SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 6, 2025) – Four Western New England student-athletes have been named Golden Bear Athletes of the Week this week following outstanding competition on their respective playing surfaces this past week. The four Golden Bears that have been honored this week marks a new weekly high.
Derek Johnson claims Golden Bear Athlete of the Week for the second time in his young career, following his performance at the Conference of New England Men's Golf Championships this past weekend. Johnson earned CNE Individual Medalist honors following his -8 performance, shooting -4 on day one and -4 on day two, beating out his competition by ten strokes to become the first Golden Bear since 2018 to earn honors. Johnson's two-day round consisted of 11 birdies, 19 pars, five bogeys, and an eagle over 36 holes. Following the end of competition, Johnson picked up All-Conference honors on the CNE First Team. Johnson's score of 136 for the tournament is a Western New England men's golf school record and the lowest score on a 36-hole Conference of New England event by a Golden Bear all-time, while the pair of 68s ties second-best for an 18-hole round in program history. Johnson and the WNE men's golf team return to the course this coming Saturday, October 12 at the Skidmore Invitational.
Junior
Emma Miller shined for the Western New England women's tennis team this weekend in a Conference of New England match against Suffolk University, winning in both singles and doubles competition to help the Golden Bears secure their second CNE victory of the season. Miller teamed with partner
Sydney Shepard in the top doubles pair to come out with a 6-2 victory, helping the Golden Bears earn the all-important first point of the match in doubles play. In singles action, Miller continued her dominance on the court, taking a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the top singles spot, earning Western New England another point, leading to a Golden Bears 4-1 victory over Suffolk. WNE women's tennis hosts Gordon College on Tuesday, October 7, at 3:30 PM at Forest Park Tennis Courts for their next match.
WNE Football's
Matt LaMontagne rushed home three touchdowns for the Golden Bears in this past weekend's 35-10 victory over Husson University, leading the charge on offense. LaMontagne took 11 carries for 46 yards for Western New England in the win while scoring touchdowns from three yards out, two yards out, and one yard out. LaMontagne now has at least one rushing touchdown in all five games this season, totaling seven for the season over 74 carries and 315 yards. LaMontagne and WNE heads to
Endicott College for a CNE game on Saturday, October 18 at 5:00 PM for their next contest.
Nicholas Smith led the Western New England men's cross country team this past week at the Keene State College Invitational, completing the 8K race in 27:03 — cutting 20 seconds off his previous personal best of 27:23 set last weekend at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational. Smith placed a team-best 85
th place finish at Keene State out of 277 runners. Last season, the Middlefield, Connecticut native raced a 28:59 at the Keene State Invite, taking off over a minute and a half this season. Smith and the Golden Bears return to the course this coming Saturday, October 11, for a race at Westfield State University.
