Ryan Donato has represented both Harvard University (L) and Team USA (R) during his young career.
It’s no secret schools in the Ivy League have a reputation for stellar academics. But during the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, it’s the conference’s Olympians who have taken center stage. The league has 16 current or former student-athletes on the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team from more than half of its schools. The Ivy League’s impact on Team USA is far reaching, with representation in five different sports in South Korea. Outside of Team USA, the conference’s impact extends internationally, as many Ivies can also be found representing other delegations in PyeongChang.
Brown
The Brown Bears have two student-athletes suiting up for Team USA in PyeongChang: Evan Weinstock, a former track and field athlete, and Lauren Gibbs, a former volleyball player. Both are competing in their first Olympic Winter Games for the U.S. in the sport of bobsled.
Weinstock was a four-time Ivy League champion in track and field, winning the Ivy League heptagonal championship in both the heptathlon and decathlon as a junior. Meanwhile, Gibbs earned All-Ivy honors and was named team captain during her senior season.
“I truly loved my time at Brown,” Gibbs said. “Learning to navigate the complexities of being a student-athlete at an academically rigorous institution taught me time management and work ethic, which has served me well in business and in sport.”
Cornell
Jamie Greubel Poser is the lone Big Red collegiate athlete on Team USA. A former track and field student-athlete at Cornell, she picked up a bronze medal with Aja Evans (Illinois) in Sochi as well as at the 2017 world championships.
While at Cornell, Greubel Poser competed in both the heptathlon and pentathlon, winning three heptathlon Ivy League championships and one pentathlon conference championship. Outside of collegiate athletics, she also grew as a person during her time at Cornell.
"College sports taught me how to train as an elite athlete, how to perform at an elite level, and it also taught me how to push myself past the limits that I thought I had," Greubel Poser said.
Dartmouth
Dartmouth boasts eight student-athletes on Team USA in three different sports – cross-country skiing, biathlon and alpine skiing. In all, the Big Green has the second-largest collegiate contingent on the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team, behind Minnesota.
Five student-athletes have competed as members of the cross-country team: cousins Sophie and Patrick Caldwell, Rosie Brennan, Annie Hart and Ida Sargent. Brennan, Patrick Caldwell and Hart are all first-time Olympians, while Sophie Caldwell is back for her second Olympic Winter Games.
Alpine skier David Chodounsky competed in his second Games alongside biathlete Susan Dunklee. Meanwhile, Emily Dreissigacker has made her first Olympic appearance in the sport of biathlon.
Harvard
The Crimson have two student-athletes competing as teammates on the 2018 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team. One of four current men’s ice hockey athletes that are still competing collegiately, Ryan Donato has proven to be an offensive force on the front line for Harvard and for Team USA, scoring four goals in PyeongChang. In two full seasons in Cambridge, the forward nearly doubled his point output, from 21 points as a freshman to 40 points as a sophomore.
Joining Donato is former Crimson Noah Welch. Welch competed for Harvard from 2001-05 and was a two-time All-American defenseman. He registered 76 points in 129 career games, while helping the Crimson reach the NCAA tournament in each of his four years. Alongside Donato, Welch is a first-time Olympian.
Yale
The Yale Bulldogs are the second-largest collegiate contingent on the 2018 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team, with three skaters who wore red, white and blue in PyeongChang.
Brian O’Neill, Mark Arcobello and Broc Little all are first-time Olympians who played together as teammates at Yale under head coach Keith Allain, who made his third Olympic coaching appearance in 2018 as an assistant coach for the men’s team.
O’Neill was a first-team all-ECAC selection in 2011 and 2012, received Ivy League Player of the Year honors in 2012 and helped the Bulldogs to an NCAA championship in 2012. In 2009, Arcobello was a first-team all-ECAC selection and all-Ivy selection. Meanwhile, Little was named first-team all-Ivy in 2011 and currently sits fifth in the record books in goals (72) and career points (142).
For live video and highlights, head to the networks of NBC and NBCOlympics.com.
