BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M track & field head coach Pat Henry announced the addition of two-time Olympian Amin Nikfar to his staff as an assistant coach Monday. Nikfar will lead the Aggie throws group.
 
“Coach [Amin] Nikfar brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of the throwing events to our program,” Henry said. “I have known him and watched his athletes compete at a very high level for a number of years. I believe not only in his ability to coach, but his ability to communicate with his athletes and I know he will work well with our staff.”
 
Nikfar joins the Aggies from North Carolina after leading the Tar Heels throws group for the past six seasons. During his time in Chapel Hill, he guided his athletes to 14 All-America honors, highlighted by a runner-up finish from Tommy Kitchell in the shot put at the men’s 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships, and a pair of third-place finishes at the women’s outdoor nationals, courtesy of Madison Wiltrout in the javelin and Jill Shippee in the hammer throw, in 2022 and 2021, respectively. His groups also stood out on the conference level, securing nine individual ACC titles across the indoor and outdoor seasons.
 

“Texas A&M is a storied track & field program, and it is a great honor to join the work that is happening in Aggieland,” Nikfar said. “I’d like to thank Coach Henry, his staff and the athletic department for the opportunity to join the ranks. I feel fortunate to be able to uphold the high standards that have been set and contribute to the team.”
 
Prior to UNC, Nikfar served as an assistant coach at Stanford where he was named the 2019 USTFCCCA West Region’s Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year for his work with his four women’s NCAA Outdoor Championship competitors. He also spent time coaching at Southeastern Louisiana, the University of New Orleans, St. Francis High School and adds a pair of volunteer coaching roles at Northern Arizona and his alma mater, California.
 
Nikfar, a shot put standout, competed in the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympic Games and appeared in two IAAF World Championships. He was a nine-time Iranian national champion and broke national records six times. He was the 2004 Asian Indoor Athletics champion, and his collegiate-best mark still ranks No. 8 on the Cal’s all-time list. His lifetime best of 65-9.5 (20.05 meters) from 2011 remains an Iranian national record. 
 
Coach Henry also announced new roles within the current staff for the 2025-26 season, as Olivia Ekponé now takes on the role of assistant coach/recruiting coordinator, while assistant coach Joe Sarra will now also serve as the team’s director of operations.
 

To learn more about Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, visit 12thMan.com and follow @aggietfxc.

BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The defending NSIC regular season and tournament champions of St. Cloud State were picked by the league coaches in the NSIC Preseason Volleyball Poll. The Huskies are coming off a 2024 season where they finished 29-3 overall and 18-0 in NSIC play, and advanced to the NCAA Regional Final. SCSU received eight first place votes to tally 212 points.

The University of Jamestown, playing their first season at the NCAA Division II level, was picked to finish 11th. Senior setter Lily Bertsch was chosen as the Jimmies’ preseason player to watch.

Concordia-St. Paul was picked second with 208 points and four first place votes while Southwest Minnesota State was third with 202 points and the other four first place votes. 

The 2025 NSIC Volleyball season will begin with non-conference matches on Thursday, September 4 while the NSIC schedule begins September 19.  The NSIC regular season champion will be determined by the 20-match conference schedule. The 2025 NSIC Volleyball Tournament shall be an eight-team tournament with the quarterfinals hosted at the top four seeds on Tuesday, November 18 and the semifinals/championship matches hosted at the highest remaining seed. The semifinals/championship matches will take place on two consecutive days between Friday and Sunday, November 21-23 with the dates of competition determined by the host institution.

“We will be the least experienced team that I have coached in my 17 years at the University of Jamestown,” said head coach Jon Hegerle, who enters his 17th season. “However, this team has a lot of energy and the players genuinely care about each other. Returning only four players from last year’s roster, we will have a number of new faces on the court. I am excited to see how our team, players, and coaches respond to the gauntlet that is NSIC volleyball!”

“Lily will be in her third year as a starting setter,” continued Hegerle. “She has a tremendous work ethic and is a student of the game. Lily is always looking for what her team and teammates need. Lily is competitive and doesn’t shy away from any challenge. She is also humble and empathetic which makes her a great leader.”

Bertsch played in 25 matches last season, averaging 6.05 assists and 1.96 digs per set.

The Jimmies open the regular season in Nashville, Tenn., at the Ray Thrasher Classic, hosted by Trevecca Nazarene University September 5-6.

2025 NSIC Volleyball Preseason Poll

1	St. Cloud State (8)	212
2	Concordia-St. Paul (4)	208
3	Southwest Minnesota State (4)	202
4	Wayne State	188
5	Northern State	170
6	Sioux Falls	133
7	Winona State	132
8	Minnesota Duluth	130
9	Minnesota State	123
10	Augustana	110
11	Jamestown	84
12	MSU Moorhead	77
13	Bemidji State	53
14	University of Mary	42
15	Minnesota Crookston	40
16	Minot State	16

 

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Fans will get their first taste of the 2025 roster when the Indiana volleyball team hosts its annual Cream and Crimson Scrimmage on Saturday, August 23rd at 2 p.m. in Wilkinson Hall. The event is open to the public with no tickets required to enter.
 
After graduating a large senior class in 2024, eighth-year head coach Steve Aird and is staff reset the roster with a fresh crop of prep products. IU’s seven-member freshman class was ranked No. 14 in the country by Prep Dig, making it the highest-ranked recruiting class in school history.
 
Led by consensus top-55 recruits and outside hitters Charlotte Vinson (Yorktown, Ind.) and Jaidyn Jager (Carlsbad, Calif.), IU was able to reload at every position group. Rounding out the newcomers is UCLA beach volleyball grad student Jessica Smith. She heads to Bloomington after a successful career in the sand with a track record of being a respected leader and an incredible passer.
 
The Hoosiers will play two sets to 25 points and one to 15 on Saturday (Aug. 23). It will serve as the final team scrimmage of IU’s fall camp ahead of the regular season opener in Coral Gables (Aug. 29) against Miami (Fla.). Fans will be treated to a live DJ, free giveaways and an autograph session after the match is concluded.
 
IU will make its regular season debut in Wilkinson Hall on Thursday (Sept. 4) against SEMO. Fans can purchase single game tickets HERE.

Presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe was shot in Bogota on June 7 during a rally and underwent multiple surgeries before his death.

Colombian presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe, who had been fighting for his life since he was shot in June during a campaign event, has died, according to his family.

Uribe, a 39-year-old senator and a potential presidential candidate from the right-wing opposition, was shot in Bogota on June 7 during a rally and underwent multiple surgeries before his death.

“I ask God to show me the way to learn to live without you,” his wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, wrote on social media. “Rest in peace, love of my life, I will take care of our children.”

Uribe enjoyed a rapid political rise, becoming a recognised lawmaker for the Democratic Centre party. He was seeking to run in the 2026 presidential election.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene with a “9mm Glock-type firearm” and has pleaded not guilty after being formally charged on June 10 with attempted murder, the prosecutor’s office said. Five other suspects have also been arrested.

“Today is a sad day for the country,” Colombian Vice President Francia Marquez wrote on X.

“Violence cannot continue to mark our destiny. Democracy is not built with bullets or blood, it is built with respect, with dialogue,” she said.

‘Security beefed up’

President Gustavo Petro had previously blamed an international crime ring as being behind the attack on Uribe, without providing details or evidence, and has beefed up security for government officials and opposition leaders since it happened.

The assassination is reminiscent of political violence in Colombia during the 1980s and 1990s, when four presidential candidates were murdered in separate attacks blamed on drug cartels allied with right-wing paramilitary death squads.

Uribe’s death also adds to his family’s fraught history, with relatives prominent in Colombian politics.

His mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in 1991 during a botched rescue mission after she was kidnapped by the Medellin cartel, headed by drug lord Pablo Escobar.

Meanwhile, Uribe’s maternal grandfather, Julio Cesar Turbay, served as Colombia’s president from 1978 to 1982, while his paternal grandfather, Rodrigo Uribe Echavarria, headed the Liberal Party and supported Virgilio Barco’s successful 1986 presidential campaign.

Uribe was elected to Bogota’s city council at 25. In 2016, at 30, he was appointed city government secretary, the youngest person to hold the position. He resigned from that post in 2018 to launch an unsuccessful bid for mayor of Bogota as an independent.

In the 2022 legislative elections, Uribe led the Senate slate for the Democratic Center party with the slogan “Colombia First”, winning a seat in the chamber.

There, Uribe cemented his role as one of the primary opposition voices to Petro, criticising the government’s peace strategy aimed at ending Colombia’s six-decade armed conflict.

Former right-wing President Alvaro Uribe, leader of the Democratic Center party with no relation to the deceased senator, called Miguel Uribe “a hope for the homeland”.

Uribe leaves behind his wife, a young son and three teenage daughters of his wife from a previous marriage.

Southeast High School graduate Kannon Tippetts has signed to run track at Grand View University in Iowa. Tippetts was a two-time Class 1A state champion in the open 400 meters. He was also part of a state champion relay, earned three all-state awards in his track and field career, and participated in the state track championships all four years for the Cyclones.

Back in May, Tippetts defended his title in the Class 1A boys’ 400 meters with a personal best time of 50.60 seconds back in Casper. Kannon was the top qualifier and only runner under 52 seconds in the prelims, and then captured first place by 0.36 seconds. He also ran on Southeast’s 1A runner-up Sprint Medley Relay.

In 2024, Tippetts won his first state title in the 400 meters at 50.77 seconds. Kannon was also part of the Cyclones’ state championship 4×400 meter relay. They had a time of 3:38.63. Tippetts also won the 1A East Regional crown in the 800 meters.

Tippetts also played football and basketball at Southeast High School. He also participated in an open indoor track invite at Chadron State College in 2022 and 2023. Kannon received all-conference honors on the basketball court in the 2024-25 season.

Grand View University is in Des Moines, IA. The Vikings compete at the NAIA level of collegiate athletics and are members of the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC).

MONMOUTH, Ore. — Western Oregon volleyball’s Kellen Takatsuka has been promoted to associate head coach.

Takatsuka enters his fourth year with the Wolves volleyball program, beginning as a graduate assistant in 2022 before serving as assistant coach the last two seasons. He also served as. graduate assistant for the WOU women’s basketball program from 2021-23.

“I first want to thank our Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Randi Lydum for her support as we promote Coach Kellen to associate head coach,” WOU volleyball head coach Kaiao Nahale-a said. “With her guidance we were able to make this change and we are undoubtedly a better program for it. … Kellen has been a vital piece to the puzzle and an outstanding leader for our team over the past four seasons. He is no doubt one of the youngest, yet strongest, coaches in the country. Our program is excited to continue upward and onward and this change will help us do so.”

On the volleyball side, Takatsuka helped WOU to the most wins for the program since 2012 in 2024 as the Wolves went 15-12 overall as the Wolves have improved in victories each season since his arrival.