She's only a first-year, but this runner was the breakout sensation of the women's cross country team on Saturday. With the team's top runners resting up for the NCAA Regionals this week, Tropiano picked up the slack and led the Jeffs to victory at the ECAC Championships at Conn., stomping out the best efforts of rivals Tufts University and Williams College. Finishing eighth and dropping 50 seconds from her former PR, she shot up the team rankings and made the 2005 All-ECAC team. If she keeps it up, this runner will scamper her way into becoming an indispensable member of the team next season.

• Ben Lavely '06

Senior co-captain midfielder Ben Lavely could not have picked a better time to score his first goal of the season than in the NESCAC semifinal game against Middlebury College. Fed by classmate forward Joe Gannon on a corner kick, Lavely placed a perfect header past the Panther goaltender, and former NESCAC Player of the Week, Zack Toth. Lavely's goal decided the game for the Jeffs, since neither team found the net for the remaining 77 minutes. The fourth-seeded Jeffs defeated the third-seeded Panthers to advance to the NESCAC finals with the 1-0 victory, thanks to Lavely's goal. He will surely be missed next year.