Sports
Track project at Amherst Regional High School gets green light, work to begin in June
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Construction of a new track and field at Amherst Regional High School, at a cost of $4.11 million, should begin in late June.
Amherst girls capture 2nd place for second year in a row at MIAA Nordic Ski Championships (PHOTOS)
By GARRETT COTE
WOODFORD, Vt. — The Amherst Regional girls Nordic ski team has seen a plethora of different athletes lead the Hurricanes’ pack throughout the course of this season. Each meet it’s typically someone new at the front, and that’s what makes their team so dangerous in meets with high stakes like the 2025 MIAA Nordic Ski Championships at Prospect Mountain on Feb. 11.
Colleges notebook: UMass women’s basketball showing drastic improvement in head coach Mike Leflar’s second season
By GARRETT COTE
While there are still a handful of fans who haven’t fully bought into the current landscape of college athletics, there’s no question the world of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals and the transfer portal certainly has its benefits.
Former UMass quarterback and coach Liam Coen announced as the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars
By GARRETT COTE
It was an adventurous week for former UMass quarterback Liam Coen last week. It was reported on Jan. 25 that Coen, who served as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator during the 2024 season, would be returning to the organization as the highest-paid assistant coach in the National Football League — turning down a head-coaching offer from the Jacksonville Jaguars in the process.
Amherst’s Ryan Leonard named MVP of World Juniors as Team USA wins gold in OT
OTTAWA, Ontario — Teddy Stiga scored on a breakaway at 8:04 of 3-on-3 overtime to give the United States a 4-3 victory over Finland on Sunday night in the world junior hockey championship game.
UMass football: Yale QB Grant Jordan, UTSA RB Rocko Griffin among new transfers signing with Minutemen
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — It’s become quite clear that UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak was very busy recruiting throughout the holidays, as he’s signed five transfers since Christmas — four coming in the month of January alone.
Former Amherst basketball star Jamila Wideman named Washington Mystics GM
By GARRETT COTE
Jamila Wideman has added another chapter to an already illustrious basketball career, as the WNBA’s Washington Mystics announced Wideman as the organization’s general manager late last month.
Girls basketball: Mired in losing season, Amherst remaining eternally positive
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — Anthony Quinones rarely ever sits down during games. The competitive nature that ripples through his veins simply doesn’t allow him to.
Amherst’s Jameson Dion excited for future after committing to play football at the University of New Hampshire
By GARRETT COTE
Jameson Dion was fresh off a 295-yard, five-touchdown rushing performance against Putnam in the opening contest of his senior season at Amherst Regional, and the Hurricanes were set to host Springfield International Charter School in their first night...
Boys basketball preview: New Belchertown coach has high expectations for Orioles
By GARRETT COTE
After spending the last several years as head coach of the Hopkins Academy boys basketball team, Jim Hart is now in charge of a different Hampshire County program just up the road. Hart accepted the Belchertown job in the offseason, and after speaking...
NATIONAL CHAMPS! Amherst College men’s soccer takes down Connecticut College in PKs to claim D3 title
By GARRETT COTE
Hollywood script writers couldn’t have come up with a more perfect story for the Amherst College men’s soccer team on Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas.After 110 minutes of soccer wasn’t enough to decide a winner (0-0) between the Mammoths and...
UMass athletics: Men’s soccer, field hockey tourney runs highlighting final A-10 seasons
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — There may be plenty of reasons for UMass fans to lament the athletic department over the past two weeks – a third-straight disappointing football season and a subpar men’s basketball start (3-5 record) among the results-based reasons outside...
UMass football: Amid coaching search, pair of blunders has athletic department in the spotlight
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — In the midst of trying to hire a new head football coach, the University of Massachusetts athletic department can’t seem to get out of its own way.While Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford hasn’t addressed the fanbase since firing former head...
UMass AD Ryan Bamford speaks on football coach Don Brown’s firing: “We just didn’t feel like we were able to turn the corner competitively”
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — Perhaps the passionate followers of the UMass football team weren’t necessarily surprised when news hit last week that Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford had fired former Minutemen head coach Don Brown after a 6-28 record with the team; it...
Cross Country: Amherst girls place second at MIAA Div. 2 State Championship (PHOTOS)
By THOMAS JOHNSTON
DEVENS — The Amherst girls cross country team nearly walked away with the program’s eighth state championship last Saturday during the MIAA Division 2 State Championship at Fort Devens. The Hurricanes ran about as well as they could have hoped, led by...
Colleges: UMass field hockey beats Harvard, advances to first NCAA Final Four since 1992
For the first time in 32 years, the Minutewomen are Final Four-bound.UMass claimed a historic 1-0 shutout victory over No. 10 Harvard in the NCAA Elite Eight on Sunday at Nancy Stevens Field in Storrs, Conn. With the win, the Minutewomen advanced to...
UMass fires head football coach Don Brown after nearly 3 seasons
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — UMass Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford announced on Monday morning that Minutemen football head coach Don Brown has been released of his duties with two games remaining in his third season leading the program.The 69-year-old Brown finishes...
UMass football: Minutemen QB Taisun Phommachanh out for the season due to injuries
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — UMass football head coach Don Brown confirmed Monday that Minutemen starting quarterback Taisun Phommachanh will miss the remainder of the season after suffering an injury against Mississippi State on Nov. 2.UMass had a bye this past...
Belchertown girls blank rival South Hadley for WMass soccer title
By GARRETT COTE
LUDLOW — It wouldn’t feel right if the Belchertown and South Hadley girls soccer programs didn’t meet in a Western Mass. final. And last Friday, for the fourth consecutive year, the two teams battled it out in the Class B playoffs — the third time in...
Game-winning penalty kick lifts Granby past Hopkins for WMass championship
By GARRETT COTE
LUDLOW — Mabel Carillon stood at midfield and hesitated before making the long walk to the penalty stripe. A make would crown the No. 1 Granby girls soccer team as Western Mass. Class D champions, a miss would allow No. 2 Hopkins Academy a chance to...
