Editor’s Note: This article and the above spread appears in the Spring 2026 edition of . See below for a web-friendly version.

David Omasombo ’26 and Chiwer Mayen ’26 have shared many basketball courts across their young lifetimes, including historic Alumni Gym, but the first one stands out in their memories for being the worst, in a technical sense. The surface was uneven, the rims inconsistent, and, most of the time, there were no nets.

“Terrible,” says Mayen. But at Lewiston’s Hillview apartment complex, it was a gathering place for the community, which made it a great place to be introduced to each other and develop a passion for hoops.

“Thirty kids on one court, 30 kids on the other court,” says Mayen, a sociology major.

“Just pack it and play basketball,” adds Omasombo, also a sociology major.

Omasombo would have been around 11 years old and Mayen 12 when their worlds first collided at the Hillview apartments, and both had already been on long journeys just to get to those basketball courts.

Omasombo was born to Congolese parents in a refugee camp in Tanzania. He arrived in the United States in 2010 via Indianapolis, as part of a church asylum program, and then lived in Nashville. Both American cities were tough on the young Omasombo.

“Back home, America is often described as the ‘promised land,’ like in the Bible,” Omasombo says. “But I didn’t know any English and I experienced a lot of bullying. It was hard to make friends as the little African kid in the group who dressed differently and spoke Swahili.” Omasombo spent long hours in Nashville working with his second-grade teacher Tee Hassold, learning English in one-on-one sessions after school.

Mayen was born in Jackson, Mississippi, to parents who had come to America from South Sudan. He lived in a house in Jackson built by Habitat for Humanity until he was in third grade. It was, he remembers, a great home, but not a great area. “The house had bars on the windows, and I mostly stayed inside,” Mayen says. “At the time I didn’t realize why, but it was for my own safety.” That’s when his father, who raised him and his sister mostly alone, moved the family to North Carolina. They stayed with family friends for about a year. Then Mayen’s father heard about opportunities in Lewiston, where there was a growing South Sudanese community. His family drove north to Maine and eventually moved into the Hillview complex.

In Nashville, Omasombo’s father had also heard about the growing community of African refugees in Maine and felt Lewiston would be a better fit for his family. That kind second grade teacher, Tee Hassold, helped Omasombo’s family raise funds to move north. “All 10 of us drove to Maine in 2012 in a 16-passenger van with all of our belongings,” Omasombo says. “Thanks to my teacher and the generosity of the community, we were able to move to Lewiston. I still keep in touch with Mr. Hassold. He is such an amazing human being.”

He was 10 when he arrived in Lewiston. After his first year at Longley Elementary, the Omasombo family moved to the Hillview apartments, and he enrolled at McMahon Elementary. That’s when the two boys met on the basketball court. The memory is fuzzy but Omasombo is pretty sure about one thing.

“I think my first impression of Chiwer was that he was a giant,” says Omasombo.

Mayen’s parents’ South Sudanese heritage is in the Dinka tribe, some of the tallest people in the world, and he is no exception. Today he is the tallest player on the Bobcats, standing at 6 feet 9 inches. Omasombo is the shortest player on the team, a full foot shorter than Mayen. But Omasombo had an edge in terms of basketball experience when they met. Growing up in the refugee camp in Tanzania, Omasombo only knew soccer and laughs about how when he first encountered basketball in America he tried to kick the ball through the hoop. Mayen was even newer to basketball. He hadn’t really liked sports growing up, but basketball started to grow on him.

“I was so bad at first,” Mayen says. “All I could do was pass the ball. In basketball, height is height, but you really need to have other attributes as well, such as strength. But I love the journey of getting better every day.”

The duo didn’t share the court in an organized setting until they attended Lewiston High School and started playing on the junior varsity team.

They both made varsity the next year and, under the leadership of then head coach Ronnie Turner, helped lead Lewiston boys basketball to one of their best seasons in recent memory. “I was tough on them, but Chiwer was great about taking my coaching to heart, and David would text me to open the gym for extra shots at night after games, and then again in the early morning,” says Turner. “He would be working on his game at 5 a.m.”

“Ronnie was the perfect role model that we needed to hear from,” Omasombo says. “He had grown up in Lewiston and knew what we were going through.”

Turner, whose mother, Tonya Bailey, is the director of �ֲ���ý’ Student Center for Belonging and Community, also had a sense, a belief, about where this hardworking pair with so much behind them might go next. Men’s basketball head coach Jon Furbush ’05 hired Turner as an assistant coach in 2021, and Turner made sure to alert him to the duo. “I had never had any players from Lewiston High School so I am grateful to Ronnie for helping me get in front of those guys,” Furbush says. “I remember watching both of them play and thinking to myself, ‘Maybe we have something here.’”

Mayen played one post-grad season at The Woodstock Academy in Connecticut, so he and Omasombo both enrolled at �ֲ���ý in fall 2022. They are the first Lewiston High School alumni to play men’s basketball at �ֲ���ý in five decades, since Bruce Campbell ’76.

Not that �ֲ���ý was a completely new environment for either of them when they arrived, as Omasombo and Mayen often snuck into Alumni Gym as kids to get shots up. They’d play pick-up with �ֲ���ý students. “Alumni Gym is where I threw down my first real dunk,” Mayen says. But when they first met, the notion of �ֲ���ý as a future alma mater was far from their minds.

Now, Omasombo and Mayen are recent �ֲ���ý grads, after making the most (and then some) of their time on campus. After four years steeped in academics, basketball, internships, community service, jobs, and further friendship, Omasombo and Mayen are well-aware of the example they set for future generations. Mayen was raised by an immigrant father, trying to care for his son and daughter on his own. Omasombo spent the first eight years of his life in the refugee camp before moving to America. “I didn’t have the privilege or opportunity to go to school and there were very few resources,” Omasombo says. “All we had was family. But that kept us alive.”

What might not seem possible is possible. It’s been done. Here they are.

And yet, when you look at what both of them do in the Lewiston community on top of their athletic and academic pursuits at �ֲ���ý, it definitely seems impossible for anyone to achieve as much as they do. There just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day.

“They redefine the meaning of hard work,” Furbush says. “Some people think they’re working hard, but if they actually spent some time with either of those guys they would quickly realize, ‘Oh, I am not maximizing my day.’”

For starters, both serve as substitute teachers in the Lewiston Public Schools.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time with the students and seeing my old teachers,” Mayen says. “I try to put myself in the kids’ shoes and try to have an impact on their psyche in a positive way.”

Mayen enjoys working with elementary school kids, while Omasombo has worked more with the middle and high schoolers. It’s not always easy, given the challenges in the aftermath of the pandemic, particularly behavioral issues. “I think it helps that the teachers can point to us as examples of people from the Lewiston Public Schools who are doing well. You don’t have to misbehave or fall into the wrong crowd,” Omasombo says.

Omasombo remembers what it felt like when he was in high school.

Violence in the community was a problem. So when he was a senior at LHS, Omasombo and a friend of his started an after-school club where young men could discuss issues impacting their lives and how to address them.

“Our goal was not to fix everything. We just wanted to give the boys in our community something we didn’t have growing up,” Omasombo says. “We talked about leadership and not following the crowd. Most importantly, we focused on staying away from potentially dangerous situations that could alter people’s lives forever.”

In addition to working in the heart of the city, Omasombo is an organic farmer. His dad, whose first name is Omasombo, grew up farming with his father in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The elder Omasombo was able to secure a parcel of land in Lisbon designated for refugees and started OK Community Farm. “My dad is an inspiration, getting up at 4 a.m. every day to work on the farm and support our family,”Omasombo says. “We sell our vegetables down by Kennedy Park. I really look forward to the days that I can go to the farm and help out, working side-by-side with my dad.” Omasombo is entrepreneurial, giving haircuts and starting a pressure-washing business with his girlfriend. Since eighth grade, when he traveled to Texas with his church group to help with hurricane relief, he’s been deeply vested in community service.

Being there for others makes him feel closer to God. He jumps at every opportunity to pay forward the assistance he’s gotten through the years. “I know what it feels like to need help, and not know how to ask,” Omasombo says. “I know what it feels like to feel lost and alone, especially as a kid. I had people step into my life when they didn’t have to, so I feel the responsibility to be that for someone else.”

Mayen is a direct support professional, providing caregiving services to people with disabilities, working in a group home in Augusta. There is also a national shortage in this field, so it’s a job that provides Mayen with a lot of opportunities. As a junior at �ֲ���ý, he worked overnights, sometimes going directly from basketball games to the group home. He isn’t doing that anymore, but still works long hours.

He doesn’t mind. “Working as a direct support professional can be hard but it is amazing, eye-opening work,” Mayen says. “I love the individuals I work with. One client I work with is a huge fan of Walker, Texas Ranger, so we watch that a lot together.” Mayen also connected with the Harward Center for Community Partnerships at �ֲ���ý, where the mission is “to weave together campus and community for the enrichment of both student learning and public life.”

Through Harward’s community work-study program, which gives students who receive Federal Work-Study funds the chance to work off-campus and engage with the community, Mayen secured an internship with The Third Place, a network that connects Maine’s Black professionals, students, and entrepreneurs to both professional and social opportunities. Mayen collects data on Black professionals in Maine and helps plan various events. It’s a job that allows him to work remotely, critical when one is as busy as Mayen is every day at �ֲ���ý and beyond. “My schedule is very hectic, so it was great to find such a flexible internship through them,” Mayen says.

“David and Chiwer are prime examples of what Lewiston is capable of,” says Mohamed Awil, associate director of volunteer programs and community partnerships at the Harward Center and leader of the community work-study program. Like Omasombo and Mayen, he is a Lewiston High School alumnus, having graduated in 2014. He coached track and cross country at LHS while Mayen and Omasombo were there as students. “I hope they inspire people to stay in the community,” Awil says. “Or come back to help uplift us all. I am excited to see the �ֲ���ý and Lewiston connection continue to grow.”

Mayen is driven by the desire to help his dad and his sister. “My father raised us as a single dad, and I want to give him all the props in the world,” Mayen says. “I work so much because I want to provide for him back in South Sudan, and also my sister, who is figuring things out as a young adult in Mobile, Alabama.”

Their coach, Furbush, is in awe of Mayen and Omasombo’s values.

“Chiwer and David are maybe the most unselfish people I’ve ever met, not just at �ֲ���ý, but in my life. They rarely put themselves first. They’re always thinking, ‘How can we give back?’”

After graduation, Omasombo’s plan is to go into commercial real estate, while Mayen’s goal is to continue playing basketball after college. He’s never been to South Sudan and would like to go in the near future and meet members of his extended family. Likewise, Omasombo hopes to one day be able to go to the Congo for the first time. But for now they are making it in America, despite facing obstacles along the way that most people can’t imagine.

“This country provides a lot of opportunities,” Mayen says. “America is great at times, and it’s terrible at times. But the goal is always upward mobility. Struggle and perseverance is a great teacher. You need to go through difficult times to succeed in this world.”

�ֲ���ý is embarking on a $45 million project to update two key athletic facilities and construct a new fitness and well-being center to serve the full campus community. With a major gift of $10 million from a couple who met at �ֲ���ý, Jon W. Brayshaw ’90, P’25 and Jocelyn Stoddard Brayshaw ’88, P’25, the college is a vital step closer to that construction, and has a name for the new facility: the Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center. 

“Thanks to the wonderful generosity of Jon and Jocelyn Brayshaw, our goal of a new center to support our students as they pursue their personal health and fitness goals is within reach,” President Garry W. Jenkins said in a joint announcement with Vice President for Student Affairs Rosanna Ferro. “This facility will be transformative in strengthening �ֲ���ý’ commitment to overall student well-being.”

While today marks the public announcement of the new facility, fundraising for the project has been underway for over 18 months and support has come from more than 50 leadership donors. With the Brayshaws’ gift, �ֲ���ý is within $4 million of its fundraising goal of $31 million. The college is investing alongside its donors to renovate and update infrastructure in the beloved Alumni Gymnasium and the Clifton Daggett Gray Athletic Building, underscoring the importance of fitness and well-being to the entire �ֲ���ý community. 

“We have a holistic approach to engaging students around well-being and this new facility will allow us to elevate and celebrate that,” Ferro said.  

The Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center will double the amount of fitness space available to the campus community. Designed by internationally acclaimed Sasaki Associates Inc., the same architectural firm that gave Commons its distinctive look and created the vision for Alumni Walk, the new Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center will bridge Alumni Gym and Gray Athletic Building. With its striking windows and expansive architecture, it will open up onto a dynamic and vibrant Ladd Library Quad in the heart of campus.

The Stoddard name is a tribute to Jocelyn’s parents, Donald and Judith Stoddard, who both died in 2021. 

“For us, this gift is deeply personal,” Jon Brayshaw said. “Don and Judy taught us that true well-being comes from intentional living — nourishing the body, staying active, caring for one’s inner life, and making choices that honor long‑term health. Seeing their names associated with a space dedicated to fitness and holistic wellness feels like a natural extension of how they lived and what they valued most.”

This virtual fly-through of the future Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center shows new and enhanced locker rooms, athletic facilities, office space, and more. (Rendering courtesy of Sasaki Associates Inc.)

Vice President for College Advancement Eric Foushée P’22, P’26 expressed deep gratitude to the Brayshaw family. “This gift puts us close to 90 percent of our goal to break ground on this exciting and much-needed project,” Foushée said. “I know the �ֲ���ý community will join me in thanking the Brayshaws for this resounding commitment to the college’s future.”

“Athletics was at the center of our �ֲ���ý experience,” Jon Brayshaw said. It’s how the couple met: “We were both part of a group of students that helped start the �ֲ���ý College Rowing Association.” The association has since transitioned to varsity status at the college, fielding some of the most successful men’s and women’s rowing teams in the country.

Even at that time, Jon and Jocelyn were conscious that �ֲ���ý’ interest and belief in fitness and well-being was bigger than what the physical campus could support.

“Although most of our time was spent out on the water, we remember how challenging it was to find adequate facilities on campus for off-season or inclement weather workouts,” Jon Brayshaw said. “When we learned that the college was interested in building a facility to expand fitness and wellness offerings and to also modernize and enhance Alumni Gym, we both saw a great opportunity to address this longstanding challenge for �ֲ���ý student-athletes and others who would benefit from greater access to state-of-the-art fitness facilities.”

In addition to �ֲ���ý’ 31 varsity teams, there are many club and intramural athletes on campus, as well as many fitness, strength training, yoga, and pilates enthusiasts. Some may be students pursuing wellness activities for the first time in their lives. An average of 450 students use the Davis Fitness Center in Underhill Arena daily. “We’ve maxed out that space,” said Director of Capital Planning and Construction Chris Streifel. Factoring in faculty and staff, the number of �ֲ���ý community members using these facilities potentially tops 2,600. “We’re more than ready for this additional facility,” Streifel said.

The hope is for a spring groundbreaking on May 1. “A gift like the Brayshaw family’s is truly a game-changer,” Foushée said. “At the same time, we know we have work to do to spread the word about the significance of this project and meet our critical fundraising goal.” 

“This facility will be transformative in strengthening �ֲ���ý’ commitment to overall student well-being.”

President Garry W. Jenkins

The scope of the project is considerable, encompassing improvements to Alumni Gym (originally opened in 1928) such as necessary infrastructure upgrades and renovations to lounges and other vital spaces. The restoration and reopening of a viewing balcony in Alumni Gym will enhance the vibrant atmosphere of this much-loved athletic facility. A new practice basketball court will be added to Gray Cage.

The project will provide new and newly renovated locker rooms for 11 teams: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, field hockey, men’s alpine skiing, women’s alpine skiing, men’s Nordic skiing, women’s Nordic skiing, men’s soccer, softball, and volleyball. There will also be a new space for sports medicine.

The Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center will be home to new coaching offices and program spaces. The center will support students’ personal health, wellness, and fitness goals, allowing for improved workouts for all — from varsity and club athletes preparing for their next big competition to students integrating physical activity for balance in their lives. A breathtaking second-level studio for yoga and pilates will overlook Ladd Library Quad, and the facility will also be home to a number of spaces to support well-being.  

Director of Athletics Stacey Bunting said the Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center represents the physical embodiment of what she’s seen of �ֲ���ý students’ passion for holistic well-being since she joined the college in July 2025.

“This facility will have a tremendous impact on the student-athlete experience, but its reach extends far beyond athletics,” Bunting said. “The Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center creates a modern, dedicated space where every student can define and prioritize their own well-being. That shared experience across the entire campus is what makes this project so powerful.”

To learn more about the vision for the project, and to view architectural renderings and videos, visit these pages. Individuals interested in furthering momentum for the project through additional philanthropic support are encouraged to contact Vice President for College Advancement Eric Foushée P’22, P’26 or Director of Leadership Giving Seth Williams.

Eric Foushée | efoushee@bates.edu | 207-755-5985 

Seth Williams | swilliams2@bates.edu | 207-755-5988

�ֲ���ý has been building momentum for the Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center for 18 months. Here’s a glimpse at the energy that brought us to this announcement. (Video by Patrick Wine for �ֲ���ý College)

Basketball (and family) history makes TV and newspaper news

During a 70-66 overtime win against the University of Southern Maine, Elsa Daulerio ’26 became the 22nd �ֲ���ý women’s basketball player to score 1,000 career points, and the  and all reported on the event. Her teammates swarmed the court after the game to celebrate Daulerio, who is the 2025–26 team captain.

The achievement has made Daulerio and her mother, �ֲ���ý Associate Director of Athletics Adrienne Shibles ’91, the second-documented mother-daughter duo in the country to both earn 1,000 career points at the same institution. 

“It means so much,” Daulerio told the Kennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel. “I love her so much. She’s been my idol since I was a little girl. I always looked up to her, and she’s been my No. 1 supporter, along with my family. It’s just so special and I’m honored to be up there with her. She’s the hardest worker I know.”

Like her daughter, Shibles was team captain at �ֲ���ý — twice. She ended her college career with 1,005 career points and went on to coach basketball at Swarthmore, Bowdoin, and Dartmouth before returning to �ֲ���ý.

A �ֲ���ý alum talks to national press after her reality show jackpot

In November, Perla Figuereo ’21 was featured in an after winning Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2, a competitive reality television show based on the fictional thriller Squid Game. Figuereo entered the game with her twin brother Jeffrey Figuereo and her “gameplay came down to being her ‘most authentic self’ and tapping into her emotions,” Marie Claire reported.

The prize for winning the show was $4.56 million, which Figuereo plans to split with her brother. As , Figuereo “was made to play against her brother Geoffrey [sic], putting them both in a difficult position. He decided not to take part, instead encouraging his sister to go on and win the game for the both of them. And she did just that.”

In an, Figuereo discussed her win and reminisced on her time in Lewiston, which she calls her “second home.”

“My strategy was just to be myself,” Figuereo told the Sun Journal. “I’m a very social person. Genuinely one of my passions in life is people, so my strategy was just to get to know people like I do in my everyday life.”

The show, , and , among other outlets, also covered the news.

Francesco Duina visits Maine Calling to talk about inequality

Francesco Duina, professor of sociology, was featured on Maine Public’s Maine Calling program on December 2.

Duina’s new book The Social Acceptance of Inequality: On the Logics of a More Unequal World analyzes the ways in which people think about economic inequality—and the reasoning that leads many to accept the disparities around us. Co-edited with Luca Storti, an associate professor of economic sociology at the University of Turin, Italy, Duina’s collection includes voices from across the globe contributing their perspectives on why we justify and accept economic inequality.

Maine Calling host Jennifer Rooks asked Duina why he chose to look at the logics, or justifications, people have for the great inequality in the world now. 

“The logics or the justifications, are drivers or these inequalities,” Duina responded. “So if we want to understand where they come from or why they are sustained, we want to understand why some people are okay with them. A surprisingly large number of — and diverse — number of people support, to varying degrees, inequalities. We are talking specifically about economic inequalities here. Inequalities of wealth or income.”

Rooks asked Duina about his process, including how he challenges his �ֲ���ý students to consider the topic. “I suspect that people, sometimes, if they are asked, outright, ‘Do you support income inequaity’ might have a different answer then the answer you get when you start to dig down,” Rooks said. 

Duina agreed. “Most people, I think, would probably say ‘No,’” he said. “Though some people will say, ‘I’m perfectly comfortable,’ for whatever reasons. But it’s also true that, as I investigate with students, and I kind of challenge them, it’s also true that most people don’t want perfect equality either. So then the question is, at what point do people become uncomfortable, and at what point do people continue to accept economic inequalities?”

To listen to the full conversation, which included two guest panelists,
Marc Dixon, professor of sociology from Dartmouth College and Megan Tobias Neely, assistant professor of sociology, University of Colorado, Boulder, visit �ֲ���ý News interviewed Duina about the topic in November.

�ֲ���ý football success featured in the Portland Press Herald

Head Football Coach Matt Coyne was featured in which ran in the Maine Trust for Local News publications, including the Portland Press Herald, in late October. Coyne noted that �ֲ���ý football is at a turning point this year. “We’ve played, you know, much better complementary football across the board, offensively and defensively,” Coyne said. “I think the biggest thing is in critical moments in some of those games against the top-half teams, we made the plays against Amherst and Tufts; then in some other games, we didn’t.” Coyne pointed to the team’s depth in both offense and defense calling out junior linebacker Ryan Rozich of Cromwell, Conn. leading the NESCAC with 89 tackles, and sophomore Carmel Crunk of Chatsworth, Calif. with 63 tackles.

In the Sun Journal, Darby Ray visualizes a community gathering spot

Lewiston community members are considering the future of The Red Shop at Simard-Payne Memorial Park. Built in 1938, the building was once a machine shop for the mill. Discussions about the possible uses for the building are underway. Darby Ray, who serves as director of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships and is the Donald W. and Ann M. Harward Professor of Civic Engagement, was interviewed in a , where she shared her ideas for the future of the building. Ray imagines people coming together at The Red Shop–for family reunions and other celebrations, saying “I think we need more spaces where folks can come together on a chilly winter day like today and maybe share ideas about something, have a forum or a conversation or a square dance. We need places to gather that are easily accessible and low barrier in terms of expense.”

Kamal Kariem in The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education

Kamal Kariem, assistant professor of anthropology who joined the faculty at �ֲ���ý this year, was . Kariem, a graduate of Connecticut College, earned his masters and PhD at Princeton University in anthropology. Kariem is noted as a scholar of global Indigeneities and “comparative imperial formations as these intersect with nature protection.” Kariem is currently teaching “Cultural Anthropology” and “Indigeneity Today.” He shared that he looks forward to working with students to consider their own engagement with Indigenous scholars, considering “convergences and divergences” that emerged in his own work studying Indigenous peoples in the U.S. and Russia.

Muncie’s Star Press features alum’s appointment at Ball State

Bette Smith ’87 was of Muncie, Ind. for her new appointment at Ball State University. Smith was named director of Ball State University’s Center for Innovation and Collaboration. Originally from New York, Smith was a Russian major at �ֲ���ý before earning a masters in sociology at University of Colorado, Denver. Smith has spent more than two decades working in higher education, and will use her experience to focus on organizational change and partnership development. In her new role, Smith will help shape the center’s initial organizational structure and expand Ball State University’s partnerships with the community and local industry. Smith has served as principal of Destra Consulting Group since 2013, supporting clients on transformation initiatives, stakeholder engagement, and leadership alignment.

It’s been a century and a half since �ֲ���ý played host to the first football game in Maine.

In 1875, the first game was a roughhouse affair, against Tufts, with a rudimentary set of rules but a purpose that has endured through the years: a chance to compete athletically, with high energy and high ideals, and to create connections and friendships of a lifetime.

To celebrate the sesquicentennial, �ֲ���ý has scheduled a series of events, including on-field festivities, coinciding with the season opener vs. Amherst at 1 p.m. on Sept. 13.

To , here are 15 uniquely �ֲ���ý football moments from 150 years.

Nov. 6, 1875: Maine’s first college football game

Tufts and �ֲ���ý played the first college football game in Maine on Nov. 6, 1875.

As Charlie Clark ’51 wrote in �ֲ���ý Through the Years, the first game was “greeted at the time with some hilarity.” Few �ֲ���ý players knew the rules, and none had played before.

In the days before the game, the �ֲ���ý Student noted student enthusiasm. “Every man who had failed to distinguish himself in baseball seemed possessed with the idea that here was an opportunity to immortalize himself.

“Tall and short, lean and stout, quick and slow, active and clumsy have all rushed into this new game. Shirts have been torn, coats curtailed, boots ruined, and shins bruised; but, never mind, it’s fun and good exercise.”

The bemused tone continued with the Lewiston Evening Journal’s coverage: “Occasionally, 10 or 12 men got into a promiscuous scramble for the possession of the ball…and came forth rubbing their shins and using such phrases as, ‘Gracious juggernaut.’”

The rules as published in the Student: “No one wearing projecting nails, iron plates, or gutta percha on the soles or heels of his boots shall be allowed to play.”

In a history of �ֲ���ý football, Adelbert Jakeman, Class of 1927, noted an ulterior purpose of that first game: “to form an acquaintance with the students” from a fellow college.

Oct. 26, 1889: Football promises to transform a ‘dooryard dreamer’ into a ‘cosmopolitan’

�ֲ���ý played only one football game in the decade of the 1880s, but there was lots of talk both on campus and across the country about how the new college sport could teach lessons in manhood.

On Oct. 26, 1889, the Lewiston Saturday Journal reprinted urging the college to re-adopt the game. Football, the writer said, can knock the “bow-kneed slovenliness” out of a young man, and shake out the “hayseed element,” language consistent with how football was being .

In football, a young man “has got to wake, he has got to stir himself and at the same time he learns something of the universal struggle necessary to gain a foothold anywhere.” The physicality of football, he wrote, “makes a cosmopolitan out of a dooryard dreamer.”

The sole game played in the decade was versus an experienced Bowdoin team, a 62–0 loss. 

Oct. 29, 1898: �ֲ���ý defeats Bowdoin in a historic ‘nerve destroyer’

By the 1890s, football was booming nationwide. In Maine, an historic �ֲ���ý–Bowdoin rivalry was taking root. Bowdoin had easily won the first five games of the series, but �ֲ���ý broke through with a 10–6 win at Bowdoin in 1897. It was the first time Bowdoin had been defeated by a Maine college, which set the stage for high drama in Lewiston in 1898.

With Garcelon Field not yet finished, the 1898 game was played at foggy Lee Park, a circus grounds near campus, with �ֲ���ý upsetting its rivals, 6–0, in a bruising battle before 2,500 fans.

The �ֲ���ý hero was William Allen Saunders, Class of 1899, a guard from Virginia who powered into the end zone for the game’s lone touchdown. Newspapers called it “the fiercest foot ball [sic] ever seen in this state,” and said �ֲ���ý’ “happy farmer boys” celebrated with trolley rides, fireworks, and songs mocking Bowdoin. 

Saunders, who had studied at Storer College in Harpers Ferry before �ֲ���ý, went on to a long career teaching math and science at historically Black colleges.

Nov. 30, 1905: President Chase defends the imperiled sport of football

In the early 1900s, college football appeared  headed toward oblivion. Scandals involving professional ringers abounded, and mass-momentum formations like the “flying wedge” made the game deadly. In 1905, at least 18 people died playing football and more than 150 were injured, according to The Washington Post. 

On Nov. 28 of that year, Columbia University abolished the sport. The university released a list of injuries sustained that year, including broken arms, broken collar bones, a sprained spinal column, a dislocated shoulder, and a “back injured by being jumped on by a Wesleyan player.”

Two days later, �ֲ���ý President George Colby Chase released a statement saying that the . “We have left too much to the well-meaning but undeveloped judgment of students.” At the time, students had a large hand in running their college sports teams. Within a year, new rules at the national level legalized the forward pass, banned the most dangerous formations, and created what would become the NCAA.

At �ֲ���ý, the reforms were welcomed by students. “Ringers, hirelings, and physically perfect ignoramuses, we will leave to those who want them. We want clean, intelligent �ֲ���ý men,” The �ֲ���ý Student reported.

Oct. 28, 1911: A ‘near-riot,’ and accusations of UMaine ‘muckerism’

Adelbert Jakeman’s football history notes a “near riot” after �ֲ���ý upset the University of Maine, 5–0, at Orono, in 1911.

After the game, �ֲ���ý fans, led by the college band, began to parade from the field through the Maine campus. That did not go over well with the locals, who believed that the celebration violated sports etiquette. 

When Maine students “attempted to rush the �ֲ���ý crowd,” the �ֲ���ý supporters decamped to a public street to form their march, “but again they were rushed by the Maine fellows.” Chaos ensued. “The �ֲ���ý line was broken up and considerable damage done to the band instruments in the scrap which followed,” reported the Student. 

Later, �ֲ���ý professor and head football coach Royce Purinton, Class of 1900, told his physiology class that the Maine students were guilty of “muckerism.”

Sept. 26, 1925: The huddle comes to �ֲ���ý

What the conference on the pitching mound is to baseball, the huddle is to football. It’s iconic, and it came to �ֲ���ý football in 1925.

The newfangled approach to playcalling was described as “a congregating of the players in a closely locked group behind the scrimmage line. From this circle, the men jump to their positions and the ball is snapped back and the play put into motion without an audible word.”

Before the advent of the huddle, quarterbacks would yell out plays at the line of scrimmage. Head coach Oliver Cutts, Class of 1896, told the local paper that it would no longer be necessary for a team’s home cheerleaders to hush the crowd while the quarterback yells out the play.

Oct. 1, 1932: �ֲ���ý ties mighty Yale

The score was 0–0 but still made national news, including in The New York Times, under the headline “Ability of �ֲ���ý to Hold Yale to 0–0 Tie Listed Among Saturday’s Surprises.”

“Scarlet-clad gridiron warriors from �ֲ���ý College, Lewiston, Maine, furnished one of the early football surprises of the season here Saturday in holding Yale to a nothing to nothing tie in the opening game of the season for the Elis,” reported a wire story that appeared in newspapers as far away as Miami, Fla.

To celebrate, �ֲ���ý freshmen hauled logs to the top of Mount David, then touched off a bonfire that could be seen for miles around. “Bombs and red fire added to the general conflagration,” the Lewiston Daily Sun said. 

Down below, a crowd gathered at Hathorn Hall. Then, led by the campus band, the throng paraded around campus before heading up Mount David for a party and speeches.

Dec. 7, 1946: �ֲ���ý heads to Ohio for the Glass Bowl

In 1946, �ֲ���ý returned from a three-year wartime hiatus with just 28 players. “Most of the guys were veterans of the war. We had no doubt we would do well,” recalled guard Linden Blanchard ’49.

Led by coach Raymond “Ducky” Pond, the Bobcats rolled to a 7–0 season, outscoring opponents 89–10, and earned a postseason football bid to the inaugural Glass Bowl in Toledo.

The Dec. 7 game was full of pageantry — bands, flags, and even an 18-pound lobster presented to Ohio’s governor. Underdog �ֲ���ý stunned the crowd of 12,000 by scoring first. 

Art Blanchard ’50 was named the game’s MVP, and while �ֲ���ý lost 21–12, the team left Ohio with a unique �ֲ���ý football milestone: the only bowl game played by a NESCAC team.

This video clip shows cheerleaders delivering the huge lobster to Ohio Gov. Frank Lausche at halftime, a gift from Maine Gov. Horace Hildreth.

Nov. 10, 1956: �ֲ���ý sweeps the old State Series for the final time

Before the Colby-�ֲ���ý-Bowdoin rivalry, there was the Maine State Series, with UMaine in the mix. By 1956, Maine had dominated, winning nine straight series games. But in 1956, the Bobcats rattled off five straight wins, including a sweep of the series, to capture their last outright state title before Maine left the league in 1964.

The star was Bob “Spinner” Martin ’57, described by coach Bob Hatch as a player who “did so many things so well.” An All-America selection, Martin led �ֲ���ý in rushing, passing, receiving, punting, and scoring that year — 99 points in all. Teammate Brian Flynn ’57 recalled the grueling two-way play of the era: “If you went in you had to play both ways until you came out.” 

The clincher came with a 38–13 rout of Colby before Maine Gov. Edmund Muskie ’36 and 3,000 fans, capping �ֲ���ý’ last State Series crown.

Oct. 28, 1961: Bob Hatch schemes his way to a huge surprise vs. UMaine

Using an innovative spread formation vs. Maine on Oct. 28, 1961, head coach Bob Hatch surprised the heavily favored Black Bears, delighted the national media, and inspired the campus.

Dubbed the “Popular Halfback” by the Associated Press, the formation had running back Paul Planchon ’64, with a “pair of sticky fingers for catching passes,” lined up like a typical wide receiver. But he wasn’t out wide alone. With him went four linemen. When quarterback Swift Hathaway ’62 took the snap, he could either hand off to a running back behind him or — which he did most often versus Maine — toss a pass to Planchon, who headed downfield with his escort.

The creative play confused Maine, helping �ֲ���ý to a surprise 15–15 tie. (The name “Popular Halfback” was a reference to the Army’s “Lonesome End,” Bill Carpenter, who always lined up near a far sideline and never even came into the huddle.)

Web Harrison ’63, one of Hatch’s players who would go on to coach �ֲ���ý football from 1978 to 1991, recalled the post-game scene:

“In the most genuine display of school spirit I ever witnessed, students lined both sides of the walk from Alumni Gym to the Den, waited for the players to emerge from the locker room, and cheered each player as we walked to the Den.”

1974: A beloved coach coins ‘Great Day to Be a Bobcat’

When Web Harrison ’63 joined the �ֲ���ý football coaching staff in 1974, he would kid around with his friend and fellow alumnus Russ Reilly ’66, who was a trainer and assistant coach.

Harrison, who had seen combat duty in Vietnam with the Marines, would greet Reilly with a version of a Marine Corps saying: “Good afternoon, Russ! What a grand and glorious day to be a �ֲ���ý student, where every day is a holiday and every meal is a banquet.”

That greeting was soon shortened to today’s “It’s a Great Day to Be a Bobcat!” In this video, Harrison shares the story:

Nov. 7, 1981: On and off the field, �ֲ���ý overwhelms its oldest rival

With All-American receiver Larry DiGiammarino ’82 at his best on the field, and fired-up �ֲ���ý students making headlines off the field, the 23–13 victory over Bowdoin was the high point of one of �ֲ���ý’ best seasons ever.

�ֲ���ý swaggered into Bowdoin with a 5–1 record under head coach Web Harrison ’63, who was in the fourth year of a 20–12 stretch and two outright CBB titles.

Before the game, when tailgating �ֲ���ý students resisted extinguishing their barbecue grill, the Brunswick fire department was called in to “hose down the hibachi,” according to The �ֲ���ý Student.

Then, a Bowdoin security officer was pushed aside as students rushed through the Whittier Field gate without paying. A �ֲ���ý student was arrested, but released in time to receive an ovation from the �ֲ���ý student section. 

The �ֲ���ý Student called the sequence of events in Brunswick “overreaction” and called for the end of paid admission. After conferring with his Bowdoin counterparts, Dean of the College James Carignan ’61 told the Student that “they feel the whole thing is very unfortunate. They are most anxious that these kinds of incidents not interfere with our relationship as a whole.”

Feb. 19, 1998: �ֲ���ý appoints Mark Harriman as head coach

With his appointment as head coach in 1998, Mark Harriman took over a team that had won two games and lost 46 over the previous six years. 

When he retired in 2018 with a record of 46–115, Sun Journal columnist Kalle Oakes praised the �ֲ���ý coach under the headline, “Harriman was the hero �ֲ���ý needed.” What his record didn’t explain, said Oakes, was how Harriman created stability and restored pride in �ֲ���ý football.

A few years earlier, Oakes had done something few columnists dare — apologize in print — in this case for snarky comments about �ֲ���ý’ football fortunes. 

In praising �ֲ���ý football and �ֲ���ý athletics, Oakes wrote, “I’ve never met a coach or athlete affiliated with �ֲ���ý whom I didn’t like. They’re shake-your-hand-firmly, look-you-in-the-eyes, give-you-a-thoughtful-answer folks. They have sports and life in perspective. Lord knows we need more of those qualities in this world.”

Oct. 28, 2006: �ֲ���ý football lands in Sports Illustrated in a big, muddy way

On Oct. 28, 2006, Garcelon Field turned into a waterlogged stage as 4.62 inches of rain poured down during the �ֲ���ý–Colby game. Photographer Daryn Slover, on assignment for �ֲ���ý, battled the elements until his lenses gave out — but not before capturing an unforgettable shot: Jamie Walker ’07, of Needham, Mass., dragging a pile of Colby defenders on one of his 43 carries.

The image, sent to Sports Illustrated the next Monday, landed a two-page spread in the magazine’s Football America issue. After four overtimes, Colby’s 22-yard field goal sealed the Mules’ 10–7 win.

Another national spotlight moment in the decade came in 2002, when Sean Atkins ’03 of New York City ran for seven touchdowns and 302 yards in a 48–28 win over Bowdoin. A clip of the performance aired on ESPN. “That’s when it sunk in,” Atkins said of seeing himself on TV. But any glory, he said, “belongs to �ֲ���ý College and the people who gave me my opportunities.” 

Oct. 9, 2010: �ֲ���ý dedicates major renovations to Garcelon Field

In 2010, a $2.6 million, donor-funded makeover turned 1899’s Garcelon Field into a truly 21st-century campus landmark. “It’s awesome,” Brendan Murphy ’11 of Sandwich, Mass., a lineman and senior tri-captain, told the Sun Journal. 

“And it was all donor-funded. It’s a good feeling that people stepped up to show what �ֲ���ý athletics means to them, specifically football.”

The renovation installed a new FieldTurf surface; an aluminum grandstand for 1,500 (with stadium seats at midfield); an expanded press box; and four Musco light towers that finally brought true night games to �ֲ���ý. 

The upgrade did more than freshen football’s home. It also opened the door to all-year, day-and-night play on the field. With men’s lacrosse moving to Garcelon, the venue hosted its first-ever playoff game, an NCAA first-rounder, and soon became a year-round stage for big moments, practices, and pick-up traditions alike.

Sept. 28, 2024: A historic road victory vs. head coach Matt Coyne’s alma mater

In-state football rivalries have taken center stage ever since �ֲ���ý began playing football in the 1800s. But in recent years, a rivalry with a NESCAC foe 350 miles away has gained traction.

On Sept. 28 of last year, �ֲ���ý defeated previously unbeaten Wesleyan  — the alma mater of head coach Matt Coyne, who was appointed �ֲ���ý head coach in 2022. The road win was �ֲ���ý’ first against the Cardinals since 1981.

Like the crowds of yesteryear that boarded trains from Lewiston to places like Brunswick, New Haven, or even Toledo, Ohio, �ֲ���ý believers turned out in force to support the Bobcats in Middletown.

“We had a huge number of traveling fans down there,” Coyne recalled. “The environment was unbelievable. We’re sitting there, and it’s louder on our side than on Wesleyan’s. 

“All the parents, the alums, everybody I’ve heard from over the last 24 or 36 hours, hundreds of texts. It’s really awesome and it’s a testament to these kids’ work ethic and what they’ve put into this program.”

Earlier this year Golf Digest was looking for college golfers to star in a video that would showcase how a new Adobe tool could be used by lovers of the sport.

There are 1,300 men’s and women’s college golf programs in the U.S. but typically the talent pipeline for pro golf — and its preeminent publication — runs through powerhouse NCAA Division I schools such as Oklahoma State, Stanford, and Wake Forest.

For this video production though, Golf Digest turned to Division III and �ֲ���ý College. To demonstrate the creative reach and user-friendly qualities of Firefly, Adobe’s generative AI tool, Golf Digest followed members of the �ֲ���ý men’s and women’s golf teams as they explored its potential applications to build idealized golf holes.

Shot in Lewiston and Auburn on a single day in May, the result is a that debuted this month, starring many �ֲ���ý golfers adorned in Bobcat-merch, the Martindale Country Club, and campus locations that included Pettengill Hall’s Perry Atrium.

�ֲ���ý landed on Golf Digest’s radar through connections with two �ֲ���ý golfers. The first is a current student, Charlie Weinman ’27, a politics major from Rye, N.Y., whose father, Sam Weinman, is the publication’s digital editorial director. 

But Sam Weinman’s connection to �ֲ���ý predates his parental one. For Golf Digest in 2018, he profiled a teenage golfer, Sam Gerry ’24, who at that time was by drawing on his own experience. Gerry went on to attend �ֲ���ý and play golf. Over that time, Weinman followed his progress. Then, when Charlie Weinman was first considering �ֲ���ý, he got a campus tour from Sam Gerry.

During Golf Digest’s brainstorming sessions for the Adobe project, the idea of using a small-college team came up. Weinman said his colleagues “knew that Charlie was having a great experience at �ֲ���ý.” They included Stina Sternberg, an executive with Warner Bros. Discovery Sports who leads video and branded content for the publication and who ultimately made the call to select the Bobcat team for the Adobe project.

Watch the Golf Digest video:

Filming day was May 20. Production started at �ֲ���ý’ historic home course, Martindale Country Club in Auburn, then shifted to campus, where the golfers used Firefly to imagine, design, and create realistic visual images of their own golf holes — all in front of a production team capturing their every move.

The weather was familiar Maine “spring” weather: cloudy skies, north winds gusting to 20 mph, and a temperature that barely reached 50 degrees. The day’s first scene focused on one of the course’s signature holes, the par-3 9th hole, a precipitously downhill hole that plays 180 yards from the white tees.

From a storytelling standpoint, it was the perfect place to begin. Since the course opened in 1921, the elevated tee has felt magical. “Climb to the very crest, keep your eyes on the ground until you reach the summit, and then turn around and drink it in,” exhorted the Lewiston Sun Journal in its review of the new Auburn course. (Today Martindale Country Club is owned by Nick Glicos, whose son Evan graduated from �ֲ���ý in 2024 with an economics degree.) 

Atop the windy hill, the film crew assumed their positions on the 9th tee. Down below, the �ֲ���ý golfers were gathered on the green. “Action,” said supervising producer Michael Sneeden, and three handheld cameras captured video, and a drone tracked the action from above, as the golfers completed a cinematic walk up the steep hill. There, they met Derek Duncan, Golf Digest’s architecture editor and host of the podcast Feed the Ball. 

With cameras rolling, Duncan offered a historical primer on golf course design. He explained the history and legacy of Charles Blair Macdonald (1855–1939), who studied classic U.K. holes and brought their strategic brilliance to his U.S. designs. “Macdonald had a set of what he considered his ‘ideal’ golf holes, and he worked to design courses from those holes,” he said, referring to Macdonald’s concept of “template holes,” basic layouts that could be tweaked and adapted for any terrain or setting, but that would always be playable, fun, and challenging for all golfers.

“That’s what you will do with Adobe Firefly,” Duncan said. “You’ll use inspirations from holes that you’ve played, some from your own hometown courses, and from your travels. Think about what you like and don’t like about those courses.”

He asked them to look down at the 9th green, which has Beech Hill Road passing right behind the hole. The hole’s design reflects strategic course design: To help the golfer keep the road behind the green out of play, there’s a generous, safe landing area in front of the green.

“You don’t want a road to be part of a hole’s strategy, unless you’re talking St. Andrews,” Duncan told the golfers, referring to the famed Road Hole, where a road behind the green and along the right side of the fairway becomes a critical part of a golfer’s decision-making.

From the 9th tee, the production team and the �ֲ���ý golfers moved to the 12th, a straight 484-yard par 5 where a right-handed golfer could slice the ball into the Little Androscoggin River that runs alongside the fairway. 

As Duncan walked the 12th fairway and talked with the �ֲ���ý golfers, the 16-member production team — camera and audio operators, drone specialists, producers, directors, and executives — moved in a loose orbit around them. The video team came from IMG Media, based in London, with freelance professionals capturing audio.

Duncan asked what made the hole challenging. “It’s just so straight,” said one �ֲ���ý golfer. As they advanced down the fairway, team captain Will Phillips ’25 of Portland, Ore., took note of Duncan’s approach to the course, which was instructive beyond golf. 

“It’s the way he walks a golf course: He walks slow, and he takes time to look at all the undulations in the green, to look at where a good miss might be off the tee.” (A “good miss” is a shot that misses the golfer’s intended mark but doesn’t find deep trouble.) “He takes his time to gather in what is all around him before he makes any remarks or gives his opinion.” 

For Phillips, the morning exercise at Martindale turned the typical golf experience inside out. Like other individual sports, golf demands an inward focus. But like only a handful of other sports, such as skiing or running cross country, golf’s playing venue changes dramatically with each match, which tests the golfer’s ability to stay focused, block out distractions, and make smart decisions under pressure.

“We just came off our season,” explained Phillips. “Practice, practice, practice, and play, play, play. You work to get comfortable with yourself in your own head. You find little techniques to stay on it mentally.”

But as Phillips walked the Martindale golf course with Duncan, he realized that to view the course as a creative course designer, he needed to step outside “the player mentality and into the designer mentality, and visit the game of golf without having to be completely locked in, dialed in, and focused on yourself.”

His teammate, Henry Ehrlich ’26, also from Portland, Ore., was similarly struck by how Duncan invited the group to shift their thinking. Duncan asked the golfers to imagine how any given hole might be different, and how that would affect someone’s experience. 

“When you’re on the course as a golfer, it’s such a mental sport. It’s so easy to get in your own head,” Ehrlich said. “Thinking about the way the course is constructed and how everything’s laid out isn’t something that’s always at the top of your mind.”

“You gave us gold. You blew all of us away with your engagement, enthusiasm, smart questions and answers, and, yes, design skills.” — Stina Sternberg, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports

For example, said Ehrlich, when he’s on Martindale’s 9th tee, “minus wind, I’ll hit the same club no matter what. I know where I’m going to be, because I’d rather be short in that collection area than be long.” (That’s an example of the “good miss.”) “When you realize that the hole is designed for that purpose, that it’s how you’re supposed to play the hole, the architecture makes more sense.”

At its heart, a liberal arts education teaches students to ask the question “why,” and that played out even during the experience of starring in an advertising product. Mehar Nijjer ’27, a psychology major from Chandigarh, India, said that her mindset on the tee would typically be focused on tactics. “Hit the ball to this target, avoid that hazard.”

Now, she has “why” in mind. “I’m thinking much more about strategy and the architect’s intended path. I ask questions like, ‘Why is this bunker here? What is the best angle of attack to this green, and why?’ It’s no longer just about hitting a good shot but about hitting the right shot for the situation, based on a deeper understanding of the hole’s design.”

Her teammate Isabelle Meltzer ’28 of Summit, N.J., agrees. “A big part of scoring in golf is being good at course management — taking into account shot shapes, risk vs. reward for certain shapes, and where to place balls on the green. Walking the course gave me more things to think about when it comes to where I want to be on a green or fairway in a competition.”

After the morning at Martindale, everyone headed back to Perry Atrium in Pettengill Hall where the �ֲ���ý golfers broke into groups and used what they saw and heard from Duncan to take a crack at designing their own golf holes using Adobe Firefly. 

During a break in the afternoon shooting, Michael Sneeden, the project’s supervising producer, was asked what the �ֲ���ý students were bringing to the project. He used the example of a Venn diagram, how a series of circles might explain a video project that uses volunteer student talent.

Sneeden rattled off the circles of need. One, of course, was being top-flight golfers “at a great college.” Then being available and willing to give their time, the ability to “take physical direction as we move the cameras around,” and, finally, the ability to speak on camera, “thoughtfully, respectfully, and intelligently.” 

Like other Adobe products such as Photoshop and Illustrator, Firefly enables users to create and enhance visual content. It uses generative AI, which means users can produce images, including text effects and other visual attributes, by typing a text description. The �ֲ���ý students also used Firefly Boards, a collaborative tool to help with the overall ideation.

Phillips’ team took a crack at designing a variation of the par-3 12th hole at Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters. First, they used Adobe Fresco, a free drawing tool, to make rough sketches, then used Firefly to make the hole look real, with lush greens, swaying trees, and a vivid water hazard fronting the green. They didn’t touch the iconic green, but instead imagined new tee boxes. “We gave them four new options, differing yardages, which creates more or less of a battle with that traditional angle across the green.” 

Meanwhile, Nijjer found inspiration from across the country, designing a dogleg-right par 5 that features stunning redwood trees sometimes found on northern California courses like Northwood Golf Club in Monte Rio. “We felt this provided a unique and scenic element that is not often seen in golf course architecture,” she said. “A key element was ensuring the hole was accessible and engaging for golfers of all abilities.”

That’s what the Golf Digest team wanted to see. “The engagement from the �ֲ���ý golfers comes a lot from the fact that they’re so genuine,” said Sneeden.

Since 2021, NCAA student-athletes can profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) through endorsement deals and other business ventures. At the Division I level, this means millions going to top athletes.

“They’re making a ton of money, which means they often already have media training by the time they get to college,” said Sneeden. 

What the Golf Digest team found at �ֲ���ý was golfing excellence among the men and women on the golf team. “They’re going to be professional in their fields, just not professional golfers. They gave us their honest opinions, not something manufactured.”

Or as Stina Sternberg put it in a thank you note to the golfers: “You gave us gold. You blew all of us away with your engagement, enthusiasm, smart questions and answers, and, yes, design skills.”

Jay Burns recently retired from �ֲ���ý Communications and Marketing after a 32-year career that included many titles and ended with senior editorial director. He edited �ֲ���ý Magazine for much of his career at �ֲ���ý and will continue to contribute to the college’s publications as a freelancer.

Among the 504 seniors at Sunday’s �ֲ���ý Commencement will be these 13, each of whom recently shared what they’ll miss most about �ֲ���ý, from professors attending their theater shows to unexpected joy found in Commons, while offering advice to the incoming Class of 2029.

In this collection of candid reflections (“Try everything — and then pick what makes you smile”), paired with striking and heartfelt photography by Phyllis Graber Jensen, the spirit of the �ֲ���ý Class of 2025 comes alive.

Alexandra Long

A mathematics major from Newtown, Pa., Long played varsity basketball and was an internship peer advisor with Purposeful Work, with academic interests in the intersections of data science and storytelling. 

On the heart of the �ֲ���ý experience:
“The thing I’m going to miss most about �ֲ���ý is the community. In the spaces I’ve worked, played sports, and learned supportive people were everywhere.”

On values lived out:
“Community has always been my number one value, and that’s a huge reason I came to �ֲ���ý. I’ve been able to live that out in the choices I’ve made and the relationships I’ve built.”

On advice to new students:
“Extend yourself to make meaningful and authentic relationships — they will last. People are the most important.”

Izzy Beck

A politics major from Montclair, N.J., Beck was a Purposeful Work peer advisor, coxswain on the men’s varsity rowing team, summer Admission intern, and completed her honors thesis investigating the development of the unitary executive theory in contemporary American politics. 

On what she’ll miss most:
“What I’ll miss the most about �ֲ���ý is the proximity I have to professors who are at the tops of their fields and excited to share wisdom with their students.”

On the �ֲ���ý vibe:
“�ֲ���ý students are interested in and enthusiastic about the many things they do.”

On academic advice:
“Take one random class each semester that just sounds interesting. You might uncover a passion you didn’t know you had.”

Emma Gay

A double major in anthropology and classical and medieval studies from Herndon, Va., Gay was president of the ski club, a member of the �ֲ���ý orchestra, and was an Admission senior fellow.

On what she’ll miss most about �ֲ���ý:

“In short, the people. I have been lucky enough to meet some of the most amazing people across campus that have helped me become the person I am today, and I’m going to miss all the smiling faces and joy that people spread around campus.”

On unequivocal support:

“From the faculty to staff to students, I have been able to succeed in all aspects of my life because of the support I had, and will continue to have after �ֲ���ý. These people, who have been with me through so many ups and downs, have taught me so much, and I will forever be grateful.”

On advice for incoming students:

“Take advantage of the offerings to get to know your fellow classmates — but don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ and take time for yourself during a really crazy transition period when it can become very overwhelming.”

Caroline Bibbens

A politics major from Claremont, Calif., Bibbens was an Admission senior fellow and a volunteer at Lewiston public schools.

On building lasting friendships:
“From day one, �ֲ���ý helped me feel socially comfortable. My first-year roommate is still my best friend, and I met five more on my AESOP trip who are still my closest friends today.”

On what she’ll miss most:
“It really feels like a second home. I’ll miss walking around campus and seeing the faces of all the people I’ve built such close friendships with.”

On finding community far from home:
“Coming from so far away, I was nervous at first, but �ֲ���ý is such a supportive and welcoming place. The friendships I’ve made here have meant everything.”

Kendall Jones

A double major in biochemistry and theater from Plymouth, N.H., Jones worked as a stage manager (including carpentry work) for many �ֲ���ý plays, also handling social media for the theater and dance department, and was an organic chemistry teaching assistant and summer Admission intern.

On professors who show up — literally:
“Almost all of my professors have come to my theater shows. My biochemistry professors know I’m in theater, and all my theater professors know I’m in biochemistry. They’re like, ‘Are you surviving biochemistry?’ You get hands-on learning — and a friend for life.”

On what she’ll miss most:
“I’m going to miss walking across the Quad and waving to everyone — even the people you just skateboard past every day. And I’ll miss my professors. They were such a big part of my time here.”

On how to make the most of �ֲ���ý:
“Try everything — and then pick a few things that really make you happy and smile. It makes the whole experience feel so much more full.”

Max Good

A double major in economics and Hispanic studies from Shaker Heights, Ohio, Good was a men’s squash captain, a member of the entrepreneurship club Bobcat Ventures, and a member of the Jewish Student Union.

On time well spent:
“I’ll miss walking into Commons intending to grab a quick bite but instead staying for hours chatting with friends until the next meal.”

On what Commons represents:
“It’s a space that brings together all kinds of �ֲ���ýies who pursue a plethora of passions.”

On everyday joy:
“At �ֲ���ý I get to hang out with friends every day for no purpose other than enjoying each other’s company.”

Maddie Kemp

A double major in politics and in art and visual culture from Bethesda, Md., Kemp is one of the �ֲ���ý rowing captains, regularly contributed to �ֲ���ý theater with her poster designs, and was a collections intern for the �ֲ���ý College Museum of Art.

On what she’ll miss most:
“The most important thing that’s prepared me to leave �ֲ���ý — and that I’ll miss the most — is the community of people I have. It’s a really wonderful group that I know I can go to for anything.”

On being ready for the world:
“I feel really well prepared to interact in a larger global community because I’ve spent so much time working in these smaller families, essentially.”

On advice to incoming students:
“You’re more prepared than you think. There are challenges beyond your wildest imagination — and you’re totally ready to take them on.”

Luke Dai

A double major in economics and psychology from West Hartford, Conn., Dai was a member of the varsity cross country and track teams, an Admission senior fellow, and a Purposeful Work peer advisor, and he interned with the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition.

On the meaning of place and memory:
“I’ll miss the Russell Street track. When I think about my time at �ֲ���ý, I think about my experiences with my teammates. We’ve put a significant amount of work on this track, and it means a lot to me.”

On belonging and shared purpose:
“It gave me a sense of community and belonging. My coach always told us, ‘Run for each other, not just for yourself,’ and I really embodied that. My fondest memories were just competing with my friends and just going to practice with them every day. That’s why this track means a lot to me.”

On how athletics shaped him:
“Being a student-athlete at �ֲ���ý taught me discipline, time management, and motivation. It allowed me to be part of a greater purpose than just myself.”

David Nimura

A psychology major from New York City, Nimura was an Admission tour guide, a member of the men’s Ultimate team, and an Outing Club member who led the front country trip program while also officiating and coaching youth sports in Lewiston.

On what he’ll carry forward:
“I’ve really grown as a person, a student, and a caring individual. �ֲ���ý has prepared me to step into something new and has given me friendships and mentors I’ll cherish forever.”

On the little things that matter:
“You always feel seen at �ֲ���ý — a high five, a hug, a wave. Even if you don’t know someone well, they still acknowledge you. That’s something I’ll never forget.”

On the magic of the everyday:
“You’re never going to have the same day twice at �ֲ���ý. There’s always something unplanned, something surprising, and that’s where new connections are made. Currently standing by the Puddle in my hammock on a sunny day — it’s moments like that when you really understand how special �ֲ���ý is.”

Amanda Zerbib

A psychology major from Larchmont, N.Y., Zerbib was a varsity field hockey player, a Purposeful Work peer advisor, an Admission senior fellow, and a volunteer in Lewiston schools.

On community:
“I think what I’m going to miss most about �ֲ���ý is the genuine small-scale community. It’s hard to replicate once you graduate. �ֲ���ý has done a really great job at creating a genuine community: very safe, warm, and tight-knit.”

On learning and faculty:
“It’s such a unique opportunity to be surrounded by so many intellectual and generous people. I’m going to miss getting to choose from incredible classes and professors who truly care.”

On transformation and discovery:
“There’s so much I didn’t even realize �ֲ���ý was doing around me until senior year. Once you start paying attention, it can lead you onto a whole path of amazing things.”

Nora Fox

A philosophy major from Minneapolis, Minn., Fox was a Purposeful Work peer advisor, an editor for The �ֲ���ý Student, and a philosophy teaching assistant who completed an honors thesis on protecting human dignity and meaningful work from the ethical risks of AI in the workplace.

On faculty connection:
“I’m going to miss my advisor, [Professor of Philosophy] David Cummiskey, a lot. He’s been really instrumental in shaping my �ֲ���ý career. We met every week for my thesis — he always made sure I was understanding the material and learning well.”

On exploring the liberal arts:
“I was on the rowing team for a little. I joined Ultimate. I took classes from a bunch of different departments — and then I finally kind of homed in. You never know what connections you’ll make or what path you’ll find. �ֲ���ý is great at that.”

On work, purpose, and friendship:
“I’m going to miss my coworkers at Purposeful Work, helping other students, and of course, my friends. I just love coming home and having them as support.”

Aneeza Ahmad

A double major in environmental studies and philosophy from Sharon, Mass., Ahmad was a Purposeful Work peer advisor, a leader of the Muslim Student Association, and a violinist in the Small Ensembles Club, and she completed an honors thesis on the concept of a ‘good farmer’ in Maine by centering Wabanaki, white, and Somali Bantu farming perspectives.

On a caring campus:

“At �ֲ���ý, you are surrounded by people who care deeply about you and your success, and you are gifted with the beauty and surprises of Maine’s stunning landscape. You feel, with unwavering certainty, that you are home. That is what I will miss the most.”

On taking a chance:

“Try out that new sport or club, take that fun class outside of your major, have lunch with your professor, even if all of these things make you nervous.”

On the freedom of college life: 

“You are awarded the freedom and support to explore your intellectual and personal curiosities as far as you are willing to chase them.”

Danny Zuniga Zarat

A double major in art and visual culture and in Latin American and Latinx studies from Houston, Texas, Zuniga Zarat exhibited his artwork at this year’s Senior Thesis Exhibition, presenting work in charcoal, performance, and video.

On friendships that became family:
“Some friends became family along the way, and now that we’re stepping into adulthood, that’s going to be the hardest part: from seeing each other every day, to suddenly living our own lives.”

On following the heart through the liberal arts:
“Make use of the liberal arts. Take dance or theater or whatever calls to you. When you’re a senior, you’ll look back and say, ‘I did it because it’s what my heart desired.’”

On what he’ll miss most:
“I’ll miss the community I’ve created. Now that we’re stepping into adulthood, leaving that behind will be tough — but I know we’ll all manage somehow.”

Open-water fishing doesn’t begin until April 1 in Maine, but that didn’t stop four Bobcat lacrosse seniors from angling for a fishing-inspired sportrait last winter that pays tribute to one of their favorite ways to spend time together.

Before their seasons start, �ֲ���ý student-athletes step in front of the camera on media day for standard head-and-shoulder portraits. When that’s done, they have time to create playful, metaphor-rich images that showcase their team spirit, personal interests, and �ֲ���ý friendships.

This spring, we saw recreations, imitations, and invocations of famous paintings, rock ’n’ roll, Maine pride, juggling, and more. Here are 13 of our favorite spring sportraits — each one casting a line between sport and self.

Connected Cats

The friendship between sophomores Sienna Pietrasiewicz ’27 of Norton, Mass., and Isabella Albro ’27 of New York City extends far beyond the softball diamond.

“We are always connected, even when we are not on campus together,” Pietrasiewicz says. “Bella’s the first person I text or call when anything happens in my life — good or bad.”

Whether in cleats or cozied up at home as �ֲ���ý roommates, the two spend hours chatting, laughing, and leaning on each other through the highs and lows of the season — and of life. “I know she’ll always have my back,” Pietrasiewicz says. “And I’ll always have hers.”

Oar Values

Merrill Doherty ‘26 of Hanover, N.H., and Olivia Smith ’26 of Lafayette, Ind., channeled the solemn faces and upright posture of the figures in Grant Wood’s iconic American Gothic — but with an oar instead of a pitchfork, and with a wink toward the grit that typifies �ֲ���ý rowers.

A lifelong Hoosier, Smith says she was drawn to the painting’s Midwestern themes of hard work and community — values that echo on the team and in her friendship with Doherty. 

“Our interpretation is a tribute to the values that unite our different backgrounds,” she says. “On the team we say that there are many routes up a mountain. They all include community and good old-fashioned hard work — but with an oar rather than a pitchfork.”

The two first met as first-year walk-ons, complete rowing novices. They bonded through early-morning practices, a dizzying glossary of rowing terms, and the steep learning curve of a new sport. What began on the water has become a deep friendship built on shared growth, trust, and a sense of humor.

Their assistant coach, Catie Flynn, helped bring the final vision together. But the chemistry? That’s all theirs.

As Maine Goes

The original Maine flag is unmistakable — the pine tree, the lone star, the simplicity.

And though a statewide vote last fall failed to re-adopt the historical design, the old flag has fervent fans, including these four baseball players from Maine.

“I think it’s fair to say we all prefer the old Maine flag to the colonial one,” says Gibby Sullivan. “We all feel pride in being from the state. There’s a special bond I feel with every Mainer I meet that has gone to �ֲ���ý.”

There’s more than a shared area code binding this group. They’re all from Cumberland County towns: Swift and Sullivan from Yarmouth; Carlisle and Hobbs from South Portland. 

Swift and Sullivan “have always been friends,” says Sullivan. “We were Little League all-stars together before playing together at Yarmouth High School.”

Hobbs and Sullivan, meanwhile, played travel ball together since they were pre-teens. “I’ve known Hobbs longer than anyone else here at �ֲ���ý.”

And Carlisle? “We met on the beach in Scarborough during my senior year of high school,” Sullivan explains. “I told him I was heading to �ֲ���ý, and he said he’d love to play there one day. Funny how it all worked out.”

Battle of the Bands

Outfielders and teammates Grace Householter ’25 of Manhattan Beach, Calif., Sophie Garber ’26 of Wellesley, Mass., and Maya Lee ’27 of Wayland, Mass., brought rock ’n’ roll energy to their spring sportrait.

The trio channeled shared experience as outfielders into a coordinated pose that ended with Garber sliding into the frame “like a rockstar,” says Householter.

In Garber’s first year at �ֲ���ý, she and Householter were paired as “sisters” in the team’s returner–first-year mentorship tradition. “And all three of us play outfield together — the best positions! — so we obviously had to take a picture together,” says Householter. “We always try to make our sportraits super fun. They’re a chance to show who we are as a team: always full of energy.”

Friendship also hit a high note for these women’s lacrosse juniors, from left, Clare McGeever of Berlin, Conn., Amanda Edge of Washington, D.C., and Lauren Wong of Walpole, Mass.

“Amanda loves to sing, so it just made sense for her to take on that role,” says McGeever. “We all sing a lot when we are together — we joke about forming an a cappella group.”

The sportrait allows their off-the-pitch (but not off-pitch!) selves to shine. “�ֲ���ý allows us to explore different aspects of who we are,” says Edge. “As varsity athletes, we’re still able to pursue other interests, like music.” McGeever and Edge have sung in the college choir; Edge takes piano lessons, and Wong plays as well.

Balls in Play

What started as a way to connect with a young child turned into an unexpected skill for Ben Miller ’25 of Scarsdale, N.Y. 

Two years ago, he learned to juggle while working at a pediatric physical therapy clinic. “Some of the patients needed some distraction while getting treatment, and one patient loved to juggle, so I decided to learn.”

That same lighthearted spirit showed up during some downtime during the men’s lacrosse sportrait session, when Ben spotted a trio of brightly colored lacrosse balls and decided to put his skills to the test. “I thought it would be a cool photo.”

Coast to Coast

Lacrosse seniors Javi Werner and Cooper Lance channeled Nacho Libre energy and perhaps a bit of East Coast–West Coast. Werner is from Brookline, Mass., while Lance is from San Diego, Calif.

“Javi and I have been good friends since freshman year,” says Lance. “We recently dressed up as Nacho Libre characters for Halloween, so we thought it was only fitting to continue that for our sportrait.”

It’s Glow Time

These three juniors are roommates, teammates, and friends who enjoy “getting ready together” for all things in life, says Zoe Schaedle of Philadelphia — whether for a night out, class, or a preseason sportrait.

“We came up with the idea on a whim,” says Raegan White of Duxbury, Mass. “I had brought makeup to the shoot, and when I pulled it out, we just thought, ‘Let’s pose with it.’”

While makeup isn’t part of their game-day routine, feeling positive and confident is. “We definitely believe that you play how you feel,” says White, “We always support whatever makes each other feel good before a game.”

Hot Bats

The sophomores on this year’s baseball team are “best friends,” says Keagan Ryan ’27 of Salem, N.H., “so we decided to try to be creative during sportraits this year.”

The campfire suggests the video game Fortnite that “we have all played,” explains Ryan. The bats represents the flaming logs, and the gloves are rocks.��

The scene of the sophomores surrounding a campfire captures how “we are a very close class and have all worked very hard to get where we are. We are all grateful that �ֲ���ý has allowed us to create these lifelong friendships.”

From left, Kenny Carlisle of South Portland, Maine, Luke Yoon of Honolulu, Hawaii, Theo Zacharia of Manhasset, N.Y., Henry Kolani of Tarrytown, N.Y., Tyler Canna of Rye, N.Y., Keagan Ryan of Salem, N.H., Nolan Hobbs of South Portland, Maine, and Henry Prince of McLean, Va. 

Here Come the Sophs

These four sophomore softball players came together to pay homage to the Beatles’ Abbey Road, released 56 years ago this September.

“We all listen to the Beatles, and we are definitely influenced by our parents’ music tastes,” says Emily Kennedy of East Hampton, N.Y., who counts “Martha My Dear,” “There’s a Place,” “Rocky Raccoon,” “I Will,” “Norwegian Wood,” and “Good Night” among their favorites. 

In the iconic album cover, Paul McCartney holds a cigarette and is famously barefoot. For these softball players, “we made sure we included the four softball essentials: an outfield glove, a ball, a bat, and an infield glove,” Kennedy says.

“We are super close, we support each other, and we have fun on and off the field. I don’t know who I would be without them.”

Lacrossing the Delaware

Emanuel Leutze’s painting Washington Crossing the Delaware presents a compelling metaphor — teamwork, leadership, shared purpose — for Bobcats looking to create an all-in sportrait. 

Last season brought us the first-year swimmers recreating the painting; this spring, the juniors on the women’s lacrosse team took their turn. “We feel that it represents us as a strong, powerful unit,” says Clare McGeever ‘26 of Berlin, Conn. 

Use your mouse to grab the slider (or swipe on a phone or tablet) to reveal more or less of each image.

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

Cleverly, they had their �ֲ���ý flag appear to flap in the wind by having a teammate, Lindy Child ’27 of Bethesda, Md., hold the flag up, just out of the frame. 

To play Washington, they turned to Raegan White ‘26 of Duxbury, Mass., taking advantage of the goalie’s helmet and gloves “to make her stick out and distinguish her as our own commander-in-chief.”

In fact, it was White who shared the idea in the team’s grade group chat. “Everyone was on-board, literally!” says McGeever.

“We really love each other and the team so much,” she adds. “We have so much fun playing lacrosse with each other and have grown close over the years. We are entering our senior year with the same crew since our freshman year, and we wouldn’t change it for anything.”

Bass Bros

These four senior friends love lacrosse and they love bass fishing. But it was a last-minute call to put the two together for a sportrait, says Colton Curtis ’25 of Charlotte, N.C. “You’d think after 4 years we’d have more ideas, but using the fishing rod as a prop was definitely a last-minute decision.” 

“Fishing with each other and our teammates is one of my favorite ways to relax,” he adds. “Living so close to the Androscoggin River and other bass-filled lakes and ponds has definitely been one of my favorite parts about �ֲ���ý.”

Curtis has been fishing since he was a little kid. “Being from North Carolina, it’s just one of those things that I seemed to always end up doing with my dad and friends. Quinn’s dad is also an avid fisherman, so it’s definitely something we all enjoy.”

The image is more accurate than you’d think. “I had a jig tied on with a real hook that we put into an orange, which Ben bit into,” Curtis explains. “It was pretty funny trying to figure out how we could rig it up so Ben could bite into it and we could get the rod to flex but not actually hook him.”

Oarigin Story

Another popular spoof for Bobcats is Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam, which a few rowers took on this year.

In this re-creation, Nate Oh ’28 of New York City, plays the role of God, which makes sense since he’s a cox, but there were other practical considerations. “Small guys cannot hold the big guys, so we went from there,” he says — which is also how a big guy, Mason Choiniere Barr ‘28 of Longmeadow, Mass., became recumbent, as Adam.

Oh showered praise on his teammates. “Sam Williams is an absolute unit and a great friend. He always brings a smile to the team’s face.” Van Loo, a captain, “is a stud who leads by example and has a great presence on the team.” 

And Choiniere Barr is “a dirty bowman who will set the boat despite the immense pain he endures,” says Oh. (Translation: He’s a tough rower at the front who keeps the boat balanced and steady.)

Meanwhile, Oh has a lot of face time with Davalos, who rows “stroke seat,” closest to the cox, setting the rhythm for the rest of the crew and literally face to face with the cox. “Through countless hours of grueling practices, we got to know each other.”

Last week, Max Cory ’26 of Dublin, Calif., captured the college’s first national swim title, winning the 100-yard freestyle at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships in Greensboro, N.C.

In so doing, Cory put to rest self-doubt that he can perform his best under the highest pressure. Self-effacing and candid, he shared with Aaron Morse, , how, in the past, he “tended to swim worse when the pressure’s on.”

Not this time. No way: His time of 42.88 seconds set a Division III record. “I beat the finals choker allegations,” he told Morse.

Watch Max Cory’s record-setting victory in the 100-yard freestyle at the NCAA meet on March 22, 2025:

Cory’s interview with Morse , his family’s support, how he returned to campus refreshed after the fall semester in Stockholm, Sweden, and his academic interests.

This summer, he’ll be staying on campus to work in the �ֲ���ý lab of Ryan Bavis, the Helen A. Papaioanou Professor of Biological Sciences, who is investigating Sudden Death Infant Syndrome with support from a major NIH grant.

Morse: At the NCAA meet, you were a little nervous maybe between preliminaries and finals. How’d you calm yourself down? How’d you get ready for the big swim?

Cory:��To be honest, I never really calmed down. I was freaked out. I talked with my teammates. I just tried to latch onto them and garner support from them. If I choked there, I would’ve been crushed. So thank God I somehow mustered up the courage and got up on the blocks and made it happen.

Morse: And what was your reaction when you looked up at that scoreboard?

Cory:��I knew the record was close, but historically I am a huge finals choker. I tend to swim worse when the pressure’s on. So I just really wanted the win, and then lo and behold, the record came with it. I was just really happy I finally beat the finals choker allegations. There’s a lot of evidence against me.��

Morse: And how many text messages and calls did you have afterwards?

Cory:��I could just feel my phone exploding and I wanted to check it bad. I wanted to text my family. When I took it out after the post-race interview, it was really awesome to see all the support I was getting from all kinds of people.��

Morse: Can you elaborate a little bit more on what your family’s support means to you?

Cory: My brother and my mom are always pushing me. On Wednesday when I came in second in the 50, boy did they light me up.

But that really helps drive me forward, I’m always trying to meet their expectations. And my dad and my sister are just all love. When I got second in the 50 they picked me back up. I’d be nothing without the support of my family.��

Morse: You’re majoring in biochemistry here. Tell me a little bit about that major.��

Cory: I’ve always been interested in the medical field, so biochemistry was a natural step for me. This summer. I’m going to be doing research at �ֲ���ý with Ryan Bavis, which is awesome. It’s an opportunity that you might not get at bigger schools, which is something I’m really happy about.��

Morse: And you spent the fall semester abroad, right? Normally that’s a challenge for swimmers to come back in the middle of the season, but it seems like it wasn’t an issue for you.

Cory: Physically, I might not be quite as good as if I stayed on campus and trained. But mentally it’s so awesome to have a break from all the stress of college swimming and meet a bunch of new people and learn a bunch of new things. I think it totally contributed positively towards my career this year.

Morse: Is there anything else you’d like to mention about the race we haven’t gotten to talk about?

Cory: I’m just really excited for next season. Obviously I was pumped when I hit the wall and I saw the record go down, but I also know I’ve got so much more in me for next year.��

Morse: What does that mean to you in terms of the legacy of this program?

Cory: It’s awesome. It’s a career-defining swim for me, and it puts my name in the books, but more importantly, it’s going to garner more attention to �ֲ���ý as a program as a whole, to help it grow into something even greater, which I have got no doubt that it can be.

The late, beloved �ֲ���ý poet Robert Farnsworth said that our ability to create and comprehend metaphor — “to think in one thing in terms of another” — was the “central passion of the human creature.”

Before each season, Bobcat student-athletes express passion for their sports through “sportraits,” playful and creative photographs taken during media day that often reveal not just what sport they play, but who they are and what they care about.

This winter, some chose props — a chef’s hat, a plant, even a makeshift rowboat — to build metaphors and tell stories about teamwork, resilience, or pure joy, with irony and humor as delightful side dishes.

Here are our top seven sportraits from winter 2025 — each one its own kind of poetry.

Cooking up a successful season

Noah Katz ’27 “sautés” his swim cap in a pan brought to �ֲ���ý from his home in Hallowell, Maine, about 40 minutes north of campus.

The concept reflects Katz’s love of cooking. As he likes to say, quoting chef Auguste Gusteau from Ratatouille, “Anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great.”

“Pastas are my specialty,” says Katz. “I love to cook, and I wanted to get a chef’s hat and pan for media day, since sportraits are always more fun with props.”

“We have some of the best media day photos in the country, and I’m honored to represent �ֲ���ý every single day.”

A little dab’ll do ya

When emailed about their choice of doing the dab for this sportrait, none of these Nordic skiers responded. Well, who can blame them? 

The move was briefly popular a decade or so ago, when these Bobcats were in middle school, when maybe some of them dabbed. The craze jumped the shark — with great elevation — around January 2016, when then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton did the move on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

So their pose is ironic and humorous (note the laughter), offered at photographer Brewster Burns’ suggestion, who promised that “30 years from now, you’ll think it’s hilarious.” Time will tell.

Snap a selfie

Fads come and go, and while the era of the selfie seems to be declining (and their sidekick, the selfie-stick), the juniors on the men’s basketball team used the motif to strong effect.

“We wanted to capture the closeness and camaraderie of this group and thought the selfie captured this best,” explains Elliott Cravitz ’26 of Denver (right), holding the phone with, from left, Brady Coyne ’26 of Falmouth, Maine, Peter Psyhogeos ’26 of Cumb Foreside, Maine, David Omasombo ’26 of Lewiston, and Chiwer Mayen ’26 of Lewiston. 

“Lifting” each other up

Elevating his interest in powerlifting, �ֲ���ý thrower Solomon Sakakeeny-Smith ’25 of Boston, Mass., deadlifts two teammates, sprinters Mario Ferro ’26 (left) of Manchester, N.H., and Truman Williams ’25 (right) of Montclair, N.J.

Sakakeeny-Smith got into lifting during the winter of his first year. He had rowed during the fall and wanted a new athletic outlet. “Since then, weightlifting has been a key part of my athletic training, especially since I joined the track team as a thrower.”

Growing together

If you’re a �ֲ���ý student, you probably know the power of metaphors to create meaning. 

Last fall, the squash team met with Athletics leadership to discuss goals and intentions for the year, which planted the seed of an idea.

One of the administrators said that building a strong team culture is like taking care of a plant: You have to water it every day or it will die. “It might look great one day, but if you forget about it, it’s going to deteriorate,” says Max Good ’25 (left) of Shaker Heights, Ohio.

The team bought into it, literally, bringing and watering this plant at the sportrait session. From left are Good, Dennis Welte ’28 of Stuttgart, Germany, Labeeb Ali ’25 of Plano, Texas, and Harris Ramlee ’25 of Orland Park, Ill.

Something of a mascot, the plant lives in some corner of the �ֲ���ý Squash Center, “our ‘squash shack,’” says Good. (For now, the plant is artificial, but give the guys some time.)

Adam to Washington

It’s important for a team to all be on the same page. Or rowing in the same direction, like the first-year swimmers and divers in their re-creation of Emanuel Leutze’s painting Washington Crossing the Delaware.��

Team captain Jack Mocarski ’25 of Fairfield, Conn., credits the concept to Isabelle Chou ’28 of East Greenwich, R.I.  For props, the Bobcats scrounged the entire pool: they used the large tub for the divers as the boat, noodles as the oars, and a �ֲ���ý flag to represent the American flag.

The swim team leads the way in creating outlandish team sportraits, including ones that spoof famous works of art. Two years ago, Kailer Tom ’26 of Daly City, Calif., and Jack Mocarski ’25 of Fairfield, Conn., spoofed Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam.

Shine on

There are ups and downs — sunshine and rain — to any athletic season, but �ֲ���ý athletes push through. 

These first-year runners have a saying, says Jaylen Tang ’28 (left) of Tenafly, N.J.: “Getting rained on” means allowing “excuses and injuries plague us into having a bad season.”

“Rain is all the other factors and excuses that affect us during the season that could negatively influence us. The umbrella represents the hard work and dedication we put into the season — the shield needed to have a positive season with no excuses holding us back.”

“Back”country skiing

Skis belong underfoot — unless they’re needed to send a message that you need to be strong to ski fast.

During the fall, before snow or snowmaking opens the Maine slopes, �ֲ���ý skiers train hard. Weightlifting plays a big role in their preparation for the winter season. 

“We have a day where we ‘max out’ in the gym,” explains Kenzie Arnott ’25 of Stowe, Vt. “We all lift as heavy as we can in order to compare how strong we are at the beginning vs. the end of the strength block,” the weeks-long stretch of strength training.

With that training in mind, the Alpine skiers went to work recreating one of those moments in a sportrait. That’s Lindsey Aten ’26 of Park City, Utah, using her Rossignol skis as a barbell.

“As you can see in the photo, these days involve a lot of cheering and support for one another, which we wanted to bring to life in the photo,” says Arnott.