Five Princeton student-athletes have been named finalists for the 2025 William Winston Roper Trophy which is awarded annually to a Princeton senior man of high scholastic rank and outstanding qualities of sportsmanship and general proficiency in athletics. Presented by Mrs. William W. Roper and the Class of 1902.

The William Winston Roper Trophy will be presented at the Gary Walters ’67 Princeton Varsity Club Awards Banquet on Thursday, May 22nd starting at 5:00 p.m. ET. For more information on the 2025 banquet, click here.

Meet the 2025 finalists!

Nicholas Lawson | Men’s Fencing

Nicholas Lawson, a physics major from New York, N.Y., bookended his Tiger career not just with bids to the NCAA Championships, but with All-American honors. As a rookie in 2022, he won 16 of 23 pool bouts at the NCAAs to qualify for the top-four individual semifinals, and once there, he defeated Penn’s Emon Deroian 15-11 to make the NCAA final. Lawson returned to the NCAA Championships in 2025, winning 12 pool bouts to finish ninth and earn his second All-American honor.

Along with the NCAA accomplishments, Lawson was a two-time U.S.F.C.A. first-team all-region honoree in 2024 and 2025, and he earned first-team All-Ivy recognition in 2025 while helping Princeton to its second straight Ivy League title. Lawson was an academic honoree as well, being included as a U.S.F.C.A. All-Academic Scholar of Distinction in 2023 and selected as the team’s Academic All-Ivy honoree in 2025.

 

Coulter Mackesy | Men’s Lacrosse

Coulter Mackesy is the all-time leader in goals scored in a career for the Princeton men’s lacrosse team, breaking a program mark that stood for 27 years. He is also one of three players in program history with at least 100 career goals and 80 career assists, and holds the Princeton single-season record for goals with 55, which he accomplished as a sophomore. Mackesy, a sociology major from Bronxville, N.Y., is second among all active Division I players in career goals and career points and his 238 career points rank third in program history.

 

A two-time unanimous first-team All-Ivy League selection, Mackesy is also a 2025 Tewaaraton Award finalist, a 2025 first-team All-American by USA Lacrosse Magazine and a three-time Tewaaraton top 25 nominee. A member of the 2024 Ivy League all-tournament team, Mackesy led the Tigers to two Ivy League Tournament titles during his career as well as four consecutive NCAA Tournament berths. His senior campaign has seen the Tigers ranked top-3 nationally, and a win this Saturday would mark Markesy’s second trip to Final Four Weekend. In addition he was also the fourth overall selection in the recent Premier Lacrosse League draft.

Roko Pozaric | Men’s Water Polo

Roko Pozaric is a four time All-American and three time conference player of the year for Princeton men’s water polo. He is Princeton’s all-time leading goal scorer with 281 tallies while also ranking second all-time in assists, ranking Pozaric as arguably the best player in program history. An economics major from Zagreb Croatia, Pozaric made an immediate impact when he arrived at Princeton, being named the Northeast Water Polo Conference Rookie of the Year and Rookie of the Tournament on his way to his first All-American honors. 

 

In 2023, Pozaric had a career year and received recognition as the NWPC Tournament MVP and was named a Cutino Award finalist, an award presented annually by the Olympic Club to honor the nation’s most outstanding Division I male and female water polo athletes. He has helped transform the program into a national contender, winning the conference title four years in a row, making it to the Final Four in 2023 behind a program record 28 wins, finishing ranked fifth in the country the last two seasons and beating two of the water polo “big four”, in Cal and Stanford, during his career. Pozaric is a four time First Team All NWPC performer, 14-time conference player of the week and won an astonishing 90% of his sprints over his four years with the Tigers.  

 

Henry Wedbush | Men’s Volleyball

Henry Wedbush is the heart and soul of the Princeton men’s volleyball program. He was named the 2025 EIVA Player of the Year, becoming just the second player in program history to earn the award. Wedbush led the Tigers through an incredible season, hallmarked by an EIVA Regular Season Championship. Among the nation’s best, he was named a 2025 All-America Honorable Mention. An economics major from Manhattan Beach, Calif., Wedbush finished his career with 2867 assists, averaging 8.77 a set. His senior season, Wedbush averaged 9.51 assists per set to put him at 24th in the nation. During the EIVA semifinals, Wedbush made a career-high 52 assists to help the Tigers advance to their third EIVA final during his four years. 

 

In 2022, first-year Wedbush was part of the Princeton squad that defeated Penn State to win the EIVA championship. This year as a senior,  Wedbush guided the team as the Tigers defeated Penn State on the road to clinch the EIVA regular season title. In addition to being named Player of the Year, Wedbush was also named to the First Team All-EIVA for the second-consecutive year, while being named to the Second Team his sophomore year. As a setter, Wedbush’s role on the court involves setting others up for success – a responsibility he excelled in with his leadership both on and off the court. 

 

Harrison Witt | Men’s Track and Field

A three-time Ivy Champion, Harrison Witt has been a leader and an exceptional competitor for Princeton men’s track and field. In addition to his individual titles in the 1000, which he earned in 2022 and 2025, and the 1500, won this outdoor season, Witt is also a three-time Second Team All-Ivy honoree. Witt has rewritten the Princeton record books, currently holding the records individually for the 1000m, the mile, and the 1500m. He also anchored the 2025 distance medley relay squad that set a new Ivy record in the event. Showcasing his breadth of talent, Witt is on the leaderboard for the indoor and outdoor 800ms and the 4×800 relay. Witt is also a cross country Second Team All-Ivy honoree where he helped lead the Tigers to the 2024 Cross Country Championship. 

 

Witt, an operations research and financial engineering major from Highlands Ranch, Colo., has raised the standard of success for Princeton at both the conference and national level. A two-time NCAA competitor, Witt helped the Tigers take fourth place in the DMR at the 2022 NCAA Championships, earning himself All-America honors. This indoor season, Witt finished in the top-10 in the mile at the NCAA championships, putting him in the top 20 of NCAA Division I performances all-time in the event. After working to come back from injury during his junior Fall, Witt has continuously worked to push his performance to new heights while leading the Tigers to collective championship success, including 11 total Heps team titles and three Triple Crowns during his career.