Thought of the Day…There have been few greater minds in history than that of Leonardo da Vinci. Since we are often writing about young, developing minds, here’s what Leonardo had to say about them: “Learning never exhausts the mind.”

Higher Education Yahoo (HEY) Awards…The first weekend in May marked the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Track & Field Championships, and the event was a tour-de-force for Eastern University senior women’s distance runner Hailey Shreffler (Panther Valley), who earns today’s first HEY award.

Shreffler was crowned a MAC Champion in two events, with a record-breaking win in the 1,500 meters, a win in the 800 meters and a third place medal as a member of 4×400 relay team.

In the 1.500, she ran a 4:32.63, breaking the long-standing existing conference record by close to two seconds and also setting a new championship meet record. After also winning the 800, Shreffler finished her senior season as a three-time MAC champion, second-team All-MAC in the mile and third-team All-MAC in two relays across the indoor and outdoor seasons.

Prior to the conference championships, Shreffler had been named MAC Runner of the Week (for the second time) after an outstanding performance at the Hopkins Loyola Invitational. There, Shreffler won the 800 meters in a season-best time of 2:12.34, in a field of runners from all three NCAA divisions.

Lebanon Valley College (LVC) recently awarded one of its highest honors involving learning and community to senior women’s tennis team captain Sarah Kramer (Hamburg). At LVC’s spring awards event, Kramer was the recipient of the LVC Athletic Service Award and thus earns a HEY award.

Kramer, a four-year member of the tennis team, was inducted into Phil Alpha Epsilon, the honor society recognizing academic achievement and service, with more than 550 hours of service. Kramer is a first-year mentor helping to lead orientation services on the NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, is a member of a team benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and has completed more than 350 volunteer hours with the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

On top of that, Kramer is a pretty darn good tennis player, with a lifetime record of 27-19 in singles and 44-15 in doubles.

Two local softball players who have been named as second-team selections to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)-East All-Conference team.

The first is Kutztown senior right-handed pitcher Haley Gravish (Hamburg), who has been the workhorse of the 39-16 Golden Bears. Gravish has a 26-7 record and a 2.50 ERA, both of which lead her team. She also leads KU in appearances (39), starts (25), complete games (22), innings pitched (196.0) and strikeouts (164). She has one save, two shutouts on her own and was part of a third.

In the PSAC, Gravish ranks second in wins, is tied for second in starts, innings pitched and complete games, and her ERA places her eighth in the conference.

The second All-Conference selection is Bloomsburg senior center fielder Mia Nemeth (Marian). In a breakout season, Nemeth is second on the Huskies in batting average (.381), leads in hits (61) and ranks second in runs scored (34), doubles (11), triples (3) and RBIs (44). She is tied for third in home runs (4), has a .416 OBP and a .563 slugging percentage, all career-highs.

St. Joseph’s freshman softball right-handed pitcher Marla Freiwald (Blue Mountain) was recently named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week. Freiwald, who has a 7-3 record (she ranks second in wins), has made 30 appearances and four starts. She has a team-leading five saves to go with her team-leading 2.94 ERA. In 71.1 innings pitched, Freiwald has struck out 33 while allowing only 11 walks.

Diamond Doings…In the last column, we talked about hot starts, notably that of Mansfield senior first baseman/DH Jacob Houtz (Schuylkill Haven).

Houtz has not cooled off. He bats cleanup for the Mounties and has started every game, leads his team and the PSAC in batting average at .445. He also tops his team and the conference in on-base percentage (OBP) at.566 and slugging percentage (.874). He leads the Mounties in RBI’s (44), and that puts him second in the conference.

Other statistical ares in which Houtz leads his team are runs scored (42), hits (53), doubles (15), home runs (12), total bases (104) and even being hit by a pitch (14). He ranks second in walks (19), third in at-bats (119) and has stolen six-of-seven bases.

Another former Haven Hurricane having an outstanding season is Widener sophomore left-handed pitcher Trae Sanders. Sanders is 4-3 and coming into the playoffs, his 2.96 ERA led the Pioneers’ regular starters, as did his 59.2 innings pitched. He has made 11 starts, one of his most recent a 7.0 inning gem in which he shut out Hood College, allowing only six hits and striking out five. Sanders’ 41 K’s ranks second on his team. In the MAC – Commonwealth Conference, Sanders ranks second in innings pitched and third in ERA.

Widener was the fourth seed in the MAC-Commonwealth Championships, but was defeated by top-seeded Messiah, where Pine Grove graduate Owen Hannevig is a freshman pitcher. He has made 11 relief appearances with a 2.92 ERA and one save.

Turning back to Hood College baseball (see Sanders above), senior starting center fielder Keegan Brennan (Nativity) has a flawless 1.000 fielding percentage. Brennan has handled 97 total chances, with 94 putouts and five assists, third in the MAC-Commonwealth.

Brennan is batting .235, but his 18 bases-on-balls ranks second, his 24 runs scored ranks third and he has a .371 OBP, 11 RBI’s, two doubles and a home run. He’s also tied for the team lead in stolen bases with 8 out of 10.

The top-seeded Lebanon Valley softball team has captured the MAC Freedom Conference with a 29-13 record. Freshman pitcher Maycee White (North Schuylkill) is 4-1 with a 4.26 ERA. She’s made 11 appearances with six starts, two complete games and two shutouts in 38.0 innings of work.

Eastern (29-9) made it to the finals of the MAC-Commonwealth tournament before being defeated by Messiah, and Tamaqua grad and junior pitcher Bryn Clifford is an integral part of the team. Clifford leads the team with three saves, and has a 2-0 record and a 1.97 ERA (2nd on the team) in 32.0 innings pitched (16 appearances, five starts). She’s struck out 16 and walked only five.

Originally Published: May 5, 2025 at 12:37 PM EDT

By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who bleeds Purple and Gold more than Jennifer Winningham Owens. So when the opportunity arose for Winningham to return to Tennessee Tech as its newest Head Athletic Trainer, the decision was an easy one.

“There has always been hope that I would someday get to return home to Tech in this position,” Winningham said. “I am super excited to be returning to Cookeville and Tennessee Tech.

“This isn’t just a job for me. This is coming back to my alma mater that I have had such pride in since starting school in 1999. You will not find anyone with more Tech pride than the Winningham family.”

That is definitely true. Winningham’s father, longtime state legislator Les Winningham, earned both a bachelor’s in health and physical education in 1964 and master’s in curriculum and instruction in 1967 from Tennessee Tech, while all five of his daughters all attended the University.

“We have 10 degrees from Tech between us,” Jennifer said, proudly, “and my nephew is currently a sophomore.”

The elder Winningham instilled that pride in the University to his daughters at a young age.

“Growing up, my dad used to drive me and my sisters through campus and would say things like ‘When you all are at Tech…’ or ‘When you start school at Tech…”. Tech has always been a special place to my family. Coming back means so much and I wish my parents were still here to see it.

“I always say that Tennessee Tech is a special place and now that I am back, I can’t wait to help show more people just how special it is.”

In her time at Tennessee Tech as a student athletic trainer to a member of the staff in her previous tenure from 2005 to 2009, she worked with two long-time Tech head athletic trainers in David Green and Joe Erdeljac, learning valuable experience under their watch.

“Coming back to be the head athletic trainer after them will be tough and I have big shoes to fill,” Winningham said. “They both lead Tech through different times. I can only hope that I can have as great of an impact on Tech Athletics as they have. I want to make a positive impact on the student-athletes, coaches, staff and Tennessee Tech as a whole.”

Even in the last year, when a group of Tech athletic trainers were stranded because of the effects of Hurricane Helene this past fall, Winningham volunteered to help the Golden Eagle training staff with the football game at Gardner-Webb. She also made the trek over to Columbia, S.C., to cheer on the Tech women’s basketball team in the NCAA Regional against No. 1 South Carolina.

She may not have been wearing the Purple and Gold, but Tennessee Tech still meant a lot to her.

“We are truly excited to welcome Jennifer back to Tennessee Tech,” said Tech Director of Athletics Mark Wilson. “To have her come home to the University to watch over our student-athletes is a tremendous addition to our staff. Jennifer is a consummate professional and her pride in all of our programs is strong. With her years of experience, I have complete faith and know she will bring a lot to the table for our sports medicine staff.”

Following her graduation from Tech in 2003, Winningham served two years as a graduate assistant athletic trainer at Louisiana Tech, working with volleyball and softball and assisted with women’s basketball.

She returned to Cookeville for the first time in 2005 and stayed through the 2008-09 academic year. With the Tech Sports Medicine group, she provided primary coverage with track and field and men’s and women’s tennis while assisting with football during her internship, then shifted duties to the primary contact for soccer and softball, then women’s basketball and volleyball.

In August 2009, Winningham joined the staff at Louisiana-Monroe, where she was primarily the contact with women’s basketball and a secondary with football, while also spending time with women’s soccer and softball.

She continued at ULM through May 2013 when she was hired as an athletic training coordinator at UNC Charlotte. Winningham advanced through the ranks as assistant athletic trainer from 2013 to 2015, the associate head athletic trainer for women’s athletics in 2015, then the athletic training coordinator for Atrium Health in 2023.

While at Charlotte, Winningham was primarily responsible for women’s basketball, while assisting with men’s and women’s tennis and baseball. She also assisted WNBA athletes Maya Caldwell, Tiffany Mitchell and Cierra Burdick during offseason recovery and rehab.

She has been the acting athletic trainer on site for multiple Ohio Valley Conference, Sun Belt Conference and Conference USA tournaments and has even been an athletic trainer at the 2011 NCAA Women’s Basketball First and Second Rounds in Shreveport, La., and the 2015 and 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball First and Second Rounds in Charlotte. She has also been an athletic trainer for the 2017 USA Basketball Youth Regional Camp.

Iss summer season me swimming pool window ak mahine kam ho gayi hai isliye condominiums ne residents ke liye pools open karna start kar diya hai, jabki unhe sports department se no-objection certificates milne ka intjaar hai.

Iss saal se clearance ke liye new conditions ki wajah se NoCs me delay ho rahi hai, jisme mandatorily ak woman trainer ki recruitment  important hai. Halanki, isko follow karna tough raha hai kyunki iss kaam ke liye enough qualified professionals nahi hain, kai RWAs ne TOI ko bataya ki unhe residents se pressure face karna pad raha hai, jo monthly maintenance ke part ke roop me pool upkeep charges pay kar rahe hain, jo typically 3000 rupees se 6000 rupees per month hota hai.

Sector 168 ke ak condominium ke AOA representative, jisne last week apna pool open kiya tha, ne TOI ko bataya, “Log pool ke charges pay kar rahe hain lekin almost ak mahine se iska use nahi kar pa rahe hain, kyunki hume female coach nahi mil paai hai.”

Greater Noida West society ke ak representative ne kaha ki additional lifeguard rakhne se AOA ka monthly budget disturb ho jayega. Unhone kaha “Humein ak new coach ko at least 30k monthly salary dena hoga, isliye maintenance charges par bhi phir se kaam karna hoga.” Iss condominium ne bhi without NOC apna pool open kar diya hai.

Women trainers ko hire karne ke alawa, pool operators ko CCTV cameras lagane, men and women ke liye separate changing rooms rakhne, sports department ko facility ko maintain karne wali agency ke baare me inform karne aur NOC obtain karne ke liye ak comprehensive disaster management plan submit karne ki bhi jarurat hogi.

Jabki schools and academies jaise institutional setups ke liye compliance smooth raha hai, apartment complexes ko logistical and financial challenges ko face karna pad raha hai. Noida High Rise Federation (NHRF) ke president Nikhil Singhal ne kaha, “Choonki, pool keval 3-4 months tak operate hote hain isliye delay jarur season ko khatm kar rahi hai.” Sector 119 me Eldeco Amantran me rahne wale Singhal ne kaha, “Hum administration se pragmatic approach apnane aur pending NOCs ko jald se jald poora karne ki request karte hain. Otherwise, residents keval unn months se chook jayenge jab pool ka use viable hai.” Ye typically, April me open hote hain aur mid-October me band ho jaate hain.

April se sports department ko pool license renewal ke liye 400 applications receive huye hain lekin ab tak kewal 125 NOC hi diye gaye hain. 125 applications me se 50 schools, private academies or centres and hotels se hain. Baaki residential societies se hain.

Department ne 275 applications ko withheld kar diya hai, jinme se jadatar high-rise societies se the, kyunki wo requirements poori nahi karte the. Thursday ko, district sports officer Anita Nagar ne kaha ki unki teams surprise inspections karengi aur agar societies bina NOC ke pools run karte paai gayi toh unhe seal kar dengi. Unhone hefty fines ki warning bhi di.

Indian Swimming News Or International Swimming News Padhne Ke Liye Facebook Par Swimswam Hindi Ko Like Karna Na Bhule:-SwimSwamHindi

The Colorado State track and field team’s record books need revision after Saturday’s Doug Max Invitational.

Mya Lesnar, in her senior day appearance, notched back-to-back personal bests in the shot put, launching the fifth-best throw in NCAA history (19.60 meters) — far past the facility record mark of 18.0m.

“Mya’s performance was somewhat off the charts,” head coach Brian Bedard said.

Bedard said that in the past — because of Lesnar’s training schedule — she hasn’t competed at the CSU outdoor home events. This year, he made it a point to put Lesnar in a situation where she could shine. And the conditions were just right for Lesnar to put on a show for a large crowd as she claimed a spot among the top three competitors in the NCAA for outdoor.

But Lesnar was not the only one to break records.

Senior Cole Nordman sprinted through two personal records. One in the 110-meter hurdles, the other in the 100-meter dash. As he gears up for his final conference championship, the momentum he built over the last four years motivates him to dominate.

“It’s just been absolutely incredible to see my journey and look back at (it),” Nordman said. “I hope to light these kids up good with that race. … And I just want to actually beat the crap out of these kids.”

Bedard noted Nordman’s ability to be a gritty athlete. He never complains and always takes accountability for his performance.

In Nordman’s time with the Rams, the senior sprinter has evolved into a tremendous leader for the team.

“There’s no excuse making,” Bedard said. “If he stunk it up… he stunk it up. … I mean, he just turned into a heck of a competitor that, you know, our team can count on.”

Nordman is an example of an athlete who struggled when they first competed in college athletics. In his time at CSU, he made a full 180-degree turn, becoming the fastest 110-meter hurdler and 100-meter sprinter on the roster.

“I came in as a full-on walk-on, never even got offered here. I just came to school here, and I’m like, ‘I’ll try out for the track team’,” Nordman said. “And I just want (CSU) to remember that you can become a better person.”

Despite it being a day for seniors, first-year Ndayiragije Shukurani dominated and made his mark in the high jump.

Shukurani flew over the seven-foot mark in the high jump, setting the 2025 season record in his first year with the Rams. In a season-long battle with fellow jumpers Rhys Travis and Jamison Taylor for the best mark, he prevailed on his third attempt at seven feet.

“It’s unbelievable man, I can’t even believe it myself,” Shukurani said. “I mean I’m still in shock. Every time I think about it.”

Bedard remembers when Shukurani first joined the Rams last summer.

He was quiet, skinny and had massive amounts of untapped potential. That potential is already becoming reality as the mark puts him solo second all-time in CSU competition.

“His physical maturity is starting to happen, because when he came in, he was Bambi,” Bedard said. “When he came in and — kind of under-coached and under under-trained — had not done a whole lot in the weight room as far as strength. And he’s finally starting to come into his own there.”

Following his record high jump, Shukurani jumped a personal best 15.27 meters in the triple jump on tired legs.

Bedard reflected on the memories of the 20 seniors who came to compete for CSU. Some began as freshmen, others transferred in. All finished as Rams.

“It’s pretty cool to reflect back on their journey and, hopefully, we’ve done a good job of life-coaching them,” Bedard said. “And they’re here. And, I’d like to think they had a good experience here.”

Reach Adam Gross at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @adamsportsmedia.

GULF SHORES, Ala. — Texas Christian’s Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno came from behind to win the final match on Sunday as the second-seeded Horned Frogs wrapped up their first NCAA women’s beach volleyball championship with a 3-2 victory over No. 4 seed Loyola Marymount.

TCU (32-5) is the first school other than USC and UCLA to win the title. The Trojans won the first two and the previous four, while the Bruins won two straight in 2018-19.

Alvarez and Moreno, who took a year off to play in the Olympics, returned to finish unbeaten in four years as a duo. Alvarez and Moreno dropped the first game 18-21 to LMU’s Michelle Shaffer and Anna Pelloia before rallying to win the final two 21-15 and 15-6.

The Lions (38-7) eliminated No. 5 seed USC in the quarterfinals and top-seed UCLA in the semifinals.

TCU threes pair Sofia Izuzquizal and Allanis Navas earned a point with a 21-16, 21-13 sweep.

Fours pair Anhelina Khmil and Ana Vergara also swept their way to a point with 21-14 and 21-19 wins. The duo finished 21-0 this season.

The Olympians finished off the championship as the Horned Frogs won 12 straight to end the season.

LMU twos pair Chloe Hooker and Vilhelmiina Prihti earned a point with a 21-16, 21-17 sweep. Fives pair Tanon Rosenthal and Giuliana Poletti Corrales had the other point with a pair of 21-16 wins.