The TopOfTheCircle.com Region of the Year award has been given to various defined areas somewhere in these United States, whether it has been a city, a county, a conference, a sectional, or a state. Or sometimes, a combination of all of them, as was the case a year ago when we awarded it to a stretch of land of several hundred square miles in east-central Pennsylvania.
This year, we’re giving the award to a subset of a field hockey “superconference” in the northern half of New Jersey. But to understand what we’re talking about, let’s take you back to 2016. That is when a number of schools clustered together in football-centered superconferences.
But in other sports, a number of the schools who are in the 112-team North Jersey Super Football Conference are part of what is called the Essex/Union Conference. Within field hockey, this conference consists of 19 schools split up into three divisions.
Our Region of the Year is the Essex/Union Conference Red Division. Two state champions — Summit Oak Knoll (N.J.) and North Caldwell West Essex (N.J.) play in this division. But what is really interesting is that all six of the schools in the Red Division had winning records in 2025:
| Team | W/L Overall | Pct. |
| Oak Knoll | 22-1 | .957 |
| West Essex | 20-5 | .800 |
| Livingston | 13-5-1 | .711 |
| Montclair-Kimberly | 15-9 | .625 |
| Montclair | 13-10 | .565 |
| Kent Place | 12-10 | .545 |
Following the aphorism “iron sharpens iron,” all six teams had remarkable success in 2025. Oak Knoll and West Essex repeated their wins in their respective county tournaments, then followed them up with state championships at the close of the season.
Not so far behind was Montclair-Kimberly Academy, which made the NJISWAA Prep “B” final, but fell by a goal to The Pennington School. Kent Place also was a goal from taking home NJISWAA gold, but this time in the larger Prep “A” Division. The Dragons fell by a goal to The Pingry School.
The remaining two teams in the Red Division of the Essex/Union Conference both fell out to the same team in the state Group IV North Tournament. On November 10, Livingston fell by a goal in the sectional semifinals to Phillipsburg. Two days later, Montclair faced Phillipsburg, but fell by a goal.
In other words, the teams in this conference was only a bounce or two away from taking away as many as five state titles. The six teams, their players, and coaches deserve kudos for their tremendous efforts.
The Red Division of the Essex/Union Conference joins a range of other geographical locations selected in past years:
2025: Essex/Union (N.J.) Conference, Red Division
2024: Route 322-422 Corridor, Pa.
2023: Loudoun County, Va.
2022: Mid-Penn Conference, Pa.
2021: Pennsylvania non-public schools
2020-21: State of Ohio
2019: Charlotte, N.C.
2018: PIAA District 3, Pa.
2017: Houston, Tex.
2016: Commonwealth of Virginia
2015: Summit, N.J.
2014: CIF Central Coast Section, Calif.
2013: VHSL North, Va.
2012: State of New Jersey
2011: Lancaster-Lebanon League, Pa.
2010: No award
2009: No award
2008: CIF San Diego Section, Calif.
2007: PIAA District 4, Pa.
2006: Winston-Salem, N.C.
2005: Louisville, Ky.
2004: Kent and Sussex County, Del.
2003: PIAA District 2, Pa.
2002: State of North Carolina
2001: Lancaster County, Pa.
2000: Cecil County, Md.
1999: PIAA District 3, Pa.
1998: State of Maryland
1997: CIF San Diego Section, Calif.
1996: Hunterdon and Warren County, N.J.