Laferriere

Chatham, hockey

A Chatham native, Laferriere had 19 goals and 20 assists in two seasons with the high school hockey team. He had 14 goals and 17 assists as a Harvard freshman, earning ECAC Rookie of the Year. He had 21 goals and 21 assists the next season as the Crimson reached the NCAA Tournament. Now, Laferriere is a right wing for the Los Angeles Kings, who drafted him in the third round in 2020.

Jim Miller

Sparta, mixed martial arts

Jim Miller, a 40-year-old from Sparta, will be the only mixed martial arts fighter to be part of UFC 100, UFC 200 and the upcoming UFC 300 in April. His next scheduled bout is Jan. 13 at UFC Fight Night 234 against Gabriel Benitez.

Paige Monaghan

Roxbury, soccer

A former All Daily Record soccer Player of the Year at Roxbury, Monaghan was picked by the Utah Royals in the National Women's Soccer League expansion draft on Dec. 15. A five-year NWSL veteran, Monaghan has nine goals in 79 appearances for Gotham FC and Racing Louisville.

Dan Quinn

Morristown, football

The defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys since 2021, Quinn's name is once again getting tossed around as a potential NFL head coach. A two-way tackle at Morristown High School, Quinn had a few stops in the NFL before becoming DC of the Seattle Seahawks in 2009. Under his watch, the Seahawks' "Legion of Boom" defense finished first in both yards and points allowed in 2013 and 2014, winning Super Bowl XLVIII. Shortly afterward, Quinn got his first NFL head coaching job with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015. Quinn led Atlanta to Super Bowl LI in February 2017.

John Tolkin

Chatham, soccer

Tolkin, who grew up in Chatham, will start his fourth Major League Soccer season next week. A defender for the Red Bulls, he made his senior U.S. national team debut against Colombia on January 28, 2023. An overseas contract is likely in his future.

Anthony Volpe and Jack Leiter

Delbarton, baseball

The former Delbarton teammates could both be major leaguers this spring. Volpe broke in with the Yankees last year, earning the starting shortstop role in Spring Training. He wound up with a .209 average, 24 stolen bases, 21 home runs, 62 runs scored, and 60 RBI – and he was the first Yankees rookie to win a Gold Glove. Leiter had an up-and-down season in the Texas Rangers' system, winding up 2-6 with a 5.19 ERA in 85 innings at Double-A and Triple-A.

More: Morris County unveils $35M capital spending plan focused on roads, bridges, county college

Internationalcompetition

Lisa Banta Czechowski

Boonton, goalball

A six-time Paralympian from Boonton, Banta Czechowski took home the silver medal in discus from the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney, Australia, and has won Paralympic gold, silver and bronze with USA Goalball. Banta Czechowski, 42, scored eight goals in five games as Team USA finished second at the Parapan American Games in November.

Tess Feury

Denville, rugby

A fullback with USA Rugby since 2016, Feury reached the national rugby championships at Penn State, and has played for the women's Eagles at two World Cups.. She is currently playing for the Leicester (England) Tigers while working as a nurse in a pediatric intensive care unit.

Nic Fink

Morristown, swimming

A Morristown native who attended Pingry, Fink did not lose a high school race after the 200 freestyle at the Skyland Conference Championships his sophomore year. A 19-time All-American and four-time Southeastern Conference 100 breaststroke champion at Georgia, Fink has been part of the U.S. national team since 2013. After failing to qualify in 2012 or 2016, Fink finished fifth in the 200 breaststroke in Tokyo at the COVID-delayed Summer Games in 2021. He will try to qualify in both breaststroke races at the Olympic Trials on June 15-23 in Indianapolis.

Keturah Orji

Mount Olive, triple jump

A NJSIAA champion at Mount Olive and eight-time NCAA champion for Georgia, Orji won the Bowerman Award as the top female track and field athlete, and was named the NCAA Woman of the Year in 2018. The only American woman to qualify for the Olympic triple jump final twice, Orji will have a chance at a third trip to the Summer Games at the trials in late June in Eugene, Oregon. She hopes to become the first American woman to win an Olympic triple jump medal. Orji will be inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame this spring.

Morgan Pearson

New Vernon, triathlon

Though relatively new to triathlon, the former Delbarton distance runner anchored the United States' silver-medal mixed relay team in Tokyo three years ago. A seven-time All-American and part of two NCAA cross-country team titles at Colorado, Pearson – who grew up swimming at Madison's Berkeley Aquatic Club – transitioned to USA Triathlon's Collegiate Recruitment Program for top NCAA swimmers and runners. Despite dealing with injuries this season, he has already qualified for the 2024 Olympics.

Jane Havsy is a storyteller for the Daily Record and DailyRecord.com, part of the USA TODAY Network. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis, subscribe today.

Want to share your story with me? 

Email: JHavsy@gannett.comTwitter: @dailyrecordspts

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ Olympics: Morris, Sussex athletes to watch in 2024