For most senior student-athletes, their 2023-2024 seasons will mark the end of their collegiate playing careers. However, some will be able to compete for a fifth season due to COVID-19-related eligibility changes. While some of those eligible will be returning to Lafayette, some have instead decided to take their talents elsewhere post-graduation.
Emma Lorey, a distance runner, will join the University of Maryland’s track and field team for the 2024-2025 seasons. According to Lorey, her visit there was the biggest factor in her decision to commit to the team.
“When I went to Maryland, I got to meet a lot of girls on the team,” Lorey said. “Seeing how close the team was was really nice. I also got to meet the distance coach, who did a great job at keeping in touch with me and asking how my meets were going throughout the season.”
Lorey will be graduating from Lafayette with a chemical engineering degree in May. She will be seeking her master’s degree from Maryland, which she said she was also drawn to academically.
“I fell in love with the campus there,” Lorey said. “It’s a lot bigger than Lafayette. I’m excited to experience a university like that, even if it’s just for graduate school.”
Lorey is looking forward to enjoying her last semester at Lafayette, where she will be finishing up her winter season and running the 5K and 10K for her spring season. Academically, she’s hoping to finish with strong grades and make the dean’s list. Lorey’s teammate and roommate, Lily Dineen ’24 said that Lorey is one of the most valuable athletes on their team.
“I think there is no one more determined and hardworking than Emma and I think she has really proved that in her improvement over the four years of running,” Dineen said. “I think she knows she has a lot more to prove so I’m so glad she’s going for that fifth year at Maryland.”
Although she will be wearing a different uniform next fall, Lorey says she owes all of her success to her teammates and coaches throughout her time as a Leopard.
“Lafayette is amazing, and I’ve really been able to improve throughout my four years here,” Lorey said. “Thinking about what I run now compared to what I ran as a freshman is really rewarding for me. My coaches and my teammates have supported me and shown that they recognized my potential.”
Senior offensive lineman and captain of the football team, Mike Barr, will also be moving south for graduate school. In the fall, he will be attending Duke University to achieve his master’s in economics while also getting the opportunity to play ACC football.
“I was looking for high academics and a high level of football,” Barr said. “Our old coach John Garrett got a job at Duke and I called him. He got me in touch with the offensive lineman coach and had him watch my film. I went on a visit the next week and committed then.”
Like Lorey, Barr touted his visit as one of the main reasons why he selected the Blue Devils.
“When I went down to campus, I liked it a lot, I liked the coaches a lot,” Barr said. “I met some of the teammates, really enjoyed my time with them.”
Going through the process of a fifth-year transfer alongside thousands of college seniors, Barr received scholarship offers from over 10 Division I FBS schools.
“They put a lot of emphasis on academics, it’s not just football,” Barr said. “They are going to be taking care of me [with] the full master’s program for the whole year, so that was another big plus that the other schools didn’t offer.”
After donning maroon and white for the last time last November against Delaware in the first round of the FCS playoffs game following the Leopards’ Patriot League Championship victory, Barr, an economics major with a finance certificate, attributes much of his success both academically and athletically to the Lafayette community.
“Being at Lafayette, obviously it’s a high academic school so [Duke] knew that before they even called me,” Barr said. “Relationships with professors and building all of that has really helped me here and I think those skills are going to help me there.”
Emma Chen ’24 contributed reporting.
