“I wasn’t sure how far back everybody else was behind me, so I knew to just keep rolling, to keep going, because I really wanted to get first,” Brooklyn Anderson told a local outlet. A high school Oregon track star somersaulted her way through the state championship finish line last week. Brooklyn Anderson, a junior […]
A high school Oregon track star somersaulted her way through the state championship finish line last week.
Brooklyn Anderson, a junior at Thurston High School, turned heads during her somersault finish in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles at the Oregon State Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on May 30. To much surprise, Anderson tumbled in at first place. Thurston High School is located in Springfield, Oregon, about 120 miles south of Portland.
Footage captured by the National Federation of State High School Associations shows Anderson, who was already ahead in the race, tripping and performing a double somersault across the finish line. She won the race with a final time of 14.93 seconds. The second-place runner, Maisy Scanlan from Wilsonville High School, came in at 15.15 seconds, according to the Oregon School Activities Association.
“All I remember is resorting back to my gymnastics career and just somersaulting over that line,” Anderson told The Oregonian after her race. “I wasn’t sure how far back everybody else was behind me, so I knew to just keep rolling, to keep going, because I really wanted to get first.”
Celebrating the win, Anderson shared a photo and video of her somersault finish on Instagram.
“Wow, what a memorable season,” Anderson wrote in the Instagram post. “Year 3 is one for the books. Thank you everybody for the support, and especially thank you to the most amazing heat of girls a girl could finish a race with. You guys are awesome. GO COLTS #jryear #somersault #track #100mhurdles.”
The 500-meter hurdles weren’t the only event Anderson competed in. She also placed fourth in the girls’ 100-meter race, third in girls’ long jump and 10th in the girls’ 4-by-100-meter relay, per the Oregon School Activities Association.
High school track athlete somersaults to victory
A high school track athlete competing in a championship 100m hurdles race rolled her way to victory after she tripped near the finish line.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
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SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian police said Monday there were no injuries after shots were fired near an Under-20 World Cup women’s water polo game between China and Canada in the city of Salvador. China won 12-8 on Sunday — the opening day of the tournament — but footage showed the game being briefly interrupted […]
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian police said Monday there were no injuries after shots were fired near an Under-20 World Cup women’s water polo game between China and Canada in the city of Salvador.
China won 12-8 on Sunday — the opening day of the tournament — but footage showed the game being briefly interrupted as players got out of the pool, laid down and took cover by a small barrier after hearing gunshots outside the water polo venue in the Pituba neighborhood. China led Canada 3-2 at the time.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Story Links Coming off of its first-ever Big West regular season title, Hawai’i will open its 2025 season with a nonconference match at Long Beach State on Thursday at 4 p.m. HT. Following Thursday’s season opener, the Rainbow Wahine will head up the California Coast to take on Pepperdine Sunday at […]
Coming off of its first-ever Big West regular season title, Hawai’i will open its 2025 season with a nonconference match at Long Beach State on Thursday at 4 p.m. HT.
Following Thursday’s season opener, the Rainbow Wahine will head up the California Coast to take on Pepperdine Sunday at 9 a.m. HT. UH trails the all time series against both schools (3-10-4 vs. LBSU, 0-6-1 vs. PEP) but won the last meeting against The Beach with a 1-0 victory in the regular season finale last year.
| HAWAI’I (12-8-1, 8-1-1 Big West) at Long Beach State (6-9-3, 3-5-2 Big West) // Pepperdine (12-4-5, 6-1-3 WCC) | ||||
| Date / Time | Thursday, Aug. 14 Hawai’i at Long Beach State — 4:00 p.m. HT Sunday, Aug. 17 |
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| Location | Long Beach, Calif. | Malibu, Calif. | |||
| Live Stream | Thursday | |||
| Live Stats | Thursday | Sunday | |||
| PDF Notes | Hawai’i | Long Beach State | Pepperdine | |||
| Social Media | @HawaiiWSoccer  | #HawaiiWSoccer | @HawaiiWSoccer  |
|||
HEAD COACH MICHELE NAGAMINE
At Hawai’i: 86-115-25 (14th season)
Collegiate Record: 110-145-26 (17th year)
SERIES VS. LONG BEACH STATE
Overall: LBSU leads, 10-3-4
Last Meeting: Oct. 31, 2024 (UH won, 1-0)
Streak: W1
SERIES VS. PEPPERDINE
Overall: PEP leads, 6-0-1
Last meeting: Sept. 19, 2010 (PEP won, 2-0)
Streak: L2
ON THE PITCH
DID YOU KNOW?
2024 Big West Midfielder of the Year Nalani Damacion finished tied for third nationally and first among all freshmen with seven game-winning goals. Her seven game-winners were also the most by any NCAA freshman since 2015 (Cece Kizer, Ole Miss).
REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS!
Hawai’i is coming off of a magical 2024 season in which it captured the program’s first ever Big West regular season title. The Rainbow Wahine dominated the Big West regular season, going 8-1-1 and setting a school record for conference wins while finishing with 25 points – the most by a Big West school since 2016. The regular season title gave UH the right to host the semifinals and finals of the Big West Championship, however, the ‘Bows saw their historic season come to an end with a semifinal loss to CSU Bakersfield.
» Set a school record with a nine-match unbeaten streak that ran from Sept. 12-Oct. 20.
» Seven match winning streak was the longest in a single season and tied the overall program record.
» Outscored teams 12-6 in 10 league games, with all eight wins coming by one goal.
» First Big West team to start 5-0 in conference play since 2010 (UC Irvine).
RAISING THE EXPECTATIONS
The Rainbow Wahine enter the 2025 season with lofty expectations following last year’s conference regular season title. UH was picked first in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll, marking the first time since 2008 that the program has been tabbed as a preseason conference favorite. It’s also the first time since Hawai’i joined the Big West that it has been picked to finish atop the conference. Additionally, Amber Gilbert and Nalani Damacion each earned Preseason All-Big West recognition.
FAB FRESHMEN TO SUPER SOPHOMORES
A huge key to last season’s Big West regular season title run was the contributions UH got from a number of freshmen. The Rainbow Wahine’s group of eight sophomores combined for three Big West All-Freshman honors and eight conference player of the week recognitions a year ago as freshmen and will be counted on to play key roles again in 2025.
» Kennedy Justin earned Big West Goalkeeper of the Year honors last year as a redshirt freshman.
» Justin became the first freshman ever to claim that honor and matched a school single-season record for goalkeeper wins with a record of 11-8-1.
» Nalani Damacion was named Big West Midfielder of the Year after leading the team with seven goals.
» Damacion became the first freshman ever to claim the honor.
» All seven of Damacion’s goals were game-winner, ranking third nationally and first among freshmen.
» Alice Davidson earned Big West All-Freshman honors after finishing with four assists (T-1st on team).
» UH earned six total Big West Freshman of the Week honors (Damacion: 5x; Laule’a Ah Mook Sang: 1x)
RAINBOW RELOAD
The Rainbow Wahine will welcome in a talented group of eight newcomers to compliment their deep pool of returnees. UH brings in three players out of the transfer portal while adding five freshmen to the mix in 2025. Defenders Rikako Hayami and Solala Nasu will fill some key roles on the back line while three-year Division I goalkeeper Julia Ortega gives UH depth in the net. Isabella Kaemmerer, Karissa Kira, Saira Johal, Montana Longcrier and Sophia Nygaard make up the group of five incoming true freshmen.
» Hayami spent the 2024 season at Arizona and previously was an NJCAA All-American in 2023.
» Nasu returns home after spending freshman season at South Dakota State; was the three-time HHSAA State Tournament Most Outstanding Player from 2022-24.
» Ortega has totaled 137 saves in 29 career starts in goal at Southern Utah and Arizona State.
» Kaemmerer and Kira were high school and club teammates, winning an ECNL U17 national title in 2024.
Olivia Ekponé made her return to Aggieland to join head coach Pat Henry’s staff at the start of the 2024/25 season. Since landing back in College Station, she took on the role of athletics assistant for the Maroon & White, helping in multitude of roles for the track & field program. Assisting on the track, she […]
Assisting on the track, she aids both Coach Pat Henry and Coach Kurt Henry with the decorated 400m and sprint groups for practice and meet day preparation. Her experience as an athlete helped those groups, as she contributed to the men’s programs fifth NCAA Outdoor National Title and first SEC Indoor Championship during the 2025 season.
Her groups on the men’s side accounted for 10 points at the NCAA outdoor championships and eight points at the indoor championships. Collecting honors throughout the season, Ekponé’s squads tacked on 13 All-America accolades and three conference medals. The women’s team also saw success through her leadership, with 19 All-America honors and three league medals.
As an athlete, Ekponé was a four-year letterwinner and 12-time All-American for the Maroon & White. She played a key role in securing the women’s team’s fourth NCAA outdoor championship in 2014 and the program’s first SEC outdoor team title in 2013. She also anchored the women’s 4x100m relay team to a national title at the 2014 outdoor meet, winning the final in 42.80. Her outstanding performances won her SEC Runner of the Year honors in 2014, and helped guide the team to another trio of top-three program finishes during her time as a student-athlete.
She also etched her name in the Aggie history books, as Ekponé remains the school-record holder in the women’s outdoor 200m with a time of 22.23, as well as ranking in the top-10 in both the indoor 60m (7.25) and outdoor 100m (11.11).
Following her graduation, Ekponé stayed in the track & field world, as she worked for MileSplit and FloTrack in a sports media roll covering athletes from the youth to professional levels.
Saturday will mark the start of my 20th year here at SBJ. Twenty years since I shifted away from a career as an attorney and into sports journalism — and I’ve never looked back. Research. Data analysis. Writing. Editing. Podcast hosting. Moderating panels. Even playing beach volleyball in my suit jacket and pants alongside Olympian […]
Saturday will mark the start of my 20th year here at SBJ. Twenty years since I shifted away from a career as an attorney and into sports journalism — and I’ve never looked back.
Research. Data analysis. Writing. Editing. Podcast hosting. Moderating panels. Even playing beach volleyball in my suit jacket and pants alongside Olympian Kerri Walsh Jennings. I’ve tackled a number of duties and responsibilities at SBJ. Now, it’s time for my next role: sports media beat reporter.
As many reading SBJ Media will know, I’m no stranger to this area, having written about TV viewership for years. Now, I’ll formally expand on that expertise and take on all intersections of media and sports business.
I’m champing at the bit to start this next challenge. Thank you to so many in the business that have already reached out. I look forward to working with all of you!
And I want to hear from all SBJ readers. What are you paying attention to? Who do we need as a guest on the SBJ Sports Media Podcast? Got a tip? Email or call anytime.
SBJ remains the tip of the spear for those seriously tuned in to sports business, and I’m incredibly honored to be taking on this new role.
Let’s rock!
Story Links Montana State’s Champ’s Kids Club has announced a new partnership with The Future Fan, as the Bobcats prepare for the start of the 2025-26 sports season. The Future Fan is a U.S. company based in Arkansas that partners with other colleges and professional sports teams around the country to fulfill […]
Montana State’s Champ’s Kids Club has announced a new partnership with The Future Fan, as the Bobcats prepare for the start of the 2025-26 sports season.
The Future Fan is a U.S. company based in Arkansas that partners with other colleges and professional sports teams around the country to fulfill their exclusive membership programs.
This season’s Champ’s Kids Club membership ($50) includes an exclusive club t-shirt, mini-pennant, stickers, lanyard, and credentials, along with free admission to all home volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball games, and men’s and women’s tennis events. An additional perk is discounts on birthday parties at volleyball or basketball games and exclusive kid’s club events throughout the year.
The Future Fan will ship Champ’s Kids Club kits directly to your home. Fans should expect their kits within two weeks of ordering. To sign up for Champ’s Kids Club, sponsored by Billings Clinic, go to msubobcats.com (Fan Info).
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