The Boaz High School Lady Pirates volleyball team is gearing up for what could be a very successful season as they finish their first week of summer play. The Pirates took part in their first summer play date last week with four matches against White Plains, Scottsboro, Randolph and Buckhorn where they won three of four in two sets.

The Pirates returned on Friday for another round of games, this time including area rival Sardis along with Geraldine, Sand Rock and Glencoe where they again came out on top in all of their games. 

“We were able to reflect on what we needed to be able to do to beat more competitive teams,” Pirates head coach Shyna Cahill said. “We got back in the gym the next day and started working on what we needed. Randolph and White Plains are teams we wouldn’t normally play but that’s what I like about play dates you get to see a lot of new teams. We did get to play Sardis though, who I expect will be our big area matchup this season.”

Last season the Pirates were able to win their area but ultimately fell in the regionals, but the bulk of that team is back on the court this year as the Pirates come into the 2025 season with a big roster of upperclassmen. Of their fifteen players six of them are seniors, joined by seven juniors and two sophomores. 

Senior Emma Hawkins and junior Breanna Gentry are back as middle hitters, backed up by junior Caroline Cofield on the right side. At setter are senior Emma Jones and junior Caroline Aaron, a transfer from Albertville. 

“I feel like if I talk about one I have to talk about all fifteen because even though we have so many on the roster they all have skills and strengths worth mentioning,” Cahill said. “I think the biggest thing is that everyone is just all in for this team right now and that’s going to get us where we need to be by the time the season starts, and definitely by the time it finishes.”

The Pirates currently have two more summer play dates on the schedule with one taking place at Gadsden State College today and another at Geraldine High School on Thursday. They will need to get in all the practice they can before the season kicks off on August 21 with two tough matchups against Guntersville and Hayden. 

They will go on the road for their next two game days starting with a tournament at Geraldine on August 23, followed by another tri-match with Oneonta and Fort Payne that following Tuesday. The Pirates will finally get started with area play on August 28, returning home to take on Sardis along with Albertville. In the meantime Cahill preaches to her squad that they want to come away from every match and practice having improved in some way.

“Every time we meet something has to be better than last time,” she said. “Whether it’s sending one less free ball or just making sure we’re utilizing our serve and receive. Whether it’s an individual goal or a team goal as long as one thing is going up we’re meeting the goal of the summer and when the season starts we’ll have perfected the things we were already good at and made the things we weren’t so good at even better.”

The Pirates will be in action at home on Thursday, August 21, starting off against the Guntersville Wildcats at 4 pm. They will resume later that night and square off with the Hayden Wildcats at 6 pm.

SINGAPORE — Open water competition at the World Swimming Championships went off Wednesday after two postponements because of water-quality problems at Sentosa, the island area on the coast.

Florian Wellbrock of Germany won the men’s 10-kilometer race in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 55.50 seconds. Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy was almost four seconds behind in second place and Kyle Lee of Australia was third in 2:00.10.30.

The women’s race was set for later in the afternoon after being postponed twice.

Wellbrock took gold in the Tokyo Olympics in the 10-kilometer race and was the bronze medalist there at 1,500 meters in the pool. This is his eighth gold in world championship events.

The open water swimming program had been initially scheduled to open on Tuesday.

Event organizers said water-quality samples taken on Tuesday afternoon showed “a significant improvement with levels of E. coli falling between the ranges of good and excellent” in regulations set by the governing body World Aquatics.

The Mayo Clinic says that “E. coli bacteria normally live in the intestines of healthy people and animals. Most types of E. coli are harmless or cause relatively brief diarrhea.”

It said a few strains can cause “severe stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea and vomiting.” Exposure is often from contaminated water that may contain human and animal waste.

The open water events in the Seine River in last year’s Paris Olympics were a constant cause of concern. The Tokyo Olympics also had problems in 2021 because of warm water in a shallow bay, and related pollution issues.

Water pollution was a major problem in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where pollution levels were often high on Copacabana Beach, the venue for distance swimming, and in Guanabara Bay, the venue for sailing.

Other open water races in Singapore are set for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Water polo competition at the worlds is underway at an indoor venue.

The main event of the championships is eight days of swimming competition in the pool, which opens on July 27.

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

With summer winding down and the start of the school year just around the corner, it’s time to take a look at the Rice Consolidated Lady Raiders volleyball team.

Last season they struggled mightily as they only won 13 games overall last season and won one game in district play.

With that said, there is an obvious expectation to improve this season, especially in district play. The Lady Raiders have been chomping at the bit to get themselves back into the playoffs, and they will have to win some district games to do that.

While the team struggled last season, the positive news for the fans is that there is a new coach this season for the Lady Raiders. That’s not to say that the previous coach did a bad job, David Leist did an excellent job leading the team for as long as he did.

With a new coach coming in though, it brings in a different perspective and some change to a team that could use a little bit of change.

The Lady Raiders have been spinning their tires when it comes to volleyball, and they were having some trouble getting over the hump. Bringing in a new voice to lead this team could spark this team to one of their best seasons.

Rest assured new head coach of the volleyball team, Morgan Hunter, will have her work cut out for her this season. There is a sense of optimism that they can turn things around out at Rice Consolidated High School for the volleyball team, especially with the list of talented players returning.

Raelee Nelson, Iya Farrow, Lexia Rangel, Breelyn Freeman, Klair Hailey and Kimberly Hernandes are all expected to return to the team. These ladies logged a lot of big minutes last season and will be looking to take on a bigger role this season.

Nelson, Hernandes, and Freeman are some of the returning seniors to the team that Hunter is going to rely on. She will also ask that the underclassmen step up this season because if they are going to make the playoffs, they are going to need the underclassmen to make some plays.

The Lady Raiders season is set to begin on Tuesday, August 12, when they will open the season against Sacred Heart.

The U.S. dominated statistically with 45 kills to 29 and an 11-4 advantage in blocks. There were only three aces in the match with the U.S. earning two of them.

Tournament Most Valuable Player and outside hitter Blake Fahlbusch (USC) led all players with 17 points on 15 kills and two blocks. Opposite Corbin Batista (BYU) also produced 15 kills. Isiah Powell (Penn State) continued his dominant play in the middle with six blocks, two more than Mexico, and five kills for 11 points. Powell was named the tournament’s best blocker.

Middle blocker Dante Cayaban (Ball State) finished with nine points on six kills, a block and two aces. He was chosen as the tournament’s best server. Five U.S. players recorded at least six digs with libero Ben Bayer (Long Beach State) and Batista leading the way with nine each. Bayer, who shared match-high honors with 10 successful receptions, was selected as the best receiver at the championship.

Outside hitter Logan Hutnick totaled nine successful receptions and seven digs. Setter Brett Novak (Lindenwood) scored three points on two kills and a block while running the powerful U.S. offense.

The U.S. scored five consecutive points to turn a one-point lead into a six-point advantage, 15-9, in the first set. A Batista kill made it 13-9, followed by a Powell block after scrambling defense by the U.S., and Fahlbusch completed the run with a kill off the block.

An out-of-system kill by Batista gave the U.S. a 23-17 lead, another Powell block made it 24-20, and Cayaban put a ball down to give the U.S. the opening set. Batista recorded five kills in the set and Powell also scored five points with three blocks and a pair of kills.

The second set was close throughout with Mexico holding a slim 18-17 lead. A Fahlbusch kill and block regained the lead for the U.S. After a Mexico kill tied the set again, the key point of the set saw the U.S. make several point-saving defensive plays until a Batista kill gave the U.S. the lead for good.

Consecutive blocks by Fahlbusch and Powell made it 22-19, and Fahlbusch’s sixth kill and eighth point of the set extended the lead to four points, 23-19. Powell and Batista recorded kills to end the set with the U.S. ending on a 6-2 run to go up two sets.

The U.S. used a 4-0 run, capped by a Novak block, to give the U.S. a 10-5 lead in the third set. Kills by Batista gave the U.S. six-point leads at 14-8 and 16-10. Mexico went on a 5-2 run to cut the margin to three points, 18-15, but it would be as close as it got.

Powell’s fifth and sixth blocks of the match and two Fahlbusch kills accounted for the final four U.S. points with Fahlbusch clinching the championship with his 15th kill and 17th point. Batista led the U.S. with six kills in the set and Fahlbusch added five.

BYU commit selected in MLB Draft

Middle infielder Jaiden LoRe (5-11, 180) was selected in the fifth round of the Major League Draft by the Baltimore Orioles.

The BYU commit from Phoenix, Ariz., was the 154th selection in the draft. As a senior at Corona Del Sol High School, LoRe hit .418 on 46 hits, collecting 19 RBI, 14 doubles, one triple and four home runs while stealing nine bases. Playing primarily at shortstop, LoRe handled 97 chances with just two errors for a fielding percentage of .979 and also contributed 29 assists. In 110 at-bats, LoRe had just four strikeouts. He is graded as the No. 5 player in Arizona and No. 2 shortstop by Perfect Game. He is also graded as the 189th best player in the country and the 54th-best shortstop.

Hucks promoted to new position for BYU women’s basketball

Head coach Lee Cummard has announced the promotion of graduate assistant Dallin Hucks to Director of Video and Strategy.

“Coach Hucks has been and will continue to be a valuable asset to our team,” said Cummard. “Dallin has been with the team for several years: first as a manager, then as a graduate assistant and now as Director of Video and Strategy. He has shown that he is all in for this team, these athletes and is 100 percent committed to helping this program succeed. I am excited to see how he will help our team grow this season.”

Hucks joined the BYU women’s basketball program for the 2020-21 season as a practice player/manager. A year later, he was tasked with assisting coaches with film breakdown of upcoming opponents, offensive tendencies and set plays.

Hucks stepped away from BYU women’s basketball for a year to finish his bachelor’s degree. While completing his degree, Hucks served as an assistant coach to nine-time Utah State Champion and former Cougar men’s assistant coach Quincy Lewis at Lehi High School.

Upon graduating from BYU with a degree in Physical Education Coaching and a minor in Spanish, Hucks rejoined the Cougar program as a graduate assistant. He finished his second season as a GA and was responsible for opponent film breakdown, scout team preparation and in-game opponent analytics.

Hucks is from American Fork, Utah, where he played high school basketball with former BYU men’s basketball’s Spencer Johnson. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physical education teaching/coaching and a minor in Spanish teaching from Brigham Young University in 2023. In May 2025, Hucks was married to Gabriela Ulloa.

A familiar face returned to Liberty Mountain with Lance Bingham taking over as Liberty’s Director of Track & Field and Cross Country for the 2020-21 athletics year.

During his first five seasons at the helm, Bingham has coached the Flames to eight Conference USA and 12 ASUN Conference team titles between track & field and cross country. He has coached 20 All-Americans, including Liberty’s first relay team (2022 men’s 4 x 100) ever to garner All-America honors at the NCAA Division I level. The spring 2021 women’s cross country team became the first team in program history to reach the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.

 

Specifically within the events Bingham oversees for the Flames (decathlon, heptathlon, pole vault and high jump), Katie Urbine finished 10^th in the women’s pole vault at the 2024 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. That made her Liberty’s first women’s track & field athlete ever to become an NCAA Division I All-American during her freshman season.

 

Most recently, Meredith Engle placed 12^th in the pentathlon at the 2025 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships, becoming the Lady Flames’ first All-American in that event. Liberty also placed 1-2-3-4 in both the 2025 CUSA indoor heptathlon and outdoor decathlon competitions.

Bingham has earned five CUSA Coach of the Year honors and 10 ASUN Coach of the Year awards during his time with the Flames.

After serving as head track & field and cross country coach for four seasons at Abilene Christian University (2016-20), Bingham returned home to Liberty where he previously served 18 seasons under head coach Brant Tolsma.

The Flames’ head coaching role is Bingham’s third stint at Liberty. He first joined the track & field staff as an assistant coach for six seasons from 1995-2001 and then served as associate head coach of the program for 12 more years from 2004-16.

During his time leading the cross country and track & field programs at Abilene Christian, Bingham coached 25 NCAA West Preliminary Round qualifiers, five cross country all-region honorees and four NCAA Championship participants.

To close out his tenure in Texas, Bingham guided Abilene Christian’s men’s and women’s programs to a pair of third-place finishes at the 2020 Southland Conference Indoor Track Championships.

The Wildcats’ men’s squad finished in third place at the 2019 and 2020 Southland Conference Indoor Track Championships, the program’s best finish since rejoining the league in 2013. The third-place performance for the women’s team in 2020 was the team’s second-best finish in the last seven years.

During the outdoor championships, Bingham guided the men’s squad to back-to-back Southland runner-up performances in 2018 and 2019.

In cross country, Abilene Christian captured the Southland women’s team title in 2017 and sent a pair of women’s runners to that year’s NCAA national meet.

While serving as Liberty’s associate head coach during the 2004-16 seasons, Bingham helped guide Liberty men’s and women’s track & field teams to a combined 33 conference titles. Bingham has been a part of the Liberty coaching staff for all three IC4A championship seasons (1996, 2007 & 2008) in program history.

In 2009-10, Bingham helped Liberty become only the ninth school in NCAA Division I history to complete a conference “Double Triple.” The Flames captured Big South titles in men’s cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field, in addition to women’s cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field.

During his last time at Liberty, Bingham’s coaching responsibilities included the hurdles, pole vault and multi events. During eight of his 12 seasons, Bingham helped Liberty send at least one athlete to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

In 2012, Bingham coached Kolby Shepherd (pole vault) to a tie for fifth place and All-America honors at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Shepherd arrived at Liberty with just a 14-0 high school pole vault personal best.

Off the track, Bingham accompanied Liberty student-athletes on a number of foreign missions trips. During the summers of 2009, 2012 and 2015, he and his wife, Kelly, were part of the Liberty track & field group which traveled to Kenya.

Three of Bingham’s charges (Jon Hart, Clendon Henderson and Brandon Hoskins) qualified for the 2008 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Additionally, Henderson took part in the U.S. Olympic Trials that year.

As a result, Bingham was duly recognized as the 2008 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Southeast Regional Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year.

During his first time away from Liberty, Bingham spent three years (2001-04) as the head coach at South Plains Junior College in Levelland, Texas, where he was named the 2004 National Junior College Outdoor Coach of the Year.

At South Plains Junior College, Bingham’s athletes won 13 individual national championships and earned 33 All-America honors in track and cross country, while the 2002 women’s marathon squad won the national championship. On two separate occasions, his men’s teams earned a third-place finish at the national championship meet.

Prior to his tenure at South Plains, Bingham served as an assistant coach at Liberty for six seasons (1995-2001), where he was primarily responsible for assisting with multi-event athletes and field events. During his first stint as an assistant coach for the Flames, he coached seven Division I All-Americans.

During his competitive days, Bingham was an All-American decathlete at South Plains Junior College, finishing second at nationals in both 1982 and 1983, when he posted a personal-best score of 7,510 points. He went on to compete at Texas Tech, where he also played football.

In 2016, Bingham was inducted into the NJCAA Coaches Association Hall of Fame, honoring his many accomplishments as both a coach and former student-athlete at the junior college level.

Bingham graduated cum laude from Texas Tech in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and earned his masters of education from Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas.

Bingham and his wife of more than 30 years, Kelly, have two children: Brittany Werth and Cody. Kelly currently serves as an online professor at Liberty, teaching graduate level education classes.

Brittany is a former Liberty heptathlete (2009-10), who now serves as a missionary. Cody is a former Liberty decathlete (2011-15), who was part of the track & field coaching staff at Abilene Christian with his father for two years and is now a full-time pastor.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Open water swimming at the World Championships is set to start a day late following two delays in Singapore because of “water quality levels exceeding acceptable thresholds.”

World Aquatics and locals organizers issued a statement Wednesday saying the women’s and men’s 10-kilometer events would start in the afternoon.

Organizers said analysis of water quality samples collected late Tuesday met standards for the competition to begin.

The men’s 10-kilometer event is set to start as scheduled Wednesday at 1 p.m. local time (0500 GMT). The women’s 10-kilometer event, which was to have opened the program Tuesday and then initially rescheduled for Wednesday morning, will follow men’s race.

Other open water events are scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Local organizers said three samples taken along the competition course at Sentosa, near the Singapore Strait, at 5 p.m. local time (0900 GMT) Tuesday showed “significant improvement, with levels of E. coli falling between the ranges of ‘good’ to ‘excellent’ according to World Aquatics regulations.”

Open water swimming was an issue in last year’s Olympics in Paris with concerns about water quality in the Seine River. It was also an issue at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Water polo competition at the worlds is underway at an indoor venue.

The main event of the championships is eight days of swimming competition in the pool, which opens on July 27.

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports