As the school year comes to an end and The Mac Weekly prints its final issue, there is still over a month left in four of Macalester’s athletic seasons. These are the playoff and season situations for the Scots who will continue battling through finals and even after, and for those whose seasons will end this weekend.

Women’s track 

While track and field teams don’t have a throughline as consistent as a win-loss record or a playoff battle, these Scots have all the fight and skill of every other team. The headlines for their season have been dominated by Journey Amundson ’23 as she sets out, in her senior campaign, to break Macalester’s record in the triple jump, set by Scot Hall of Famer Sarah Brown ’07. In the first meet of the outdoor season, Amundson leapt just 0.02 shy of Brown’s mark. With the season winding down and just a handful of meets left in Amundson’s college career, the question of the record presents a tantalizing drama.

Men’s track

On the men’s side, the season has been dominated by a set of sophomores pushing the boundaries of Macalester history. Arlo Heitler ’25 recently put up the third-best time in the MIAC and the 29th best time in D-III in the 400m, while Max Menache ’25 has set the second-best time in Macalester history in the hammer throw and is just a few meters off the record. Meanwhile, a group of distance runners — Reece McKee ’25, Ben Crotteau ’25 and Tor Olsson ’25 — consistently dot the top tens of their events, after an indoor season where they made several Macalester all-time top ten lists their home.

Golf

For the golf teams, whose main season happens in the fall, their spring seasons only have one more match left. For the men, it’s a dual against Saint John’s University, while the women will play the St. Olaf Invite.

Softball

These Scots face an uphill battle to the playoffs. They sit 3.5 games behind Gustavus Adolphus College in the final playoff spot with just 6 games left on the schedule. Compounding the situation, the Scots’ next opponent is Bethel University, as yet undefeated in MIAC play. If the Scots can shock the MIAC with a win or two, and the Gusties — who have two extra games to play compared to Macalester — hit a cold streak, the playoffs could be in the cards for Macalester come May.

Baseball

As the season comes down to the wire, baseball is mired in the thick of a crowded 3-6 seed field, at 7-7 in MIAC play. The playoff line is at the fourth seed for baseball, and currently the Scots sit in fifth, 1.0 game behind Saint John’s University in fourth, although the Johnnies have played four fewer games. Luckily for the Scots, the Johnnies have yet to play their four total games against twin giants of the MIAC, Gustavus Adolphus College and Bethel University, while the Scots have already gotten them out of the way and have some beatable teams on their schedule. On paper, the Scots should make the playoffs, and could even chase down the third seeded St. Olaf College, but it still has to be done.

Men’s tennis

By the time this paper is printed, the playoffs for both men’s and women’s tennis will be well underway. For the men, their first match of the playoffs will be against Carleton College. Although the Knights are, on paper, the better team, and beat the Scots 1-8 in a match with no playoff implications earlier in the season, these Scots have shown their ability to take the odd match off superior opponents and to punch above their weight. While the Knights will undoubtedly see their ‘real’ opponent as being Gustavus Adolphus College, and see the Scots as a stepping stone to the MIAC finals, if the Scots can get the ball rolling with one or two doubles wins and continue that momentum in the singles matchups, they could shock the conference with an upset win. There’s a reason they still play the games.

Macalester’s athletes will continue competing until the end of May, followed by a long summer break that will run until the beginning of September when, as campus flares back to life for the beginning of a new school year, the Scots will spring back into competition. The class of 2027 will join as the class of 2023 moves on, and the Scots of every sport will look to reach even greater heights. Until then, we look back fondly on an unforgettable year in Macalester sports. Across every sport, the Scots aimed high, worked hard, won, lost, played with character and heart and made memories for everyone who had the privilege of seeing them compete. They gave their all, and, at times, reached out into the seemingly impossible and made it happen.