The 2019 calendar year was one to remember for the athletic programs at Gettysburg College with three Centennial Conference team championships, multiple NCAA Division III Championship appearances, and a plethora of individual awards and records.
 
The Champs are in the House
Gettysburg procured three Centennial Conference team championships during 2019 with many other programs just falling shy of the top spot. Two-thirds of the Bullets' 24 varsity programs competed in conference championship events. Below are the three teams to capture gold in 2019.

• Men's Golf – The Bullets turned in an incredible rally in capturing the program's first conference title in 17 years, erasing a 15-stroke deficit in the final round to overtake Swarthmore for the crown. Seniors Danny Harcourt '19 and Dane Sethre-Hofstad '19 cemented their legacies as two of the top performers in program history by finishing 1-2 in the individual standings. Harcourt was the program's first conference medalist in eight years.
• Women's Golf – While the men's team claimed a conference title for the first time in nearly two decades, the women's program continued its near-decade of conference dominance with its ninth title in a row. The Bullets jumped out to a 20-stroke lead on the opening day and tacked on five more strokes to beat out runner-up Marymount by 25 strokes. Juniors Skylar Frankiewicz '20 and Hannah Fireman '20 each claimed all-conference honors for the third-straight year by placing second and fourth, respectively.
• Women's Lacrosse – For the second consecutive year, Gettysburg won the conference crown with a dominating display at Franklin & Marshall, downing the Diplomats 16-6 at Shadek Stadium. The Bullets raced out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back, eventually leading by as many as 11 in the second period. Senior goalie Bailey Pilder '19 shined with 11 saves and sophomore Kerry McKeever '21 was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after posting four goals, two assists, three draw controls, and a caused turnover.

 
We Danced and Danced Some More
Trips to the national stage were frequent throughout the year as each season witnessed multiple teams trekking to NCAA Division III Championships. A total of eight programs made it to the "Big Dance," the most since 2016 (9). Check out the list of nationally-bound programs from the last year below.

• Women's Basketball – Gettysburg clinched a spot in the national playoffs for the second year in a row after posting 22 wins and finishing runner-up in the Centennial Conference Championship. The Bullets hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.
• Wrestling – For the fourth consecutive season, a Gettysburg grappler competed at the NCAA Division III Championship. Colin Kowalski '19 earned his bid to nationals with an incredible 2018-19 campaign that saw him win 37 matches with 15 pins and 11 major decisions. The Gettysburg senior finished his career fourth on the all-time list with 109 wins.
• Men's Golf – After winning its first conference title in 17 years, the Bullets turned in a strong performance at the national championship held at the Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Ky. The team finished tied for 24th out of 42 teams and just missed the two-day cut by five strokes. Individually, senior Danny Harcourt completed the best NCAA finish ever by a Bullet, placing 15th overall with a total score of 296 (77-72-74-73).
• Women's Golf – Making its sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship, Gettysburg closed out a strong performance by trimming 21 shots off its second round total to shoot 338 in the final round. The team just missed the 15-team cut, finishing with a three-day total of 1,052 (355-359-338) for 21st.
• Men's Lacrosse – It's hard to imagine a postseason without Gettysburg as the team made its 26th overall trip to the national stage after a runner-up showing in the conference championship. The team hosted NCAA newcomer in St. John Fisher at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium. The two teams produced an incredible contest with the Cardinals prevailing in double overtime 11-10.
• Women's Lacrosse – The Bullets clinched a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the 18th consecutive campaign and won each of its first two games at Clark Field by a combined score of 38-4. Gettysburg bid for a third consecutive trip to the national semifinals was thwarted by eight-ranked Wesleyan 10-7.
• Men's Soccer – After playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation, the Bullets earned an at-large bid to the NCAA playoffs. The team made the most of its first trip to the national stage in 18 years, shutting out one of the highest-scoring teams in the country, No. 22 Oglethorpe, 5-0 in the opening round. The amazing season came to a close with a 3-2 setback to 11th-ranked Washington & Lee in the next round.
• Women's Soccer – The women's soccer team returned to the national dance for the first time in five years after winning 13 matches and reaching the conference semifinals. The Bullets faced No. 24 Williams in the first round and the two-time defending national champs fought through Gettysburg's defensive pressure for two-first half goals and held on for a 2-0 decision.

 
The Host with the Most
Gettysburg was the place to be for championship experiences. The Bullets hosted a combined nine conference and national tournament events during 2019.
 

• Centennial Conference Women's Basketball Championship (Feb. 22-23, 2019)
• Centennial Conference Men's and Women's Swimming Championship (Feb. 21-24, 2019)
• NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship First/Second Rounds (March 1-2, 2019)
• Centennial Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship (May 1/May 4, 2019)
• NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship Second Round (May 8, 2019)
• NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship First/Second Rounds (May 11-12, 2019)
• NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Regional Championship (May 18-19, 2019)
• Centennial Conference Men's & Women's Cross Country Championship (Nov. 2, 2019)
• Centennial Conference Women's Soccer Championship First Round (Nov. 6, 2019)

 
Happy Trails
Two long-time Gettysburg coaches retired their whistles in 2019. Swimming coach Mike Rawleigh and cross country/track and field coach Aubrey Shenk represented nearly seven decades of experience leading the Orange and Blue. Greg Brown, the former assistant coach at Army, was tagged to replace Rawleigh, while former assistant coach Bryson Hartzler was named interim track and field coach following Shenk's announcement this past August.

• Mike Rawleigh, Men's & Women's Swimming (1985-2019)
  • 34 years as head coach
  • 42 conference team titles
  • 548 dual meet wins
  • 53 All-Americans
  • 334 conference individual champs
  • 13 Hall of Honor inductees
• Aubrey Shenk, Men's & Women's Cross Country/Track & Field (1984-2019)
  • 26 years as assistant coach (1984-2010)
  • 10 years as head coach (2010-2019)
  • 7 conference team titles
  • 9 All-Americans
  • 170 conference individual champs
  • 8 Hall of Honor inductees

 
Everybody's Watching the Bullets
More viewers tuned in to watch our live events than any other school in the Centennial Conference in 2019. Nearly 78,000 viewers watched the Bullets compete across 12 varsity programs where live video streaming was offered. Below is the list of the most viewed events for each sport in the last year.
 
135      Wrestling vs. Stevens/USMMA, 1/19/2019
201      Volleyball vs. Dickinson, 11/2/2019
480      Field Hockey vs. Dickinson, 11/2/2019
579      Men's Basketball vs. Franklin & Marshall, 11/26/2019
645      Men's Soccer vs. Franklin & Marshall, 10/30/2019
790      Women's Soccer vs. McDaniel, 11/6/2019 (CC Playoffs)
831      Baseball vs. Muhlenberg, 4/27/2019
855      Swimming CC Championship, 2/24/2019
965      Women's Basketball vs. Haverford, 2/23/2019 (CC Playoffs)
1,873   Football vs. Muhlenberg, 11/9/2019
3,078   Men's Lacrosse vs. St. John Fisher, 5/8/2019 (NCAA Playoffs)
6,157   Women's Lacrosse vs. Wesleyan, 5/19/2019 (NCAA Playoffs)