Sports Spotlight: Ben Abercrombie
A Harvard journey of recovery, football, and lots of Jefe’s.
“I like the competitiveness, and I’ve always been more fiery,” Ben Abercrombie ’25 reflected when discussing his love for football. “I grew up in Hoover, Alabama. Here in Alabama, you basically live and breathe football.” Abercrombie got recruited by Harvard his junior year of high school, he recalled in an interview with the Independent. Though schools […]
Sports Spotlight: Bronte Brough
Turf wars: Bronte Brough ’26’s global field hockey journey.
Bronte-May Brough ’26’s primary education included all of the usual suspects: learning to read, write, multiply, push pass, sweep, oh, and aerial. Brough first started playing field hockey when she was seven years old. Growing up, Brough learned how to play hockey on grass, but once she moved to prep school, she had the opportunity […]
Sports Spotlight: Lauren Scruggs
Going for gold in all aspects of life.
Olympic gold medalist Lauren Scruggs ’25 would not have been a fencer had it not been for her older brother. His obsession with Star Wars led their mother to sign him up for a local fencing club in Brooklyn when Scruggs was eight. Despite an initial desire to quit, her brother stuck with the sport […]
Sports Spotlight: Mitchell Saron
The pathway from Star Wars to Olympic Sabre.
Mitchell Saron ’23 has loved sword-fighting since before he can remember. An early introduction to the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings franchises stoked that fire, leading Saron to attempt to duel everyone in his life: “I had this huge lightsaber and toy sword collection, and I would always ask [my parents] to fight […]
Sports Spotlight: Jessica Guo
Her road to fencing foil at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Jessica Guo ’27 from Toronto, Canada, started fencing at six years old. After watching her older sister and brother fence, she decided to try her hand. Guo quickly rose to the top of the rankings in Canada and competed in the U.S. early on in her fencing career. She started fencing in international competitions by […]
Sports Spotlight: Stephanie Yakoff
Translating high school success into a collegiate career.
When Steffi Yakoff ’27 picked up a racket at age four, she had no idea that the sport she had watched her older brother Stan play for years would become such a dominant aspect of her life. By the time she reached college, she could beat her brother—in addition to boasting an undefeated high school […]
Sports Spotlight: Nina Janmyr
Flipping between NCAA and international success.
Nina Janmyr ’26’s love of diving developed in improbable circumstances. After a week of diving camp in the cold and pouring rain, she discovered the sport that would become a major part of her life for the foreseeable future. Janymer’s mom could not believe that, after executing no more than 14 dives that week, she […]
Sports Spotlight: Rémi Drolet
A profile on NCAA Champion and Canadian Olympic Nordic Skier.
Rémi “Rem-Dog” Drolet ’24 is the captain of the Harvard Nordic Ski Team, sporting his iconic man bun as a crown. In his first season of racing for the Crimson on the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association Circuit (EISA) in 2020, Drolet had several outstanding performances within the conference, qualifying him for the NCAA Championships (which […]
Sports Spotlight: Maia Ramsden
A profile on Harvard’s national champion runner.
Maia Ramsden ’24 has had quite the year. After an outstanding first two seasons with the Crimson, she won the Women’s 1500m at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor National Championships in June, becoming the first New Zealander to ever win the event. She followed up this historic win by reaching even greater heights in her senior […]
Sports Spotlight: Ben MacDonald
A profile on one of Men’s Varsity Hockey’s rising stars.
It is no secret that the 2023-2024 season has been rough for Men’s Varsity Hockey. The team has weathered a season-long storm of injuries, and as result currently sits with a losing record of 4-14-4. That said, the injuries have also given the younger players a remarkable opportunity to step up and quickly develop their […]
Sports Spotlight: Chisom Okpara
A profile on Harvard Men’s Basketball’s rising star.
Chisom “Chiz” Okpara ’26 began his athletic journey when his family moved back to the United States from the United Kingdom in 2010. Born with a passion for sports, his first love was soccer. His father, who recognized Okpara’s height and build, encouraged him to explore basketball as well. “My dad wanted me to play […]
Sports Spotlight: Tim Murphy
The end of a Harvard football dynasty.
After 30 years with Harvard football, Coach Tim Murphy will finally be stepping down as head coach. Murphy led the team to 10 Ivy League championships with only one losing season in this century. While it is easy to measure Murphy’s success through game statistics, it is difficult to quantify the lasting impact he will […]