NFL Hopeful
Moments after the seventh and final round of the NFL draft concluded, Julian Young received a call from Baltimore Ravens GM Eric DeCosta '93, inviting the Colby senior to Baltimore this coming weekend for a Rookie minicamp tryout.
Young capped a stellar career for the Mules this past fall with his third All-NESCAC First Team selection, ranking in the top-two in the conference in tackles for three straight years. Earlier this spring he caught the eyes of Ravens scouts when he attended a Pro Day at UMaine Orono, and now he is days away from stepping on the same field as the top Division I players selected this past weekend by the Ravens to prove he belongs.
Track & Field Takes Home Nine All-NESCAC Awards from NESCAC Championships
Colby's Track & Field teams took home nine All-NESCAC awards from this weekend's conference championships hosted by Wesleyan University. Fiona Mejico (400m Hurdles) and Simone Waheed (100m) earned top step in their events to become conference champions on the women's side, and Levi Biery cruised to victory in the 400m Hurdles for the men's team.
The men's team had 11 top-10 performances across all disciplines while the women's team kicked in another eight. Top-three for each event earn All-NESCAC honors. Each squad placed 6th overall in the 11-team field.
TOP-10 MEN'S RESULTS:
- Biery - 1st in 400m Hurdles, 4th in 110m Hurdles
- Brady Clegg - 6th in Steeplechase
- Ian Irwin - 2nd in 100m, 8th in 200m
- Peter Martel - 5th in 100m, 5th in 200m
- Henry Reichle - 8th in 800m, 10th in 1500m
- Ren Zanze - 9th in 400m
- 4x400m Relay - 2nd: Jackson Coelho, Martel, Biery, Sam Graubart
TOP-10 WOMEN'S RESULTS:
- Michelle Barnes - 6th in 400m Hurdles
- Olivia Doherty - 6th in 400m
- Kaitlyn Ewald - 2nd in 200m, 2nd in 400m
- Mejico - 1st in 400m Hurdles
- Waheed - 1st in 100m
- 4x100m Relay - 2nd: Tally Zeller, Mejico, Waheed, Charlotte Brake-Hoffman
- 4x400m Relay - 2nd: Barnes, Doherty, Ewald, Zeller
With the NCAA Championships a little over three weeks away, Colby's Track & Field teams will have a few more shots to move up the qualifying lists, including next weekend's DIII New England meet hosted by Coast Guard.
Women's Lacrosse Takes Care of Trinity, Advances to Semifinals
Holding the third seed in the NESCAC playoffs, Colby met up with Trinity Saturday in the conference quarterfinals.
The Bantams and the Mules met just two weeks ago in the regular season, a 12-2 win for Colby. Saturday's matchup was anything but lopsided, as Trinity put their best foot forward to try to upset the Mules.
Colby jumped out to a 6-2 halftime lead, extending it to 8-3 with minutes to play in the third. A ferocious comeback by the Bantams made it a one-goal game with two minutes to go. The Colby defense stood firm, forcing two turnovers in the final minutes and denied Trinity an opportunity on the cage. Julia Jardina, Ainsley Dion, Kins Helmer, and Zoey Verbesey each scored two goals for the Mules while Jillian Kane collected eight saves in goal.
Julia Jardina tallied five goals earlier in the week in the regular season finale against Bates. After adding in her pauir against Trinity, the senior now has 55 goals on the season, five shy of the single season record held by Anny Eddy '23 (60 goals in 2022). She added her second NESCAC Player of the Week for her efforts.
The Mules will travel to Middlebury for the remaining two rounds of the NESCAC tournament. They will face Tufts Saturday at 3:00pm.
Baseball Clinches Playoff Spot with Series Win Over Tufts
Heading into the final week of the NESCAC regular season, Colby's fate was in their own hands. With three games against Tufts and a makeup against Bates scheduled for Monday afternoon, the top seed in the East was within reach if the Mules could muster wins in three of four.
Ryan Grecco was masterful in Friday's opener with Tufts, throwing five scoreless innings and keeping the Jumbos off balance all night. Four first inning RBI singles provided plenty of early run support, and Matt Higgins held off a late Tufts charge to earn his seventh save of the season.
In Friday's nightcap, Tufts jumped out to a 5-1 lead after four and 6-3 after six, but a five-run seventh inning for the Mules flipped the game. The shot of the night came with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh with Colby down 6-4. Ben Croteau worked the count full before blasting his first career home run to right field and vaulting the Mules ahead for good. Higgins came on in the ninth for his second save in a matter of hours, and despite Tufts stealing the third game on Sunday, Colby took the series for the second straight year.
While Colby is secure in next weekend's opening round of the NESCAC playoffs, Monday's makeup with Bates will determine whether the Mules take the top seed in the East and host a quarterfinal matchup, or whether they settle for the third seed and are forced to hit the road.
First pitch Monday in Lewiston is slated for 3:00pm.
Women’s Tennis Earns Seventh Seed Ahead of NESCAC Tournament
Despite falling to the Jumbos in their regular season finale on Saturday 6-1 (lone point from Jade Finestone in the one spot), the Mules clinched the seventh seed for the NESCAC tournament after defeating Bates Wednesday 6-1.
In doubles play the Mules swept starting with Waka Aida and Finestone winning 6-2 in the three spot followed by Isabella Suk and Michaela Landry winning 6-3 at the one spot to claim the doubles point. Amelie Gal (headline photo) and Ella Novion finished out doubles play with a 6-4 victory in the two spot after suffering an early deficit.
In singles, Colby continued to dominate winning five of the six matchups. Victories came from Landry, Novion, Aida, Anna Rende and Gal in tight games. Novion’s 6-4, 6-1 win in the three spot was the largest margin of victory.
The Mules, heading into their fourth straight NESCAC Tournament, will now prepare to travel to Middletown on Friday to face the No. 2 seeded and tournament hosts Wesleyan Cardinals. The match is scheduled for a 1:00pm start.
Softball Splits with Middlebury in Midst of Playoff Push
With the final games of the NESCAC regular season closing in, every win matters in the packed NESCAC standings.
Despite falling in two midweek games in Brunswick, the Mules departed for back to back doubleheaders at Middlebury and Williams, two of the top teams in New England (combined record of 46-23).
The Panthers snuck past Colby in Saturday's opener 4-2, but the Mules bounced back in the nightcap for a 6-4 win, splitting the series and giving Colby four wins in the last six matchups with Middlebury. Emma Burnham hit a double in the seventh to drive in two and put the Mules in front, and Victoria Ramirez collected three hits, including RBI singles in the 6th and 7th innings.
Williams was able to take both games against the Mules on Sunday despite three more hits from Ramirez and a home run by Ella Wilcox in game 1.
The Mules cling to the 8th seed in the conference with matchups against Bates (Wednesday) and Amherst (Saturday) ahead. The Bobcats and Mammoths are currently sitting in the 5th and 6th seeds, respectively.
Men’s Tennis Clinch Final Postseason Spot with Win over Bates
After falling to #3 Tufts 7-0 on Saturday (the Jumbos finished the regular season undefeated in conference play), the Mules battled the Bobcats the following day in a key matchup. The winner would claim the eighth and final seed for the NESCAC Tournament.
Colby struck first in doubles play as Josh Kaplan and Diego Sosa cruised to a 6-1 victory in the three spot. This was followed by the pairing of Aidan Kwong and Marco Ziets-Segura in the two spot winning 6-2 to clinch the doubles point for the Mules. Jake Cohen and Jason Daly also won their doubles match 6-4 for the sweep.
Throughout singles play, Colby and Bates were neck and neck. Daly was first to finish in the one spot, dominating 6-2, 6-1 but the Bobcats responded with victories at the three and six spots to even the overall score at 2-2. Sosa in the two spot had a huge comeback win (6-3, 7-5) after being down 1-5 in the second set. With one more match needed for the team victory, Kwong (headline photo) seized the moment and took full control against his opponent winning 6-1, 6-2 in the four spot.
With the 4-3 overall victory, the Mules enter the NESCAC tournament for the fourth straight year and will face #1 Tufts Friday morning at 9:00am hosted by Middlebury.
Crew Battles Bates and Bowdoin in Annual Spring Regatta
On the Androscoggin river in Greene, Maine Sunday morning, the three teams faced rain showers and strong cross-headwinds while battling for the President's Cup. The Cup is awarded to the team that earns the most points from the results of their V8’s, 2V8’s and Varsity & Novice 4’s events.
Starting with the Varsity 8’s, the men racing in a new lineup finished second with a time of 6:10.36 while the women placed third in their race with a time of 7:37.93. The 2V8’s had the same results with the men placing second (6:33.03) and the women third (8:22.97).
The Men’s 3V8 (6:40.93) and V4 (7:30.89) continued the pattern both placing second in their races while the Women’s V4 finished first against their competition (8:19.21) earning some key points towards the President’s Cup standings. The Men’s (7:37.08) and Women’s (8:42.50) Novice 4’s concluded the day of the events both placing second.
In the end, Bates won the Cup with the Mules finishing second overall and Bowdoin third.
Next up is the New England Rowing Championship taking place on May 3rd.
Men's Lacrosse Closes 2025 Campaign with Tight Setback at Bates
While Colby was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention heading into Wednesday's regular season finale in Lewiston, the Bobcats had plenty to play for. Their season balanced on a win, as a loss would have put them at the edge of playoff seeding.
Despite falling behind early to the spirited Bates squad, the Mules clawed back with six of the final nine scores, pulling to within three goals with three minutes to play. The Bobcats held fast to their early lead and secured the 5th seed in the conference tournament with the 13-10 victory.
Bennett Goller tallied two goals and added an assist in his final collegiate game. Easton Bello completed his third hat trick in as many games, and Nick Sokolosky added two scores and an assist. Goaltender Will Heisler collected another 16 saves in the cage, giving the junior his ninth double-digit save performance of the season and finishing in second on the NESCAC leaderboard with 15.36 saves per game.
Golf Competes in NESCAC Championship
Traveling to the Taconic Golf Club in WIlliamstown, Mass., the Mules battled for the 2025 conference title. This year the championships expanded from the previous 36-hole format to a three-day, 54-hole event.
With a four man lineup consisting of Jack Dorsey (headline photo), Matthew Lamy, Jeevan Anand and Owen Finnerty, Colby finished 10th overall with a total score of 1073. As a team the Mules had their best performance on day three with a score of 353. Individually on day two Dorsey hit a team best +6 to highlight the event. Amherst won the title with a final score of 896.
Final scores:
- Dorsey +33 (246)
- Lamy +43 (256)
- Anand +67 (280)
- Finnerty +78 (291)
This concludes the Colby Golf spring season.
Special thank you to the photographers who helped make this production possible: Bonnie Baker Photography, Steve Cheney P'25, Stephen R. Clouthier, Traigh DeMasi '28, Jamie Fiedorek '25, Steve Fuller @flyingpoint, Peter Li '26, Michael Maher, Reese Robinson '27, Junan Shimizu '25, Daryn Slover P'28, Marty Thornton Photos, Ansley White '26, and the Colby Communications team.