It has been a memorable and historic season for the girls beach volleyball team from Wellington High School.

On Thursday, April 24, Wellington’s 17-member squad won its first-ever Florida High School Athletic Association district tournament title when the Wolverines defeated the Cobras from Park Vista High School, 4-1.

That victory earned Wellington an automatic berth in the FHSAA’s Class 3A state tournament. That District 14 title victory against Park Vista earned Wellington the No. 3 seed in Region 4. As luck would have it, Park Vista earned an at-large bid, based on its strong ranking, and was awarded the sixth seed, which pitted Wellington against Park Vista for the third time this season in a regional quarterfinal clash on Tuesday, April 29. Both prior matches against Park Vista were won by Wellington.

In the regional quarterfinal match, Wellington defeated Park Vista for the third time this season, 4-1. That win propelled Wellington (13-3) to a Class 3A, Region 4 semifinal encounter against second-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas from Fort Lauderdale. That match was played on Wednesday, April 30 in Pompano Beach. The result was unavailable at press time.

For this year’s squad from WHS, led by head coach Sergio Rios, the ultimate goal is to reach the FHSAA’s Class 3A state finals for beach volleyball, which will be held in Tallahassee on Florida State University’s beach volleyball courts on May 9-10.

SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

SEMIFINALS

DIVISION 1

Mira Costa 5, Los Alamitos 0

Redondo Union 3, JSerra 2

DIVISION 2

Millikan 4, South Torrance 1

Long Beach Wilson 3, Capistrano Valley Christian 2

DIVISION 3

Anaheim Canyon 4, Campbell Hall 1

Long Beach Poly 3, Linfield Christian 2

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

FINALS

At Long Beach City College

DIVISION 1

Mira Costa vs. Redondo Union, 1 p.m.

DIVISION 2

Millikan vs. Long Beach Wilson, 11:30 a.m.

DIVISION 3

Anaheim Canyon vs. Long Beach Poly, 10 a.m.

You have already seen where to get the best french fries, but what are french fries without nuggets to go with them? So, here is our rating for the best fast food chicken nuggets.

Chick-fil-A (10/10): The ideal chicken nugget. Crispy, tender, tasty. It’s hard to do a chicken nugget better than Chick-fil-A does.  Priced at 5 nuggets for $3.49, which equals 70 cents a nugget, you’re definitely getting your bang for your buck.

Wendy’s (3/10): Incredibly bad. Maybe it was the fact that Kyle ordered the spicy nuggets instead of the regular ones, or maybe Wendy’s was just having a bad day. Chicken was a weird texture and very minimal crisp. $2.75 for 4 nuggets, or 69 cents a nug, you’d be much better off finding a penny and spending your 70 cents at Chick-fil-A.

Taco Bell (7/10): Going in not even knowing Taco Bell had chicken nuggets, we came out surprisingly satisfied. Very crispy outside, very tender inside, a nice touch of spice. Definitely a sleeper pick. 5 nuggets for $3.99, or almost 80 cents per nugget and the second most expensive nug of the list.

McDonald’s (6.5/10): Everyone knows the McDonald’s nugget.  Tasted a little fake, although a very high quality crisp redeems them a little. $4.99 for 6 nuggets and 83 cents/nug, you’re not getting the best value here.

Burger King (7.5/10): Another sleeper pick, we went into BK with low expectations but they blew those away. Similar to McDonald’s but better, very tasteful chicken and a slightly above average crisp. The real value comes in the cost: $1.99 for 4 nuggets, and almost 50 cents a nugget, you’re getting the a great nugget for a low cost.

Wawa (5/10): You would probably assume that Wawa’s chicken nuggets would be average. You would be right. An odd consistency, but not bad. Had a little spice, a nice touch.

Best					Worst
Chick-Fil-A 10/10	Burger King  7/10	Taco Bell 6.5/10	McDonald’s 6/10	Wawa 5/10	Wendy’s 3/10

Interest in both sports from both current and prospective students is incredibly high, Athletic Director John Dempster said. 

JENKINTOWN – Manor College will debut Women’s Flag Football and Men’s Volleyball for the 2025-26 school year, the institution announced. Both sports are expected to play their first home games on campus in 2026. 

“I am excited to launch these new sports here at Manor College,” John Dempster, Manor College Athletic Director, said. “Women’s Flag Football, in particular, is getting extremely popular and I want Manor College to be a trailblazer for this sport in our area.”

Women’s Flag Football is an emerging sport locally, Dempster said. The PIAA sanctioned the sport for the Spring 2025 season and roughly 1,600 players are members of 65 teams across eastern Pennsylvania, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

On the collegiate level, the Atlantic East Conference, which includes teams from Eastern University, Holy Family University and Neumann University, announced their recognition of women’s flag football as an NCAA sport. 

An announcement on a head coach is expected in the near future. Dempster expects the team to field a roster between 10 and 20 players. 

The institution already has interest from students already enrolled at Manor. Tori Simmons, a freshman at Manor College studying Veterinary Technology, played flag football for two years while attending Cheltenham High School. 

“Girls I played with in high school were familiar with football and it made them want to come out and play,” said Simmons, who currently plays on the women’s basketball team at Manor. “There’s a strong community you gain from playing football. I’m excited to play again at Manor.”

Simmons, who played wide receiver at Cheltenham, plans to play for the Blue Jays next Spring. 

Men’s Volleyball

The Blue Jays begin their first Men’s Volleyball season in Spring of 2026. A coach has not yet been named. 

Men’s Volleyball has been an official sport sponsored by the NCAA since 2018, and the NJCAA region 19 features eight teams. While Manor College is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), the team would begin as an independent. A proposal to the Eastern States Athletic Conference, of which Manor College is a founding member, is expected in the near future. 

The Blue Jays have been home to a Women’s Volleyball team for several decades, most recently competing in the ESAC and USCAA. A unisex volleyball club featuring informal games on campus helped to fuel interest in a men’s team. 

The sport continues to grow as well on the high school level, with the top 25 teams from PIAA Division 1 Boys Volleyball hailing from Bucks and Montgomery County. 

“With our current student body and new recruits coming in, we are hoping to be competitive in Men’s Volleyball from the beginning,” Dempster said. 

About Manor College Athletics

Manor College offers intercollegiate competition in 10 sports: Baseball, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s volleyball, cross country and track and field. Manor College is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association and the Eastern States Athletic Conference. 

For more information on Manor College athletics, visit www.manorbluejays.com or email athletics@manor.edu. Prospective athletes may additionally fill out this form.

Learn More:

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TALLAHASSEE – Carra Sassack is the recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 award for the 2025 NCAA Division I women’s beach volleyball Championship.
 
Sassack, majoring in sports management, currently carries a 4.0 GPA. Sassack was presented with the award during the beach volleyball banquet on the evening of May 1 in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
 
The Elite 90 award honors the exceptional achievements of student-athletes. This prestigious accolade is given to those who have not only excelled at a national championship level in their sport but have also achieved the highest academic standards among their peers. The Elite 90 is proudly awarded to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 90 championships.
 
Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above academically who have participated in a sport for at least two years with their school. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.
 
For more information on the Elite 90 award winners, visit www.ncaa.org/elite90.
 
 For more information on the Florida State beach volleyball program, check Seminoles.com and follow us on social media at fsubeachvolleyball (IG) and @FSU_BeachVB (X). 
 

STANFORD, Calif. — No. 2 Stanford captured a conference-leading eight Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) conference honors in its inaugural season, the league announced Thursday.

The Cardinal led all conference opponents with four All-MPSF First Team selections, a new program record for first-team all-conference honorees. Stanford led all programs with a record-setting four All-MPSF First Team selections, complemented by two Second Team and two Freshman Team nods, recognizing six standout athletes.

Stanford’s eight total honors paced the league, ahead of UCLA (6), USC (5), California (4), and Grand Canyon (2).

Stanford MPSF All-Conference Honorees

Kelly Belardi • All-MPSF Second Team
Belardi earns her second career all-conference honor after being named to the All-Pac-12 Freshman Team in 2023. As one half of the MPSF Tournament Most Valuable Pair, Belardi partnered with Charlotta Bell to deliver a clutch three-set comeback on court three that secured Stanford’s first-ever conference title. She leads the team in wins with a 30-7 overall record, including a perfect 3-0 mark on court two (with Charlotta Bell and Babi Gubbins) and a 27-7 record on court three (with Avery Jackson, Bell, and Chloe Hoffman).

Charlotta Bell • All-MPSF Second Team • All-MPSF Freshman Team
Bell becomes just the fifth player in program history to earn both all-conference and freshman honors in her debut season. The Orinda, Calif. native compiled a 28-8 overall record in 2025 across four courts, including a 15-3 showing on court three with Belardi. Her 28 wins rank tied for the fourth-most in a single season in Stanford history.

Avery Jackson • All-MPSF First Team • All-MPSF Freshman TeamJackson joins Bell as only the sixth Cardinal to earn all-conference and freshman team honors in her first year. The AVCA Second Team All-American posted a 23-8 record, highlighted by 9-2 marks on both courts two and three with partners Brooke Rockwell and Kelly Belardi. She also recorded a 5-3 record on court one alongside Rockwell.

Brooke Rockwell • All-MPSF First Team
A two-time AVCA All-American, Rockwell earned her second straight all-conference first team selection. Partnered primarily with Jackson, Rockwell tallied a 14-6 record against top competition, including wins over pairs from USC, UCLA, Cal Poly, and Florida State. She finished the season 21-11, bringing her career win total to 47 through two standout campaigns.

Ruby Sorra • All-MPSF First Team
Sorra continued her ascension as one of the program’s elite, collecting her second consecutive all-conference honor. The 2025 AVCA First Team All-American went 25-10 on the year, primarily alongside Taylor Wilson. Their 18 wins as a duo this season elevated them to the winningest pair in program history with 43 victories over two seasons. As Stanford’s No. 1 pair, they notched signature wins over USC, Cal Poly, and Long Beach State.

Taylor Wilson • All-MPSF First Team 
As captain of the 2025 squad, she etched her name into the program’s record books as part of Stanford’s winningest pair in history, totaling 43 victories alongside partner Ruby Sorra over two seasons as a duo. Her 86 career wins rank tied-for-third all-time at Stanford, solidifying her legacy as one of the program’s most impactful players. Under Wilson’s leadership, the Cardinal heads to its fourth consecutive NCAA Championship appearance with her in the lineup—and fifth straight overall.