BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania — Jesse Klug stood in the middle of the goal box and pulled the front of his orange jersey over his head. The rain continued, but Klug's college soccer career ended.
The goal box, an area of the field he owned for four seasons as a Bucknell forward, betrayed him that night at Lehigh University. Klug attempted nine of his team's 25 shots, but No. 4 seed Lehigh prevented the upset and won 2-0 in the opening round of the Patriot League men's soccer tournament.
"I'm upset that it's over," Klug said with a quiver in his voice outside the locker room following the Nov. 10 game. "It's a strange feeling that this might be my last competitive game, so I'm just trying to understand that."
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Klug, who publicly came out as gay as a college sophomore, misfired against Lehigh, but he succeeded throughout his Bucknell career and didn't let stigmas stop him.
"It hasn't all been positive," said Sue Katz, Klug's mom who flew from the state of Washington to attend his final two games with his dad and maternal grandparents. "He's come off the field and told us about things that other players have said that haven't all been positive that he won't talk about a lot. … He's pretty low key, and I think he's handled it really well."
A two-time all-Patriot League selection, Klug finished his career with 77 points, 29 goals and 19 assists, finishing sixth, eighth, and seventh all-time at Bucknell in those respective categories. He also led Bucknell to the 2014 Patriot League tournament title and the accompanying NCAA tournament berth.
"I'm proud of it," Klug said of his career. "We got a championship. That's really the proudest accomplishment that any team in this league can have."
Klug's more than an athlete. He earned the 2015 Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men's soccer, and on Nov. 24, the College Sports Information Directors of America named him an academic All-American for a second consecutive year.
And what's next? Klug said he may try professional soccer, or he may use his managing for sustainability degree and work for a non-profit.
"He's a great ambassador for our soccer program, for our university and for the gay community," Bucknell coach Brendan Nash said. "We were very privileged to have him in our program the last four years."
Names in bold are people that have announced publicly they identify as LGBT.
Division I
Schuyler Bailer (freshman, Harvard men's swimming) did not compete in the team's triangular meet with Dartmouth and Cornell on Nov. 13, and he swam exhibition in four events during the Nov. 20 dual meet against Columbia.
Alex Clark (senior, East Carolina men's diving) took 11th on 3-meter springboard and 12th on 1-meter springboard with scores of 285.1 and 248.3, respectively, at the Nike Cup in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on Nov. 19 and 20.
Kendall Covington (sophomore, Penn women's volleyball) recorded six kills in a 3-0 win over Columbia on Nov. 13, and she wrapped up her season with four kills and four blocks in a five-set win over Cornell on Nov. 14. She led Penn (13-13 overall, 7-7 Ivy League) with 72 blocks this season and was fourth with 141 kills.
Mason Darrow (junior, Princeton football) wrapped up the season with back-to-back losses to Yale and Dartmouth to finish 5-5 overall. Darrow played in both games.
Taylor Emery (freshman, Tulane women's basketball) received the American Athletic Conference women's basketball Freshman of the Week honor Nov. 23. Coming off the bench in all seven of the team's games, she is averaging 8.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per game for the Green Wave (4-3 overall).
Derrick Gordon (senior, Seton Hall men's basketball) started a 75-63 win over Mississippi on Nov. 22 and played in all six games this year for the Pirates, which are 5-1 overall. He is averaging 10.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists. He scored a season-high 14 points against Dartmouth in the Nov. 13 opener. Gordon, who transferred to Seton Hall during the offseason, began the season coming off the bench after starting the first 100 games of his college career at Western Kentucky and Massachusetts.
Bree Horrocks (sophomore, Purdue women's basketball) is averaging 2.2 points and 1.4 rebounds for the Boilermakers, which are 5-1 overall. She played in five of the six games, coming off the bench in those five. Purdue's one loss was in overtime to No. 13-ranked Stanford.
At the Magnus Cup Invitational in Cleveland from Nov. 20-22, Liam Huffman (junior, George Washington men's swimming) took fourth in the 1,650-yard freestyle in 16 minutes, 25 seconds. He also earned two eighth-place finishes at the meet in the 200 freestyle (1:44.68) and 500 freestyle (4:43.21) while helping the 800 freestyle relay finish fourth.
Nick Jessee (junior, St. Louis men's swimming) had a full weekend competing in 11 events over three days at the TYR Invitational hosted by Northwestern. His best individual finish was 11th in the 200-yard freestyle (1:42.41) on Nov. 21. He also helped the Billikens' 800 freestyle relay finish third and the 400 freestyle relay take fourth.
Ayrton Kasemets (sophomore, Oakland men's swimming) swam four events in a meet Nov. 14 against Wright State and Illinois-Chicago, and his best finishes were second place in the 100-yard breaststroke (56.99 seconds) and third place in the 200 breaststroke (2:07.40).
Lauren Miranda (senior, Duke women's rowing) concluded her fall season with a 12th-place finish in her eight-person boat at the Rivanna Romp hosted by Virginia on Nov. 14. Her four-person boat took 20th there.
Alex Obendorf (sophomore, West Virginia men's diving) led his team the weekend of Nov. 20-22 in all three competitions at the Tennessee Invitational by finishing eighth on 3-meter springboard, ninth on platform, and 11th on 1-meter springboard.
Austin Parrish (junior, Eastern Illinois men's swimming) continues to recover from a heart condition, so in the team's meet at Indianapolis from Nov. 20-22, he swam exhibition in three events, allowing him to compete in prelims but not finals. Parrish talked about his health in a recent profile by The Daily Eastern News.
Jack Thorne (freshman, Northwestern men's swimming) underwent shoulder surgery Nov. 12 that will sideline him the remainder of the season. He suffered the injury after competing in the season-opening meet Oct. 15.
Tanner Wilfong (redshirt junior, Miami men's diving) finished third on platform at the Texas Invitational on Nov. 21 with a score of 419.65.
Third-year Seattle women's volleyball head coach James Finely guided his team to a 1-1 record during the final week of conference regular season action, which gave the Redhawks a tie for third place in the Western Athletic Conference. The team went 9-5, its best conference winning percentage since joining the WAC in 2012. Seattle (18-11 overall) was upset Nov. 19 in a five-set match against Missouri-Kansas City in the opening round of the WAC tournament. Finley's team achieved the program's first winning season since 2010.
Bryant men's basketball assistant coach Chris Burns has seen his team start 2-4 with one of the losses coming at No. 4 Duke. In a Nov. 20 win over Prairie View A&M, Bryant point guard Shane McLaughlin set a program record with 14 assists.
College of Charleston assistant women's volleyball coach Drew Davis' team took second in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament with a 25-15, 25-11, 25-14 loss Nov. 22 to UNC-Wilmington. The loss ended a seven-match win streak for the Cougars (19-13 overall), who entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed.
Harvard women's hockey assistant coach Lee-J Mirasolo saw her team go 5-1 the last three weeks with the loss against No. 10-ranked Minnesota-Duluth on Friday. The Crimson (8-2-1 overall) beat Minnesota-Duluth in a rematch Saturday night.
Central Michigan men's basketball assistant coach Ryan Mizner is part of a team off to a 2-3 start with wins over Jacksonville State and Alma.
Division II
Austin Olivares (junior, Lindenwood University) helped his 200-yard medley relay to a win Nov. 14 home quadrangular meet in a time of 1:34.62. He had strong individual races, too, by finishing fifth in the 200 butterfly (1:57.80) and seventh in the 100 butterfly (52.83 seconds).
Javier Ruisanchez (freshman, Gannon University) competed in three events Nov. 21 at the Case Western Reserve Tri-Meet in Cleveland, where his best finish was fourth in the 500-yard freestyle (5:05.65). A week earlier in a home meet with Tiffin University, Ruisanchez did two events led by a second place in the 500 freestyle (5:05.23).
Division III
Max Korten (senior, Moravian College) wrapped up his college cross country career by finishing second on the team at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championship on Nov. 14. His time of 29:06.7 on the 8-kilometer course put him 220th out of 371 runners.
Conner Mertens (junior, Willamette football) shared on social media that he underwent surgery on his right knee Nov. 25 . He tore his ACL during practice in September.
NAIA
Jesse Taylor (sophomore, Dakota Wesleyan men's basketball) made his regular season debut Nov. 13 in a 118-74 win against Oglala Lakota College, where he had four points, four rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes. It's one of three regular season games Taylor's played for the Tigers (7-2 overall).
Upcoming competitions involving LGBT college athletes and coaches that have announced their sexuality publicly. (All times are Eastern).
Friday, Dec. 4
Schuyler Bailar, Harvard men's swimming at Texas Invitational; Austin, Texas, TBA
Nick Jessee, St. Louis; Austin Parrish, Eastern Illinois men's swimming at Eastern Illinois; Charleston, Ill., 6 p.m.
Ayrton Kasemets, Oakland men's swimming at Zippy Invite; Akron, Ohio, TBA
Lee-J Mirasolo (ast. coach) Harvard women's hockey at Princeton; Princeton, N.J., 7 p.m.LeQuan Chapman and Ian Davies, Shippensburg University men's track and field at Bison Opener; Lewisburg, Pa., TBA
Javier Ruisanchez, Gannon University men's swimming at Mid-Season Invitational; Wooster, Ohio, All Day Chris Cassingham, Mary Washington men's swimming at Gettysburg College Invitational; Gettysburg, Penn., 6 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 5
Schuyler Bailar, Harvard men's swimming at Texas Invitational; Austin, Texas, TBA
Derrick Gordon, Seton Hall men's basketball at Rutgers, Piscataway, N.J., Noon (ESPNews)
Ayrton Kasemets, Oakland men's swimming at Zippy Invite; Akron, Ohio, TBA
Chris Burns (ast. coach) Bryant men's basketball vs. Brown; Smithfield, R.I., 4 p.m.
Lee-J Mirasolo (ast. coach) Harvard women's hockey at Quinnipiac; Hamden, Conn., 4 p.m.
LeQuan Chapman and Ian Davies, Shippensburg University men's track & field at Bison Opener; Lewisburg, Pa., TBA
Javier Ruisanchez, Gannon University men's swimming at Mid-Season Invitational; Wooster, Ohio, All Day
Chris Cassingham, Mary Washington men's swimming at Gettysburg College Invitational; Gettysburg, Penn., 10 a.m.
Jesse Taylor, Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball vs. Concordia (Neb.); Mitchell, S.D., 5 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 6
Taylor Emery, Tulane women's basketball vs. McNeese State, New Orleans, 3 p.m.
Bree Horrocks, Purdue women's basketball vs. Dayton; West Lafayette, Ind., 2 p.m.
Ayrton Kasemets, Oakland men's swimming at Zippy Invite; Akron, Ohio, TBA
Monday, Dec. 7
Ryan Mizner (ast. coach) Central Michigan men's basketball vs. Aquinas; Mount Pleasant, Mich., 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 8
Chris Burns (ast. coach) Bryant men's basketball vs. Army; Smithfield, R.I., 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 9
Jesse Taylor, Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball at Valley City St. University; Valley City, N.D., 8 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 10
Derrick Gordon, Seton Hall men's basketball vs. Troy; Newark, N.J., 8 p.m. (FS1)Bree Horrocks, Purdue women's basketball vs. Incarnate Word; West Lafayette, Ind., 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 12
Austin Olivares, Lindenwood men's swimming at Delta State Christmas Invite; Cleveland, Miss., 11 a.m.Chris Burns (ast. coach) Bryant men's basketball at Providence; Providence, R.I., Noon (FS1)Ryan Mizner (ast. coach) Central Michigan men's basketball vs. Texas Southern; Mount Pleasant, Mich., 4:30 p.m.
Jesse Taylor, Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball at Midland Univ.; Fremont, Neb., 5 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 13
Derrick Gordon, Seton Hall men's basketball vs. St. Peter's, Newark, N.J., 2:30 p.m. (FS1)Bree Horrocks, Purdue women's basketball vs. Ball State; West Lafayette, Ind., 2 p.m.
Austin Olivares, Lindenwood men's swimming at Delta State Christmas Invite; Cleveland, Miss., 11 a.m.
Erik Hall can be reached via email at [email protected] or on Twitter (@HallErik) or on Facebook. If you are an out LGBT athlete or coach and want your accomplishments recognized, email Erik.
