Students and players rushed the court after men’s basketball won a tight second round game in the 2024 NCAA tournament. (Elle Su | Student Life)

Current WashU sports look a lot different than they did four years ago. In 2020, COVID-19 had shut down all sports programs in the NCAA. The Bears were forced to lift outside on Francis Field, eat sandwiches outside the buses on travel trips, and eventually compete in front of completely empty stands. The difference between that and the 2023-24 competition has been enormous; over the past year alone, WashU has come agonizingly close to two national-championship titles and played hundreds of competitive games in the UAA and CCIW.

It’s hard to isolate four moments over the past four years. There’s been so much joy, so much hard work poured in, and so many valuable stories that capture the sacrifices that WashU student-athletes have made. As the sports editor for two years, I was on the sidelines for many of those high-pressure make-or-break moments. I became well-versed in the unrelenting schedules that WashU sports demanded of its athletes — the time on the road and the quick offseason that quickly melts into preseason lifts. I’ve experienced the intense joy and the occasional heartbreak that inevitably accompanies every sports team, regardless of its division. After spending hundreds of hours on the sidelines, in the bleachers, and glued to the live stream, I’ve compiled the top-four WashU sports moments of the past four years, in no particular order.

Former WashU baseball player Henry Singer rounds the bases in a 2021 playoff game. (Courtesy of WashU Athletics)

Baseball competes in the 2021 Division III World Series

Going into the 2021 postseason, WashU baseball had a 28-3 record. Their success stemmed from an accumulation of a lethal pitching staff, second baseman Tim Van Kirk raking at the leadoff spot, and shortstop Caleb Durbin punching third — and proof that the team could execute in high-pressure situations. Collectively, the group put up some wild statistics— senior sidearm pitcher Jared Fong had a 0.36 ERA in 50 innings pitched, ace Ryan Loutos had 116 punchouts, and Caleb Durbin didn’t strike out looking in 141 at-bats. 

The postseason games were a perfect encapsulation of the team’s competitiveness all season. They had two wide-margin wins and two close losses against the University of St. Thomas. Their trip ended with a barnburner to St. Thomas, with the Tommies scoring three runs in the top of the ninth inning to push the Bears out of the tournament in a 6-4 loss. Still, the Bears battled into extra innings during the tournament. There were watermelon celebrations involved. The then-freshman class stepped up after senior staple Henry Singer was injured. WashU alumni and friends gathered from both coasts to support the team. It was heart-in-your throat baseball from a team that showed that they belonged in the conversations as one of the best Division III teams in the nation.

Men’s basketball wins the second round game of the 2024 NCAA tournament

Sitting in the second-round game of the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament this year, I felt a very acute sense of deja vu. I had sat in the fieldhouse twice before and watched the team fall by a tiny margin both times, and it felt like a curse that the Bears would never overcome, at least while I was at WashU. 

But, with mere seconds left on the clock and the Bears trailing by one, sophomore Yogi Oliff sunk a pair of free-throws despite having struggled from the line all season. A half-court shot from their Illinois College opponents fell just short, and the WashU student section rushed to celebrate on the court. The mosh of students and celebration post-game on the hardwood of the Fieldhouse felt like the perfect ending to the last basketball game that I’ll get at WashU.

Women’s soccer celebrates a dramatic Elite Eight win this fall. (Bri Nitsberg | Student Life)

Women’s soccer punches their ticket to the 2023 final four

The Elite Eight round of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Soccer tournament was a game of equalizing, an epic back-and-forth that came down to an extra 20-minute period, a last-minute goal from first-year Julia Moore, and a 4-4 PK standoff that came down to the final kick. On a high-pressure penalty kick, graduate student Ally Hackett slotted the ball in the bottom left corner of the net and ended a curse that had haunted the Bears for three seasons — their past three postseason defeats had been defined by penalty shootout losses.

Under head coach Jim Conlon, the program has cemented itself as a national-championship contender again and again, and the 2023 season was a perfect example of that. The final four matchup, which also went down to PKs, was another emotional win on the biggest stage in Division III soccer, and the team ended up falling one goal short in the championship title against California Lutheran University. In front of a home crowd, the Elite Eight win was an electric fulfillment of a season of hard work, and stands out as a moment to remember.  

Emma Kelley poses with a trophy after a record-breaking performance at indoor nationals. (Courtesy of WashU Athletics)

Emma Kelley runs the fastest 800 in Division III history

As of April 2024, women’s track-and-field star Emma Kelley has not lost an individual event, excluding preliminary rounds, since the 2022 NCAA Championships. Even then, she finished second, running a Top 10 all-time mark in Division III history.

It’s hard to describe how dominant Kelley has been. She has the school record in the 400, the 800, and the 1500 outdoors. Most recently, she won the 800-meter 2023 Indoor Track title. Not many athletes at this school would need a trophy shelf for their NCAA hardware, but Kelley has won so many trophies that she’s going to need a whole new room in her house to stash them. 

And at a broader level, she’s one member in a strong 400/800 meter group of female athletes who have taken the women’s sprint and mid-distance group to new heights. Many former athletes are now using their extra year of eligibility at the Division I level, and head coach Jeff Stiles has established the program as a verifiable powerhouse.