Camel Nation Rising

A decade after Conn decided to go all in on athletics, the Camels are reaching new levels of competitive success. The future could be even better.

By Amy Martin

oments after the final whistle blew in the 2024 NESCAC Men’s Soccer Championship final, midfielder Marco Perugini ’27 closed his eyes, pumped his fists and let out a cry of pure elation.

Victory. Finally.

The Camels had reached the pinnacle in 2021, when they won the NCAA Division III Championship. But the NESCAC Championship—arguably a more difficult tournament to win considering the conference is easily the best in DIII—remained elusive. Conn made the finals in 2021 and 2022, but fell to Tufts and Amherst respectively.

This year was different. Conn came into the tournament seeded No. 6 after a regular season that saw few losses but five ties. They drew No. 3 Amherst in the quarterfinals, and after a 1-1 draw in regulation and two overtimes, came out on top in penalty kicks. The Camels got hot at just the right moment; they would never trail en route to a 2-1 victory over No. 4 Williams in the semis and a dominant 3-1 win over previously undefeated No. 2 Middlebury in the finals on Nov. 10. The Camels would ride that momentum right back to the NCAA Final Four and finish just one PK shy of a second national championship.

In March, it was elation in the pool as Justin Finkel ’25 swam the last individual race of his illustrious collegiate career. Finkel was looking to defend his 2024 NCAA DIII title in the 200 butterfly. He was seeded second; earlier that same morning, University of Chicago’s Cooper Costello posted the fastest time in prelims, setting up a showdown in the final. But Finkel, who had already won his third national title earlier in the meet, was the clear crowd favorite.

Costello held a slight lead during much of the opening 100, but Finkel—who would later tell his coaches he was “in the zone”—tracked him down over the back half of the race. As the crowd chanted his name, Finkel took a narrow lead by the 150 turn and poured it on down the stretch, covering the final 50 in 27.05 seconds to Costello’s 27.79. He touched the wall in 1:42.64, shattering his own NCAA DIII record of 1:43.21. “It was so loud in that natatorium, it was deafening,” remembers Director of Athletics Mo White.

Then in May, on the final day of the 2025 NCAA Women’s Track & Field Championships, all eyes were on Grace McDonough ’26 in the 1,500 meters. She wasn’t favored to win, but Conn’s coaching staff thought she had a chance—she had won the race at the New England Championships a few weeks prior. She started off well, right on the lead runner’s heels. And then, she tripped.

“There was a collective gasp as she tumbled and fell all the way to last place,” White recalls. “She gets up, and she’s bleeding—and she’s smiling. She just gives this little laugh and takes off.” With determination and grit, McDonough pounded her way back to finish third, earning six points for the team and garnering First Team All-America honors. Later that same day, she’d cruise to a second-place finish in the 5,000 meters; with McDonough’s points, the team finished 17th overall.

It was a fitting conclusion to Camel Nation’s best year yet. Conn was among the top 20% of NCAA DIII programs for the 2024-2025 academic year, earning a record-high 318.75 points and No. 63 ranking in the final Learfield Directors’ Cup Division III standings, compiled annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

The success was realized on and off the field and the accolades piled up: 71% of teams qualified for conference championships; two teams and 19 individuals qualified for NCAA championships; Conn tallied 28 All-America honors, including the first in women’s hockey; three student-athletes—Finkel, McDonough and Women’s Ice Hockey forward Claire Sammons ’25—were named NESCAC Player of the Year; Finkel was named National Swimmer of the Year for the second consecutive year; Men’s Soccer garnered National Coaching Staff of the Year honors; and the Camels earned a record 406 NESCAC All-Academic selections, with Finkel and McDonough also earning Academic All-America honors.

Now early into the 2025-2026 campaign, the Camel Pride is palpable. This is a program on the rise. And that’s no accident.

Ten years ago, the College launched a deliberate effort to elevate and invest in athletics as a key driver of the student experience. In 2016, athletics was identified as a top priority of the strategic plan Building on Strength, and the College started a new fundraising and engagement initiative, now called the Camel Athletics Network, spearheaded by former athletes Tim Armstrong ’93 and Luke Beatty ’93.

In 2019, the College went a step further and adopted the Action Plan for Competitive Success, a step-by-step roadmap for elevating the student-athlete experience, investing in coaching excellence, expanding recruitment efforts, enhancing athletic facilities and building a stronger network of supporters.

Those efforts have resulted in more than $35.8 million in investments by the College and donors, including $18 million in endowments for coaching staff, $11.8 million for facilities and equipment, an 800% increase in recruitment spending and a 100% increase in the annual operating budget.

“The success we are enjoying today is a direct result of these strategic investments. Every team has benefited, every student-athlete has benefited, the entire Conn community has benefited,” said Dean of Students Victor Arcelus.

“We have proven that Conn’s athletes and coaches will rise to the challenge if we continue to invest in them. We are so proud of what we’ve accomplished, but we still have so much more potential. We have to keep this momentum going.”

Read more athletic profiles below.

DOUBLE RECRUIT

Blessing Kieh ’28 is turning heads on the pitch and the track.

Blessing Kieh ’28 had quite the rookie year. In the fall, Kieh, who hails from Monrovia, Liberia, played in 13 games and recorded four points on one goal and two assists as a forward on the Women’s Soccer team. In the spring, she sprinted her way to first place in the 100 meters and fifth place in the 200 meters at the 2025 New England Division III Women’s Track & Field Championships and qualified for the NCAA DIII Championships in the 100, where she finished ninth and earned Second Team All-America honors.

This year, she plans to run indoor track, too.

While she may already be a successful multi-sport athlete, Kieh, who intends to major in psychology, admits soccer—or “football” as it is called in her native Liberia—is “life.”

“Soccer has done so much for me,” she explains. “Growing up, girls weren’t officially allowed to play, so I was the only girl among the boys playing. I actually enjoyed it. I played every day, and my parents and siblings encouraged me. So, soccer is everything.”

Kieh was one of the first students recruited when LEAD Monrovia Football Academy, which trains student-athletes in grades 4-12, opened in 2015. She eventually joined Liberia’s U-17 National Women’s Team and scored a goal against Niger in the African U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers in 2020.

At LEAD, Kieh excelled in both soccer and academics. She earned a scholarship in 2020 to the Westminster School in Simsbury, Connecticut, where she naturally joined the girls’ soccer team. When former Westminster teammate Priscilla Ameyaw ’26 made her debut on Silfen Field in 2022, Kieh made the trip to New London. She met Head Coach Norm Riker and the team and liked Conn’s small, diverse and beautiful campus.

Now in her second year, Kieh’s star continues to rise. At Conn’s first game of the 2025 season, she headed in a corner kick in the 72nd minute to score the winning goal against visiting Emmanuel College.

“Soccer brings so much happiness to me,” says Kieh, who hopes to play professionally after graduation. “When I’m feeling stressed about other things and then I go on the field, I feel so happy because when you love something, no matter what, you’re going to be happy doing it.” —Melissa Babcock Johnson

Photo by Geoff Bolte

THE ENCORE

What’s next for Conn’s winningest athlete?

When Justin Finkel ’25 answers my call, he quickly lets me know that not only was this his first day of work at his new full-time job, it is also his birthday.

I apologize for interrupting a day of celebration, but he isn’t bothered.

“It’s my 22nd birthday,” he insists. “The first birthday that doesn’t matter.”

It’s that humility, sense of humor and work ethic that carried Finkel through his illustrious swimming career at Conn. With four NCAA individual national titles, 12 All-America selections, two National Swimmer of the Year designations, three consecutive NESCAC Swimmer of the Year honors and eight individual NESCAC titles, Finkel is easily the winningest athlete in Conn’s history.

He’s also exceptionally smart. The aspiring doctor was named a 2025 College Sports Communicators Academic All-American and the Men’s Sport Student-Athlete of the Year for Region I by the Division III Commissioners Association.

“I majored in biology on the pre-med track. It was a challenging workload, academically. Then, swimming is a very challenging sport to be a member of the team, let alone perform at a high level. It was definitely demanding,” Finkel says. “I think Conn equipped me with all the right tools to have a strong balance and hold myself to a high standard.”

To prepare for medical school, Finkel is working at a dermatology office in the Hartford Healthcare Medical Group. The job gives him the chance to experience life in the medical field by day, while he hits the books at night and on weekends in preparation for his MCATs.

He also continues to challenge himself physically. Alongside fellow Conn grads Sam Groleau ’25 and Andrew Bartolomucci ’25 and current Camels Matthew Morris ’26 and Diego Ortiz ’26, Finkel competed in his first triathlon in July in Augusta, Maine.

“I’ve done two other sprint triathlons since then, and I think I caught a bug,” he says. “I’m the type of person who always needs something to pursue next, so I’m glad I found this new avenue.”

One thing’s for sure: When Finkel sets his mind to something, there’s just no stopping him. —Tim Stevens ’03

Illustrious Career for Justin Finkel ’24:

Four NCAA National Championships
Two-time NCAA DIII Swimmer of the Year
12 All-America selections
Three-time NESCAC Swimmer of the Year
8 individual NESCAC titles
2025 CSC Academic All-American
DIII Men’s Sport Student-Athlete of the Year Finalist

Photo by Sean D. Elliot

SIDELINE SUPPORT

Women’s Soccer’s Mia Hernandez ’20 is back in Camel blue.

Two years after her own graduation from Conn, New London native and four-year Women’s Soccer letter-winner Mia Hernandez ’20 was recruited by her former head coach, Norm Riker, to rejoin the team as a full-time assistant coach.

“It felt like coming back home,” says Hernandez, who helped herd the Camels to NCAA Championship appearances in 2016 and 2017.

In 2019, only one of Conn’s 28 teams had a paid assistant coach. Now, that number has risen to 24, thanks in large part to extensive fundraising efforts. Hernandez’s position was made possible by the Hale Endowed Fund for Coaching Excellence.

“We would not be where we are today without the generosity of Robert Hale Jr. ’88 and Karen Hale P’20,” says Director of Athletics Mo White. “They set the foundation and inspired others to join the effort to build a stronger NESCAC-level coaching and staffing model to support and advance our teams.”

Coming in as an assistant coach, Hernandez says she benefited from already knowing Riker’s style, both from having played for him and having coached premier youth teams with him for two years at Southeast Soccer Club.

“It made for a smooth transition,” she says. “We have this system for everything we do that is so effective. As an assistant coach, you have so many roles, whether it is running warm-ups, ordering food for the team, or laying out the uniforms so the team looks their best. But I’m an organized person, so I feel like I’ve developed to fill each responsibility pretty quickly and comfortably.”

Having been part of Camel Nation in some capacity since 2016, Hernandez has witnessed the program’s evolution firsthand.

“I think the budget has been the No. 1 improvement. We’ve gotten official team gear and updated uniforms. It’s allowed Norm to be more effective in recruiting. And looking wider, it has gotten more people involved,” she says.

“The community base has skyrocketed, and the team culture has grown and improved alongside it,” she adds. “I love it. Everything feels like it is in a really great place right now.” —Tim Stevens ’03

Photo by Sean D. Elliot

CAPTAIN OF THE CLUB

Aidan Trainor ’26 sets an example on the ice and in the classroom.

Aidan Trainor ’26, the captain of Connecticut College’s Men’s Club Hockey team, is a big advocate for collegiate club sports as a way to expand the athletics experience to more students.

“Club sports can give people such a great community and let them explore athletics they might not otherwise try in an environment that’s competitive but more manageable and perhaps easier to balance than a varsity team.”

He says “perhaps” because club sports at Conn still require significant effort and focus.

Trainor, an economics major and finance minor from Hightstown, New Jersey, explains, “We practice two days a week from 9 to 10:30 at night. Then on the weekends, we’ll play anywhere between one and three games, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. We play up and down New England and then into New York. We go as far as Poughkeepsie and northern Vermont.

“We want to be competitive, we want to win,” he continues, “and we all also want to do well in class. It can be tough to handle that dynamic sometimes. But we tell the younger guys, like the older guys told us when we were younger, that school comes first. What we do in the classroom is as important as, if not more important than, what we do on the ice.”

As captain, Trainor says he works hard to set the tempo for the team and lead by example, especially when it comes to academics.

“My freshman year, I got help from some of the older guys on the team,” recalls Trainor. “And now, I tutor some of the younger guys. We have pretty diverse academic interests on the team, so we usually have people who can help others who are a few years behind them.”

Over his four years on the team, Trainor says he has seen Club Hockey, and club sports in general, grow and evolve.

“Club Hockey has grown increasingly competitive. The fan base has expanded, too. And it isn’t just hockey. Generally, I think club sports are attracting more and more people. I think that’s great,” he says. “Club sports have given me and my teammates so many opportunities for joy.” —Tim Stevens ’03

Photo by Sean D. Elliot

CAMELS IN THE OFFICE

Sana Bhat ’26 interned with Tim Armstrong ’93.

Sana Bhat ’26 grew up playing competitive tennis in New Delhi, India. When it came time to choose a college, she knew she wanted “the perfect balance of academics and athletics.”

She found just that—and more—at Conn. “I could just tell this would be a great fit for me,” she says. “You’re a student here first. Everyone respects that. But there are so many opportunities to be more than just a student, with athletics, clubs, internships, jobs. And I’ve made friends for life.”

A quantitative economics and econometrics major and Data, Information and Society Pathway scholar who also serves as the president of Conn’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Bhat says she’s felt very supported in her academic, athletic and career-preparation pursuits.

“The coaches are so understanding, and the team dynamic is so welcoming,” she says. “At the same time, here in the NESCAC, the competition is real. There are players with Universal Tennis Ratings of 11 or 12 who could’ve easily played Division I but are here instead.”

This past summer, Bhat used the power of Conn’s alumni network to secure an internship at Flowcode, a New York City-based technology startup founded in 2019 by former AOL Chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong ’93, a former trustee, Men’s Lacrosse alumnus and longtime supporter of Camel Athletics.

Bhat, a two-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree, worked in growth and partnerships for Flowcode, which helps brands instantly connect with customers through custom QR experiences. The company, which now counts 75% of Fortune 500 companies among its users, was a perfect fit for Bhat, who is interested in the intersection of business, data and strategy, particularly in the areas of product, growth, marketing and finance.

“From the first interview, I knew [Flowcode] was where I wanted to be,” recalls Bhat. “Tim has created this culture there that’s so open to change and growth. Even the way the office was arranged. He’s the CEO of the company, and he sat right behind me in this open plan. It was awesome.”

It was an inspiring experience for Bhat, who hopes to someday start her own business.

“He’s a visionary; you can just tell talking to him that he’s thinking of something great to do next,” she says. —Tim Stevens ’03

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

From 2019-2025, Conn produced:

1,858 NESCAC All-Academic selections
9 College Sports Communicators Academic All-Americans
4 United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America selections
2 Fulbright fellows
1 Watson fellow

Photo by Sean D. Elliot

NCAA ADVISER

R.J. Casey ’26 advocates for fellow student-athletes.

The voice of R.J. Casey ’26 carries a long way. A neuroscience major and American studies minor from Nashville, Tennessee, and point guard for the Men’s Basketball team, Casey is one of 43 student-athletes from across the U.S. who advocate for their peers within NCAA Division III.

Casey (No. 5 below), who also works as a senior admission fellow, joined Connecticut College’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) as a sophomore. Then, as a junior, he was selected to represent the entire NESCAC for the NCAA Division III SAAC. Casey attended a quarterly meeting in Indianapolis in July and plans to travel to Washington, D.C., in January for the organization’s national convention.

“We engage in a lot of discussion about current collegiate sports, including legislation and new NCAA initiatives,” he says. “There’s always something to talk about.” He seeks input throughout the year from fellow student-athletes on the Conn and NESCAC SAACs before casting his vote on issues affecting all NCAA players. “I want to help create the best possible experience for all student-athletes.”

As part of his duties, he recently wrote to several NESCAC-state Congress members in favor of the SCORE Act, a bill introduced in the House of Representatives in July that aims to standardize regulations for Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals and establish new requirements for student-athlete benefits.

His experience on the Men’s Basketball team is behind his passion for creating a great experience for other student-athletes. Casey says his favorite part has been building relationships with his teammates in what he calls “a super tight-knit group.”

“I love the direction Conn’s athletic program is going. Men’s Basketball had a pretty solid year my sophomore year—every time we won a game, it was the first time Conn had done something in 20 years. And now, you look around and every team is doing something amazing. It’s exciting,” he says. “Soccer is going on these crazy runs; lacrosse has improved significantly. It seems like the whole athletic program is just trending in the right direction.” —Melissa Babcock Johnson

Photo by Joshua McKee

TEAM IMPACT

Men’s Soccer reached new heights with honorary Camel Landon.

Eleven-year-old Landon Pereira thought he was going to Tempel Green to bid farewell to his honorary Men’s Soccer teammates before they headed to Las Vegas for the 2024 NCAA Final Four. But the Camels had something else in mind.

“This whole season and last season, we’ve appreciated your support. You’re not just a fan anymore. You’re a brother. You’re a teammate,” forward Elliot Spatz ’26 told Landon, who was gathered with the team on Freeman Field.

“With that being said, we thought it would be a little unfair if one of our teammates didn’t travel with us to the Final Four. So, Team IMPACT is going to be personally flying you and your mom with us to Vegas,” added defender Jack Lavorel ’25, as the team erupted into cheers and began chanting Landon’s name.

“The look on his face when we told him was just great. It was a surreal moment for him; it was a surreal moment for us,” Lavorel remembers.

Landon had officially joined the team—there was even a signing event—in 2023 as part of Conn’s partnership with Team IMPACT, a nonprofit that matches children facing serious illness and disability with college sports teams to create life-changing experiences for everyone involved. As an honorary Camel, Landon attended practices and games, participated in the team huddles and bonded with the team off the field, too.

“We went bowling, to the movies and we played mini golf, which was my favorite,” Landon says. He also celebrated two birthdays with the team, and several of the players came to cheer him on at his own soccer game.

“They were all giddy and excited to be there—he definitely had the biggest cheering squad that day,” remembers Landon’s mom, Megan, who added that Landon joined the Camels soon after he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

“We were blessed to have them on our side as we were learning about diabetes and the new life we were entering with our son. Having a program like this was a very positive thing for Landon at a very tough time.”

While the Team IMPACT program officially lasts two years, Landon, now 12, is a Camel for life. Despite being busy with his own middle school soccer team, he was right back on the sidelines for the first home game of the 2025 campaign. Which is good, because with Landon on the team, the Camels went 26-5-14, won their very first NESCAC Championship, made their second Final Four appearance and came just one PK shy of winning a second national title.

“I created a genuine connection with Landon, and the team really relied on his support on and off the field,” says Lavorel. “I hope in the future that every team gets to have a Team IMPACT child be part of their programs.” —Amy Martin

TEAM IMPACT PARTNERSHIP

11 total honorary Camels
9 participating teams
3 current partnerships: Men’s Basketball, Men’s Cross Country, Women’s Field Hockey

Photo by Geoff Bolte

THE LONG RUN

As Conn’s longest-serving active head coach, Ned Bishop ’84 has witnessed the transformation of Camel athletics.

In the fall of 1980, when Ned Bishop ’84 joined Conn’s fledgling cross country and track & field teams as a first-year student, things were, well, a bit different.

“The only thing down at the Athletic Center was Dayton Arena. Dawley Field wasn’t really a field; it was more of a clearing. The Athletic Department offices, pool and basketball gym were in Cro, and the athletic trainer office was just a room in the infirmary,” remembers Bishop. “I was not only running varsity cross country, but by my senior year, I was also president of the track club, since we had this sort of dual club varsity status—we were funded through the student government. We were really coaching ourselves during track season. [Then athletic director] Charlie Luce was doing everything he could to support us, including driving us to meets in his own car.”

After graduation, Bishop stayed on as a volunteer assistant coach for a year—“Charlie found me odd jobs he could pay me for so I could make something,” he says—before first becoming a part-time head coach and then equipment manager, “so I had a full-time job in the department.”

Now in his 42nd coaching season—currently as head coach of the Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field teams, but he also coached the Men’s Track & Field team for 14 years—Bishop has witnessed nearly the entire arc of varsity athletics at Conn.

“This department has a real history of being able to get things done, but right up until the launch of the Camel Athletics Network, we were still very much doing more with less,” he says. “And to a degree, that’s still true compared to our NESCAC peers, but we are doing more with a lot more than we used to.”

The impacts of the Camel Athletics Network and the Action Plan for Competitive Success on Bishop’s programs have been monumental, particularly in the areas of assistant coaching, recruiting and the ability to support more student-athletes. The men’s and women’s running programs each have a dedicated head coach and share three assistant coaches who specialize in jumps; sprints and hurdles; and throwing. The additional funding and recruiting successes have led to larger teams, too, with more than 100 Camel running and field event athletes on the rosters for the last three years.

“Part of the success we are having is that track & field, with so many different events, is a sport of numbers. A bigger team is generally a better team. And in the old days, there’s no way we could support 100+ athletes, financially or practically,” he says.

“Last year was exceptional. It’s not just one athlete doing well, it’s a whole bunch doing well and making NCAAs. We had six women earn first- or second-team All-America. And that’s translating into recruiting with a different caliber of athletes being interested.”

Bishop adds that he’s excited to see just how much more the Camels can accomplish.

“I’ve reached an age where people have started asking me, ‘When are you going to retire?’ And my answer is: ‘Not just yet.’ I’m still really enjoying what I’m doing.” —Amy Martin

Photo by Sean D. Elliot

2019-2025 WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY AND TRACK & FIELD HIGHLIGHTS

16 All-America selections
60 All-Region selections
Two CSC Academic All-America selections
14 New England Champions
Two NCAA team qualifiers (2023, 2024)
26 NCAA individual qualifiers
Ranked No. 8 among all DIII programs in the 2025 USTFCCCA Program of the Year final standings; finished as the top-ranked program in the NESCAC