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Knights Athletics
Coach Colleen Ames was named Skyline Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year.
The Knights Women’s Basketball team won their 13th Skyline Conference title in program history recently, pulling away for a 61-53 victory over the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA).
The game marked the team’s 11th straight victory of the season and pushed it to 23-3 overall as they headed into the 2022 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Morina Bojka led the Knights by 19 points and was named the Skyline Conference Championship Most Outstanding Player. The Knights’ coach, Colleen Ames, was named Skyline Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year.
A tightly contested opening period featured four lead changes before baskets by the Knights’ Annie Keenan and Lauren Desrats opened a 12-9 advantage in the first quarter. With the Knights in front 14-10, their largest lead of the period, USMMA responded with the final four points of the quarter to tie the score.
The Knights closed the second period by building their lead back to 34-29. With a shot percent of about 34 percent in the first half, the Knights struggled from three-point range after going just 2-for-16 from behind the arc.
In the second half, neither team would get on the board until Keenan knocked down a pair of free-throws in the third quarter to give the Knights a 36-29 advantage. USMMA responded with the next six points to cut the Knights’ advantage down to a single point, at 36-35. But Bojka pushed the Mount back in front by three with a jumper before Asia Rivera buried a three-pointer.
In the fourth quarter, the Knights put together a 15-2 run covering nearly six minutes to open their largest lead of the game at 58-43. Though USMMA climbed back to within striking distance of the Mount, the Knights ultimately ended the game with a 61-53 victory.
The Skyline win earned the Knights a spot in this year’s NCAA Division III tournament. They opened the contest with a win against Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Md., but the Knights’ journey was halted in game two by the Christopher Newport University team, the Captains.
Morina Bojka was named Skyline Conference Championship Most Outstanding Player.
Mount teams race to victory
It was a great season for both the Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams. They finished the Spring 2022 semester strong, with several notable records being set in the process.
Women’s Team
The Women’s Track and Field team placed third at the 2022 Skyline Conference Championships late in the Spring 2022 semester. The Knights totaled 105 points at the meet and won three events.
Samantha Papadopoulos won both the 100- and 400-meter hurdle events, setting a new school record in the 100-meter race. She also won the 100-meter hurdle event. In the field events, Papadopoulos took the runner-up position in the long and triple jumps.
KellyAnn Platt also had a strong showing at the Skyline Championship, taking second in discus, third in javelin, and fourth in shot put. The 4x100-meter relay team of Platt, Jessica Kerrigan, Joanne Kubat, and Ashlyn Rivera scored a victory in less than a minute. Rivera finished off a strong day for the Mount with a third-place finish in the 1,500-meters. Priya Patel scored a third-place finish in the 800-meters, while Alyssa Millburn placed fourth in the 400-meters.
Just a few days before the Mount’s Commencement ceremony in May, Papadopoulos would go on to set two Mount records at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship on her way to being named the ECAC Championship Most Outstanding Performer. Papadopoulos led the Mount to a fifth place finish out of 14 teams, first among Skyline schools, with 40 points. Papadopoulos, who graduated this year, closed out her college athletics career with four outdoor school records.
Samantha Papadopoulos
Kenneth Barrett
Men’s Team
Kenneth Barrett and Dabein Walker each set a pair of school records as the Men’s Track and Field team finished in third place at the 2022 Skyline Conference Championship in April.
Barrett set both of his school standards on the track, posting program records in both the 800-meters and the 1,500-meters. Barrett posted a time of 2:02.65 in the 800-meter race. He went on to clip his own previous record in the 1,500-meters in a second-place finish.
Walker continued his stellar career with victories and school records in the high and triple jumps to go along with a thirdplace finish in javelin. Walker set a new high jump record with a mark of 1.90 meters, and added a new school record in the triple jump. Jesse Hull won discus for the Knights and finished as the runner-up in shot put. Andrew Maloy added a runner-up finish for the Knights in the hammer throw.
Right before the end of the Spring 2022 semester, Barrett became the first men’s athlete to win a track event at the ECAC Championship, winning the 5,000-meters. It was the first win on track for the Knights in program history.
The Knights also got strong performances at the ECAC Championship from Walker and Maloy. Walker scored a third-place finish in javelin before placing fourth in triple jump. Maloy took the runner-up position for the Knights in the hammer throw.
