NAPERVILLE – The Carthage women’s track and field team has been selected to finish fifth in the 2025 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Pre-Championship Poll, the conference announced Thursday.

POLL RESULTS

1. Elmhurst (8 first-place votes), 64 points

2. North Central (1 first-place vote), 57 points

3. Illinois Wesleyan, 45 points

4. Augustana, 42 points

5. Carthage, 38 points

6. Wheaton, 29 points

7. North Park, 20 points

8. Carroll, 15 points

9. Millikin, 14 points

Thirteen Firebirds are currently ranked in the top five in their respective events.  

Kaitlyn Jerbi is ranked fourth in the 10,000 meter run with a time of 43:16.98.

In the high jump, Teagan Johnston is ranked fifth with a mark of 1.57 meters.

Christina Hall is ranked third in the long jump, with a mark of 5.62 meters.

Abbey Calhoun’s mark of 11.58 meters is ranked second in the triple jump.

In the shot put, three Firebirds are ranked in the top five. Alexis Mattox is ranked third with a mark of 13.47 meters. Madison Payne and Mikayla Wright are ranked fourth and fifth with marks of 13.30m and 13.27m.

Nicole Tarpley and Jackie Tuzil are ranked third and fourth in the discus with marks of 45.61 meters and 44.43 meters.

In the hammer throw, Mattox and Tarpley are ranked second and third with marks of 53.84 meters and 53.48 meters.

Johnston and Julia Kraus are ranked third and fifth in the heptathlon, scoring 3830 and 3376 points over seven events. 

The Firebirds are scheduled to compete in the 2025 CCIW Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Friday, May 2, and Saturday, May 3, hosted by North Central in Naperville, Illinois. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.

NAPERVILLE – The Carthage men’s track & field team has been selected to finish fourth in the 2025 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Outdoor Track & Field Pre-Championship poll, the conference announced Thursday.

POLL RESULTS

1. North Central – 64 (8)

T2. Augustana – 53 (1)

T2. Illinois Wesleyan – 53

4.  Carthage – 43

5. Millikin – 36

6. Wheaton – 29

7. North Park – 19

8. Elmhurst – 16

9. Carroll – 11

Nine student-athletes rank in the top five across 12 different events in the CCIW heading into the weekend’s championship meet:

Chase Upmann leads the CCIW in the 800m with a time of 1:51.12.

Tyler Rose ranks first in the conference in the discus throw with a mark of 49.32m. Rose also came into the championship meet in second place in the shot put with a throw of 15.05m.

Lucas Leal leads the conference in the hammer throw with a season-best mark of 60.47m.

Mac Anderson ranks second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.74 seconds.

Jacob Brost is ranked second in the javelin throw with a throw of 56.12m.

Dylan Parker ranks third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.70 seconds. Parker also ranks fourth in the 400m with a season-best time of 48.82 seconds. 

Jacob Curulewski is ranked third in the 5,000m and 10,000m. This season Curulewski has posted a time of 14:31.22 in the 5,000m and 30:04.56 in the 10,000m.

Micah Anderson ranks third in the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 9:27.58.

The Firebirds are scheduled to compete in the 2025 CCIW Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Friday, May 2, and Saturday, May 3, hosted by North Central in Naperville, Illinois. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.

Courtesy: Tulane Athletics

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NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane swimming and diving team announced on Thursday that the program has completed the 2025-26 signee class with the addition of incoming freshman Eliza Lennox.

Lennox hails from Boulder, Colorado where she attended Monarch High School. She is a sprint freestyle swimmer.

Eliza Lennox (Boulder, Colorado)

• Monarch High School
• Best Times:
  • 50 free – 22.97
  • 100 free – 50.54
  • 100 fly – 56.12

Lennox is a six-time 4A CHSAA State Champion, defending her title in the 50 free, 100 free and 200 medley relay. She was recognized in 2024 as a National All-American for her performance at state.  Lennox also assisted her team in receiving the gold level NISCA Scholar Team Award. She was named Daily Camera Swimmer of the Year the last two years for her exceptional performance and dedication to high school swimming. She joined club in 2024 and made her debut at the Four Corners Sectionals Meet where she placed fourth overall in the 50 free. Her love of the pool has led her to be a Junior Nationals qualifier and ranked top 10 in Colorado.

She is the ninth member of the signee class inked by Head Coach Amanda Caldwell and joins the team’s fall signees of  Danielle Barberie (Nanaimo, British Columbia/Nanaimo District Secondary School), Libby Brewer (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania/Germantown Academy), Nicole Fant (Jasper, Indiana/Jasper High School), Casey Freeman (Chapel Hill, North Carolina/East Chapel Hill High), Ebba Holgersson (Norrkoping, Sweden/Helsingborgs Simsalliskap), Mary Kate Kupsky (Bear Creek Township, Pennsylvania/MMI Preparatory School), Samantha Schoenborn (Parkland, Florida/Broward Virtual School) and Marin Shimkus (Glenview, Illinois/New Trier High School).

The program finished the 2024-25 season with 54 top 10 school marks including 10 school records. The team also won six events, had 28 overall all conference marks, a placing of third overall at the league championship meet plus saw Head Coach Amanda Caldwell being named the AAC’s Coach of the Year.  The program also had 10 qualify to participate in the National Championship Invitational this season and had four swimmer named to the Academic All-District by the College Sports Communicators.

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Even in the unfriendly visiting environment of Gulf Shores, Alabama, Cal Poly Beach Volleyball looked right at home on day one of the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships.

The 32-team member cheering section couldn’t be missed on the ESPN 2 broadcast, and Cal Poly looked like a legitimate title contender on the sand, knocking out No. 11 seed LSU with ease in a 3-0 sweep on Friday, May 2.

The all-around victory bodes well for the No. 6-seeded Mustangs, who have what may be the best shot at an NCAA title for the foreseeable future with their current lineup.

The Mustangs are faced with four graduating starters and Cal Poly roster cuts looming at the end of the tournament, but they played like a team with nothing to lose on Friday.

The Tigers were a much younger and more athletically imposing team, but Cal Poly’s familiarity with the NCAA tournament and veteran experience proved to be too great a challenge for the underdogs to overcome.

“The first year is pretty scary,” redshirt junior Ella Connor said earlier in the week. “It will be really nice to go back again and actually get to experience it like I did last year.”

Nine of the Mustangs’ 10 starters were also in the lineup for last year’s championship run that culminated in a third place finish.

Cal Poly will now take over the underdog role, likely for the rest of the tournament, starting with an early morning match against No. 3 seed Stanford on Saturday in the quarterfinals.

“We’ve been there before,” head coach Todd Rogers said. “That part I think gives us a real positive.”

 They will need to bring the same energy if they want to take down the top ranked opponent and move on to the semifinals for a second straight year.

Strong performances through the lineup

All five pairing won their first set against the Tigers, and their No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 pairs won their second match as well, sealing the win just as quickly as it had begun.

Cal Poly’s No. 5 pairing of senior Abbey Reinard and freshman Elise Lenahan showed out, winning by an 11-point margin in their second set and stunning the unsuspecting Tigers.

Cal Poly’s depth has been a strong point for the team, as they possess noteworthy talent and experience through all five pairings.

Graduate student Lindsey Sparks brings national championship experience at the No. 3 pairing, as she won an NCAA title in 2019 with UCLA.

Now a Mustang, she is paired with sophomore Quinn Perry, a two-year starter who has been named an All-Big West honorable mention both seasons so far.

Connor is another highly decorated collegiate volleyball player playing at the No. 4 pairing in this tournament.

She has dealt with some injuries this season, but is coming off last season where she was in Cal Poly’s No. 1 pairing and won Big West Pair of the Year alongside junior Izzy Martinez.

That experience and reliability at the lower pairings, where many programs will put their youngest players, could be a major advantage to the Mustangs in the later rounds of this year’s tournament.

Stanford Rematch in quarterfinals on Saturday

Cal Poly’s scheduled matchup with Stanford will be a big test for the lineup, who lost to the Cardinal back on April 11 at the Center of Effort Challenge on Cal Poly’s home turf.

“I think we’re really looking for a revenge match on that one,” Connor said.

For the Mustrangs, the matchup holds some similarities to last year’s NCAA run, when they took on and beat No. 4 seed Florida State University as the No. 5 seed, sending them to the semifinals.

Stanford is an imposing opponent in this year’s bracket, and have only improved since the Mustangs saw them last, rising from No. 5 to No. 2 in the national rankings.

They beat No. 14 seed Boise State 3-0 in their first tournament match, setting the stage for a close matchup where at least one of the teams will be giving up their first points in the tournament.

The Cardinal are just one week removed from winning the MPSF Beach Volleyball Championship against fellow top-five seed USC, and need one more win to tie their all-time program record for wins with 32.

They have eight all-conference players to the Mustangs 10, but play in the challenging MPSF conference against top teams like UCLA, USC and Cal.

Both their No. 1 and No. 2 pairs were named to the All-MPSF first team, setting up a tough match for Cal Poly’s No. 1 pairing of senior Piper Ferch and sophomore Erin Inskeep as well as No. 2 junior Izzy Martinez and Logan Walter.

Neither Mustang pairing was able to finish their match on Friday against LSU, but had been putting up strong performances against highly ranked pairs before the match was clinched.

Gulf Shores is expecting heavy rain both Friday night and all-day Saturday, which could drastically impact how the game is played.

Matches will typically be played through rain unless there is lightning, but the wet sand and winds have the potential to change the momentum at any moment.

Cal Poly and Stanford will kick off the semifinals at 9 a.m., broadcasting on ESPN 2.

The winning team will move on to the semifinal matches later that day against the winner of No. 7 seed Texas and No. 2 seed TCU, starting at 2:30 p.m.