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Raritan Valley Community College Athletics had an impressive year in 2017-2018, with two sports—cross country and volleyball—making top 10 national rankings for the first time in the College’s history.

In October the women’s volleyball team became the first team in the school’s history to place in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s (NJCAA) top 10 national rankings. The Lady Lions remained there for three consecutive weeks before ending the season nationally ranked 13th with an overall record of 20-2. They also were named Co-Champions of the Garden State Athletic Conference.

Freshman outside hitter Chandra Ramlogan became the first volleyball player in RVCC's history to be named to the All-Region XIX First Team.

The top 10 rankings continued in the fall with RVCC’s men’s and women’s cross country team. Under the direction of Head Coach Patty Rivas, RVCC had the most successful season to date with both Rivas and the cross-country team gaining national attention. Rivas was named NJCAA Region XIX Cross-Country Coach of the Year, and the men’s team moved up to #4 overall in national rankings, the highest national ranking of any team in RVCC's history. The team finished its season by winning its first Region XIX Championship in November.

The cross country athletes earned individual top honors as well, with Robert Spies being named to the First Team NJCAA All-American. The men’s team placed 6th out of 29 total teams at the NJCAA Division III Cross Country National Championship, and runner Tessa Senal ranked 37th out of 136 runners for the women.

In winter sports, it was the fifth year in a row that the men’s basketball team made the playoffs. Freshmen standout Rick'Keem Mixson was named to the Third Team NJCAA All American by averaging 17.7 points per game, 6.2 assists per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. Mixson became our fourth All American in five years. For women’s basketball, the team’s 22-9 overall record was the program’s most wins in more than a decade, and the Lady Lions made the Region XIX Playoffs for the first time in over 15 years.

The successes continued into the spring when freshman golfer Michael Haliscak qualified for the NJCAA National Tournament after finishing fourth overall in the Region 19 competition and earning First Team All-Region 19.

Off the field, RVCC Athletics excelled in the classroom as well. Thirty-three percent of our student-athletes received NJCAA Academic Honors by maintaining a 3.2 Grade Point Average or higher. Members of the women’s softball team led the way in academics, with 8 out of 11 student athletes achieving an overall spring GPA of 3.36.