CHICO, Calif. – The Chico Unified School District Board of Education has upheld a previous decision regarding a complaint against a girls volleyball coach.

In a meeting on Wednesday night, the board voted unanimously to maintain the Chico Unified School District’s earlier decision not to remove Coach Chas Konopka, following an investigation.

A letter from the superintendent in late May informed parents of the decision. The letter also mentioned steps taken to prevent similar complaints in the future.

Families had appealed the original decision that was made back in late April.

Seven players attended the board meeting to rally support for their appeal. One parent told Action News Now that 90% of returning players will not try out this season with Konopka remaining as the volleyball coach.

The Chico Unified School District stated that they have identified areas for improvement within the school athletic programs.

The athletic staff for the 2025-26 school year will receive additional training on best practices for interacting with student-athletes.

*AI assisted with the formatting of this story. Click here to see how Action News Now uses AI*

By: Scott Eddy, Assistant Athletics Director for Strategic Communications

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Bonnies golf graduate Peter Byrne has earned recognition on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District At-Large Team for his work in the classroom and on the course.

Academic All-District® Men’s At-Large teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances in competition and in the classroom.

The At-Large Teams include the sports of golf, fencing, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, volleyball, water polo and wrestling.

Byrne recorded a 3.71 cumulative GPA in his graduate studies this past year. He earns Academic All-District distinction for the second consecutive year after graduating with an undergraduate degree in marketing and a 3.66 cumulative GPA.

The Orange, N.J. native played in every event for the Bonnies this year with a low round of 68.

Honorees were nominated by and voted on by athletic communications directors nationwide. To be eligible, student-athletes needed to be at least sophomores academically with a 3.5+ lifetime GPA while playing in at least 70 percent of the team’s team scoring events.

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For the latest news on St. Bonaventure athletics, stay connected on social media. Follow the Bonnies on X @GoBonnies and get golf updates @BonniesGolf. Keep up with the Bonnies on Facebook /GoBonnies and on Instagram @GoBonnies. Bonnies Golf can be found on Instagram @BonniesMGolf.

Overview

In the classification 5-8 semifinals, Serbia ripped through Italy 21-16 and Montenegro, with just one win before today, scored the 13-13 equaliser that sent the match to a sudden-death penalty shootout that required 15 shots before winning 21-20.

In the classification 9-12 semifinals, Australia held off Iran 17-13 and Germany pummelled China 20-2.

Both final classification matches went to a penalty shootout to decide the winners.

In the classification 17-18 decider, Colombia won 21-18 after the match was locked at 17-17 and for 19^th place, South Africa beat New Zealand 16-15 after being locked at 13-13 at the final buzzer.

Day 8 Schedule

Classification 15-16
Match 55. 09:00. Argentina v Kazakhstan
Classification 13-14
Match 56. 10:30. Brazil v Canada
Classification 11-12
Match 57. 12:00. Iran v China
Classification 9-10
Match 58. 13:30. Australia v Germany
Classification 7-8
Match 59. 16:00. Italy v Greece
Classification 5-6
Match 60. 17:30. Serbia v Montenegro
Classification 3-4
Match 61. 19:00. Hungary v Croatia
Classification 1-2
Match 62. 20:30. United States of America v Spain

Match Reports

Classification 1-4 Semifinals

Match 54, HUNGARY 16 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 18 (5-4, 5-5, 3-3, 3-6)

Two superstars in the making and plenty of support around them — USA’s Ryder Dodd and Hungary’s Oliver Leinweber. They have 46 goals between them in Zagreb with Dodd heading the tallies with 26 goals. They were on fire today and for the Hungarians, their captain was inspirational with five field goals and two from the penalty line. Olympic bronze medallist Dodd scored his first goal late in the second quarter and ended with three goals from penalty fouls. The focus was on this incredible pair but they needed support in what they did. USA was 9-5 down midway through the second quarter and USA went 13-7 from that point. The fact that head coach Jack Kocur had a handful of players back from two years ago, was a major factor, while many of that 2023-winning Hungarian squad now play on the senior team. This was one of the most fascinating matches of the tournament and one with the most meaning.

Hungary went 2-0 up, 3-1, 5-2 before USA fired in the last two of the period for 5-4. Leinweber already had two goals. A Hungarian triple, with a third for Leinweber, plus a trade, meant Hungary was well placed at 9-5. Landon Akerstrom loved playing the top position and scored two on extra for 9-7 down. This drew Dodd and Hungary’s Mor Benedek to the penalty lines for 10-8. Akerstrom was not finished yet, blasting from the point position and needing VAR to confirm his shot made it across the line, 0:33 from halftime.

Hungary’s 10-9 advantage was wiped at the top of the third with Peter Castillo accepting a ball at three metres in front on extra. Dodd bar-downed from the top for 11-10 in front for the first time at 6:36. Vince Varga and Dodd traded before Leinweber rocketed in a long shot and drove down the right to score to regain the Hungarian lead at 13-12, which was the final-break position.

Bode Brinkema threaded the needle with a pass to a smothered Dodd on the left drive for 13-13 a minute into the final quarter. Castillo did a repeat of before and Dodd converted from the five-metre line for a 15-13 advantage. Ryan Ohl took his first shot of the match and speared in a winner for 16-13 at 3:42. Leinweber scored from the top on extra and then with a six-metre shot to narrow the margin to one at 2:38. Brinkema pulled the trigger from nine metres for 17-15 at 2:13. Both teams went to timeouts. Hungary put in seven field players and failed to score with the result a USA steal and a Dodd shot from 15m into an empty goal for 18-15 at 0:27. Varga scored in frustration from a six-metre shot, but at four seconds left on the clock, USA had won a history match 18-16.

Match Heroes
USA’s Dodd with his six goals for USA giving him 26 for the week. Akerstrom and Castillo scored three each. For Hungary, Leinweber was inspirational with his seven goals but it won’t earn a gold medal. He has 20 goals. Varga was next best with three goals.

Turning Point
From 9-6 behind halfway through the second quarter, USA levelled at the start of the third. USA did not have its first advantage until midway through the third period and Hungary snatched it back. With less than six minutes remaining, USA levelled, led and stayed in front until the end.

Stats Don’t Lie
USA scored six from 16 on extra and Hungary four from seven. Hungary put away all four penalty shots and USA three. Hungary won the steals 7-6 but USA shot more at 35-28.

Bottom Line
It was USA’s day and time. With an experienced group from 2023 who won bronze, the carrot was there for a higher medal, which it has achieved. Champion Hungary slipped, leaving much of the heavy lifting to captain Leinweber.

Match 53, SPAIN 13 CROATIA 11 (5-3, 1-3, 2-3, 5-2)

Spain rightfully took its place in the gold-medal final despite surviving a violence foul that saw it play four minutes one man down in the second quarter. This allowed Croatia to level the score. However, Spain held its momentum and worked through the match with a positive lead. That was until late in the third quarter where Croatia pleased the crowd with the 9-8 advantage. It took Spain five minutes to draw level, retake the lead in the last three minutes and surge to victory.

Spain was inspired by Oier Aguirre and Tomas Perrone, son of Ricardo Perrone, the long-standing Spanish international, and nephew of superstar Felipe Perrone, with whom he has played alongside in his club. Spain began like it wanted the win with three goals, the third from Aguirre on penalty. Goals were traded with Perrone driving down the right post to score for 4-1. Maro Susic responded on extra. At 1:20, Samuel Garcia gained an expulsion from the match for allegedly hitting his opponent in the head. It was deemed violence and earned a four-minute suspension for the team. Susic buried the penalty but Perrone interrupted the flow with a six-metre-foul shot for 5-3 at 0:55. Vlaho Pavlic, one of the stars in Zagreb, converted a penalty foul and Ante Jerkovic scored his second with a lob from the deep right for the last extra-man goal of the suspension. Croatia had made it 3-1 in this time and levelled at five. Aguirre and Pavlic swapped goals for 6-6 at 4:29, which became the halftime score.

In the third period, Aquirre and Pavlic traded twice with Aguirre on extra and Pavlic from the penalty line for 8-8. The packed crowd rose when Mislav Curkovic received a long cross pass as he climbed high to drag the ball down into goal for Croatia’s first lead of the match at 9-8. Pavlic and Perrone traded goals early in the third period. Spain went to a timeout and the plot was to score goals quickly. The answer from the players was Aguirre levelling on penalty; left-hander Albert Sabadell converting extra and Eudald Flaque banging one in from the top on extra for 12-10 with just 1:11 left on the clock. Both teams called a timeout to no effect on the scoreboard. At 0:43, Saul Granados gained a quick pass to the left-post position to score on extra for 13-10 and an insurmountable lead. Pavlic took exception and fired in a six-metre-foul shot seven seconds later but Spain retained the ball, gained an ejection and played out time for victory, much to the dismay of the packed house.

Match Heroes
Spain’s Aguirre (21) with five goals and Perrone (14) with three. Sabadell added two for 13 in Zagreb. Pavlic (CRO) nailed four penalty goals in his six, to elevate him to 26 goals — the best in the competition. Jerkovic (12) and Susic (11) grabbed two each.

Turning Point
The violence foul posed a big threat to Spain, although the four-minute suspension period favoured Croatia 3-1. Spain had the goals in the bag to soak up this problem. Croatia taking the 9-8 lead and Spain addressing this hurdle at 11-10 up.

Stats Don’t Lie
Spain converted four from 10 on extra and defended nine from 13. On penalties, Spain scored both and Croatia five. On steals, Spain led 7-5 but was pipped on shots at 33-32.

Bottom Line
Spain is undefeated and deserves a spot in the final. Croatia suffered the one loss to Hungary. Its comeback today was admirable but not enough.

Classification 5-8 Semifinals

Match 51, ITALY 16 SERBIA 21 (3-4, 3-4, 5-6, 5-7)

Serbia was the silver medallist two years ago and this year it will face off for fifth against Montenegro, its former ally and neighbour. Serbia was never headed and always looked n control in a high-scoring match. Serbia went to 3-1 with Italy equalising at 3-3. There was only one other time that Italy levelled — in the second quarter — as Serbia used all its guns with nine players scoring. Serbia was 4-3 up at the quarter where seven different players made the sheet. Serbia led 5-3 and 6-4 before Italy made it 6-6 at 1:20. Two goals in the final minute had Serbia 8-6 up at halftime. Filip Novakovic, Vuk Conkic and Vuk Andelic were the double scorers for Serbia while Enrico Tringali Capuano had a pair for Italy.

Serbian captain Andrija Jaukovic and Italy’s Tommaso Cora traded two goals each before Andelic, Jaukovic and Novakovic created a five-goal margin in less than two minutes. It moved to 14-9 before Francesco Casavola and Miljan Dokanovic were caught fighting in front of goal, earning red cards. Cora and Alessandro Gullotta trimmed the margin to three by the final break. Cora gave Italy the first goal of the fourth period before Augusto Massa was red-carded. Goals were swapped and then a three-goal burst by Serbia opened the match up at 18-13, Novakovic scoring the first two. The see-saw effect of scoring took place until the final buzzer with Giorgio Giacomone grabbing two and Gullotta picking up his third.

Match Heroes
Novakovic netted five times, Jaukovic four and Andelic three for Serbia with goalkeeper Mihailo Gosic taking 10 saves. For Italy, Giacomone (14), Tringali Capuano (13) and Cora (15) all scored four goals. Gullotta (17) added three to his tally.

Turning Point
Serbia building on the first two quarters eased out to four-goal margins in the third period.

Stats Don’t Lie
Serbia landed 10 goals from 18 on extra to Italy’s seven from 15. On penalties, Serbia scored all four and Italy two. Italy stole the ball 10 times to four and led the shooting at 35-34.

Bottom Line
Serbia, historically, is slightly better than Italy and in Zagreb, Italy has not performed to its normal standard. Serbia has been hunting for scalps and today’s was a just reward.

Match 52, MONTENEGRO 21 GREECE 20 in sudden-death penalty shootout. FT: 13-13. Pens: 8-7 (3-2, 3-4, 5-5, 2-2)

Greece led three times and Montenegro twice, but it was the Montenegrins who levelled in the final period to force the shootout. All players scored in the first rotation and then Greece missed its last two and Montenegro one, but the final shot from Nebojsa Petrovic found its mark and his team won through to the fifth-place play-off.

Greece started two up thanks to Georgios Nikolaidis, only to lose the lead by quarter time. Montenegro stretched it to 5-2 soon after the restart, leaving a lot of work for Greece. Unbelievably, Greece levelled at six by halftime and continued the onslaught in the third period.

 

Apostolos Georgaras opened like he finished the second period, with a penalty goal. Orestis Zervoudakis picked up his second at centre forward and Greece was 8-6 ahead. Goals were traded as Greece made a poor pass and it was snapped up for a Montenegrin goal before Andreas Bitsakos scored his second, on counter, needing VAR to confirm. Meldin Hadzic was the recipient of the “mistake” goal and he added a third to his tally from two metres. Danilo Stupar equalised with four goals trading to 11-11 at the final break. Petrovic climbed high on the left post to secure an extra-man goal and the 12-11 lead for Montenegro. Greece swiftly retook the lead but suffered a major blow when Georgaras was red-carded. Ivan Markovic jumped on a rebound to score on extra at 3:44 and despite three timeouts and Bitsakos’ bar-hitting, last-gasp shot, neither side could cross the line, sending the match to a shootout, which Montenegro won.

Match Heroes
Hadzic topped the scoring with three goals for Montenegro with Stupar (12), Janovic (11) and Markovic sending in two each. Andrija Bjelica made 11 saves in goal. For Greece, Georgaras (15) scored three goals before being ejected and Bitsakos (10), also scored three. Nikolaidis and Zervoudakis netted two each. Lazaros Vekris made 12 saves in goal.

Turning Point
Greece led three times and Montenegro twice. The match was tied seven times. Really, it came down to the last Montenegro goal and then the shootout.

Stats Don’t Lie
Montenegro went four from 11 on extra and Greece five from 13. Greece scored the only two penalty goals while Montenegro won the steals 11-6 and shot 38 to 34.

Bottom Line
Greece lost in a shootout to Serbia and lost to Montenegro who had only one win before today, compared to Greece’s two.

Classification 9-12 Semifinals

Match 49, IRAN 13 AUSTRALIA 17 (2-5, 2-4, 5-3, 4-5)

Australia led from start to finish with the early three-goal margin generally kept throughout. Both teams played well and Iran’s swift responses kept Australia honest. Australia won the first period after a “get-to-know-you” passage of play in which penalties were king. The first three goals came from penalty and the last with three in favour of Australia. Harry Tucker was the only dual scorer giving Australia its first and fourth goals. The second period again favoured Australia with captain Harper Stewart scoring on extra and from a six-metre-foul shot with the buzzer about to sound. Daniel Magasanik and Mohammadtaha Samaei traded penalty goals at the start of the period and midway through Iran had a penalty attempt saved by Oliver Purcell. Tucker scored his third on extra and in the dying seconds, Arshi Abdollahifar powered in a shot from the wide right for 9-4 down.

Goals were traded at the top of the third period with another trade to 11-6. Arman Shams for his second and Mohammadmehdi Jafari narrowed the gap to three and had a penalty attempt stopped. Magasanik and Shams swapped for what was the final-break score — 12-9. Goals were traded twice at the start of the fourth period and then Australia rattled in three straight — Tucker tucked in between Magasanik goals. That was 17-11 inside the final two minutes, sealing the match, if not the result. Shams and Mehrab Golestanirad narrowed the gap to 17-13 for Australia.

Match Heroes
Australia’s Tucker and Magasanik scored four each and Stewart three. Magasanik lifts to 17, Stewart 12 and Tucker 10 in overall shooting. For Iran, Shams now has 17 goals after four today. Goalkeeper Amirhossein Amirian dragged down nine saves.

Turning Point
Australia lifting from 2-2 to 5-2 at the first break, which gave the Aussies some needed confidence.

Stats Don’t Lie
Australia and Iran provided the perfect extra-man count for the first time this tournament. Iran scored five and Australia four. The Aussies converted five from six on penalty and Iran two from four. Australia stole the ball 11 times to four and shot 34 to 25.

Bottom Line
Australia moves into the play-off for ninth while Iran has to settle for the 11-12 classification match. Both have moved up the ladder from 2023 with Australia 11^th on that occasion and Iran 15^th.

Classification 17-18
Match 48, SINGAPORE 18 COLOMBIA 21 in penalty shootout. FT: 17-17. Pens: 1-4 (5-5, 6-2, 3-7, 3-3)

Singapore threw away a five-goal third-quarter advantage to allow Colombia to level at 14 by the end of the period and force Singapore to equalise at 17 and go to a penalty shootout. The ultra-reliable Singaporean shooters went awry in the shootout, scoring once and having two saved as Colombia sent in four for the 21-18 victory.

Colombia went to a 2-0 advantage only for Singapore to snatch the lead at 3-2. Colombia grabbed it back for 4-3 and Singapore redressed the imbalance for 5-4 with Colombia equalising through a penalty rebound by Enrique Olano inside the final minute for 5-5. What a dramatic period with Matthias Goh and Joshua Ong scoring twice for Singapore and Juan Zuluaga twice for Colombia. Ong scored a third at the top of the second quarter with Felipe Merino equalising for his second. Ong, Jaycus See and captain Cayden Loh took Singapore out to 9-6. A Colombian timeout yielded nothing with Singapore sending in two more thanks to Goh and Yifa Xie with a missile from the halfway line for 11-6. Zuluaga pulled one back from the penalty line for 11-7 at halftime.

Loh scored on extra to give Singapore a comfortable five-goal advantage at the top of the third but Colombia was ready to pounce. Zuluaga and two from Olano made inroads to the difference. Yong Jun Chow and Ong on extra regained the four-goal lead. That difference lasted only two minutes as Colombia drew level with a 7-2 period and Zuluaga on five goals. Goals were traded to 16-16 with Merino having his penalty attempt saved. Ong buried the ball in the net off a long cross pass to the left and Merino scored off the right-hand-catch position, both inside three minutes for 17-17. Singapore took a timeout and lost the ball at centre. Colombia turned the ball over at the other end. Singapore lost the ball. A six-metre shot seemed poorly taken but it was saved and Singapore went to its second timeout at 0:18. Singapore threw a bad pass and Colombia took a timeout at 0:07. Colombia hesitated and did not take a shot, sending the match to a shootout.

Match Heroes
Colombia’s Zuluaga, who joins the 20-goals club, and Olano (12) scored five each and Merino (15) four. Goalkeeper James Quintero made just three saves in the match and two crucial saves in the shootout. For Singapore, Ong top-scored with six goals to lift him to 21 for the week. Goh nabbed four (16) with Ivaac Lee landing a magnificent 15 saves.

Turning Point
The five-goal advantage given up by Singapore and the penalty shootout.

Stats Don’t Lie
Colombia scored two from three on extra to Singapore’s four from four. Colombian converted six from 10 on penalty and Singapore three from three. Colombia made 11 steals to seven and shot 37 times to 27. A lot can be read into these stats. Singapore is more accurate with its shooting during real time.

Bottom Line
Colombia was 16^th in 2013, its last attendance. Singapore was 21^st in 2007, the last time it competed at this level. It certainly showed it has become a leading nation, especially in Asia.

Classification 19-20
Match 47, NEW ZEALAND 15 SOUTH AFRICA 16 in penalty shootout. FT: 13-13. Pens: 2-3 (3-3, 3-4, 4-3, 3-3)

In a match where the score was level 11 times and where South Africa led seven times and New Zealand four, it was the team with the better statistic who came through — South Africa — but it was in a penalty shootout where the real action occurred. New Zealand levelled the match at 13 with five seconds left on the clock, sending it to a shootout for 19^th position. South Africa missed its first two and New Zealand its last three as both goalkeepers were exceptional, making five saves in all and South Africa winning the clash of the Southern Hemisphere Commonwealth nations 16-15.

South Africa had the better start, slipping to 3-1 by midway through the first quarter with Marc Smith dominating at centre forward with two goals for five goals in Zagreb. New Zealand came back in the last 90 seconds with Liam Dodunski, who along with captain Cole Phillips played this tournament two years ago, working at the left-post position and Ashwyn Keshvara from the penalty line, his second of the clash. Timothy Young converted a penalty and Keshvara replied for his third from the left post off a long cross pass from captain Phillips. Phillips stole the ball, swam the length of the pool to score and took his team into the lead for the first time. Young responded from the top with a missile into the bottom right and Keshvara was gifted the ball in front of goal unguarded to score for the 6-5 advantage. Nick Pearce blasted from the right-hand-catch position when the goalie was unsighted and Young converted a penalty to give South Africa the 7-6 halftime lead.

Smith continued South Africa’s heroics at centre while Jacob Clements replied from the top for the Kiwis. South Africa called a timeout, lost the ball and Phillips scored off a six-metre-foul throw for 8-8. Michael Rodgers converted a penalty foul to give New Zealand the lead for the third time. Goals were swapped with Phillips making it four leads  with his third goal. Connor Flinn turned at centre for 10-10, seven seconds from the last break. Warwick Field scored his second after the first-quarter penalty goal, rocketing the ball in from the top, creasing the right post. Rodgers replied on extra and Smith pounced on a loose rebound to score his fourth and South Africa’s sixth lead. New Zealand went to a timeout and scored off the play with Dodunski firing the ball in from five metres. New Zealand won and lost a penalty challenge and Young regained the lead for the seventh time with the successful conversion, at 1:59. New Zealand took a timeout with no joy but it did regain the ball soon after and Phillips set himself up at the top on extra-man attack and drilled the ball into the net for 13-13 — the 11^th tied score — with five seconds left on the clock, which led to the shootout.

New Zealand shot first and scored the first two; South Africa had the first two stopped by Zach Martin. New Zealand had its next three stopped by Nathan Jacob while three shots went in, giving South Africa the 16-15 victory.

Match Heroes
South Africa’s Smith was best in pool with four goals, the same score as Young who was the team’s best shooter with 10 while Field scored twice for nine. Phillips and Keshvara scored four each for the Kiwis with Rodgers and Dodunski two each. Rodgers topped the team with 16 goals and Phillips had 13.

Turning Point
So many by both teams, but South Africa took the lead more times and perhaps deserved the victory. New Zealand’s last-gasp goal to go to the shootout was the biggest turn-up.

Stats Don’t Lie
South Africa converted all five penalty chances to New Zealand’s two from three but it only converted one from four on extra compared to two from three. New Zealand won the steals 12-10 and outshot South Africa 31-27.

Bottom Line
It was one step down for South Africa from two years ago with New Zealand slipping from 17^th in 2023.

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton men’s track and field team swept the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)’s Mid-Atlantic Outdoor Regional Awards, the organization announced Friday. 

Sam Rodman was named Track Athlete of the Year, Greg Foster was named Field Athlete of the Year, Robert Abdullah was named Assistant Coach of the Year and Jason Vigilante was named Head Coach of the Year. 

Princeton men’s track and field was the only program, men’s or women’s, to sweep the awards. 

Rodman was named Track Athlete of the Year after finishing fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 800m. Rodman lowered his PR time throughout the season, clocking in at 1:46.27 in Eugene to become a First Team All-American.

Earlier in the season, Rodman won silver in the 800 at Outdoor Heps, and ran a leg of the 4×400 squad that won silver as well. 

Foster was named Field Athlete of the Year after earning First-Team All-America honors in the long jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Foster jumped 7.80m/25-7.25″ in Eugene to finish seventh.

At Outdoor Heps, Foster won his fifth and sixth Ivy titles in the long jump and the 110 hurdles. Earlier this season, Foster set a new PR in the long jump, clearing 8.10m/26-7″ at the Virginia Challenge.

Along the way to the podium at Hayward Field, Foster was mentored by Abdullah, in his ninth year as assistant coach at Princeton. Abdullah coached the Tiger sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers, who combined for 85 points at Heps, winning three events. 

Abdullah helped his athletes qualify for eight events at the NCAA East First Round, with Foster making it all the way to All-American status.

The Princeton program is led by Vigilante, in his second year as Head Coach. Under his leadership this year, the Tigers won their second-consecutive Triple Crown – completed with a dominant win at Outdoor Heps.  

Over the course of the 2025 season, the Tigers boasted five individual Ivy League champions, 16 regional qualifiers, six new program records, a 4×400 Ivy League record and two First Team All-Americans.

The USTFCCCA’s Regional Awards were voted on by member coaches following the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene last weekend. 

 

EUGENE, ORE.- Two Bucknell student athletes from the women’s track and field programs competed at the USATF U20 National Championships on June 19-20. Madison Fowler and Alexandra Lea faced off against some of the finest young athletes in the country and held their own to continue the Bucknell tradition of excellent summer campaigns. 

Results

Fowler unlocked two top-ten finishes in the discus and shot put, capping her impressive freshmen campaign where she inscribed her name into multiple Bison top-ten lists. She placed sixth in the hammer throw, tossing 174-9. Her best mark arrived in her fourth attempt.

She rounded out her week with a tenth place finish in the shot put. Her 45-1 mark came in her second attempt and the distance narrowly missed inserting the rising sophomore into the finals. 

Lea’s first event was the 400-meter dash, her specialty, and she achieved a flat time of 55 seconds to finish 11th in the preliminaries. While the speed did not qualify the rising sophomore for the finals, it represented a solid time after not competing since the NCAA East First Round back in late May. Lea owns the Bucknell outdoor record in the event and finished first at the Patriot League Outdoor Championships where she established a new meet standard. 

Her second competition was the 200-meter dash where she placed 12th, racing 24.83. She also won that event at the Patriot League Outdoor Championships, while setting the Bison school record. 

The women’s track and field team will have more summer representation when Evelyn Bliss competes in the FISU World Championships and the USATF National Championships in the upcoming weeks. 

As the 2024-25 school year came to a close in Coronado, students from the Coronado High School (CHS) Class of 2025 were recognized at the recent Senior Class Awards ceremony. One of the most prominent awards given to a student each year is the Jike Wong Award, which was established in the 1940s to honor the memory of Wong, a fellow CHS student, and his legacy as an outstanding member and leader of the community. Connor Gray was selected as the Class of 2025 recipient of the award, adding his name to an ever-growing list of standout students.

Gray moved to Coronado with his family when he was around ten years old, where he’s been a Coronado student and community member since fourth grade. “My dad was in the Navy, and Coronado was his final shore duty, and he retired here,” Gray mentioned. “One of the things that I’ll probably miss [at college] is just knowing my classmates for so long.

“I think that’s one of the most interesting points about the Coronado Unified School District. Since we only have one middle school and one high school, and the two elementary schools, there’s a much higher chance, compared with some other school districts that, that if you go to primary school with someone you’re going to continue that with them for the rest of your middle and high school years. And I think that’s really special.”

Gray was not only surprised to receive the Jike Wong Award, but also to learn about its history in Coronado. “At first I didn’t really understand what it meant because I hadn’t been aware of the award beforehand,” he commented. “But doing more research into it, I thought it was really cool that I get to be a part of this group of people now that’s been going for over 50 years, and who have made a positive impact on their school’s community. It was very nice to be recognized for [what it represents].”

During his time at CHS, Gray was involved in junior varsity and varsity water polo, varsity rugby, the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC), the National Honor Society, mock trial, and the Eagle Scouts. Last summer, he completed an eight-week U.S. Navy Summer Flight Academy aviation program at Delaware State University to get his FAA Private Pilot’s License. As a CHS senior this past year, he also served as the commanding officer for the NJROTC unit, where he’s seen the value of service-based leadership in action.

“I hope to leave a legacy of always trying to put people first,” he mentioned when asked what example he hopes to have set from his role as a leader in the community. “It’s a very common thing, especially in the military, of servant style leadership and wanting to put the team above yourself. And I’ve been able to see the positive effects of putting others before yourself, in terms of either trying to lead a bunch of Boy Scouts in setting up camp, or trying to get a bunch of people in NJROTC to line up and make sure the uniforms are ready to go.”

He also recalled the early morning practices for water polo as something that brought people together. “In the moment it kind of sucks getting up so early, but then you’re together with everybody on the team and getting that team bonding. Looking back, it was a great experience.”

Gray’s favorite aspect of his involvement in these different groups throughout high school, however, has come from their inclusion of community outreach. “Working with communities is something I really like doing, and I try to build community with the teams and different clubs I’m a part of,” he told me.

As an Eagle Scout, Gray had to fulfill a service project requirement, and he chose to lead efforts to refurbish parts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) building for the chapter in Coronado. “I installed a new sign at the front of the building and we did some other small renovations, doing some replanting, some power washing, and some painting,” he noted. “But the big project was that we designed and installed an entirely new sign at the front that had a metal plate as a replacement for the old wooden plate they had, which was rotting away. We replaced that and put in a cement base for it and just made the front look as pretty as we could.”

When reflecting on his time with classmates as a member of the Class of 2025, he brought up the pandemic as a turning point. “Coming out of the whole COVID-19 epidemic, we were getting back to in-person school after a year of not having it,” he explained. “I think that gave people an incentive to try stuff that maybe they wouldn’t have tried before because they were sick and tired of being cooped up in their house all day long.

“It personally made me more of an outgoing person because I wanted to reestablish those roots after that experience, along with the rest of my class,” Gray added. “And going into the future, I’d say I have more of an understanding of the importance of personal connections, and not just the people I interact with every day, but with people in the community in general.”

Gray will be attending the University of San Diego (USD) this fall, having also earned a Navy ROTC scholarship for their program. “I’ll be attending USD alongside my sister, who just finished her freshman year there, which will be pretty cool,” he said. “After that, the plan is to commission as a Navy Officer and go fly jets for the Navy. That’s what my dad did, and that’s what I would like to do as well.”

His dad is one of the people who has had the biggest impact on Gray’s life and who he said has helped him navigate his journey to join ROTC and the Navy. “He’s such a great influence on my life, and because that’s what he did as a kid, it’s been great to have someone who can help show me the ropes and things like that,” he mentioned.

One of his NJROTC instructors at CHS, Senior Chief Tom Hellwig, has also been a source of inspiration. “He’s been a really great influence on me over the last four years, too,” Gray said. “I’ve been taking NJROTC as a class for the last four years, and Chief Hellwig has made me a better person. He’s a really great guy who does a lot of good things for the community. One thing he’s always tried to teach us is that even if we mess something up, to have the wisdom to recognize that there’s always a bigger picture. [For him] it’s more about our development into becoming fully functioning adults in society, rather than just making sure his department looks the best at all possible times.”

At CHS, Gray also found a passion for history, and he has a great respect for CHS’ staff. “All of the history teachers at CHS show such a great passion for the subject and diving into their profession, and the way they engage a bunch of high schoolers who don’t necessarily want to sit there and learn a bunch of history has always been really impressive to me,” he stated.

As we finished our conversation, Gray further added that being this year’s recipient of the Jike Wong Award is a reflection of all of those people and more. “It’s been a great honor to receive it, but looking back, I’d definitely say that the biggest influence in my getting this award has been the people around me and who I’ve surrounded myself with,” he noted.

“I think, especially with my family, they have a right to also be proud of that because they helped teach me the things I needed to know in order to help other people. I want to recognize their accomplishments, as well as mine.”

The community is wishing for nothing but the best for Gray as he embarks on his next steps towards his career and life goals.

VOL. 115, NO. 25 – June 18, 2025