#11 Women’s Ice Hockey Splits Final Regular-Season Series at #5 Middlebury
The Mules closed out the regular season with an impressive road performance, battling the fifth-ranked Panthers to a hard-earned weekend split.
Colby opened the series with a strong push on Friday, but ultimately fell 3–2 in Vermont. The Mules struck first just 2:50 into the game when Megan Martodam buried an unassisted chance to make it 1–0. Middlebury answered with two goals later in the period to take a 2–1 lead after one. Colby responded late in the second, as Molly Lefebvre finished a setup from Lulu Gray at 16:17 to tie the game 2–2 heading into the third. The Panthers reclaimed the lead midway through the final frame and held off Colby’s late pressure despite multiple power-play opportunities, handing the Mules a narrow one-goal loss. The next day, Colby bounced back with a composed, statement win to close the regular season. Lefebvre opened the scoring with her second goal of the series, redirecting feeds from Emily Olsthoorn and Lulu Gray at 9:09 of the first to put the Mules up 1–0. Middlebury tied the game on a second-period power play, but Colby held firm and controlled the third. At 13:57, Sophia Kennedy delivered the game-winner off a setup from Megan Martodam and Lizzy Hamel, giving the Mules the lead for good. Kennedy added an empty-net goal at 18:09 to seal the 3–1 victory, securing a ranked road win and strong momentum heading into postseason play.
With a 10-5-1 conference record, Colby Women’s Ice Hockey has claimed the four seed for the NESCAC Championship Tournament and will host No. 5 Hamilton Saturday, February 28th. Stay tuned for more details.
Nordic Skiing Qualifies Four for NCAA Championships
With the conclusion of the EISA Carnival circuit this weekend hosted by Middlebury College, the Mules capped a stellar regular season with four skiers earning a spot at the NCAA Championships in March.
TOP-30 INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES:
- James Underwood - 5th Men's Freestyle
- Benjamin Lewis - 8th Men's Freestyle, 22nd Men's Classic
- Andrew Defor - 11th Men's Classic, 19th Men's Freestyle
- Natalie O'Brien - 28th Women's Freestyle, 30th Women's Classic
- Simon Goldstein - 28th Men's Freestyle
- Lola Villafranco - 29th Women's Classic, 30th Women's Freestyle
Underwood raced his way to All-East recognition, finishing the season in the top-10 overall rankings. The first-year also ranked 9th on the season's Freestyle list and 15th in Classic. Defor finished the season ranked 12th in Classic while Lewis ranked 15th in Freestyle.
Underwood, Defor, and Lewis qualified a full men's team to the NCAA Championships, and they will be joined by Villafranco from the women's squad. Defor qualified last year as well and will be racing in his second consecutive national meet, while the other three Mules will be competing in their first championship event.
The NCAA Championships shifts back to the west this year after a year in the east in 2025 hosted by Dartmouth College. Originally slated to be hosted by the University of Montana, the NCAA committee shifted the series to Utah due to lack of snow in Montana. Racing commences on March 11, concluding March 14.
Colby finished 11th overall a season ago (Nordic and Alpine combined), second for Division III institutions.
Indoor Track & Field Hosts Meet Leading Up to D3 NE Championship
Colby took advantage of a rare home meet to hit new marks and ramp up for next weekend's D3 New England Championships. The Mules had event winners in nine events, sweeping the podium in the women's 5000m and the men's Pole Vault. The meet was non-scored.
Logan Lehnert set a new school record in the Pole Vault, topping the height reached by his brother Lexington earlier this season. Simone Waheed set a facility record in the 60m, and Levi Biery set one in the 60 Hurdles.
WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL PODIUM FINISHES:
- 1st - Waheed, 60m
- 1st - Kaitlyn Ewald, 600m
- 1st - Olivia Doherty, 800m
- 1st - Ada Grant, 3000m
- 1st - Alexandra Herman, 5000m
- 2nd - Charlotte Brake-Hoffman, 60m
- 2nd - Tally Zeller, 200m
- 2nd - Maddie Bush, 800m
- 2nd - Paige Goodwin, Mile
- 2nd - Marianne Spyra, 5000m
- 2nd - Josie Hopkins, 60 Hurdles
- 2nd - Delaney Meagher, High Jump
- 2nd - Jordan Roskiewicz, Triple Jump
- 3rd - Amanda Schneider, 600m
- 3rd - Adrianna Ryan, 5000m
MEN'S INDIVIDUAL PODIUM FINISHES:
- 1st - Danny Reyes, 3000m
- 1st - Will Eckes, 5000m
- 1st - Biery, 60 Hurdles
- 1st - Logan Lehnert, Pole Vault
- 2nd - Mark Graubart, 600m
- 2nd - Jackson Coelho, 800m
- 2nd - Jed Gallaudet, Mile
- 2nd - Stephen White, 3000m
- 2nd - Logan Sullivan, High Jump
- 2nd - Lexington Lehnert, Pole Vault
- 3rd - Ciaran Groom, 5000m
- 3rd - Wyatt Patterson, Pole Vault
- 3rd - Ernest Obiorah, Shot Put
The Mules will head to the Track at New Balance in Boston this coming weekend for the New England meet. Competition begins on Friday and concludes on Sunday.
Men’s Basketball Pushes #11 Tufts in High-Scoring NESCAC Quarterfinal
A blistering offensive start kept seventh-seeded Colby stride-for-stride with second-seeded Tufts before the Jumbos used a late surge to top the Mules 99–84 in Saturday’s NESCAC Quarterfinal.
Colby came out firing with 48 first-half points and shot 60 percent from the field before halftime, keeping pace in a back-and-forth start that featured eight ties and six lead changes. Dan Civello paced the Mules with 20 points, while Max Poulton added 16 and Savion Stroud (headline photo) filled the stat sheet with 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Sam Hinman chipped in 11, and the Mules knocked down 12 threes on the afternoon, but Tufts’ efficiency in the paint and on the fastbreak proved too much to overcome in the postseason road test.
Colby Men’s Basketball concludes the 2025-26 season with a 16-9 record under a new coaching staff led by Head Coach Sean Rutigliano. The Mules will be back in action next winter.
Men’s Ice Hockey Close Season with Overtime Thrill but Fall Short of Conference Championship Berth
Colby wrapped up the regular season with a dramatic overtime win against Tufts before a tough loss to Connecticut College ended their postseason hopes.
The Mules opened the weekend on a high note with a thrilling 3–2 overtime victory against the Jumbos at home. Wyatt Schmidek scored in the second, and Will Soloway in the third with both goals answered quickly from Tufts to keep the game tied. In overtime, Massimo Gentile buried the game-winner off assists from Colby Browne and Alex Keskintepe, sending the crowd home ecstatic. The next day Colby's season came to an end with a 5–2 loss to the Camels. Despite goals from Reese Farrell and Colby Browne, early scores by Conn. gave them control, and Colby could not overcome the deficit. Though the season ended short of a NESCAC Championship Tournament berth, Colby showed resilience and determination throughout the weekend, highlighted by their dramatic win over Tufts and their senior ceremony prior to Saturday’s matchup.
Colby Men’s Ice Hockey concludes the 2025-26 campaign with a 10-12-2 overall record and 6-11-1 conference record. The Mules will return to the ice next winter.
Alpine Skiing to Send Four to NCAA Championships
The Colby Alpine Ski team completed the EISA Carnival circuit this weekend at the Middlebury Snowbowl. Carissa Cassidy raced to the top finishes for the women's team, placing fourth in the Slalom and 14th in the Giant Slalom, and Harrison Digangi led the men's team with a 13th place finish in the SL. Cassidy solidified herself in the top tier of the conference ending the campaign ranked ninth, good for her second consecutive All-East honor.
TOP-30 FINISHES:
- Cassidy - 4th Women's SL, 14th Women's GS
- Digangi - 13th Men's SL, 22nd Men's GS
- Townsend Mikell - 18th Men's GS
- Althea Noyes - 21st Women's GS, 24th Women's SL
- Brady Malboeuf - 25th Men's GS
A year after earning the league's Slalom title, Cassidy finished third in this year's SL rankings. Noyes held the leader bib earlier in the season and finished strong, ranked fourth in the league in GS. Kate McKenney also earned a top-10 ranking, riding an early-season podium to a ninth place ranking in GS. Townsend Mikell was the top Mule on the men's side, finishing the carnival circuit ranked 14th in GS.
Cassidy, Noyes, and first-year McKenney earned spots to the NCAA Championships for the women's team, and they will be joined by Mikell to represent the men's team.
The best racers in the nation will convene in Park City, Utah March 11-14 for the NCAA Championships hosted by the University of Utah. The event was originally scheduled to be hosted by the University of Montana in Bozeman, but lack of snow forced the NCAA committee to relocate the championship series. The Utes have won four of the last five events, with their string broken up by the University of Colorado in 2024.
Xiong, Kirberger All-NESCAC for Men's Swimming
Hosting the league Thursday through Sunday for the NESCAC Championship, the Men's Swimming & Diving team collected three All-NESCAC awards en route to a ninth place finish in the four-day event.
Brandon Xiong was NESCAC champion in the 50yd Backstroke and followed it up with a bronze in the 100yd event. Brendan Kirberger showed his endurance can hang with the best in the conference, finishing third in the 1650yd Freestyle.
On top of Xiong's and Kirberger's performances, Colby was represented in the championship finals six additional times.
TOP-8 (Championship Finals) PERFORMANCES:
- 1st - Xiong, 50 Backstroke
- 3rd - Xiong, 100 Backstroke
- 3rd - Kirberger, 1650 Freestyle
- 4th - Kirberger, 500 Freestyle
- 5th - Kirberger, 1000 Freestyle
- 5th - Brandon Morrison, 200 Butterfly
- 7th - Brandon Morrison, 100 Butterfly
- 7th - Alex Ruckel-Bekefi, 50 Butterfly
- 7th - Matthew Church, 1650 Freestyle
The Mules will await the final rankings to see who travels to Indianapolis for the NCAA Division III Championships March 18-21.
Special thank you to the photographers who helped make this production possible: Wendy Adam P'27, Bonnie Baker Photography, Phillip Belena Photography, Stephen R. Clouthier, Alexis Coates '28, Ashley Conti, Traigh DeMasi '28, Matthew Freeman '29, Steve Fuller @flyingpoint, Rob Hess, Josie Kim '29, Peter Li '26, Jennifer Maguire P'26, Michael Maher, Logan Marku '28, Jarin Pressman '29, Gregory Rec, Reese Robinson '27, Daryn Slover P'28, Isadora Wells '26, Ansley White '26, and the Colby Communications team.