As the weather changes, fall sports have come to an end, with multiple seasons having wrapped up in early November. For some students, this marked the end of their collegiate athletic experience. Graduating athletes share reflections on their athletic careers, details about how Lewis & Clark celebrated their final season and their plans for the future.
Ella Ruark ’25 is a volleyball player, former volleyball team manager and sports photographer who has been involved with LC athletics since her freshman year. She is also double majoring in psychology and art with a focus on photography. During her first year, she helped with athletic communications by working cameras and collecting player statistics during games. The next year, she served as the team manager for the volleyball team, where she assisted with social media and game-day setup. That year, she got involved with sports photography and is still working for PioStream in the role. She also joined the volleyball team her junior year as a walk-on.
Ruark played her final collegiate volleyball game on Nov. 9 and described the experience as “bittersweet.” While she played the sport in high school, she had not expected to play in college, so she was grateful for the two additional years and the connections she made on the team. Her family and former members of the volleyball team attended the game, where Ruark and the four other seniors were celebrated with a banquet and speeches. She noted how sentimental it was to spend one last game with her teammates.
“It was really special, because I got to play with my roommates and my best friends, and we had a really, really great first strong set. Everyone was playing amazing and everyone was on the court, so I got to play with every single person for one last time,” Ruark said.
Ruark wants to stay involved in athletics after graduation, whether that be through collegiate team management or sports photography, which she is considering as a career path. While she is keeping her options open, she hopes to go to graduate school for psychology and potentially manage a Division I volleyball team.
In reflecting on some struggles of student-athletes, Ruark recognized the mental toll athletics can take and offered students some advice.
“Remember the younger you that was trying to get into all these schools, touring all these colleges, and taking all the steps needed to play and how impressive it is to play anywhere in college,” Ruark said.
Women’s soccer also came to a close on Nov. 9.
Abby Hayes ’24, who is a biology major graduating at the end of this semester, has been a part of the team since her freshman year and has earned many accolades during her time here. She was team captain from her sophomore year through senior years and was named a Northwest Conference Honorable Mention the past three years. Over the years, she has been honored as Newcomer of the Year, Best Defensive Player and Most Valuable Player for the women’s soccer team. Further, she was recently named a member of the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team for the second year in a row — a title that recognizes collegiate athletic accomplishment across the nation. She also considers her freshman year, the 2021 season, to be one of the best seasons in the history of the soccer program.
The team honored their two seniors the day before their last game in order for them to celebrate on their home field. Hayes described the energy as an exciting and positive way to send the seniors off. Her family also visited, and she and other teammates shared memories from their time on the team. She explained that even though the team did not win, it was still a great game to end her career.
“There was a lot of good energy. I think we were possessing the ball really well. We just couldn’t finish any of our shots. It ended in a tie, but I think it was a good performance by the team,” Hayes said.
She is interested in continuing to incorporate athletics into her future as well. She plans on going to school for physical therapy starting next fall and credits her involvement in soccer as having sparked her interest in the discipline.
“I know there’s other fields and aspects within physical therapy, so I’m really excited to explore that, but athletics is what really got me interested in the first place,” Hayes said.
Men’s soccer played their final game on Nov. 9. They celebrated Ben Tallent ’25, a player graduating in only three years and the first senior to be officially honored on the team in over 30 years. He was the first player recruited when the team returned to the varsity level in 2022, and has been an integral part in advancing the program to where it is today. He acknowledged the challenges that came with starting the program up again, such as competing against more seasoned schools and staying determined in the face of such adversity. However, he is proud of all the hard work the team has put in over the years.
“We go out there and we play very hard every game against teams that are mostly seniors and juniors, a lot older and a lot more experienced, and we still go out and we compete every day with them. It can be tough and discouraging, but I’m really proud of my team and how we pushed through,” Tallent said.
The day of his final game, Tallent woke up feeling sick and was unsure if he would be able to play. However, after speaking with his coach, he decided to play and give it everything he had, conveying the determined spirit of the team. He described feeling emotional while warming up, especially when his team celebrated him with heartfelt messages. He also felt honored to be the first player in over three decades to have a senior day celebration.
Like Ruark, Tallent is also majoring in psychology and wants to pursue a career involving athletics. He plans to attend graduate school and ultimately become a sports psychologist, drawing on two important parts of his LC experience.
“I love sports and I love psychology, so it just seems like the perfect thing that combines my two passions. I’m really excited to see what that brings me in the future,” Tallent said.
The final sport to end this season was football; the team played their final game on Nov. 16. They celebrated 25 seniors, including The Mossy Log’s own Will Trunzo ’25, as well as Wil Powell II ’24. Powell graduated in the spring of 2024 with a degree in international affairs and is in his first year of graduate school at LC for student affairs administration, making this his fifth season. He was also captain of the team for two years, a role he was honored to have. Throughout his time at LC, he has seen the team improve immensely and is proud of how the team has consistently improved each season.
“When I first got here, it was battling not to be last, and now it’s battling to be at the top and I think it’s just incredible. I’m very proud of that,” Powell said.
He is also grateful for the growth in support during games. When he started playing at LC — he explained — hardly anyone came to the games. This year, however, there were many family members, friends and fans who supported the team and the seniors in their final game, which Powell appreciated.
Not only was the community supportive, the team also won, marking their seventh year in a row winning against Willamette University. This win earned them the traveling trophy of the wagon wheel, a tradition between the two schools, which Powell is very proud to have won again. He felt a mix of emotions towards the game, including sadness towards playing the sport with the team he loves for the last time, but also gratitude at having a fun and exciting final game.
Powell still has a year and a half to finish graduate school and is using the time to figure out what he wants to do for his career. He works for the Office of Student Engagement and may be interested in continuing to work in a college setting, but is keeping his options open.
His time on the team has given him a unique perspective he hopes to share with younger students regarding finding joy in athletics and life.
“Make the most of every season you’re in. And I’m not just talking about sports seasons, I’m talking about seasons of life. Life is full of seasons and understanding that the current one you’re in, that it’s going to be finite, that it’s going to be temporary, I think that adds a lot of perspective,” Powell said.
The LC athletic community honored their senior athletes with sentimental game day celebrations that students were grateful for. These athletes have put in hard work and dedication over their time at LC, marked by their athletic accomplishments and recognition. Even though their athletic careers have come to a close, they look forward to starting the next chapter.
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