By Michael Letendre

With the month of August just about in the books, several student athletes will hitting collegiate campuses for the first time – eager to get acclimated with the school and start competing in sports at a higher level. 

And a number of local former Bristol Eastern athletes will be hitting several New England colleges with some already starting a new chapter in their sports journeys. 

Here’s the first of two lists of athletes that have moved on from Eastern to various schools and programs around the state and beyond: 

Jazmyn Browne – Women’s Softball (Albertus Magnus College)

*She was a primetime player defensively and offensively and brings Albertus a very versatile athlete…The standout shortstop batted .328 from the dish, carried an .432 on base percentage, and added 22 hits over a busy slate of action – leading the Lancers to 12 wins this past year…She played in every game, tallying 24 runs, nine RBI, four doubles, three triples and a home run…Browne also stole a couple bases, added seven assists and made 72 putouts…Against South Windsor on April 19, Browne went 3-for-4 with three hits – including a double and a triple – and was just a home run away from the cycle…Browne is going to be very successful in New Haven.  

Lauren Bender – Women’s Volleyball (Keene State College)

The former NCAA Division II program in Keene, New Hampshire is getting a very good player from BE, an athlete who could have played on multiple collegiate levels…Bender led the Lancers in kills-per-set (4.5), hitting percentage and total kills (347) this season…She played in all 77 sets, collected 180 digs, added 19 assists and was a slick server from the backline…The 5-foot-6 outside hitter racked up over 660 kills over her final three seasons, dished out 102 assists, nabbed 37 aces and bumped up 407 digs…While there was interest from other schools, Division III Keene State, admittedly, is getting a very good all-around student athlete.

Connor Policarpio – Men’s Soccer (Springfield College)  

*The CCC South All-Conference performer, along with Tyler Borry and Sam LaMar, had a successful season at Eastern under veteran coaches Bill Sweet and Bunty Ray, going 6-8-3 overall…Policarpio scored goals early and often this past season, netting five goals before the month of September had been completed…He nabbed two huge goals in a late season victory against Wethersfield and the scoring machine blasted two scores past the Middletown keeper on October 19 in a near miss against the Blue Dragons…The midfielder was recognized by a couple publications across the state for his efforts over the fall of 2022…Eastern had a successful year during Policarpio’s senior campaign and the midfielder should prosper at the college level up the road in Springfield.

Christopher Brown – Men’s Tennis (University of St. Joseph)

*The Lancers had a tough season in boys tennis but Brown, along with Camden Michaud, were two important leaders on the squad…The duo earned CCC South All-Conference honors and helped the Lancers to a big 6-1 triumph over Middletown on May 11…Brown, usually slotted as Eastern’s No. 2 singles player, was able to hang a loss on Middletown’s Danny Zheng and defeated Manchester’s Joe Richards in straight sets (6-1, 6-3) to open the campaign…Brown was a very good singles competitor and should fit in well for the Blue Jays men’s program in West Hartford.