Soccer Recruits Step Forward
The Colorado College women’s soccer team will have many new faces in the fall, with at least nine players from five states joining the squad. Third-year Head Coach Geoff Bennett has received commitments from eight incoming freshmen and one transfer for the 2006 season. Joining the Tigers will be midfielder Ericka Baer of Westlake Village, Calif.; midfielder Emily Beans of Griffith, Ill.; midfielder Jessie Kautz of Truckee, Calif.; forward/midfielder Alison Kreisler of Escondido, Calif.; forward Kelly LaVoie of Austin, Texas; midfielder Vanessa Newman of Chevy Chase, Md.; forward Lauren Talbot of Highland Village, Texas; and midfielder Sarah Wolff of Arlington, Va. In addition, midfielder Jamie Maltman of Winnetka, Ill., has transferred from the University of Iowa; she will be a junior in 2006-07.
Harriers Named to All-Independent Teams
Seven members of CC’s cross country teams were named to the 2005 All-Independent cross country teams by the Association of Division III Independents. Three runners from the women’s team were named to the first team — Jeanine Stewart ’06, Angie Kremer ’07, and Meaghan Lynch ’08. Besha Deane ’07 was an honorable mention selection. Julian Boggs ’08 and Daniel Castaneda ’06 were first-team selections on the men’s team, while Alex Nichols ’08 and Robert Waldeck ’08 earned second-team honors.
Boggs became the first sophomore in CC men’s cross country history to earn All-America honors on Nov. 19 when he finished 27th at the NCAA Division III championship meet in Delaware, Ohio. Boggs, who finished the 8K race in 26 minutes and 15 seconds, also is the team’s first All-American overall in 17 seasons; Erik Browning ’87 was the last men’s harrier to earn the distinction. Daniel Castaneda ’06, who joined Boggs at Saturday’s national competition, claimed 87th place with a clocking of 27:08.
Football Players Honored
Three CC football players were honored by the Colorado chapter of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame for their performances during the 2005 season. Wide receiver Jake Craig ’06 and defensive back Jeremy Lachmann ’07 earned second-team honors, while quarterback Chris Neal ’07 received the Highlight of the Year Award.
Craig was the Tigers’ leading receiver for the third time in his career, with 53 receptions and 736 yards, and his five touchdown catches ranked him second for the season. One of only four receivers to rank among CC’s career leaders in receptions, yards, and touchdowns, he went over the 2,000-yard plateau with 144 yards in the season finale against Menlo College.
Lachmann became the first defensive back to lead the Tigers in tackles since Pete Sigler ’01 in 2000. He led Division III in solo tackles, averaging 8.5 per game, and ranked 10th in total tackles, averaging 12.7 per game. Lachmann’s 12 solo tackles against Carnegie Mellon University put him in a tie for 12th in solo tackles in a single game. Neal set a school record for total offense in a single game with 584 yards, and had a hand in all seven TDs during CC’s 58-52 victory in triple overtime.
Women’s Basketball Hopes for Tournament Bid
CC improved to 15-10 by splitting two games at the Colorado College Classic; the team has posted the most wins for the program since 1989-90, when the Tigers were 17-9. Forward Paige Whitney ’08 has been named the Association of Division III Independents Player of the Week twice, while guard Melanie Auguste ’09 has earned the honor once. CC hosted the first Association of Division III Independents West Coast Championship in February at Reid Gymnasium.
Women’s Lacrosse Ranked Fourth in Preseason
The CC women’s lacrosse team was ranked fourth in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association’s preseason poll, behind the other three schools that competed in the Division III national semifinals last May. The College of New Jersey, the defending national champion, was ranked No. 1 with 290 points, followed by Salisbury University (284) and Middlebury College (278). The Tigers received 230 points, nine more than No. 5 Gettysburg College.
CC returns eight starters and 18 letter-winners from last year’s squad, which earned the program’s first-ever appearance in the national semifinals. Headlining that list of players are midfielder Helen Sneath ’06, attacker Kate Fitzgerald ’07, attacker Robin Harvey ’07, and goaltender Alana Dalton ’06. The 2006 campaign started March 1, when the Tigers played host to the University of Redlands. CC will face six teams ranked in the IWLCA preseason Top 20: No. 1 TCNJ, No. 8 SUNY-Cortland, No. 11 Washington & Lee University, No. 12 Colby College, No. 15 Stevens Institute of Technology, and No. 18 Drew University.
Swimmers Take First in CC Classic; Jaramillo Heads to NCAA Meet
Leanne Dalton ’08 won the 1,650-yard freestyle and took second in both the 500-yard free and the 400-yard individual medley to lead CC to the women’s and combined team titles at the 2006 Colorado College Classic. Dalton scored a meet-high 135 points; Kelly Enright ’06 finished second with 130. The Big Cats finished with 1,461.5 points in the women’s competition to defeat Colorado School of Mines, which was second with 959. Taylor Jaramillo ’06 won the 50 free in 24.55 seconds and placed second in the 100-yard backstroke.
The CC men finished second to the University of Texas-Permian Basin by a score of 1,150-951. Andrew Mullen ’08 led the Big Cats with 102 points, fourth overall among the men, after finishing second in the 200-yard individual medley and fourth in the 100-yard freestyle. Kurt Adkins ’09 tied for eighth overall with 99 points, with top finishes of second in the 100-yard butterfly and fourth in the 400 individual medley.
Although the CC women came up short in their quest for a third title in four years at February’s Liberal Arts Championships at Coe College, finishing fourth, Dalton and Jaramillo broke five more school records, four of which were their own. Dalton finished second in the 1,650 free in 18:20.73 and took fourth in the 200-yard butterfly in 2:19.02, both CC records. (In January, she won the 1,000-yard freestyle at January’s Austin College Invitational in 11:15.92, shaving just over seven seconds off the previous mark of 11:23.04 set by Dana Robertson ’96 in 1994.)
Jaramillo continued her domination of the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle sprints, going undefeated in both events for four years at the Liberal Arts Championships. She won the 100-yard freestyle in a meet, pool, and school record time of 53.33; won the 50 free in a school, meet, and pool record with a time of 23.94; and swam the leadoff leg of the 200 freestyle relay. Jaramillo, who is ranked third in the nation in the 50 free, qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship meet this month in both events.
Hockey Team Ranked in Top 10
Despite a five-game losing streak that extended into early February, CC’s ice hockey team remained ranked among the nation’s top 10 heading into the final weeks of the regular season. The Tigers now have won at least 20 games in six consecutive campaigns, and 12 of the last 13 games. Right wing Joey Crabb ’06 became the 69th member of the program’s “Century Club” on Feb. 10, recording his 100th career point in a 6-3 victory at St. Cloud State.
Track and Field Stars Set, Tie Records
CC’s first indoor meet of 2006 turned out to be a good one, as two members of the team set or tied school standards. Jaclyn Welch ’08 ran the 60-meter dash in 9.5 seconds at the Colorado School of Mines Open on Feb. 11, establishing a CC mark in an event for which no previous record existed. In the pole vault, Stephanie Simpkins ’06 cleared nine feet, six inches to tie her own school mark in that event.
Volleyball Players Lauded
Sarah Morrill ’06 was named Player of the Year by the Association of Division III Independents, adding to her impressive list of awards for the 2005 season. Freshman Anna Clithero ’09 also was a first-team selection, while Head Coach Rick Swan was named Coach of the Year. Morrill was named a third-team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, and became the first Tiger to earn All-America honors since Sara Boyles ’03 in 2001. Clithero was an honorable mention selection on the AVCA all-West Region team.