5 Athletics Teams Who Slayed This Spring
Wildcats are roaring at Johnson & Wales University this year, achieving personal bests in various athletic championships this past semester and with three teams winning Great Northeast Athletic Conference championships. Here’s a look at some of our varsity teams on the rise.
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
One of JWU’s newest teams is women’s track & field, which just debuted in Fall 2024. That makes it doubly amazing how this fledgling team won the 2025 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championships, beating out 15 other member institutions from across New England, including Emmanuel College, Lasell University, Colby-Sawyer College, Regis College and Saint Joseph’s College of Maine.
Standout moments of the two-day conference included Animal Science major Lulaini Haslinger ’27 winning the 400-meter, 5K and 3K steeplechase; Culinary Arts and Food & Beverage Industry Management major Melissa Charles ’28 winning the pole vault; Baking & Pastry Arts and Food & Beverage Industry Management major Erika Sanders ’27 winning at shot put and Baking & Pastry Arts major Lena Nicholson ’27 winning the discus throw. The top three finishers in all events received all-conference honors, while all members of the third-place relay teams received all-conference nods.
But if you ask the team’s lead coach who else ran, jumped or threw well at the conference, he’ll rattle off names with pride, from Hospitality Management major Ayevah Marinez ’28 placing second in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes to Health Science major Molly McCarthy ’28 placing second in the hammer throw to Culinary Nutrition major Katelyn O’Brien ’26 placing second in the javelin throw to Business Administration major Olivia Weldin ’27 placing second in the high jump.
“This win was extremely exciting for us,” stated head coach Ben Finnigan. “This was the first year of the program's existence, so as you can imagine it was a crazy year — ultimately resulting in a historical performance of becoming one of the very few teams in NCAA history to win our conference championship in our first year as a program. The women worked extremely hard all year and collectively bought into the championship mindset. Individually we had some historic conference performances, too.”
GNAC Standout Awardees for Track & Field:
Lulani Haslinger ’27 – Track Athlete/Rookie of the Year
Johnson & Wales University – Coaching Staff of the Year
Women’s Softball
It was an exciting season for JWU Providence’s women’s softball team, whose 29 wins earned the team the fourth-highest win total in program history. Competing against conference member teams such as University of Saint Joseph, Lasell University, Mitchell College, Regis College, Albertus Magnus College and Elms College, JWU won the 2025 GNAC Softball Championships with an overall record of 12 wins and two losses.
Baking & Pastry Arts major Jillian Reed ’27 and Cannabis Entrepreneurship major Mackenzie Clee ’25 are credited with complete-game efforts that helped the team win the GNAC’s best-of-three series against University of Saint Joseph. In addition to great pitching by Jillian and Mackenzie, conference highlights included a tie-breaking sacrifice fly by Fashion Merchandising & Retailing major Jessica Forneiro ’27 on which Culinary Arts major Caroline Amorelli ’25 scored, plus Biomedical Engineering major Mady Lyons ’26 scoring her 13th home run of the seasons in addition to a sacrifice fly that resulted in two players scoring. Biology major Jadyn Torres ’26 hit a single that brought in two runs, while Culinary Arts and Food & Beverage Industry Management major Olivia Mason ’27 made a diving catch for the final out.
"I love this group and I’m so proud of them," said head coach Laura Leonetti. "They really came together as a team and played excellent softball down the stretch. We’re led by a strong senior class — they’re talented players, great leaders and wonderful people. I’m thrilled they get to close out their JWU careers as GNAC Champions!”
GNAC Standout Awardees for Softball:
Mackenzie Clee ’25 - Player of the Year
Katie Scheid ’25, Morgan Pelletier ’28 and Mackenzie Clee ’25 - First Team
Amanda Madigan ’27, Mady Lyons ’26 and Jessica Forneiro ’27 - Second Team
Caroline Amorelli ’25 and Jill Reed ’27 - Third Team
Rachel Gosselin ’25 - Sportsmanship Team
Laura Leonetti - Coach of the Year
Men’s Baseball
The JWU Providence men’s baseball team was victorious at the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship in May 2025, whose participated teams included Lasell University, University of Saint Joseph, Colby-Sawyer College, Anna Maria College, Dean College, Rivier University, Saint Joseph’s College Maine, Elms College and Albertus Magnus College.
Under head coach Kevin Casey, JWU player highlights included Sports, Entertainment, Event — Management (SEEM) major Brett Nickerson ’26 striking out eight in a complete-game win; Business Administration major Ryan St. Jean ’25 hitting a three-run double that led JWU to a four-run cushion; SEEM major Owen Davis ’25 and Exercise and Sports Science major Zachary Amero ’25 each finishing two hits; and Finance major Jeff Valdez Jimenez ’27 recording an RBI.
GNAC Standout Awardees for Baseball:
Aidan Vining ’25 - Pitcher of the Year
Trevor Juan ’25, Owen Davis ’25, Aidan Vining ’25 - First Team
Jeff Valdez Jimenez ’28, Xavier Botelho ’25 - Second Team
Alex Coutcher ’25 - Sportsmanship Team
Intercollegiate Dressage team (IDA)
JWU’s IDA team had a banner year as well, culminating in a first-place Northeast Region win and third-place finish overall at the 2025 Intercollegiate Dressage Association National Championship held in Missouri in April. Equine Studies major Mady Cary ’26 was crowed National Champion after finishing first in her division in Upper Training – Individual for the second year in a row, while her teammate Viviane Lensky ’26 earned Reserve Champion in First Level-Dressage Seat Equitation. And JWU’s third-place team showed well, with Abigail Gilley ’27 earning the titles of Reserve Champion and Reserve High Point Rider and with Class of 2025 members Peyton McGuan and Paige Surrell, co-representing JWU’s third-place team along with Abigail.
"JWU Dressage Team had a spectacular year. Bringing home a National Champion and finishing third in the nation at the IDA National Championships in St. Louis, Missouri shows just how hard this team has worked all year,” said head coach Crystal Taylor. “This team is special in that they have a unity and bond that has formed over the years, they support each other, push each other to be better and that spirit showed in every ride. I couldn't be prouder of this team!"
IDA Standouts Awarded by JWU Athletics:
Madison Cary ’26 - Female Athlete of the Year
Paige Surrell - Ron Bachman Athletic Award for Academics, Athletics and Leadership
Olivia Pagano - IDA Wildcat Award for Outstanding GPA, Leadership and True Wildcat Spirit
Men’s Tennis
Not every win needs a trophy; JWU Charlotte’s men’s tennis team also had a banner semester. The team earned the title of runners-up at the 2025 East Coast Athletic Conference Men's Outdoor Tennis Championships in May after battling athletes from institutions such as Fairleigh Dickinson University Florham, Stevenson University and Juniata College. Outstanding moments included Entrepreneurship major Hugo Cossais ’27 and Culinary Arts and Food & Beverage Industry Management major Max Frederick ’28 outlasting their doubles partners from Fairleigh Dickinson; Sports, Entertainment, Event — Management (SEEM) majors Sam Ciccarello ’26 and Cayden Danzer ’28 winning the #3 doubles tilt with a score of 6-2; and Corporate Accounting and Financial Analysis major John Billinis ’27, Max Frederick and Sam Ciccarello each winning singles matches.
With young student-athletes who are getting into their groove under head coach Taylor Lindsay, the best is yet to come for JWU Charlotte’s men’s tennis team!
We’ve already shared how JWU’s wrestling team won the NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championship in March, making this a great year for Johnson & Wales. We expect calls of “J-who? JWU!” and Wildcat roars to ring out at meets and matches when the varsity seasons resume this fall. We’ll see you in the stands!