MULE WEEKLY RECAP

Mikell 4th, Cassidy 5th at NCAA Championships

Competing against the top skiers across all three NCAA Divisions, the Colby Alpine team held their ground, and then some.

Townsend Mikell was the highlight in the opening event, Wednesday's Giant Slalom. Starting with bib 24, the sophomore had a spectacular first run to leap to 11th, and he won the second run to finish 4th, just fractions off the podium. The top-five racers earn First Team All-American honors.

Althea Noyes capped a stellar sophomore season leading Colby's women's team in 19th place and Carissa Cassidy collected valuable team points in 26th. Colby's third female racer Kate McKenney ran into issues first run and failed to finish. Justine Lamontagne from Montana State University, recently back to the US after competing in the Winter Olympic Games for Canada, won the race.

In Friday's Slalom, Cassidy was the highlight of the day for Colby. Skiing her way to Second Team All-American honors a year ago in this event (6th-10th places), the senior placed second on the first run and held on second run to finish fifth, landing herself on NCAA's First Team. Mikell had another great day, skiing into 15th, while McKenney placed fourth on the second run for the women to finish 23rd overall. After a solid first run, Noyes ran into a problem with a lower section combination on the second run and was disqualified.

Combined with the Nordic events, Colby Skiing placed 11th in the four-day series, finishing second for Division III schools. Host Utah won the series, followed by the University of Colorado and Denver University.

Women's Relay 3rd, Men's Relay 4th at NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships

The Colby Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Teams capped off the NCAA Division III Championships in Birmingham with standout performances in both individual events and relays, highlighted by multiple All-American honors and a podium finish.

During Friday's qualifying rounds, Simone Waheed placed 10th in the women’s 60m dash with a personal-best time of 7.60 seconds, to earn Second Team recognition. Jackson Coelho finished 11th in the men’s 400m in 48.21 seconds for the same distinction. Logan Lehnert also competed individually, participating in the men’s pole vault, placing 20th overall.

The relays capped off the meet with strong performances in Saturday's finals. The women’s 4x400m team of Tally Zeller, Olivia Doherty, Kaitlyn Ewald, and Charlotte Brake-Hoffman finished third in the final with a time of 3:45.84, narrowly behind Wis.-La Crosse and WashU after qualifying with the fourth-fastest time.

The men’s 4x400m squad of Coelho, Mark Graubart, Samuel Graubart, and Levi Biery ran 3:13.75 to take fourth, just missing out on a top-three finish by .34 seconds after entering the finals as the fourth seed. Both relay teams earned First Team All-American honors for their efforts.

Following a successful indoor season, the Mules will now jump right into the outdoor season starting with the Emory Invitational this coming weekend.

Nordic Skiing Represented with Four Athletes at NCAA Championships

When the top Division I, II, and III ski racers from across the US gathered last week in Utah for NCAA Championships, Colby was well represented. Lola Villafranco raced for the women's team, and a trio of Mules raced in the men's events: James Underwood, Andrew DeFor, and Benjamin Lewis.

Villafranco kicked off the series in fine form, skiing her way to 26th place in Thursday's Classic. Lewis, Underwood, and DeFor battled the elevation and rising temperatures to finish 34th, 37th, and 40th respectively.

Lewis was Colby's top finisher in Saturday's finale, the Freestyle Mass Start. The junior cruised into 25th place with Underwood close behind in 29th, and DeFor in 37th. Villafranco capped her final event as a Mule in 37th in the women's race.

Colby held its own against some of the top international racers of the year. Both of the women's races were won by Rosie Fordham of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Fordham recently competed in five events for Australia at the Winter Olympic Games. Similarly, the men's Classic was won by John Steel Hagenbuch of Dartmouth who represented the United States in Italy a few weeks ago.

Baseball Sharp in 3-2 Week

After an energetic sweep of Endicott last weekend, Colby had little time to regroup before entering a five-game week. Despite dropping the opener Tuesday to a strong USM squad, the Mules split with Brandeis to hand the Judges just their second loss of the season on Saturday and closed the weekend with a sweep of NEC Sunday.

Will Burns walked the Mules off to victory in game 1 Saturday when he sent a double to the base of the wall in left in the bottom of the seventh to score Henry Silva and take the game 2-1. Thomas Rioux pitched well through 6.1 innings and now posts a 0.55 ERA through three starts. Despite falling in the nightcap, Patrick Shrake collected three hits to extend his hit streak to seven games to start the season.

Sunday was all Colby as the Mules swept New England College 12-0 and 6-1. Shrake led the way with three more hits in game 1, and Adam Schwartz and Greg Levin each went five innings on the mound to earn their first wins of the season. Levin's seven strikeouts marked a career-high for the senior.

Colby will head into their spring break trip in Florida with an impressive 7-2 start to their season. The Mules are currently receiving votes in the national poll.

#7 Women’s Lacrosse Explodes Offensively Midweek Before Battling National Power on the Road

A dominant Tuesday showing at the University of Southern Maine set the tone for Colby’s week, which closed with a hard-fought matchup at No. 2 Wesleyan on Saturday.

Colby opened its two-game stretch with a commanding 15-5 performance at Southern Maine, controlling the game from the opening minutes and never allowing the Huskies to find a rhythm. The Mules surged ahead 5-2 after the first quarter and continued to build separation with steady ball movement, efficient shooting, and contributions across the entire lineup. Eleven different players found the back of the net as Colby dictated possession and tempo, turning a fast start into a complete wire-to-wire win. Emma Greene had three goals in the contest to go with an assist. Stella Regan secured four points as well with a goal and three assists.  The week wrapped up with a NESCAC showdown in Middletown, where the Mules pushed #2 Wesleyan in a competitive 10-4 decision. After the Cardinals established an early lead, the Mules responded with a strong third quarter, stringing together three goals and tightening up defensively to stay within striking distance. Colby generated momentum during that stretch, but Wesleyan’s 6-1 halftime cushion held strong. Ainsley Burke finished with a pair of goals as Regan tallied a pair of assists. Izzy Wang totaled five ground balls and a caused turnover.

The Mules are now 1-3 on the season and will continue with conference action Saturday at Hamilton. 

Men’s Lacrosse Battles #12 Wesleyan in Home Opener

Colby showed plenty of fight in Saturday’s home opener but couldn’t overcome a fast-starting Cardinals squad, falling 13–6 at Bill Alfond Field.

Wesleyan set the tone early, building a 3-0 lead in the opening minutes before Colby responded with two goals to settle in. The Cardinals continued to generate pressure, using a 3-1 second quarter to take a 7–3 advantage into halftime. Despite stretches of strong defensive stands and a handful of key clears, the Mules struggled to slow down Wesleyan’s balanced scoring throughout the middle frames. Colby found more rhythm in the fourth, striking for three goals but the deficit proved too much to climb back from. Easton Bello led the team with three points on the afternoon (a goal, two assists) as Tyler Katt picked up six ground balls and three caused turnovers defensively.

The 1-3 Mules will host Clark Tuesday afternoon before welcoming Hamilton on Saturday to continue their four game home stretch.

Mules Fall to MIT in Road Matchup

The Colby Men’s Tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision at MIT in Waltham, Mass. on Saturday afternoon.

The Mules captured their lone doubles win at the top court, with Jason Daly and Marco Ziets-Segura edging their opponents 7–5 The second and third doubles matches went to MIT, giving the hosts the doubles point. In singles, Daly added another victory at No. 1 with a 7–5, 6–4 win, and Rhys Spano battled through a tight match at No. 3, prevailing 7(7)–6(1), 7(7)–6(5). The Mules were unable to find additional singles wins as the Engineers secured the 5–2 overall victory.

With a 2-2 record, Colby will look to regroup with a four match road trip starting next Monday against Occidental in Los Angeles.