courtesy of Brian Beard/Bowdoin Athletics

Bowdoin’s winter sports teams were no strangers to success this past season, as teams delivered impressive performances in all aspects of competition. When All-American honorees were announced this past month, it was no surprise that 13 Bowdoin athletes received national honors.

“In ‘Olympic sports’ like swimming and diving, track and Nordic skiing, [All-American selection] is purely based on one’s finish at the NCAA Championships,” Assistant Athletic Director for Communications Jim Caton wrote in an email to the Orient.

Specifically, the top eight finishers in both swimming and track and field events qualify for All-American selection, whereas the top sixteen finishers qualify for the honor in Nordic skiing.

Leading the College in selections was the ever-impressive women’s swim team. After a season which ended with a fifth-place finish in the NESCAC Championships, the team sent six swimmers to compete at the national level in Indianapolis, all of whom were awarded All-American Honors.

The honorees, Kate Fosburgh ’22, Emilie Grand’Pierre ’23, Ella Martin ’24, Ella Riccio ’25, Anna Roberts ’23 and Tatum Zupnik ’24 all placed in the top eight of their respective events, thus qualifying for the selection.

In addition to the impressive showing by the women’s swim team at the NCAA Championships, the entire men’s 200 medley relay team qualified for All-American selections following their performance in the event. Made up of Alexandre Grand’Pierre ’25, Ted Mebust ’22, Tyler Merritt ’24 and John Soeder ’24, the relay team qualified for the selection process following a second-place finish at the NESCAC Championships in February.

The well-decorated track and field program had a number of athletes qualify for All-American honors as well. Lydia Pitts ’22 made the cut following a triple jump of 11.95 meters in her final collegiate meet. Pitts will finish her Bowdoin career with two All-NESCAC honors in addition to her All-American performance this year. Additionally, Kianne Benjamin ’24 was named All-American after running a 7.65 in the 60m dash. Benjamin, who received All-NESCAC honors as a first-year, bested her own school record in the event with her impressive time.

Nordic skier Renae Anderson ’21 was selected for an All-American honor following her career-best tenth-place finish in the 15km skate race. In the final race of her Bowdoin career, Anderson solidified herself in the history books, making herself the second Bowdoin skier in the history of the program to be honored with an All-American selection.

With the winter season now complete and all eyes placed on spring athletics, spring sports teams will be vying for similar success. Whereas many track and field athletes will attempt to replicate the winter season’s accomplishments, athletes for teams such as lacrosse, baseball and softball will also be aiming for the national record books.