WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The 4×800-meter relay captured the first AARTFC title in program history with a school-record run that led the Union College men’s outdoor track & field to a 20th-place finish after the second and final day of the 2025 All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference Outdoor Championships, held on Thursday afternoon at Williams College’s Weston Athletic Complex.
 
The Garnet Chargers earned all their points on Thursday’s second day of competition, picking up points from all three of the team’s day-two entries to finish the event with 16 points.
 
The highlight of the event came after a long wait, as the second heat of the 4×800 relay was halted at the tail end of the opening 800 due to lightning in the area and delayed over 2.5 hours. When the competition finally resumed, the all-class quartet of senior Ben Neff, junior Will Plante, sophomore Michael Fitzmaurice and first-year Liam Fitzgibbon traversed the track in a program-record 7:49.31. The team ran faster with each subsequent 800, and Neff closed by running his two laps in 1:55:17 to overtake Hamilton College and earn the win.
 
Neff also started the day for the men in the 1,500 meters and took almost a second off his personal best time, finishing his final collegiate individual race in 3:52.24 to place fourth. The senior finished less than a second off the winning time in earning five points for the Garnet Chargers.
 
Junior Jason Bois earned a point for Union as well after qualifying for the finals of the 110-meter hurdles yesterday. Bois finished eighth in Thursday’s final, finishing in 14.93 seconds.
 
The AARTFC Championships concludes another excellent season for the men’s track & field team that saw two program records broken and the team’s third top-20 finish at regionals in the last five years.
 
 
 

FORT WORTH – TCU Student-Athletes Daniela Alvarez (beach volleyball), Destin Drummond (men’s track and field) and Ashleigh Scully (equestrian) have been named recipients of the Pillar of Purple Award, as announced by TCU’s Intercollegiate Athletic Committee.
 
The award is presented to at least one TCU student-athlete from men’s sports and one from women’s sports, and honors their academic achievements, athletic excellence, community service and leadership. To be eligible, nominees must have junior or senior academic standing and have earned a varsity letter in their respective sport.
 
The selections are made by the IAC, which is comprised of faculty, staff and students representing the university community.
 
Drummond is a junior on the men’s track and field team and was part of a 4x400m relay team that placed sixth at the Big 12 Indoor Conference Championships as a freshman. The Grand Prairie, Texas native placed sixth in the 600-yard run and seventh with the 4x400m relay team at the Big 12 Indoor Conference Championships this past season as a junior. His time of 46.81 in the outdoor 400m ranks among the top 25 in TCU history.
 
The political science major holds a 4.0 GPA while being involved in nine on-campus organizations and programs and holds a leadership position in four of them. Drummond is the co-founder and president of the Black Student-Athlete Alliance, where he has dedicated time to establishing an advocacy channel for Black student-athletes that expanded inclusivity within the athletics department.
 
Drummond serves as president and Big 12 representative of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). His involvement in SAAC has afforded him the opportunity to spearhead TCU Athletics, the Big 12 Conference and NCAA-based legislation. He was a part of the Big 12 Beyond Borders program and spoke with legislative staff on Capitol Hill last summer. Drummond is also a member of the Black Student Association, Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society and Political Science Distinction and was also recently named a Clark Society Scholar.
 
Dummond also serves his community and has had the opportunity to paint murals at city parks, renovate elementary schools and plant trees at a tree farm. He tutors elementary through high school students in various levels of math and writing. Drummond also coaches members of his former high school track club. He uses his photography skills to offer photoshoots to TCU students free of charge and serves as a photographer and videographer for his church.
 
Alvarez was a graduate student on the national champion beach volleyball team. Among her numerous awards, Alvarez was named 2025 AVCA Player of the Year, NCAA All-Tournament team at the No. 1 position and All-Big 12 Conference. Alvarez finished her career as a four-time AVCA All-American. Her and playing partner Tania Moreno finished fifth in the 2024 Paris Olympics representing their home country of Spain.
 
Alvarez graduated in 2024 with a degree in actuarial science and earned her analytics certificate in 2025. In addition to beach volleyball, she was a member of the TCU Math Club where she participated in peer problem-solving workshops, math competitions and career speaker events that highlighted real-world applications of mathematics.
 
Alvarez has accumulated 50 hours of community service. Among her favorite experiences was helping in the mornings at Starpoint Elementary School where she assisted with the safety patrol and reading support. She has also volunteered at several local food banks.
 
Scully was a graduate student and was TCU’s nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year in 2024. She finished her athletic career as one of the most decorated equestrian riders the program has seen. Scully was a five-time All-American and was a six-time Big 12 Rider of the Month. She broke TCU’s Fences and Jumping Seat wins record and served as team captain this past season while being named Big 12 Fences Co-Rider of the Year.
 
Scully held a 4.0 GPA at TCU and graduated with an English degree in 2024 before earning a master’s degree in English-Accelerated in 2025. Throughout her career, she has also been involved in photography. As a wildlife conservation photographer, Scully donates the proceeds of her printed photos to at least nine nonprofit organizations that support conservation efforts. She was one of 100 photographers invited to raise awareness about ocean conservation in a print fundraiser for 100 For the Ocean. With over 150,000 followers on her Instagram, she was able to sell over 100 prints, contributing almost $500,000 in funds. 
 
ABOUT THE PILLAR OF PURPLE AWARD
The Pillar of Purple Award is presented to at least one member of a TCU men’s and women’s athletic team. The award honors the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership of college athletes from all sports at TCU. To be eligible, nominees must have competed and earned a varsity letter in a TCU sponsored sport.
 
It is expected that student-athletes selected for the Pillar of Purple Award will exemplify high standards of citizenship, character and courage. This is an award that recognizes the totality of the student-athlete’s commitment to excellence. The committee takes the collection of all criteria into consideration in making a decision.
 
The awardees will receive a plaque or other suitable acknowledgment to be determined by the IAC, be recognized at the annual spring athletic banquet and have their accomplishments noted in an appropriate location in the TCU Library.
 
For more information about the Intercollegiate Athletic Committee and the Pillar of Purple Award, visit https://fsn.tcu.edu/committees/intercollegiate-athletic-committee/.
 
PILLAR OF PURPLE AWARD RECIPIENTS
2019 – Kianna Ray (women’s basketball) and Brendan Barry (men’s swimming)
2020 – Kellton Hollins (football) and Rachel Kimbell (rifle)
2021 – Kevin Chao (men’s swimming and diving), Tijana Duricek (women’s soccer) and Emma Schmidt (women’s basketball)
2022 – Dominic DiNunzio (football), Madilyn Cole (volleyball) and Megan Morris (women’s swimming and diving)
2023 – Lisa Johnson (swimming) and Luke Savage (baseball)
2024 – Bryce Flynn (swimming and diving), Summer Holt (women’s soccer), Landon McMonagle (men’s swimming and diving) and Jasmin Muhammad-Graham (women’s track and field)
 
 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 17/13 Texas Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams earned their first points at the SEC Outdoor Championships in the 10,000-meter runs to close out the first day of the three-day meet.

Eva Jess scored the first points for the women finishing fifth in the 10K with her time of 33:52.36. It’s the third-fastest 10K in her career and is the 12th-fastest in school history. Her performance earned Texas four team points. Freshman Sydni Wilkins was just off the scorers in ninth with her time of 35:02.97.

The men were led by Isaac Alonzo’s seventh-place finish with a time of 30:27.54. Alonzo earned two team points for UT.

In the men’s decathlon, Brock Lewis recorded four personal bests and a day one personal best score of 3,698 points after five events. The sophomore began the day running his fastest career 100-meter dash in 11.22 seconds. He added a third-round jump of 6.97m (22-10.5) and a third-round throw of 11.93m (39-1.75) in shot put for two more personal bests.

Lewis added an outdoor PB in the high jump clearing 1.83m (6-0) before running a personal best 400-meter time of 49.79. Lewis sits in seventh place after a monster first day of competition.

Freshman Meagan Humphries ended the first day of the heptathlon also in seventh with 3,269 points. She began the championship meet running the 100-meter hurdles in 14.18 and followed with a clearance of 1.62m (5-3.75) in the high jump.

The California native added her first personal best of the competition in shot put on her first attempt with a heave of 11.31m (37-1.25). She concluded the day running the third-fastest 200-meter of the group in 24.42.

On the track, Kenondra Davis and Holly Okuku were the first Longhorns to advance to a final. Davis posted the third-fastest time of the afternoon with a wind-aided time of 22.58, while Okuku recorded the final spot in the final at 22.88w. Carleta Bernard was the first competitor out with her personal best time of 22.88, while Nita Koom-Dadzie finished in 23.59.

Xavier Butler climbed the Texas record book in the men’s 200-meter running 20.22 in the prelims and qualified for the finals with the fourth-fastest time in the field of 36. The time ties him for second on the UT All-Time Performer list and is tied for the sixth-fastest time in school history.

Sophomore Akala Garrett posted the fastest qualifying time in the women’s 400-meter hurdles in 54.75 to qualify for the finals. Freshman Mackenzie Collins will join Garrett in the finals after posting the seventh best time in 56.93.

The men also sent two to the 400m hurdle finals after Kody Blackwood record the third-fastest time in 49.70. Chris Brinkley also posted the fifth-best time in 50.26 for a personal best and moved to No. 10 on the UT All-Time Performer List.

After three scored events, both the No. 17 men and the No. 13 women are in 11^th.

Texas Scorers:

Eva Jess – 10K – 5^th (4 pts)

Isaac Alonso – 10K – 7^th (2 pts)

Evanston’s Parks and Recreation Board approved a plan Thursday that would allow the city’s parks department to offer two-hour basketball and beach volleyball court rentals.

The city now offers residents and community affiliate groups the opportunity to rent tennis and pickleball courts, but no process exists for renting outdoor basketball and beach volleyball courts, Tim Carter, the city’s lakefront and athletics division manager, told the board.

Carter said in the past year, city staff have received three rental requests for outdoor basketball and beach volleyball courts at Clark Street Beach — one from ETown Girls Feeder Basketball club, a youth girls basketball team that sought to rent outdoor courts for evening practices twice a week in the summer.

Since the city has no formal process and doesn’t allow court rentals, Carter asked for guidance about whether the board thought a similar program to the tennis and pickleball rental process, allowing the public or affiliated groups to rent the space at a fee, could work.

After a discussion, the board unanimously approved a plan to allow basketball courts at Baker, Bent, Foster, Harbert, James, Larimer, Lovelace and Mason parks, and three of the six beach volleyball courts at Clark Street Beach, to be rented for up to two hours.

The key issue some members of the board raised was informing the public about the process to ensure no one shows up to a court only to realize it’s closed off with a reservation.

Carter said the process would be the same as tennis and pickleball, with the reservation receipt serving as a permit. He said he believes there have been no issues with that rental process so far.

The rental rates for both basketball and beach volleyball courts would be $20 per hour for residents, $26 per hour for non-residents — a standard 30% increase — and $10 per hour for community affiliate groups, Carter said.

The fees are the same for tennis and pickleball.

If a court is not rented, it would remain open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

The board approved the plan as a one-year trial to see if any issues or significant complaints arise.

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