Sports
Athletic department says a heartfelt goodbye to TJ Davis and Angel Mason
By Rylee Carrillo-Waggoner ’19
September 8, 2016
Tags sports
The Hamilton Athletic Department is seeing significant shifts this semester as it is losing two prominent staff members: Associate Director of Athletics Angel Mason, and swim coach TJ Davis.
Mason sent out her letter of resignation at the start of the fall semester. Her last day will be on Sept. 9th and she will be leaving for her new position as Senior Athletic Director at Pomona College. Hind said that in her email to the department, Mason explained that she “enjoyed her time at Hamilton and is thankful for the responsibilities she had across the campus,” that she had “grown a lot” and was leaving for “personal and professional desires.” Hind explained that “[Mason] came from CalTech, so I think she wanted to get back.”
Though she has only been at Hamilton for two years, Hind said that she “put a stamp on that job just as TJ did.” Hind said that he was similarly “thankful for her investment in the job and college community” and that he wishes “her the best of luck at Pamona.”
Davis announced his resignation at the end of August and as such did not return at the start of the fall semester. After working at Hamilton for the past 14 years, he said it was time for him to step away and focus on his family, though he is “grateful for 14 wonderful years of coaching and teaching at Hamilton.”
He sent both his team and the rest of the Athletic Department emails, explaining such and reflecting upon the past two and a half decades he has spent on the Hill. He wrote “After 24 years of coaching college swimming, 14 of them at Hamilton, I have decided that it is time for me to step away and move in another professional direction. Coaching has been an incredibly rewarding and all-consuming job for me and it has been the main element of my adult professional life. In the last few years, my focus has shifted and I am looking toward finding better balance between my family-life and my work-life; being able to give more of myself in the best possible way to Marieke, Marielle and Alet. I am truly appreciative of all the student-athletes, parents and alumni in my life and...hopeful that those relationships will continue in the most positive ways.”
When asked for his thoughts, Athletic Director Jon Hind said “we’re thankful for the 14 years TJ put into an all-consuming job.” Hind went on to elaborate on this point, explaining that the swim coach position also includes being the Aquatics Director. This mean in addition to organizing and running the swim team, Davis also runs the pool. He is in charge of the lifeguards, doing health checks on the water and working with physical plant to keep up at maintenance. Davis’s job largely went “unnoticed,” said Hind and that he would like to thank the former swim coach, on behalf on the entire Athletic Department for the “time and commitment he showed to the program, department, and college.” As Davis reflects, he shares the following with the entire Hamilton community: “Hamilton is a uniquely special place; I’ve always contended that the people are what make it so. I hope I was able to lend positively to this notion,” and more intimately he wishes “the swimming and diving programs all the very best in their continued success in and out of the water!”
Cross country excels a cross the board
by Will Kaback ’20
Staff Writer
Running hundreds of miles under a beating sun may not be the typical relaxing summer vacation, but for the members of the cross country team, it is all about the end goal. Coming off a season of both individual and team accomplishments, both the men’s and the women’s teams look to use their achievement as a springboard towards bigger and better things. The program hopes to continue fostering a strong work ethic and leadership traits among its athletes—a recipe that has played out well in the past. Along with a core group of returning runners, both teams bring in a bounty of first-year support.
The women’s team has an even mix of key veteran runners, improved returning members, and first-years. Coach Ellen Hull names Lindsay Heyer ’17, Samantha Buttrick ’17, Eliz Perry ’18, Mary Lundin ’19 and Michelle Fish ’17 as both leaders and important contributors. She also points to runners like Lily Pieper ’18, Andy Uribe ’19, Caitlin Anthony ’18, Sarah Dimakis ’17 and Emily Yong ’19, whom have shown marked improvement as testaments of their hard work. The first-year runners joining the team are Courtney Brunet, Julia Davis, Charlotte Freed, Angelica Ramos, Erica Seff and Ellie Williams.
The team gathered momentum during the home stretch last season, including a fourth-place finish at the Hamilton Invitational and second place at the New York State Collegiate Track Conference (NYSCTC) Championships.