The fall semester is underway at Landmark College, and that means student athletes are preparing for the start of competition, too. While all six LC sports programs practice and compete in both Fall and Spring semesters, the core fall sports are running, soccer, and esports.
The first competition for LC student athletes takes place on Saturday, September 6th when the running team competes in the Springfield Dam Run in Springfield, Vermont. The running team is also looking forward to hosting Finn’s Fun Run/Walk, taking place as part of the College’s 40th Anniversary Homecoming and Family Weekend on September 27th.
The soccer team will kick off their season on Sunday, September 14th when they take on Hampshire College, the first time in over a decade that the two teams have matched up. Director of Athletics Josh Ascani said that “Hampshire has historically been a friendly rival of ours in basketball, and I expect it to be a great soccer match.” The soccer season will continue through October, including a student vs. alumni matchup as part of the Homecoming weekend.
The esports program continues to grow and evolve at Landmark College. Coming off an undefeated season and NACE conference championship for the Valorant team, the program has now officially joined the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC). Ascani believes that the new conference will provide more competitive matchups and reliable scheduling for the program.
With the basketball season tipping off in November, men’s basketball coach Marc Thurman ’18 is excited to get in the gym. “We had a great season last year and are excited to be bringing a lot of those players back,” Thurman said, “plus bringing in some energetic newcomers who can round out the squad. It should be a fun season at the Click, and we’ll be working hard to improve our game as a team.”
While baseball is in the offseason, players and coaches are eager to start preparing for the season. Landmark is installing a pitching machine at its baseball practice facility this fall and recently hired alumnus Ryan Sanchez as Assistant Baseball Coach. Ascani says that these developments are examples of the College “prioritizing offerings and support for student-athletes so that they can be part of a team and improve their game while at Landmark.”
Learn more about the Landmark College athletics department.