There’s a saying when it comes to rugby, Rugby is a hooligan sport, but played by gentlemen. Keene State College men’s rugby is a club sport that’s been around for almost 50 years.

Photo contributed by the KSC Rugby team

Many people think rugby is just an intense game of football but without the gear.

Head coach, John Johannesen described the sport in two words: elegant violence.

“You can’t just hit a guy as hard as you can and think it’s going to stop and recover– you have to be able to take the hit and keep the possession of the ball.”

In the fall, there are two 40 minute halves with no time-outs. Johannesen said you have to give 110 percent all the time and it can get hard at times.

Having a strong mentality is a big aspect that people don’t realize, Drew Pickett, assistant treasurer and sophomore player, said.

“Coming into the sport, I learned rugby isn’t just physical but about mentality. You can’t hesitate on any play or anything because it can cost you greatly,” he said.

Despite the club team only having one coach, they accomplish what needs to be done to meet their goals.

Their practices consist of many types of drills including tackling, contact, hands, speed work and passing.

Those interested do not need any prior experience to play. Johannesen said he usually gets players that never played and enjoys teaching players how to play the game and the fundamentals of it.

The team has to bundle up in layers during this time of year.

They practice Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-11 p.m..

Rugby has a business side as well with their e-board. It consists of a president, vice president, treasurer, match secretary and a social chair.

The team has two captains, a back’s captain and a forward’s captain.

Casey Brackett, who was the forward captain is away this semester, so senior Jared Jobs is in his replacement.

Avery Putnam is the back’s captain and also one of the treasurers.

Putnam said although rugby gets financial help through the school and their alumni, at times they have to fundraise on their own.

The team’s treasurer and assistant treasurer come up with a budget then proposes it to the school.

According to Putnam, they calculate their budget based on medical supplies and professional services(athletic trainers, refs, etc.) and transportation. It’s not always 100 perceny guaranteed that the school will give them the whole amount.

Going to a tournament roughly costs them $1000 to $1500 each weekend. There’s the van rentals, gas and jerseys.

They rent vans due to having 40 to 50 players attending the tournament. Going to tournaments is something Pickett looks forward too.

“Tournaments is when were all together playing the sport we love no matter the outcome,” he said.

“My favorite part about the game is the bond that builds between the team from working hard in practice and then giving everything we have on the field to try and win games,” Putnam said. He also added the team isn’t just a team but it’s a family, between going to practice and just hanging out with each other. Pickett said whether they win or lose they always learn from it to bring into the next game.

Adriana Sanchez can be contacted at asanchez@kscequinox.com

Keene State College junior and sprint/mid-distance runner Brittany Gravallese has done nothing but excel in her athletic ability.

Photo Illustration by Kiana Wright / equinox staff

Going from holding KSC school records in relays, Gravallese has now won her first-ever individual 800-meter run.

This past weekend, Gravallese set a personal record of 2:23 at the Little East Conference (LEC) that led to her winning by .23 seconds in the 800-meter race.

She said that she was a bit worried when she first started off because she ran a little too fast. “It was pretty close. I wanted it really bad because I knew my seating was really high so I wanted to live it up to that expectation,” Gravallese said.

Gravallese holds KSC records in the 4×2 sprint relay (four people running 200 meters in relay) and the 4×8 middle distance relay (four people running 800 meters in relay). She said it’s an honor to hold titles like these.

“It’s special to us to see Brittany come on and take over the mantel for us as our best 800 [meter] runner,” KSC Women’s Track and Field Coach Tom Pickering said.

She’s willing to participate in any event at any time if it means helping the team out. He said she has run multiple times in her career; The 4×2, the open 800, the 4×8 and the 4×4 (four people running 400 meters in relay). “That’s a lot of races in a short period time and she does well,” Pickering said.

Pickering explained since Gravallese runs cross country in the fall, she falls under a special group that works on sprints but also a bit of distance. “She practices with the long sprints group but then she races at 400 meters, 600 meters, 800 meters which are long sprints and middle distance so she practices with runners that are also running 400 through 800’s,” he said.

Pickering said the 800-meter race is the event for her. “It’s the one she has raced the most in big meets and I think it’s probably the one that at this point in her career she has the most potential,” he said.

“She’s grown a lot in terms of her stamina from running cross country and that’s really helped with the season as she’s gained speed through the track workouts,” Pickering said. He added Gravallese’s competitive side comes out as the seasons pass. Pickering said Gravallese’s teammates look up to her because she is fearless in meets.

Gravellese said running cross country has helped build her stamina which helps her in the 800 meter race, but she prefers track and field because of the fast paced nature of the sprints.

“I definitely try to stay on pace with each lap and the 800 is a very hard race for me and I think it’s one of the hardest events in track so I just keep strong mentally that I have to push through the next one and not get boxed in by others,” she said.

Having the 800 meter race being her main event gives her a lot of pressure.

She knows she can do well in it so she feels like she has a standard to run up too.

Gravallese wants to break her time of 2:23 at the New England Division III Championship.

Assistant coach Nick Athanasopoulos has been the one that’s been working with Gravallese more.

He explained she’s a very diverse athlete and she’ll do anything you ask her to do.

“She can go anywhere from the 200 meter up through a mile if you ask her to. It good to have that type of diversity,” he explains.

He said she’s the person she is because of the time and effort she puts in.

Pickering and Athanasopoulos agreed that Gravallese never complains, never misses a practice and she never makes excuses.

Gravallese practices Monday through Friday and on Sunday’s she goes for a run with other people on the team even though she’s not obligated too. It’s not mandatory.

Gravallese said she loves track and field because of the team’s mentality.

“It’s different being on a team sport like a part of a soccer team, it’s a different dynamic. Although you have your individual times, your individual performance, and you have your relays — you’re always cheering people on in their events,” Gravallese said.

Gravallese said her friends on her team are her biggest supporters.

She explained she could always go to her parents if she’s ever feeling down.

However, her parents can’t relate to her as much as her friends who play the sport can.

“They’ve been there and give me the confidence,” she said.

Gravallese said she switched from soccer to track and field in middle school because her father noticed how much she loved to run. Since then, she hasn’t stopped.

When Gravallese first came here she did not know what to expect.

She did not know where she would stand with the team.

“I didn’t know if I would be last or in the middle so not just feeling out the competition but how people on my team were doing,” she said.

The next meet is the New England’s in Springfield.

Pickering has high expectations for Gravallese.

“I think she has a chance to run a personal best in the open 800 which would be very exciting and I think that we have a very good chance to run our fastest in the 4×4 of this season as well so I’m looking for her to lead the group and run her best of the season,” he said.

Adriana Sanchez can be cotacted at asanchez@kscequinox.com  

There’s a new show on campus that’s bringing the athletic side more to the light.

Alexandria saurman / managing executive editor

For almost two years, Dr. Chad Nye and Dr. Mark Timney, both of whom are journalism professors here at Keene State College, along with Assistant Athletic Director of Sports Information Abe Osheyack, discussed the making of a sports show.

“We in athletics have been looking for a way to digitally showcase our stories a lot more, we had done a little bit but it was half hazard,” said Osheyack, who is the executive producer for Inside Owl Athletics.

“We’d find somebody to do it then they would graduate, we’d find somebody else to do it then they would do it differently, maybe their story-telling was not as good or one of us on staff would do it, but only when we had time to do it. So, this gave us some consistency.”

Inside Owl Athletics’ first season was fall semester of 2017.

It was mainly run by senior Justin Mahan.

Mahan is news media journalism major with a minor in public relations.

“Last semester I was like the sole person for the show, but now we brought on three or four more people,” Mahan said.

Last semester, he would work on the show every day.

This semester, Mahan still works on putting together the rundown, writing scripts, editing scripts and quality-checking the show but now, with the help of others, he only puts in 9-10 hours.

Mahan explained that, at one point in the beginning, two students who were involved in making of the show backed out of the idea, which lead him, with the help of Nye, Timney and Osheyack, to take a majority of the responsibility onto his shoulders.

“I was in awe seeing from the planning process up to that first show when we put it online and it was all that planning, all those ideas are now finally together,” Mahan said.

He explained how it one of his biggest feats here at KSC.

“I think last semester was a huge accomplishment. I mean, having just me solely editing the show, putting together videos, video stories and packages and then editing the show. Doing all of that made me more appreciative of what the show is,” Mahan said.

Mahan had big responsibilities to fulfill. He mainly did everything.

“The main difference is having more people in the show. We went from myself, to lead correspondent, and two game correspondents, editor, graphic designer. So getting all that creativity in the show this semester, makes it a more unique show,” said Mahan.

With the help of co-producers Nye, Timney and Osheyack, he made it work.

“There’s some instances where Dr. Nye or Mark Timney were there when I had a questions about editing or anything to help me guide through that. Abe as well, when I had a question about a statistic or fact right. Or about a team, he was definitely a great help and support system making sure all the facts were correct,” Mahan said.

It being Mahan’s second semester of his senior year, he said he likes how he has taken a step back.

“I like taking that step back to formulate what I’m going to do with my career and everything with that,” Mahan said.

He is looking at a few news stations for after graduation, as well as sports information and public relations jobs.

Co-producer Nye explained how last semester did nothing but exceed his expectations.

“We’re trying to build on that, now we have more talent involved. We actually have three on-air reporters instead of just one,” Nye said.

He also said they’re trying to build on the content the show has. Now, with the help of others, the show can focus on more weekly highlight stories.

“I will say, losing Justin will have an impact. He’s the type of student who works hard and has a passion for this. Whether you can physically replace a student like that or not, you can’t really replace the desire and the spirit of a student like that,” he said.

“The show will go on, I’m very encouraged by the younger talent we have, Tyler [daRosa] and Pete [Dubois]. I hope we will continue to grow new talent as other younger students come into the TV production class,” Nye said.

With this show, Nye wanted to help students out with more learning opportunities.

He also wanted to make sure students were prepared for the real world.

After this season, the show will have completed a full cycle covering all of the sports.

Nye hopes with this, it’ll help them know what to do better or improve on.

“This is all about visibility for the college and the athletics and we have opportunities for students and we’ll be true to that,” Nye said.

Inside Owl Athletics has already given students the opportunity to grow.

A junior news media journalism major and student intern for the show, Peter Dubois became involved after asking his advisor for help with an internship.

“I got thrown into the growing team of Inside Owl Athletics team this semester. It’s definitely a well oil[ed] machine,” Dubois said.

He is a sideline reporter who does highlights for women’s basketball games and will be reporting on women’s and men’s lacrosse games when their season starts.

Having Mahan at the games  with him has helped Dubois.

“It’s really nice having Justin Mahan at the games because he’s done this before. He helps and guides me on what to say,” Dubois said.

Just like Mahan, Dubois hopes Inside Owl Athletics will help him when it comes time to look for a job. “I hope this internship can help me build enough experience so I can show employers so that it can help build a better chance for me to get a job,” Dubois explained.

You can catch Inside Owl Athletics every Friday afternoon at keeneowls.com or on their Facebook page, Keene State College Athletics.

Adriana Sanchez can be contacted at asanchex@kscequinox.com

It’s been four months since the Keene State College (KSC) cheerleading team has had a head coach.

After several months of searching, Keene State’s new cheerleader coach is Tiffany Leonard, who started May 1 .

She currently works at Keene High School as an assistant cheerleading coach and graduated from Keene High as well.

KSC Director of Athletics and Recreation Kristene Kelly said, “I wanted to take some time just being a new athletic director to really evaluate the program, see where we are because I didn’t want to just rush in getting a coach.”

She continued, “I knew there was a need to have one [a cheerleading coach], but just not as intensive at that point. I went and evaluated the program, spoke with a lot of the young ladies, see where the need was and we went ahead and got the position posted and advertised and went from there.”

Kelly explained how Keene wanted somebody to believe in the academic and social development of the student athletes, meaning the cheerleaders aren’t only committed to the team but also committed to being students as well.

“So understanding the time commitment involved and sometimes cheerleading can put pressure as far as practices getting ready for games and getting ready for their competition. So, I was looking for somebody who embodied all of that, and who embodied community service,” Kelly said.

There was a small search committee that consisted of the assistant cheer coach, cheer advisor, senior women administrator and KSC senior Amber LeBlanc.

There were four applicants in total. They sent out resumes to everyone who is on the team to keep them informed.

Leonard’s experience in Keene Knights’ Youth Program was a huge asset  to her application. She was the head coach of Keene Knights Youth Spirit Cheer and helped them place second back in 2014. In 2015 and 2016, her team won the state championship.

She also helped rebuild the high school’s program from a non-competitive team to placing sixth in the Fall Division II State competition.

“I think the college will love her. She’s about discipline, but she’s very down to earth. She’s embedded in the Keene community, she graduated from Keene High so she’s very local. She believes in cheerleading and developing the total cheerleader and I think she will do a fantastic job,” said Kelly.

Leonard is already starting to recruit for next fall.

She’s very excited to be coaching at this level, explained Kelly.

“I think you’ll see great things out of Tiffany. She’s very positive and upbeat, but you’ll see a lot of discipline as well from her, a lot of teaching, probably a lot of new skills and enhancing a lot of fundamentals skills,” said Kelly.

One of the main things that stood out was how Leonard wanted to have the cheer team involved in community service.

“One of her main things that really sold me on her too was how much she wanted to make sure Keene State College and our cheerleading program was involved in the community and trying to find ways for our cheerleaders to work with the high schoolers and work with the youth programs. She was really into the community portion of things and recognizing that Keene state is a part of the greater Keene community and we want to continue to ensure our student athletes are a part of it,” said Kelly.

Adriana Sanchez can be contacted at asanchez@kscequinox.com

With 14 seniors leaving the rugby team this year and nine of them being starters, the team is looking forward to see how the new A-side will work together this upcoming fall season.

This spring season, the team played in three tournaments. A-side placed second in all three and B-side placed third. Even though the A-side lost against Norwich, it was a big game considering they came back with 20 points.

Ian McMahon/ Contributing photo

KSC junior and player on A-side Luke Sprague said it’s going to be tough next season since so many seniors are leaving this year.

“We’re definitely in a rebuilding process right now. Moving forward, we will need to adapt to a smaller team. The ball movement and team chemistry are at a much higher level than us newer guys ever could have hoped for. Without the leadership, size and skill of the graduating seniors, we have our work cut out for us this fall,” said Sprague.

KSC sophomore Steven Sullivan said he is nervous but confident as well for this upcoming season.

“So many of our guys are leaving, so it is pretty sad, but I’m a bit nervous. We’re definitely losing some of our best players, but I don’t think it will be too big of an issue,” said Sullivan. He said the team has improved since his first year; they were 2-4 and this year they went 3-3.

“The team has definitely improved since the fall season, especially the younger and newer players who will still be here next fall season,” said Sprague.

Ian McMahon, a senior on the rugby team, said he is confident on how the team is going to do this fall. “I think they are going to do well; they have a lot of skilled players filling in positions of seniors,” said McMahon.

Luke Stergiou/ Senior Photographer

This past Saturday, the team had seniors vs. next year’s A-side and the next year’s A-side had put up a good fight, explained McMahon, even though the seniors won.

“The only thing they need to make sure of is they recruit a significant number of guys so they can continue to scrimmage each other,” said McMahon.

The seniors are going to be missed. “We have some big shoes to fill. Those guys will be missed for sure; those guys [seniors] have been the backbone of our team,” said Sprague.

Sullivan said not only did they teach them about the sport, but the social aspects of college as well.

Adriana Sanchez can be contacted at asanchez@kscequinox.com

It was the first time this event had taken place and there were over 300 Keene State College (KSC) students present. With more than 120 participants taking part in the 12 events, Greeks vs. Athletes occurred on Wednesday, April 5 in the Spaulding Gymnasium.

Tim Smith/ Photo Editor
Shelby Iava/ Sports Editor

The night started off with Kristene Kelly, director of athletics, introducing the event while wearing a red shirt to support to the athletes, but also supporting the Greeks with her sorority letters, Delta Sigma Theta, on it as well.

“We are so proud of the turnout for Greeks vs. Athletes Olympics, especially because it is our first year ever running something like this,” head softball coach and Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) advisor Carrah Hennessey said. SAAC put this event on to bring the athlete and Greek life communities together.  Hennessey explained they looked into ideas on what other schools do across the country with their biggest student groups, which typically is the student-athletes and Greek life students.

Junior Jake Tobiasen, who is vice president for programming for the Inter-Fraternity Council, and Maggie McNamara, who is vice president for programming for the Panhellenic Council, were the ones who met up with SAAC on behalf of Greek life to talk about what events would take place, how participants were selected and the point system they would use.

Tim Smith/ Photo Editor
Shelby Iava/ Sports Editor

The first event that took place was a dance off. Junior Kerri Sears of Phi Sigma Sigma owned the dance floor, giving the Greeks the first win of the night. The next event was the chariot race, which incorporated Brandon Mathieu, coordinator of fraternity and sorority life and student leadership, and Kelly, who represented the athletes. Many students were on their feet yelling and supporting their organization. “I loved the chariot race. It was cool to involve the advisors,” said Tobiasen.

The hula hoop contest was another event that had people on their toes. Representing the athletes were students on the swimming & diving team, as well as volleyball, men and women’s soccer, men and women’s lacrosse, basketball, cross country, track and field, field hockey, baseball and softball. Phi Lambda Chi, Delta Phi Epsilon and Delta Xi Phi represented the Greeks. Towards the end, there was only one athlete left and three Greeks left. In the end of this event, the Greeks won.

Tim Smith/ Photo Editor
Shelby Iava/ Sports Editor

First-year Olivia Pechulis, a member of KSC’s swimming and diving team and one of the students who participated in this event, said, “I thought it was fun and exciting participating because it was a bunch of students just having a good time together.”

The shoe flying contest came to a very close tie. There was a kick-off to determine the winner at the end, meaning one person on each side who threw their shoe the farthest went again against the opposing team. Sigma Pi took the lead in this one, adding another point to the Greeks. The Greeks also won in the three-legged race and dizzy bat.

The athletes were behind in points, but made a comeback in the jump rope contest. Students had to be in a group of six and jump rope down the court and then pass it to the next person.

The athletes won the pie-eating contest. It was three groups of five and the best out of two won. Even Mathieu participated in this event, helping the Greeks. Finally, to determine the winner of these Olympics was tug-of-war. Each side had 12 students. In the beginning, the Greeks had it, but in the end, the athletes won by a landslide.

Adriana Sanchez can be contacted at asanchez@kscequinox.com

Many different smells roamed the air at the Dining Commons (DC) on Thursday March 23 because the annual Local Day had arrived at Keene State College (KSC). The food varied from Asian beef wraps, Clam fritters and local pepperoni pizza to Ancho chicken lettuce bites. There were even gluten free dessert options.

The DC not only served KSC students, but also Keene residents.

Tim Smith / Photo Editor

Keene State student sophomore Breanna Marks said Local Day didn’t live up to her expectations. “It’s overrated. Everyone thinks the food is going to be good and it turns out it’s not that good,” said Marks. But she said she did like one of the desserts, the maple chiffon spice cupcakes. “The frosting made it even more tasty,” she said.

A Keene residential family said otherwise. Katherine Williams said, “I love how they have so many options. It’s my first time here and me and my husband already love this.” She said her favorite was the baby back ribs. “They [baby back ribs] tasted amazing. It was better than anything else I had.

Her husband, Michael Williams, said he had to get seconds on the bacon cheeseburger. “I loved how I could add toppings to it. The sauce that was there made it even better. How could I not get seconds?” he said.

One of the Dining Commons employees, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “I saw my physical therapist and all of the workers. So many people from Keene came with their families.”

Tim Smith / Photo Editor

There were some students who said that they thought the choices that were offered weren’t “local.” Kelsi Massicotte, a junior at KSC, said, “I’m questioning on why they have Asian foods on local day. The burger and the ribs are the only thing that represent local foods. The Asian wraps or any of the other stuff do not represent what Local Day is.”

Gluten free eaters had options to pick from as well. There were clam fritters, Mexican posole, baby back ribs, ancho chicken lettuce bites and the deserts. They even had gluten free cupcakes.

Local day filled the DC this year with its numerous of food choices bringing the people in.

Adriana Sanchez can be contacted at asanchez@kscequinox.com

It’s that time of year again where the weather is confusing, making it feel like spring, and in the blink of an eye, we’re in the middle of another winter storm. With spring break, finals, spring weekend and even graduation for some, many people can say all this makes them feel like they are in some sort of a slump. The spark some students had when they came to tackle the new school year just isn’t there anymore and many just don’t care anymore or don’t have the energy to do school work or pretty much anything. Most students just want to be outside with their friends enjoying the weather.

KSC sophomore Sienna Tedesco agreed she doesn’t have the energy or motivation to do school work anymore. “Since the beginning of the year, I am definitely lazier when it comes to the quality and timelessness in which I complete my work,” Tedesco said. She explained the weather does not help at all. The gray skies and the cold weather makes it look very depressing, she said. Tedesco said being surrounded by people who are just as stressed as she is and on top of it, spending too much time at school is major factor on why people get like this.

Tim Smith / Photo Editor

Tedesco isn’t the only one who  agrees. Even The New York Times had an article called, “The Sophomore Slump.” Writer Samantha Stainburn explained in this article that nobody seems to care about the sophomores. “You are feted as a freshman, but no one seems to care that you’re back on campus. Quirky first-year seminars have been replaced by large foundation classes, making you doubt that major in econ or bio. You’re not high enough up the totem pole to do fun stuff like join a research team or lead student organizations. With the newness of college gone, malaise sets in,” she wrote.

KSC sophomore Kyana Anderson explained no one wants to be locked up in classrooms when the weather gets nicer. “I usually start feeling like this towards the end of semester [when] there’s always a ton of assignments and projects. It gets super overwhelming and I mentally just clock out of my work,” she said. Being in this academic slump makes her procrastinate more than she did in the start of this semester, she later explained.

The PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports), a program by the U.S. Education office, stated once the “new” has worn off from the school year, and students and teachers have become accustomed to a daily routine, the seeds of a mid-year slump begin to be sown.

KSC senior Allison Middleton can support this. “I find that I have to put a lot of effort into the start of the semester, so I’m bit a burnt out at this point. Now everything I am doing is very routine, so it feels like I am just going through the motions until the end of the semester,” she said. Middleton said being a senior makes it even harder for her to stay focused. “Graduation being so close makes it even harder not to be in a slump,” she said.

Students scroll through their Twitter feed, Instagram feed and Facebook posts and see many memes of some sort, showing students in a slump. There’s only a few months left in this semester, so let’s all push on through.

Adriana Sanchez can be contacted at asanchex@kscequinox.com