Everything felt different four years ago for Mason Darrow.
As a freshman, Darrow didn’t see much time on the field, playing in just two games, so when Princeton football clinched the 2013 Ivy League title, he didn’t feel like he contributed.
“To see the emotion from the seniors at that point was something I didn’t get,” Darrow said. “Over the last few years, this senior class has learned winning a championship is a hard thing.”
Capturing his second Ivy League title with Princeton’s 38-21 win against Dartmouth on Nov. 19, Darrow got it. He said he became emotional multiple times — particularly hugging his mom after the game.
Princeton (8-2 overall, 6-1 Ivy League) shared the conference title with Penn.
“The Ivy League doesn’t go to the playoffs,” Darrow said. “There’s not any kind of championship game. It’s these 10 games, and that’s it, so the Ivy League title is our Super Bowl.”
Princeton trailed Dartmouth 14-10 at halftime, but the Tigers’ first drive of the second half went 85 yards in 15 plays and ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Princeton quarterback John Lovett. It gave Princeton the lead for good. The Tigers’ win earned the program’s 11th Ivy League title.
“It was reminiscent of our season as a whole,” said Darrow, Princeton’s starting center the majority of the season. “At the end of the day when stuff got tough, we came together. It was a close group to be a part of, a great group of guys, and I couldn’t ask for a better way to go out.”
Darrow, who came out publicly in 2015 before his junior year, attributes this team’s success to everyone accepting each other’s differences. Him being publicly out never hurt his standing on the team.
“No individual trait of any of these guys was going to affect the larger group as a whole,” Darrow said. “My teammates were amazing from Day 1. … I’m extremely grateful to them for their love and acceptance that I was shown.”
Darrow now wants to pursue a career in the front office of a professional sports team. He’ll work toward that while healing. Darrow injured an Achilles tendon against Georgetown on Oct. 8, which caused him to miss the following game against Brown.
The injury continued to bother him the remaining five weeks, but he wanted to be on the field. Contrary to the box scores which say he was a reserve in three of those last five games, Darrow says he started at center in all nine games he played this season.
“I’m definitely going to miss it, but my body is pretty happy that my career is over,” Darrow said. “I’m old and beat up.”
Names in bold are people that have announced publicly they identify as LGBT.
Division I
Nicholle Aston (senior, Cornell women’s basketball) averaged 9.7 points per game as the Big Red (4-2 overall) went 2-2 the last two weeks. Her best game came in a 70-57 win against Colgate on Nov. 16 when she had 14 points, seven rebounds, and two assists.
Schuyler Bailar (sophomore, Harvard men’s swimming) swam the 100-yard butterfly and 100 breaststroke as exhibition races against Columbia on Nov. 18.
Bree Horrocks (junior, Purdue women’s basketball) decided to have knee surgery and redshirt this season after playing the first two games of the season. Horrocks dislocated a kneecap shortly before the start of practice in October. The team announced her season-ending surgery Nov. 16.
Liam Huffman (senior, George Washington men’s swimming) swam three individual events at the nine-team Magnus Cup Invitational on Nov. 18-20 with his best finish a fifth place in the 1,650 freestyle (16 minutes, 10.06 seconds). He also anchored the 800 freestyle relay to a second place (6:49.61).
Nick Jessee (senior, St. Louis men’s swimming) and Jack Thorne (sophomore, Northwestern men’s swimming) competed Nov. 18-20 at the seven-team TYR Invitational at Northwestern. Jessee swam 11 events, and his best individual finish was seventh in the 200 freestyle (1:41.16). Thorne swam four events, and he took 10th in the 100 backstroke (50.33) and 200 backstroke (1:50.62). Jesse Moore (assistant coach, Northwestern women’s swimming) saw his team win the TYR Invitational, as did the Northwestern men’s team.
Cory Moreno (junior, Old Dominion men’s diving) earned the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association Diver of the Week honor on Nov. 15, marking the third time this season Moreno’s been honored. He did not compete Nov. 17-19 at the Hokie Invitational due to a school obligation.
Alex Obendorf (junior, West Virginia men’s diving) made finals on all three boards at the eight-team NC State Invitational on Nov. 17-19, and his best finish was eighth on platform (254.85 points).
EJ Proctor (junior, Duke women’s soccer) made four saves in Saturday’s season-ending 1-0 loss at No. 1-ranked West Virginia in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. In the third round against Northwestern on Nov. 20, No. 14-ranked Duke (15-5-3 overall) won 1-0, and Proctor made one save to record her 10th shutout of the season. She also made one save in Duke’s 3-1 second-round win against Illinois State on Nov. 18.
Max Showalter (sophomore, Purdue men’s diving) placed fifth in 3-meter springboard (368.6) and platform (337.75), his first platform competition of the year, at the 14-team Champions Invitational at IUPUI on Nov. 18-20.
Kenzie Tillitt (senior, Colorado women’s soccer) saw the Buffaloes (15-6-1) end the season with a 1-0 loss at No. 3-ranked South Carolina in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Nov. 17. Tillitt did not play in the match.
Wayne Zhang (junior, Yale men’s diving) took 10th on 1-meter springboard (236.50) and 14th on 3-meter (230.65) at the seven-team Hokie Invitational on Nov. 17-19.
Chris Burns (assistant coach, Bryant men’s basketball) saw his team go 2-3 the last two weeks, which includes a 109-70 loss at No. 14 Gonzaga on Nov. 18.
James Finley (head coach, Seattle women’s volleyball) ended the season Nov. 17 with a five-set loss to Cal State Bakersfield in the opening round of the WAC tournament. The Redhawks finish 13-15 overall.
Patrick Jeffrey (Stanford men’s and women’s diving coach) guided divers to top-four finishes in five of the six men’s and women’s diving competitions at the Ohio State Invitational on Nov. 18-20 with Kassidy Cook leading the Cardinal divers by earning runner-up in women’s 1-meter springboard.
Lee-J Mirasolo (assistant coach, Harvard women’s hockey) went through an 0-4 stretch the last two weeks with three losses by the Crimson (1-8 overall) coming in overtime. The last two losses were to No. 3-ranked Minnesota Duluth.
Stephanie White (head coach, Vanderbilt women’s basketball) led the Commodores (5-1 overall) to a 4-0 record the last two weeks, including Sunday’s 79-77 win at Tennessee-Martin where Vanderbilt’s Rachel Bell blocked a shot with five seconds remaining to preserve the win.
Division II
Noah Ratliff (sophomore, Mercyhurst men’s water polo) completed the season by going 1-2 at the Mid-Atlantic Conference Championships from Nov. 18-20. Ratliff’s best game at the championships for the Lakers (14-13 overall) was providing a goal and two steals in a 17-6 loss to George Washington on Nov. 18.
Division III
Alec Donovan (sophomore, Centenary wrestling) went 5-1 to take third at 157 pounds during the Doug Parker Invitational on Nov. 19 at Springfield College. His loss was a 2-0 decision in the semifinals
Josh Thorne (sophomore, Mount Union men’s cross country) helped his team take 28th of 32 teams at the NCAA Division III Championships on Nov. 19. Thorne finished the 8-kilometer race 277th in 21 minutes, 36.5 seconds. Thorne said he fell in the first 600 meters of the race and struggled to recover. “Even though the race didn’t go as planned, I had the time of my life with my teammates,” Thorne said.
Julie Shaw (head coach, La Verne women’s basketball) went 0-3 to open the season with all three games against NAIA teams that offer scholarships, unlike DIII universities.
Community College
Maria Berrum (sophomore, Oakton women’s basketball) started the season 0-7, and she has played in three games so far, averaging 4.3 points in those games.
Taylor Emery (sophomore, Gulf Coast State women’s basketball) helped the Commodores to a 9-0 start. Emery started all nine games and is averaging a team-high 14.8 points per game with 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
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, please email Erik.
