By Michael Pedro
In the final issue of Meet the Athletes for this academic year, I wanted to interview some high-ranked freshman in their respective sports. I interviewed Maddie Pope, a hockey-playing Psychology major, and Joshua Bellman, a cross-country runner who majors in Criminal Justice. Both of these athletes had stellar seasons, and they’ve got plans to improve even further.
First, I asked Maddie Pope a few questions. A hockey player for thirteen years, she was selected to win the Rookie of the Year honors at the season’s end and even got nominated to the CCC Division team, a hypothetical team made up of the best players of their respective sports in the division. First, I asked her how it felt to be nominated for these honors, and she had this to say; “It felt bittersweet. I was happy I got it, but I wished my team had gotten more recognition for other accomplishments throughout the year. I was still proud of it, though.” The team as a whole had some impressive achievements. Pope noted that the time “we beat Endicott the 11th highest-ranked team nationally” was a major highlight, as it “was the first time our team had done anything like that.” The team also “made it further into the playoffs than we ever had before.” As for improvements, Pope believes that the team had a great season as is, though the team “could refine a few things and keep the energy up”.
Next, I interviewed Joshua Bellman, a freshman cross-country runner from Ellington, CT. Bellman was one of the faster runners on the team, being nominated for the CCC Rookie of the Week honors after the Western New England Invitational. However, Bellman doesn’t even consider that to be his best run. His favorite meet was the UMass-Dartmouth Invitational, as it’s “the fastest course [on the schedule]”, he noted. Bellman has been running cross-country since the seventh grade, and he plans on improving greatly. When asked how he’d improve, he said he’d “get back into doing runs during the week and maintaining a schedule. [I’ll also] practice on my own, too.”
