Peter Lubrecht has been hired the be the new athletic director at Warren Hills Regional High School.
After serving in the same capacity at Roselle Park High School in Union County, Lubrecht replaces Bob Lockhart, who in a strange twist of fate is the new AD at Summit High School in the same county.
Lubrecht recently signed on with Warren Hills and gave notice to Roselle Park, where he has been the AD since the fall of 2011. He is scheduled to meet with the Warren Hills board of education on Aug. 27.
Warren Hills superintendent Dr. Thomas Altonjy did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.
"I'm genuinely excited," Lubrecht said when reached at his office on Friday. "I knew [Warren Hills] was a great school beforehand and everyone I've talked to there has been very supportive."
Lubrecht, a resident of Frelinghuysen, won't have far to travel to his new school. Ironically, his commute got much shorter, while Lockhart, a Washington resident, will make a much longer trek to Summit.
Lubrecht is looking forward to getting started at Warren Hills, though a starting date at the Warren County school has yet to be established. Lockhart is expected to remain on the job until mid-September before heading to Summit.
"I hope it's sooner rather than later," Lubrecht said, who may be held to a 60-day notice, though he said Roselle Park is actively seeking his replacement. "I hope to know within the next two weeks."
Lockhart, a popular coach and AD and Warren Hills graduate, raised some eyebrows when he resigned his post nearly two months ago. The additional responsibilities on top of the AD position contributed heavily to his decision to leave his alma mater after just under two years as AD.
While at Warren Hills, Lockhart, in addition to being the AD, was head of the Health and Physical Education department, as well as facilities coordinator while also overseeing all of Blue Streaks' athletic clubs. Recently, Summit split its AD and head of health and phys ed positions.
Lubrecht, 48, a graduate of Randolph High School in Morris County, isn't fazed at all by the additional workload. He's served as the AD, vice principal and head of security in addition to several other roles at Roselle Park.
"To me, this [position] is a little more specialized," Lubrecht said. "I'm at a smaller school and different kind of district. I'm used to wearing many, many hats. I feel that's going to be part of the job no matter where you go. I feel you're always going to put in a lot of time anyway."
A longtime coach, Lubrecht was previously employed at Watchung Hills in Somerset County, where he was the varsity coach for girls soccer (13 years), tennis, girls track and an assistant for the girls basketball program.
In 12 years in charge of the Warriors' girls soccer program, Lubrecht's teams compiled an overall mark of 143-72-19, two conference titles, four sectional championships and a Somerset County Tournament crown.
Lubrecht is eager to oversee the sports teams at Warren Hills, which has been widely known for its successful field hockey program that reached the Group 3 final last fall. He's also moving from one big wrestling school to another. Lubrecht admits he's still getting familiar with all of the programs and rich sports history that dates to Washington High School.
"I know field hockey is very strong," he said. "I saw firsthand the wrestling as Roselle Park wrestled Warren Hills. [Roselle Park] was 20-3 and Warren Hills handed it to us pretty good [a 32-15 win on Jan. 26]. I know the football team reached the sectional final [in 2012] and I believe girls basketball is on the rise. I know the school also has a pretty extensive Wall of Fame."
