Mules Win CBB in Home Waters
Hosting the Annual CBB meet Saturday in the Aquatic Center of the Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center, the Mules topped Bates (142-138) and Bowdoin (188-95) to earn the state crown as arguably the best team in Maine across all divisions. Colby defeated Maine's only Division I team in December at the Maine State Meet.
Event Winners:
- 200 Medley Relay – Brandon Xiong, Alexander MacLennan, Neil Mortimer, Shaun Kronenwetter (Colby Record, 12th in NCAA)
- 200 Freestyle Relay – Mortimer, Kronenwetter, Xiong, Allen Zhu (Colby Record, 5th in NCAA)
- Mortimer – 100 Butterfly (Colby Record)
- Spencer Cohen – 200 Backstroke
- Tate Weltzin – One & Three Meter Diving
Additional Colby Records:
- Mortimer – 50 Freestyle (6th in NCAA)
- Carson Rehkopf – 200 Freestyle
- Ben Spragg – 200 Individual Medley
- Xiong – 50 Backstroke
Next, the Mules enter the NESCAC Championship meets. The Women's team competes at Bowdoin February 9-12, while the Men's team gathers at Wesleyan University February 16-19.
#10 Women's Ice Hockey Splits with #4 Amherst
Entering the weekend, wins were hard to come by against top-10 ranked opponents for the Mules. Colby had battled hard against #6 Hamilton and #7 Middlebury, but came up empty in close matches, including an overtime loss to the Panthers. Facing the 4th-ranked team in the country this weekend, the Mules were set to flip the tide.
After falling behind Friday night 2-0, Colby scored two goals in the final three minutes of regulation to force overtime, the first time the previously 18-1 Mammoths had skated to extra time all season. Despite pelting the Amherst goaltender with 43 shots on goal over the duration, the Mules could not penetrate the crease in overtime, falling 3-2.
In Saturday's rematch the Mules came out firing, building a 5-1 lead by the end of the second period. Amherst worked their way back into the contest, closing the gap to 5-4, but a reluctant Colby defense preserved the win, handing the Mammoths only their second loss of the season. Paige Bolyard collected 46 saves across the two contests.
The Mules are now 12-6-0, sliding into 5th place in the conference standings.
Colby Celebrates National Girls and Women in Sports Day
With over 60 girls from the local community in attendance, Colby Athletics celebrated NGWSD Saturday with a free youth clinic. Sports included softball, tennis, volleyball, lacrosse, field hockey, crew, track & field, and football among others.
NGWSD recognizes student-athletes, champions, coaches, administrators, lawmakers and more who are committed to providing equitable access to sports for all girls and women.
As part of the week-long celebration, Deputy Athletic Director Casie Runksmeier hosted a Women in Athletics panel discussion Wednesday evening, discussing the history and transformation of women's sports at Colby.
Men's Basketball Tops Bates, Stays in the Hunt
After falling in a NESCAC matchup to Tufts Friday night in Medford, the Mules bounced back Saturday in Lewiston to defeat the Bobcats for the seventh straight time. Colby last lost to Bates in January of the 2018-19 season.
After building a commanding 58-34 halftime lead, the highest output for Colby in a half this season, the Mules never looked back taking the victory 99-80. Noah Tyson led the team in scoring with 19 points as Max Poulton dropped 16 and Jonah Obi tallied 13. Tyson now has 139 career points against the Bobcats and ranks 22nd on Colby's all-time scoring list with 1,165.
The Mules are currently 16-6, tied for 7th in the NESCAC.
Mules Weather the Cold at Smugglers Notch
After losing Friday's Giant Slalom race due to severe cold (potential to be made up later), the Alpine Ski Team battled the steep pitch of Smugglers Notch in Saturday's Slalom.
The Men's and Women's teams each placed 7th in the 13-team field, and collected six top-30 finishes. Tucker Strauch led the Men's team in 16th place, and Cassie Lieblein guided the Women's team with an 18th place result.
Individual Top-30 Results:
- Strauch - 16th
- Lieblein - 18th
- Cam Owens - 19th
- Brooks Reed - 23rd
- Molly Mueller - 24th
- Lydia Riddell - 30th
Both the Alpine and Nordic teams hit the fourth stop of the EISA circuit next weekend with the Harvard Carnival. Alpine events will be at Waterville Valley (N.H) and the Nordic events will be hosted at the Dublin School Nordic Center.
Squash Greets Bowdoin for Senior Day
Celebrating Senior Day, the Mules hosted Bowdoin on Saturday looking to avenge a pair of setbacks against the Polar Bears from the 2021-22 season.
Although the Women’s team fell 2-7 (victories coming from the top two seeds Andrea Lee and Aileen Dominguez), the Men pulled out a dominant 8-1 victory. Winners for the men included Dylan Tymkiw, Youssef Mostafa, Jonathan Sosa Uranga, Adrian Castillo, Sen Subramaniam, Sebastian Campos, Syed Kashef, and Rintaro Yamamoto.
Colby enters the NESCAC tournament this coming weekend, hosted by Williams College.
Mules Play Close With Jumbos, Bobcats
Friday night, the Mules dug in defensively through the first three frames against Tufts, the #2 seed in the conference. The Jumbos finished out strong with great shooting from the floor and converted key free throws to outpace their host by a mere six points. Lydia Mordarski finished with 21 points (season-high) and seven rebounds and Caroline Smith contributed nine points.
Against the Bobcats on Saturday, Colby had a great first half with six different Mules scoring baskets. Bates stretched out a lead in the third, but in the fourth quarter Colby closed the gap to within four. Down the stretch, the Bobcats stiffened on defense and collected on the offensive end to the tune of a 13-point victory.
Colby celebrated senior day Saturday, recognizing the efforts of its two seniors Sophie Webb and Mackenzie Younker.
Colby is now 8-12, tied for 6th in the conference standings.
Men's Ice Hockey Takes Continentals, Mammoths to the Wire
With a handful of weekends left in the NESCAC competition season, the Mules made the long trek to across New England to close the series' against Hamilton and Amherst.
Knotted at one apiece Friday night after Carter Breitenfeldt's sixth goal of the season, Hamilton jumped ahead 2-1 to close out the second period. With minutes waning in the third, Colby pulled its goalie to take the man advantage, but the Continentals regained possession and tallied an empty net goal to even the series at one game apiece.
Saturday in Amherst, All-American Jack Sullivan spotted Colby a lead in the second period with his fifth goal of the season. The Mammoths tallied late in the second, and after a scoreless third frame, the hosts were able to score in overtime to pull the season series away from the Mules.
Colby is now 10-8-2, ranked 5th in the NESCAC.
Track & Field Takes Bronze at Maine State Meet
Colby traveled to Lewiston Saturday for the Maine State Meet. Both the Men’s and Women’s teams took third place as a team while grabbing a total of eight individual first place finishes. Bowdoin won the event for the women, and Bates was at the top of the list for the men. A total of eight schools competed on the day.
Women’s Event Winners:
- 600m – Colby Sweep (Anna Mackey 1st, Abby Steffler 2nd, Kristina Pizzi 3rd)
- Erin Daugherty – 60 Hurdles
- 4 x 400m Relay – Charlotte Freniere, Pizzi, Alene Fernandes, Haley Wims
- Kassie Brink – Triple Jump
Men’s Event Winners:
- Pole Vault – Colby Sweep (Peter Martel 1st, Logan Lehnert 2nd, Myles Thornton-Sherman 3rd)
- Gordon Doore – 1000m
- Ren Zanze – 400m
- Kevin Yan – Triple Jump
Special thank you to the photographers who helped make this production possible: Cole Burkhart '24, Steve Cheney P25, Nancy Dauphinais '25, Paula Dauphinais '25, Jamie Fiedorek '25, Michael Garrett P23, Peter Li '26, Michael Maher, Ellie Sawyer P25, Isadora Wells '26, Ansley White '26