NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College Department of Athletics held a celebration to honor the national accomplishments of student-athletes and teams on Tuesday evening.
Among those honored were
Sofia Tavarez '29 of women's basketball;
Max Haberman '27 of men's soccer;
Carrick Shea '28,
Evan Lyons '27 and
Julian Carlson '29 of men's swimming & diving; and
Grace McDonough '26,
Blessing Kieh '28 and the entire women's track & field team. All excelled on a national stage while representing the Camels within the past academic year.
The program opened with a welcome from Director of Athletics
Mo White, after which the student-athletes and teams were introduced by their respective coaches.
Tavarez made an immediate impact in her first season with the Camels, leading the team and ranking third in the NESCAC in scoring. Conn tied for fourth place in the regular season standings with a 5-5 record and qualified for the NESCAC Championship for the first time since 2022. Tavarez was named both NESCAC and D3hoops.com Region I Rookie of the Year, and she became the program's first All-NESCAC recipient since 2019.
Haberman led the men's soccer team to the title game of the NESCAC Championship and the third round of the NCAA Championship. Named NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, he finished the year with four goals and an assist and garnered All-America honors for the first time in his career.
Shea capped an impressive season in the pool by winning the 200 breaststroke at the NCAA Championships, the sixth national title in program history. He earned All-America honors in four events—the 100 and 200 breast, 200 IM and 800 free relay—and broke several school and NESCAC records. He also claimed NESCAC titles in the 200 breast and 200 IM while finishing runner-up in the 100 breast.
Lyons finished fifth in the 1,650 freestyle at the NCAA Championships, nabbing All-America First Team honors for the first time in his career. He also helped power the Camels to a 15th-place finish in the 800 free relay. At the NESCAC Championships he won the 1,000 free and 1,650 free and also finished runner-up in the 400 IM.
Carlson showed steady improvement throughout his first collegiate season, which culminated in a fourth-place finish and All-America honors in the 200 breast at the NCAA Championships. His time also ranked as the third-fastest ever by a NESCAC swimmer in the event.
In her final cross country season, McDonough led the Camels to their highest team finish (19th) at the NCAA Championship. She finished 13th overall—the second-highest individual finish in program history—and earned All-America honors for the first time in her cross country career. She also finished runner-up at the NESCAC Championship and nabbed All-NESCAC and All-Region honors for the second straight season.
On the track, Kieh won the 200-meter dash at the NESCAC Championships to earn the first conference title of her career. One week later, she won her second consecutive New England title in the 100-meter dash and earned All-New England honors in three events.
Led by head coach
Ned Bishop, the women's track & field team was honored for winning the 2026 New England Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The Camels posted first-place finishes in five events, scored 100 points across two days of action and finished 33.5 points ahead of their nearest competitor. It marked the second New England title in program history, with the first coming back in 1989.
