Last weekend, the Amherst College women’s cross country team traveled to Waterford, Connecticut to compete in the NCAA Northeast Regional meet. They came in seventh place out of the field of 56 teams at the event, with a final point total of 226.
Savanna Gornisiewicz ’17 put in yet another strong performance and finished first for Amherst and 18th overall with a time of 22:05. While she improved upon her time from last year, she was not able to improve upon her ninth-place result from 2014.
After a decisive victory over rival Williams on Saturday, the Amherst College football team claimed the 2015 NESCAC championship and topped off an undefeated 8-0 run.
With the win, Amherst capped off back-to-back undefeated seasons, extended its consecutive win streak to a record 19 games, and secured the Little Three Championship. The senior class finished its run as one of the winningest classes in Amherst program history finishing with a 29-3 record, and going 4-0 against Williams in “The Biggest Little Game in America” match up over its four years.
This weekend a group called Amherst Athletes Against Lord Jeff began campaigning for the removal of the college’s unofficial mascot, the Lord Jeff. The group formed during a four-day sit-in in Frost Library this weekend in which students protested racial discrimination.
On Saturday night, the third night of the sit-in, various students broke into subcommittees to discuss the issues raised by the weekend’s events. Cross country runner Justin Barry ’18 was with the subcommittee talking specifically about the mascot, and he began thinking of ways to raise publicity.
Q: Tell us a little bit about how you got into hockey as a youth and its role in your early life.
A: I was on skates at a young age, four or five years old. I remember my mom used to dress me in hockey equipment all wrong, with my pads in all the wrong spots. I fell in love with the game from an early age and immensely enjoyed playing my entire life. There was nothing better than going to hockey tournaments as a kid and staying in hotels with your friends and family. Those memories are definitely part of the reason I do what I do today.
Last weekend, women’s cross country traveled to Williamstown to compete in the 2015 ECAC Championship.
The Jeffs put in a strong performance, impressively finishing in sixth out of the field of 46 teams from the Eastern College Athletic Conference with a final point total of 157. Finishing ahead of Amherst were Tufts, University of New England, Wiliams, Middlebury and NYU.
Sophomore Nicky Roberts led Amherst with a time of 23:41, and earned 12th place overall out of the field of 311 runners. This result marks her best finish of her two years on the cross country team.
Founded last spring, Amherst Athletes and Allies looks to foster more community and acceptance within the athletic community for athletes who identify as LGBTQ. The group’s recent “A Safe Space Includes” campaign has spotlighted teams and called on them to commit to serving as a haven for these athletes.
Steven Lucey ’17 helped lead the men’s cross country team to a first-place finish in the 40-team field at the Eastern College Athletic Conference championship meet this past weekend.
The top five finishing teams at the race featured Amherst’s fellow NESCAC competition with Williams taking second place followed by Middlebury in third, Colby in fourth and Tufts rounding out the top five.
