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Changing lanes | News, Sports, Jobs

Published

5 months ago

August 7, 2025

Fredonia native Emily Brown clears a barrier in the 3,000-meter steeplechase during her final season at Florida State University.
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In May, Fredonia High School graduate Emily Brown wrapped up a terrific collegiate track and field career that began at the University of Pittsburgh and ended at Florida State University in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships and then the NCAA Division I East First Round.

Competing in her best event, the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Brown finished with a personal-best time of 10:05.64, which was good for fifth place at the ACC Championships. That also gave her an All-ACC finish and moved her to No. 6 all-time at Florida State in the event.

“I finished this spring,” Brown stated. “I made the all-time list for Florida State for the women’s steeplechase. I finished fifth at ACC’s which is the highest I’ve finished in any event throughout my collegiate career. It was good to get an All-ACC finish. It was definitely a major goal through my time at Pitt and FSU.”

Brown had one more chance to qualify for the National Championships, but came up just short of that goal in the regionals.

“My last race for Florida State was at (the University of Northern Florida) in Jacksonville, which was the NCAA East Regionals,” Brown said about her final race. “I was fourth in my heat and the top three make nationals. It was me versus my roommate and she was about 0.2 seconds ahead of me, so she got that final qualifying spot. It definitely hurt, but I was super happy for her and I did everything I could. I closed really hard and I’m really proud of my effort.”

Emily Brown stands on the starting line before the 3,000-meter steeplechase final at the Canadian National Championships last weekend in Ottawa. Brown finished second in the race to earn a silver medal.
Submitted Photo

For many college athletes that would mark the end of her athletic career, but that’s not the case for Brown.

A year ago, the Fredonia native — who also has dual citizenship with Canada — competed in the Canadian Olympic Trials in the steeplechase. This year she had the opportunity again, but vying for the World Championship squad instead.

“Just being able to get out there and be in the field,” Brown said about running in Canada. “Getting to know the people and the players in the Canadian track world has been super great. Last year was my first time competing with the Canadian ladies, so I’ve definitely gotten to know them a bit better the past year.”

At the Olympic Trials, Brown ran 10:25.94 which earned her eighth place, but this past weekend in Ottawa, Ontario she improved that time and her placing quite a bit. At the Canadian Nationals, Brown shaved off more than10 seconds from a year ago and posted a time of 10:13.29 to claim a silver medal at the event.

“I definitely want to keep getting faster,” Brown added. “But I think that last weekend was getting one step closer to accomplishing the goals that I want to accomplish. I’m hopefully setting myself up for success in future meets. I just want to continue to make a name for myself in that world.”

Emily Brown finishes her career at Florida State with the sixth-fastest time in school history in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, running a 10:05.64 in the event at the 2025 ACC Championships.
Submitted Photo

The overall champion was Grace Fetherstonhaugh, who blazed past the competition with a time of 9:41.05 and will represent Canada at next month’s World Championships in Tokyo. Eventually representing the National Team has now become one of the goals for Brown.

“I know that making a national team is somewhat of a long-term goal for me,” Brown stated. “It’s nothing I thought about in high school, but transitioning from the end of my time at Pitt, it’s kind of something I’ve talked about with all my coaches. It’s something that’s kind of been my major goal throughout this.”

While most runners have the benefit of running all year with a team — usually at the collegiate level — the now-graduated Brown will have to train independently from an affiliated school.

“I want to keep running,” Brown stated. “I think that was a big part of me going to Florida State. For me, it was meeting people that know what it’s like to run post-collegiately and figure it out from there.”

That could be a daunting task for most competing unattached, but Brown is up for the task, and this year she will not be away from the college track scene, she will just be in a different role.

Fredonia native Emily Brown will begin her coaching career this season at UCLA, joining the track and field staff as an assistant to the distance coach.
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“It’s nice being in college because everything is laid out for you,” Brown said about her post-collegiate career. “Now it’s a little more on me to engineer what I want for myself post-collegiately. It’s definitely intimidating. It’s nice to have a coach and access to all of these resources. … I’m working at UCLA as an assistant track coach now which is a great opportunity to be in that world and around people and resources.”

Making the move from Pitt to Florida State, Brown didn’t just switch schools, but her area of study, acquiring a master’s degree in coaching. After applying to many schools, Brown landed her decision on working with the University of California at Los Angeles track and field team.

“Throughout college I grew an affinity for mentoring other people and helping advise them,” Brown stated. “I really believe that if you’re doing things the right way, if you set a goal for yourself, it’s pretty achievable. I really want to help athletes to make the most of their potential.”

Sticking with Power 5 programs, Brown decided on UCLA where she will be an assistant to the distance coach.

“I want any opportunity that I can get,” Brown said. “I reached out to a ton of people from a ton of places. I interviewed with a bunch of coaches from universities in different states. I definitely wanted something different and I’ve lived on the East Coast my entire life … so I think now I’m looking to experience something new, and the West Coast is something exciting to do that.”

Brown’s first interest in coaching began when she was at Fredonia Middle School and now she will begin coaching at one of the top program’s in the country.

“I think I’ve always been interested in coaching,” Brown added. “I started reading different training, coaching theories and stuff like that when I started the sport in seventh and eighth grade. I’ve definitely been interested in the why behind what we’re doing.”

While her main job will be helping the future of track and field, Brown will still be able to chase her goals as her track and field career is not over yet.

: Fredonia native Emily Brown clears a barrier in the 3,000-meter steeplechase during her final season at Florida State University.
Submitted Photo

: Emily Brown stands on the starting line before the 3,000-meter steeplechase final at the Canadian National Championships last weekend in Ottawa. Brown finished second in the race to earn a silver medal.
Submitted Photo

: Emily Brown finishes her career at Florida State with the sixth-fastest time in school history in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, running a 10:05.64 in the event at the 2025 ACC Championships.
Submitted Photo

: Fredonia native Emily Brown will begin her coaching career this season at UCLA, joining the track and field staff as an assistant to the distance coach.
Submitted Photo

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Evans Sisters Earn All-State Volleyball Honors For Hawks | KCII Radio

Published

25 seconds ago

January 1, 2026

Your Sports Nation

A phenomenal fall for Mid-Prairie volleyball has led to post-season awards for the Golden Hawk sister act on the court. Mid-Prairie’s Jovi and Jeorgia Evans were named Class 3A All-State by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association.

Senior Jovi Evans was a First-Team All-State selection. Evans finished third in Class 3A with 432 kills. She was sixth in 3A with 58 aces, and ninth in the state with a .351 swing efficiency. Evans was seventh in the River Valley Conference with 402 assists and put up 424 digs and 34 blocks on defense. She is a multi-time All-State, All-District and All-River Valley Conference choice and former River Valley Conference Player of the Year.

Sophomore Jeorgia Evans was a Fourth-Team All-State pick in 3A. Evans had 579 digs this season, second most in Class 3A. Her 56 aces were eighth in the state. Evans finished with a .295 swing efficiency, fifth in conference and 213 kills ninth in the River Valley with 25 blocks. Evans was also an All-District and All-RVC honoree.

Mid-Prairie ended the year at 30-10, the first time in school history with 30 or more wins in three straight seasons and advanced to the State Tournament for the first time in consecutive years.

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Knights cruise past Cornell 86-69; Yungtum records career-best 17 rebound double-double

Published

2 hours ago

January 1, 2026

Your Sports Nation

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – Men’s basketball (10-2, 2-1 A-R-C) closed 2025 with an 86-69 road win over Cornell College (1-10, 0-2 MWC) behind a 29 point and 17 rebound double-double performance from Ethan Yungtum.

Game Summary

First Half
- Wartburg jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes after five points from Ethan Yungtum and two from Gabe Trujillo
- Yungtum and Luke Ladwig each connected on three pointers along with a bucket from Austin Bienemann to take a 18-7 lead after six minutes of play
- Drake Wemark and Yungtum each scored four points over the next three minutes to keep the Knights in front 27-11
- After Cornell cut the lead to 10 points, Trujillo nailed a three pointer with 4:48 left in the half
- The Knights closed the half on an 8-3 run behind scores from Yungtum, Wemark and Kaleb Ferguson
  - Wartburg led 44-36 at halftime

Second Half
- Cornell outscored Wartburg 8-5 in the first three minutes of the second half after scores from Trujillo and Cael Schramm
- Wartburg brought the lead to 57-38 following three pointers from Yungtum and Ladwig and a score from Bienemann
- Lyle Olsen connected on another Wartburg three pointer as the Knights held a 64-45 lead with just over 10 minutes left to play
- The Knights continued to hold their lead over the next three minutes as both Trujillo and Bienemann scored four points each
- Bienemann had back-to-back dunks for Wartburg to push the Knights’ lead to 77-58 with 4:46 to go
- The Knights continued to match Cornell’s scoring in the final minutes as Yungtum, Bienemann and Ladwig combined for nine points to close out an 86-69 win for Wartburg

Top Performers

Notes/Streaks

Wartburg moves to 2-0 over Cornell this season
- First time with multiple wins over Cornell in one season since 2018-19

10^th double double of the season for Yungtum

Four blocks is a career high for Schramm
- 12 blocks over his last five games

10 assists ties Ladwig’s career best
- Fifth career game with 10 assists (second this season)

Career high in rebounds for Yungtum (17)
- Most by any Knight this season

Third time this season with 10+ threes made as a team

Seventh 20+ point scoring performance for Yungtum this season

Next Time Out
The Knights are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 3 for a home matchup against Nebraska Wesleyan University at 4 p.m.

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Meet the 2025 Huntsville Times All-Region volleyball team

Published

3 hours ago

January 1, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Huntsville area volleyball teams were well-represented in the AHSAA Elite Eight championship tournament with 11 teams earning spots this season.

Class 5A Guntersville won its sixth state championship while Class 6A Hazel Green advanced to the championship match before falling to Spanish Fort and Austin finished in the Class 7A final four.

Other teams winning to the final eight were Class 7A Bob Jones, which was the only team to push class champion McGill-Toolen to five sets since a Sept. 4 five-setter against Class 6A champion Spanish Fort. Class 6A Hartselle, Class 5A Arab, Brewer and Boaz, Class 4A Madison County and West Morgan and Class 3A Elkmont also earned Elite Eight spots.

The Huntsville Times All-Region team is compiled by the AL.com high school sports staff with input from coaches.

AL.com named Player of the Year, Attacker MVP, Defensive MVP, Setter MVP and Coach of the Year. Award winners are listed separately, but considered first-team selections.

HUNTSVILLE ALL-REGION VOLLEYBALL TEAM

(Players listed alphabetically)

Adily Alberti, Danville

5-8, Sr., Outside Hitter/Defensive Specialist

358 kills, 21 blocks, 332 digs, 24 assists, 36 aces

College: Undecided

Charlie Barnes, Austin

5-11, Sr., Outside Hitter

484 kills, 48 blocks, 408 digs, 42 assists, 76 aces

College: Bevill

McKenzie Doner, Elkmont

Jr., Outside Hitter/Middle

283 kills, 29 blocks, 374 digs, 23 assists, 72 aces

College: Undecided

Caroline Coulter, Decatur

5-10, Sr., Outside Hitter

441 kills, 21 blocks, 303 digs, 21 assists, 31 aces

College: Undecided

Aylah Duvall, Hazel Green

6-0, Jr., Middle

268 kills, 72 blocks, 191 digs, 22 assists, 27 aces

College: Undecided

Blakely Faulkner, Brewer

5-8, Sr., Outside Hitter

557 kills, 18 blocks, 653 digs, 82 assists, 84 aces

College: Undecided

Emani Green, James Clemens

5-4, Sr., Libero

402 digs, 277 assists, 44 aces

College: Alabama State

Riley Green, Lindsay Lane

5-4, Jr., Setter

1,020 assists, 54 kills, 299 digs, 52 aces

College: Undecided

Addy Gustafson, Madison County

5-8, Sr., Setter

1,194 assists, 61 kills, 35 blocks, 426 digs, 40 aces

College: Undecided

Layla Hanvy, Decatur Heritage

6-0, Jr., Middle

254 kills, 35 blocks, 210 digs, 32 assists, 33 aces

College: Undecided

Rylee Jo Harbin, New Hope

5-4, Jr., Libero, 44 kills, 0 blocks, 483 digs, 80 assists, 40 aces

College: Undecided

Layla Hendrix, Arab

6-0, Jr., Middle

435 kills, 35 blocks, 91 digs, 69 aces

College: Undecided

Maddy Johnson, Hartselle

5-7, Sr., Setter

Region second-best 1,518 assists, region-best 24.48 assists per match, 181 kills, 22 blocks, 421 digs, 68 aces

College: Undecided

Kalyn Jones, Lindsay Lane

5-10, Jr., Outside Hitter

Region second-best 654 kills, region-best 13.91 kills per match, 20 blocks, 333 digs, 27 assists, region second-best 102 aces

College: Undecided

Mya Lacey, Bob Jones

5-10, Sr., Right Side/Setter

396 kills, 479 assists, 59 blocks, 344 digs, 79 aces

College: AUM

Carleigh Lanford, Madison County

5-10, Sr., Outside Hitter/Defensive Specialist

574 kills, 34 blocks, 529 digs, 52 aces

College: Undecided

Abby Langlois, Priceville

6-1, Sr., Outside Hitter

435 kills, 96 blocks, 325 digs, 43 aces

College: West Florida

Italey May, Guntersville

5-8, So., Outside Hitter

451 kills, 29 blocks, 295 digs, 40 assists, 19 aces

College: Undecided

Brenna McReath, Hartselle

5-9, Jr., Right Side

523 kills, 62 blocks, 396 digs, 59 assists, region second-best 109 aces

College: Undecided

Kennedy Moss, Huntsville

5-8, Sr., Outside Hitter

376 kills, 38 blocks, 270 digs, 14 assists, 42 aces

College: Undecided

Bekah Mouser, Madison Academy

5-6, Jr., Outside Hitter

314 kills, 26 blocks, 392 digs, 30 aces

College: Undecided

McKenna Phillips, Buckhorn

5-8, Jr., Outside Hitter

359 kills, 65 blocks, 329 digs, 11 assists, 44 aces

College: Undecided

Brooke Reeves, Grissom

6-0, Sr., Outside Hitter

262 kills, 40 blocks, 205 digs, 29 aces

College: Calhoun

Elizabeth Rohling, St. John Paul II

5-10, Jr., Setter

188 kills, 22 blocks, 378 digs, 836 assists, 70 aces

College: Undecided

Shayna Russell, DAR

5-8, Sr., Outside Hitter

476 kills, 22 blocks, 453 digs, 52 assists, 69 aces

College: Snead

Olivia Saint, Hazel Green

6-3, Sr., Right Side

306 kills, 55 blocks, 103 digs, 18 assists, 18 aces

College: Freed Hardeman

Haniyah Standridge, West Morgan

5-7, So., Outside Hitter

Region-best 723 kills, region second-best 12.25 kills per match, 35 blocks, 335 digs, 53 aces

College: Undecided

Ka’miah Walker, Athens

5-8, Sr., Outside Hitter

425 kills, 6 blocks, 255 digs, 17 assists, 56 aces

College: Calhoun

Amari Woods, Austin

5-10, Jr., Outside Hitter

374 kills, 39 blocks, 329 digs, 57 assists, 45 aces

College: Undecided

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

AHSAA Volleyball 5A Championship — Guntersville’s Mary George Vandergriff sets the ball against Montgomery Catholic during the AHSAA Class 5A volleyball state championship at Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, Ala., Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Vasha Hunt | preps@al.com) Vasha Hunt

Mary George Vandergriff, Guntersville

5-8, Sr., Setter

Region-best 1,671 assists, region second-best 24.22 assists per match, 135 kills, 39 blocks, 426 digs, 86 aces

College: UAH

ATTACKER MVP

AHSAA Volleyball — Bob Jones’ Kendall Buckley celebrates point against McGill-Toolen during Class 7A play in the AHSAA state volleyball tournament at the CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala., Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Vasha Hunt | preps@al.com)Vasha Hunt

Kendall Buckley, Bob Jones

6-0, Sr., Outside Hitter

476 kills, 57 blocks, 424 digs, 33 assists, 73 aces

College: UNA

DEFENSIVE MVP

AHSAA Volleyball 6A Championship — Hazel Green coach CoCo Tate Crutcher works with Camryn Collier during the AHSAA Class 6A volleyball state championship against Spanish Fort at Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, Ala., Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Vasha Hunt | preps@al.com) Vasha Hunt

Camryn Collier, Hazel Green

5-7, Sr., Libero

568 digs, 132 assists, 23 aces

College: Calhoun

SETTER MVP

AHSAA Volleyball North Super Regional Tournament — Austin’s Maggie Jae Marsh sets the ball during Class 7A play in the AHSAA North Super Regional volleyball tournament at the Finley Center in Hoover, Ala., Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (Vasha Hunt | preps@al.com)Vasha Hunt

Maggie Jae Marsh, Austin

5-8, Jr., Setter

1,174 assists, 195 kills, 56 blocks, 380 digs, 82 aces

College: Undecided

COACH OF THE YEAR

Melissa-Paul Gardner, Guntersville

HONORABLE MENTION

Outside Hitter/Right Side: Sydney Jarmon, Guntersville, Sr.; Emma Guffey, DAR, So.; Isabelle Sutton, Madison Academy, Sr.; Sydney Wallace, New Hope, Sr.; Mackenzie Martin, New Hope, Sr.; Makenzie Irmen, Brewer, Sr.; Emma- Glenn Roby, Decatur, Jr.; Lyndie Springer, Hartselle, Sr.; Abigail Preuitt, Hartselle, Sr.; Rhyan Holloway, St. John Paul II, Sr.; Aliyah Hollingsworth, Boaz, Jr.; Ella Watts, Bob Jones, So.; Julia Celani, James Clemens, So. ; Destiny Burns, Athens Bible, Sr.; Emma Underwood, Elkmont, Sr.; Caroline Cofield, Boaz, Jr.; Alice Morrison, Lindsay Lane, Jr.; Harper Jane Douglas, Decatur, Sr.

Middle: Izzy Fearnside, Madison County, Jr.; Lilly Roberts, Guntersville, Sr.; Shiloh Stanley, Guntersville, So.; Breanna Gentry, Boaz, Jr.; Raygen Muse, West Morgan, Jr.

Setter: Josie Childress, Priceville, Sr.; Madison Moore, Grissom, Jr.; Kylie Murrell, Athens Bible, Fr.; Lily Nelson, Hazel Green, So.; Brooklynn Gonzalez, Buckhorn, Jr.; Sarai McKenzie, Buckhorn, Jr.; Millie Lackey, Arab, Jr.; Rose Garner, Decatur Heritage, Jr.; Gillian Head, DAR, Jr. ; Sarah Bacon, Madison Academy, So.

Defensive Specialist/Libero: Isabella Grant, St. John Paul II, Jr.; Alley Emerson, Brewer, So.; Kayden Gronczniak, Arab, Sr.; Aubree Lagunas, Athens, Jr.; Paige Bradshaw, Madison County, Fr.

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H.S. INDOOR TRACK & FIELD: GLOW region athletes shine in RWTL meet at Nazareth University | Sports

Published

7 hours ago

January 1, 2026

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LANE ONE: Projecting the top stories of 2026 (10 to 6), with questions about Russia, Israel, esports, doping, college chaos and, of course, track & field

Published

7 hours ago

January 1, 2026

Your Sports Nation

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ TOP STORIES of 2026: 10 to 6 ≡

The post-Olympic year of 2025 is done and a Winter Olympic year is getting started in 2026. What will the top stories be in the new year? Time for predictions, or – let’s say – projections of the issues that will garner attention and interest. Some good and some not good at all.

10. Russia, Israel and access to sport
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and is still fighting its war of aggression. Hamas, the ruling body in Gaza, massacred more than 1,200 Israelis in a coordinated attack on 7 October 2023 and took 250 hostages and Israel responded with a comprehensive attack, leading to a fragile “cease fire,” in effect since 10 October 2025.

In 2022, the International Olympic Committee declared quickly that Russian and Belarusian athletes should not participate in international competitions, including teams. An IOC plan to allow “neutral” individuals who have shown no public support for the war was developed at the end of 2023 and implemented for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. In December, the IOC decided that Russian and Belarusian “youth” competitors and teams can compete internationally without restrictions, subject to federation rules and procedures.

In October 2025, Indonesia – after giving assurances earlier – refused to allow Israeli athletes to enter the country to compete in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. The IOC ended all discussions about future events in Indonesia and the government has still not said it will allow Israeli participation in the future.

At the Olympic Summit on 11 December 2025, the Olympic stakeholders “reaffirmed that athletes have a fundamental right to access sport across the world, and to compete free from political interference or pressure from governmental organisations.”

So what happens in 2026? Russia and Belarus appear to be in a re-entry phase, but what about Israel and other IOC-recognized countries that have been refused visas, such as Kosovo? And what of the increasing scrutiny on entry into the United States, with the 2026 FIFA World Cup in June and July?

9. The IOC and esports?
A 12-year deal between the IOC and the Saudi Arabian National Olympic Committee to create and stage a new, “Olympic Esports Games” was announced with great fanfare in July 2024.

In October 2025, the deal was dead, with the announcement noting in part:

“The IOC, for its part, will develop a new approach to the Olympic Esports Games, taking the feedback from the ‘Pause and Reflect’ process into account, and pursue a new partnership model.

“This approach will be a chance to better fit the Olympic Esports Games to the long-term ambitions of the Olympic Movement and to spread the opportunities presented by the Olympic Esports Games more widely, with the objective of having the inaugural Games as soon as possible.”

What does the IOC do now? Under prior President Thomas Bach (GER), a link to the e-sports community was created, but has stalled. As he noted at the time, the structure of competitive gaming is much different from Olympic sports, with commercial publishers instead of International Federations.

There are perhaps more than three billion active gamers worldwide, but many fewer registered professionals. Will new President Kirsty Coventry’s IOC seek out engagement, as Bach did? Find a blend with active sport contested online, a la the World Rowing Indoor Championships? Do nothing?

Remember this line in “The Godfather” from 1972? Looking to the future, consigliere Tom Hagen told his boss, Vito Corleone, “if we don’t get a piece of that action, we risk everything we have; I mean not now, but ten years from now.”

8. Collegiate sport still in chaos
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee stated that “75% of U.S. Olympians will have competed collegiately as part of their journey to Team USA” for the Paris 2024 Games and that the American collegiate system is a bedrock of the U.S. athlete development program.

In 2025, collegiate athletics surged into chaos as pay-for-play was fully implemented, firstly and mostly for college football and also significantly impacting college basketball for men and women. The now-legal payments to players, and barely-regulated booster pay on top of that, plus the costs for coaches, support and facilities, threatens to crowd out all other sports, including Olympic mainstays such as track & field, swimming, wrestling, volleyball, gymnastics and many others.

The NCAA is looking to Congress for legislative support and some collegiate conferences and the USOPC are beyond the SCORE Act, which requires that the large football-playing schools maintain a 16-sport program which will ensure continued funding of non-revenue sports, which are essentially everything other than football and basketball at most schools.

But the SCORE Act (H.R. 4312) and competing bills have not made it across the finish line yet and do not appear to be close. The Trump Administration is in favor of a Congressional fix to the college sport mess, but has many other priorities.

There is a wide agreement that collegiate sport’s structure is broken, but how to fix it is not clear. We’re here to help: The Sports Examiner proposed a comprehensive fix in 2024, detailed here.

7. What about the Enhanced Games?
Under the leadership of then-IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP), the World Anti-Doping Agency was formed in 1999 to take the global lead against doping in sport, on competitive, ethical and medical safety grounds.

In 2025, a new competition was announced, doing away with doping tests and encouraging “enhanced” athletes to compete in a showcase of “superhumans,” titled the Enhanced Games, planned to be held at Resorts World in Las Vegas, Nevada in late May of 2026.

Widely condemned, the event is to feature a small number of sprint events in track & field and swimming, plus weightlifting, all trying to break world records set by athletes who have competed in competitions which follow the World Anti-Doping Code.

Each event is to have a $500,000 prize purse, with $250,000 for the winner; world-record bonuses will pay $250,000 except for the 50 m Free swim and 100 m dash, which will have $1 million payouts for records.

WADA and many other organizations have labeled the event dangerous and unethical. The promoters have had trouble signing up athletes, who will be instantly banned from Olympic and International Federation competitions. So far, nine swimmers, three track athletes and two weightlifters have agreed to participate, and the Enhanced Games had a lawsuit alleging restraint of trade against WADA, World Aquatics and USA Swimming was dismissed.

But the Enhanced Games got a $40 million lifeline in a complex transaction in November, with the promise of more, with a product line to follow which would be the basis of the business going forward.

Will the Enhanced Games be held? If so, will anyone care? Many in the Olympic world have disowned it, but there will be attention paid to see what happens – if anything – in May.

6. Will ATHLOS succeed where Grand Slam Track failed?
One of the big questions of 2025 was whether Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track would succeed. It did not, staging only three of its planned four meets, selling less than 65,000 tickets across eight meet days and staring at $31.4 million in debt at the end of 2025.

Now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware, Grand Slam Track is trying to settle its debts – it owes its athletes about $7 million – and get re-energized with new funding. It will have an uphill climb to regain any trust within the track & field community. But it is trying.

Getting ready to enter the fray, apparently, is ATHLOS, a project of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who staged two showy, end-of-season meets in New York in 2024 and 2025, with a limited event program, strong athlete pay and integrated concerts which had more fan attention than the meets.

Ohanian has promised an ATHLOS “league” beginning in 2026:

“The ATHLOS League introduces a team-based competition model designed for and by the modern athlete. Taking place after the conclusion of the World Athletics season, ATHLOS will feature multiple meets hosted in major cities, culminating in a final championship event.”

The ownership is to include athletes such as Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas and Tara Davis-Woodhall. That’s all there is to say at present. The details, with Grand Slam Track’s experience as a cautionary tale, will be fascinating.

Coming New Year’s Day: our projected top-five stories of 2026, including a fight over science and two of the world mega-events.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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Texas A&M Volleyball makes USA Today’s Top Women’s Moments list

Published

11 hours ago

January 1, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Dec. 31, 2025, 8:16 p.m. CT

When it comes to recent college athletics, few stories can match the rise of the Texas A&M volleyball program—a team that went from unranked three years ago to national champions. Their remarkable climb just earned major national recognition, as one of the country’s biggest publications placed their title run among the top women’s sports moments of the year.

On Monday, USA Today released its 2025 Top Ten Women’s Sports Moments, highlighting the most unforgettable achievements across the country. Women’s athletics delivered countless headline‑worthy performances this year, but when it came to upsets, nothing topped Texas A&M’s five‑set stunner over No. 1 Nebraska in the NCAA Tournament.

The Aggies toppled the undefeated favorite on its home floor, in front of a sea of red, to punch their ticket to the Final Four—then dominated the rest of the field on their way to the program’s first‑ever national championship.

Under head coach Jamie Morrison, A&M’s fast‑paced, aggressive style overwhelmed opponents all season. Just as important, Morrison instilled a belief in his team that they belonged on the sport’s biggest stage—and that they were capable of winning it all. The Aggies played like it, too.

Their takedown of the sport’s juggernaut didn’t just shift the tournament. It put the entire volleyball world on notice. And now, that moment has been cemented nationally, earning the No. 10 spot on USA Today’s list of the top women’s sports moments of the year.