Senior at Keene State College Rachel Lamica recently became the first All-American in the history of KSC’s volleyball program.

Sebastien Mehegan / Multimedia Director

Not only did she earn the All-American title, but Lamica was also All-Conference, All-Region and an All-Star in her fourth year for the Owls.

Lamica said the award is a “great honor,” and that she was very surprised that she was the first All-American in program history, saying that there have been so many great players before her. Lamica was also put on the Little East Conference (LEC) All-Conference Team and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)-Region Second Team this year.

Lamica said that she has her teammates and coaches to thank for her success, and that everyone stepped up and played very well this year, especially the young players.

Coach Robert Weiner said that the award was “completely deserved.” Weiner said Lamica  “got no love in the region,” which she deserved around the league for the past few years and that it was nice to see her get recognized.

He said that he is glad someone at the national level saw the special player that Lamica is.

Lamica played in 30 games for the Owls this past season, winning Offensive Player of the Week five times.

She totaled 456 kills, the third most in a single season by a player in KSC history, and led the conference in kills per set. She also hit .280 on the season, finished in the top five in the conference for both kills and hitting percentage, had 42 blocks, 237 digs and 43 service aces.

Defensive Player of the Year winner, and third-year player, Riley Bunker said that she thinks this year was the best year she has had at KSC so far.

She also said that Lamica will be missed next year.

Bunker said that they will have to find someone to fill in for Lamica, which will not be easy.

But she also said that the team has been preparing to fill her role and has been training new players.

Bunker said that the team will miss having that player they knew would always go out and get a kill for them when they needed it, but she knows the team will be good next year and will have the benefit of four juniors who will be returning next year.

Lamica said the key to the team’s success this year was their communication and connection.

She also said that the addition of first-year player Bailey Wilson was a big help to her personally because she always knew where the ball would be.

Lamica said that she knows next year’s team will do well, and if they continue to build on last season’s success they “will be unstoppable.”

Weiner said that the biggest challenge for next year will be redistributing the offense without Lamica there.

He said that when you remove one player from a team the whole rhythm of the team changes.

But Weiner said that he was glad the team was so successful this year, he said “my job here, what they pay me the big bucks here, is to give them [the players] an experience, well I got one, we got one really good year, man I’d like to repeat that.”

Weiner said that losing Lamica’s talent will be hard, but he thinks the team could be great next year if they build on what they accomplished, and come together like they did this year.

Simon Burch can be contacted at sburch@kscequinox.com

Keene State College’s Ski and Snowboard Club brings students to various ski resorts, such as: Mount Snow, Dover, VT, Attitash Mountain Resort, Bartlett, NH, Crotched Mountain Resort, Francestown, NH, Hunter Mountain, Hunter, NY, Jack Frost Ski Resort, White Haven, PA and Big Boulder Ski Resort, Lake Harmony, PA and Wildcat Mountain Ski Area, Pinkham’s Grant, NH. For many students this makes skiing much more accessible.

Anna Heindl / Equinox Staff

The Coordinator of the Student Activities and Organizations Britany Gallagher, said organizations such as the Ski and Board Club are a big part of college life. Gallagher said that she would estimate around half of the student body at KSC is part of a student organization in one form or another. Students could be involved through student government, being the president or treasurer of an organization, or joining a fraternity/sorority, to name a few of the options. Gallagher said that her job is to be the first point of contact between student organizations and the college. She said she helps to “get all the student organizations off on the right foot for the year.”

Gallagher said this can include aiding the student officers with funding, planning trips and events on campus, filing the right paperwork on time and recruitment, among a host of other things.

She said that the Ski and Board Club starts getting busy around Christmas break because ski resorts begin opening, and continue throughout the beginning of the spring semester. Gallagher also said that students who aren’t signed up for the club can still enjoy some of the discounts offered.

McHale Burgess, a club member, said that so far the Ski and Board Club has had five or six meetings this year. He said the meetings are usually relaxed and everyone is friendly. Burgess said that the club has not yet planned a specific time for their first trip but have picked the mountains they plan on heading to: Mount Snow in Dover, Vermont, and Attitash Mountain Resort in Bartlett, New Hampshire.

Burgess said that to join the club and get the pass that is offered is around $400. While this seems like a large amount, that figure pays for buses and trips, as well as passes to seven different mountains around New England and New York said Burgess.

Another club member, Bryce Howland, a first-year student, said that he first joined the Ski and Board Club because he wanted to “meet some rad people and shred the gnar.”

He said that he is excited to get back to snowboarding again and was impressed by the discounts the club could offer. Howland said that a pass at Wachusett Ski Resort, where he used to board,  was around $700. Which when he compared to the pass offered by the KSC Ski and Board Club, which gives access to seven different mountains for only four-hundred, he knew he had to take advantage of the savings.

Howland said the club meets every Sunday at 9 p.m. in room 101 of the Putnam Science Center, and each meeting is open to everyone. Both Burgess and Howland said the club members are all very welcoming and try to get as many people as possible to go on their trips. Burgess and Howland also said that skiing and snowboarding gives them freedom and helps to take their minds off their busy lives.

Simon Burch can be contacted at sburch@kscequinox.com

With the end of the cross country season now here, the winter track team begins to ready itself for the coming season.

The athletes who will be competing this spring for track and field take part in such events as the 100-meter dash, shot put, hurdles and many more.

Luke Stergiou / Senior Photographer

Entering his third year of coaching at Keene State College Assistant Coach Nick Athanasapoulos thinks that this season, which began on Oct. 23, is going to be “a good one.”

Athanasapoulos said since his days in college as a student athlete he knew he wanted to get into coaching, he just did not know when or at what level.

He said the opportunity came one day when his old high school coach, Tom Pickering, now head coach for the track and field program at KSC, called and asked what he was doing. Athanasapoulos said he knew a great opportunity when he saw one and took the job working with his old mentor.

Throughout his four years in high school, Athanasapoulos played multiple sports but he said track and field was always his focus.

He said that after high school he went to Cornell University, where he ran track and field. Athanasapoulos said that he ran both the indoor heptathlon, which is seven events over two days, and the outdoor decathlon, which is ten events over two days.

These events include various sprints, hurdles and jumping events. After setting a decathlon record his first year of college, Athanasapoulous said he was plagued by injuries for the rest of his college career.

Athanasapoulos now says that Pickering and himself work well together to push the athletes since they have known each other for years.

Athansapoulous said that the key to the relationship is mutual respect, which allows both coaches to build off the other’s strengths. He also said that they “feed off each other, and give each other input,” which helps them to make collective decisions.

Grace Zangrilli, a first-year team member at KSC and thrower for the track and field team, said that Athanasapoulous is a big help.

Zangrilli said she throws shot put, hammer, discus, weight and javelin for the team.

She said that Athanasapoulos has helped her to work on her form and that Athanasapoulos is a very patient coach who knows how to talk to players to draw out their best efforts.

Athanasapoulos said he chooses to pay attention to the small details, as they “make the biggest difference over time.”

He said that he has learned there is only so much you can change over any period, so the key is to make a training plan and stick to it, knowing better performances will follow.

Athanasapoulos said that this year’s team is very young, but they are also the “building blocks of the future.”

He also said that he has been impressed so far this year, as most of the athletes have set personal bests.

Zangrilli said Athanasapoulos helps improve her game a lot of different ways, including recording practices and watching them back to catch any mistakes.

She said Athanasapoulos will then come to a player and say, “Here’s what you did wrong, and here’s how we are going to fix it.”

Zangrilli also said that being a student athlete has helped keep her on track both physically, and academically.

She said that throwing is one of her favorite things and it’s nice to have coaches who “know what they are doing,” and work well together.

Coach Pickering was unavailable for comment on this article.

Simon Burch can be contacted at sburch@kscequinox.com

Over 300 students attended Hootie’s Nocturnal Knockout on Friday, Nov. 3. The event featured Keene State College’s men and women’s basketball teams, cheerleading team and dance team.

Alexandria Saurman / managing Executive Editor

The night began by introducing the women’s basketball team. Members from the crowd were then chosen to join a few players in a shooting competition in which contestants had to make a variety of shots.

KSC first year student Victoria Overko said she enjoyed seeing the women’s team.

She said it was fun to see the athletes and other students “messing around.” Overko joked that she came to the event “for the free stuff.”

Hootie’s Nocturnal Knockout also featured a “Human Hungry-Hungry Hippos” game, where players who were on a square scooter were slid around by a partner and tried to capture dodge balls with laundry baskets.

Alexandria Saurman / managing Executive Editor

The men’s team was then introduced, along with the coaching staff.

The men’s team had a skills contest from which three players were chosen to face-off. These players then participated in a dunk contest.

The player who won made both an off-the-backboard and a 360 behind-the-head dunk.

First-year student Devin Hardy said watching the dunk contest was great and had been his favorite part of the night.

Hardy said he was invited by some friends, thought the event was a lot of fun and that he would go again.

Throughout the night, event organizers were shooting T-shirts into the audience and quite a few scrambles occurred throughout the night in the pursuit of the T-shirts.

Alexandria Saurman / managing Executive Editor

First-year student Jesse Cormier, who caught a T-shirt, said it was very exciting.

Cormier said that he enjoyed being picked for a contest.

He said that his initial attraction to the event was the Hootie’s Rewards Points for the night. Hootie’s Rewards Points can be used to win prizes if you collect enough of them by attending on-campus events.

Later, a race involving both the student audience and both teams players was held.

The objective of the race was to wrap the team’s athlete like a mummy.

After that, musical chairs was held with around a dozen students competing. Mid-way through the game, the event’s DJ Dominique Pascoal announced that the students were playing for a prize of a new 32-inch TV.

Other prizes of the night included a Fit-Bit, a tablet and a $50 gift-card to Walmart.

Alexandria Saurman / managing Executive Editor

Hardy had a friend who was chosen for musical chairs and said it was fun watching him almost win a TV.

First-year student Grace Zangrilli, who was a cheerleader in high school, said that watching both the cheer team and the dance team was a lot of fun.

She later said that she was impressed by their skills and she thought the team brought good energy to the event.

Zangrilli also said that the best part of the night was watching another student, sophomore Nate Flyzik, make a half-court shot to win a thousand-dollar scholarship.

She said that she “was really happy for him,” but joked that she wished she could of had the chance to win the money.

Zangrilli said she thinks events like these help to bring students together on campus and said she was pleasantly surprised to see all the school spirit her fellow students had.

Simon Burch can be contacted at sburch@kscequinox.com

On Wednesday Oct. 25, 2017, Keene State College trumped Smith College’s field hockey team 3-0. First year goalie Rachel Loseby and junior captain Erica Stauffer both had impressive games leading the Owls in the win. Stauffer scored a hat-trick on Wednesday, putting two goals away in the first-half, and a third in the second half to secure the victory.

Jake Paquin / Equinox Staff

This marks the first time in the past three match ups between these teams that the game between the Owls and the Pioneers has not ended in a 2-1 score. The contests go back to 2013, with the Owls winning in 2014 and 2016, whereas the Pioneers won in 2015. The Owl’s hold the lead in the all-time contest between the two programs with the current margin being 11-2.

Around the 15-minute mark of the first-half, first-year player Kelsey Roberts, who finished the game with two assists, made a pass across the circle to Stauffer.

Stauffer then beat goalie Cameo Tiatje for her first goal of the night to put the Owls up by one. Three minutes later, the two linked up again with Robert’s passing across the circle in a similar fashion to Stauffer for her second goal, extending the Owls lead 2-0.

Loseby, who recorded 12 saves during the game, made a double save stopping  Beatrice Chadouin with a difficult save, and then Jenna Tampon on the follow-up attempt before half-time to keep the Pioneers off the board. Loseby said her teammates help her stay focused, and play her best by keeping her in the moment. Three minutes before the end of the first-half Loseby made another save on Sammie Pavlov as the Owls led the Pioneers by two at half.

Impressive defense was the early story of the second-half, as Loseby made another superb double save stopping both Chadouin and Pavlov again. First-year player Taylor Robinson made two important defensive saves in the 48 and 51 minutes.  Loseby credited Robinson with saving her shutout with these important defensive stops. She stopped shots from Bayleigh Bogan and Alex Larosee to keep the Pioneers scoreless.

Brittany Johnson made a pass to Stauffer in the 57 minute, which Stauffer efficiently put past the Pioneers goalie Tiatje to complete her hat-trick and give the Owls a 3-0 lead. This was Stauffer’s second career hat-trick, previously scoring one in 2016 against Bridgewater State.

The Pioneers threatened late in the game with two good chances. but Loseby maintained her shutout, finishing out the game by denying the attempts from Neva Richardson and Pavlov.  This was Loseby’s third game with at least 12 saves.  Loseby said she thinks that for “being a young team, we’ve been connecting well,” and that you can see it the way the team plays.

The Pioneers held the advantage in shots with a 23-15 ratio. They also had an 11-1 lead in corners taken.

The Pioneers will finish their regular season on Saturday, Oct. 28, facing off against Clark University on the road.

KSC finishes their regular season with an 11-8 record, the Pioneers finish their season at 8-9.  Heading into the Little East Conference tournament the Owl’s will be the number two seeded team. The Owls will host number seven seeded Bridgewater State in a quarterfinal game on Saturday, Oct. 28.

Simon Burch can be contacted at sburch@kscequinox.com

Keene State College will be hosting the Little East Conference (LEC) Cross Country Championships this year. The championship had originally been set to be held at the University of Southern Maine (USM).

This will mark the sixth time KSC has hosted the championship, with the last time being in 2015. The last time the championship was held at KSC, the men’s cross country team won the conference title.

The championship will be taking place on Saturday, Oct. 28.

This year, the runners are looking to reclaim their title. On the women’s side, the cross country team is aiming for its 18th consecutive title.

KSC senior and member of the men’s cross country team Ian Connell said he is excited to race this year. He said that there are a lot of little things runners pick up from running a course in practice that might help the men’s team win back their title.

Connell said that every race is just a race, and he never really lets the course affect how he runs, but that after running a course so many times over the past four years, he’s learned “when to go,” as well as that the course has “soft footing,” that can slow you down.

Conell said that he thinks both squads have a good shot at winning this year and he is looking forward to competing.

The LEC championship was meant to be held at the University of Southern Maine this year, but because of a conflict with course scheduling, it had to be moved.

KSC Director of Athletics and Recreation Dr. Kristene Kelly said she was instrumental in bringing the championship to KSC this year.

When Kelly heard about scheduling issues at USM, she offered KSC to host the event.  She said USM had “lots of conflicts as far as missing classes,” as well as scheduling interfering with other events.

Kelly also said she is excited to have the championship at KSC this year, especially because of what it will mean to both the men’s and women’s teams.

Speaking on that, she said, “We are going for our 18th consecutive women’s championship, so I’m excited, it would be great to have it here and for that to happen.”

She also said it would be great if the men’s team could reclaim the title this year from USM to whom they lost last year by only a few points.

Both squads are ready to go this year, and are looking forward to competing for the LEC title on their home turf.

Sophomore Lauren Perkowski said she is excited to see how the team will perform.  Perkowski said this year’s team has a much stronger focus on group running when compared to years past. She thinks this will help to overcome the youth of the team.

Perkowski also said that both teams will be pushing themselves hard for all the friends and family that will hopefully attend the event this year. She also said that running the Keene Invitational only a month before will give both teams a goal to surpass come the championships.

All-in-all, the cross country program is ready to perform this year at the championships, and both programs are looking to impress the home crowd.

Simon Burch can be contacted at sburch@kscequinox.com