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Live daily broadcasts from Thursday 3/20 – Sunday 3/23 Round Two MPO Recap Round Two  Waco stayed true to its nickname (Wacky Waco) with a volatile leaderboard throughout the first two days. Ezra Robinson continued his strong start to 2025 with the hot round -12 on day one to take the lead. Calving Heimburg, Adam […]

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Live daily broadcasts from Thursday 3/20 – Sunday 3/23
Round Two

MPO Recap

Round Two 

  • Waco stayed true to its nickname (Wacky Waco) with a volatile leaderboard throughout the first two days. Ezra Robinson continued his strong start to 2025 with the hot round -12 on day one to take the lead. Calving Heimburg, Adam Hammes, Chris Dickerson, Nathan Queen, and Clay Edwards made up the jumbled tie in second place at -11 with four others (Locastro, Barsby, Meza, and Aderhold) shooting -10 at T7 after Friday.

Prodigy Presents WACO, the second stop on the 2025 DGPT season, delivered all the chaos and excitement fans have come to expect from the bEast, with a volatile leaderboard, jaw-dropping final rounds, and clutch performances down the stretch. Adam Hammes emerged victorious in MPO with a dominant Sunday push, while Kristin Tattar continued her reign in FPO, securing her third straight WACO title. From record-breaking rounds to dramatic finishes, this year’s event had it all—let’s dive into the action!

  • Paul McBeth, Calvin Heimburg, and Anthony Barela applied the pressure in round two, climbing the leaderboard. Heimburg shot -10 to take the solo lead at 21 under par going into the final round. McBeth posted a ten under round to jump up nine spots, finishing at -19 good for a tie in second place with Adam Hammes. 
  • AB shot nine under to put himself three back and in striking distance for the final day.
  • Simon Lizotte made the largest leap on moving day. He shot -12 and jumped up 37 spots. His hot round put him at -17 in a tie for fifth with seven other players.
  • Gannon Buhr shot a -7 round two, placing him at 15 under par, six strokes back of Calvin going into the final 18 holes at the BEAST.

Round One

  • Consistency and -10 under or better rounds were the mainstays for the final day at WACO. Adam Hammes charged back, shot a -12, and secured his first win of the season. Hammes was consistent all day and clutch down the stretch. He eagled seven, parked 16, threw it within eight feet for the easy birdie on the difficult 17th, and cashed the circle two putt for the win on 18. 
  • Heimburg, McBeth, and AB had slow final rounds that saw them drop out of contention.
  • Simon Lizotte battled Hammes from chase card also posting a -12 final round. He birdied eight of the final nine holes to shoot -29 for the tournament and secure second place.
  • Nikko Locastro shot up the leaderboard from 12th to a T3 finish, an event he won in 2021. He and Evan Smith finished at -27 for the tournament.
  • Andrew Marwede, Evan Scott, and Gannon Buhr all ended the tournament in a tie for fifth place at 26 under par.  
  • Ezra Robinson started Sunday with seven straight birdies, but a cold back nine (only two under) halted his attempt at back-to-back pro tour victories to start the season. 
  • Jake Monn went on a tear in the final round, birdieing nine of the opening ten holes. He ended the tournament with the hot round for the day -15 (1082 rated) to finish in T-26th. His round matched Paul McBeth’s 18 under at WACO in 2019 based on total strokes*. By that metric, he is now a co-owner of the course record for the bEast (49).
*Note: While a few holes have been slightly tweaked, there is only an 8-foot delta in total difference, and the layout of the bEast remains the same. Without the par change, two of Monn’s pars would have been birdies in 2019, and one of his birdies would have been an eagle, bringing his total score to -18. Congrats on a hugely impressive round, Jake!

MPO Takeaways

  • Adam Hammes played consistent disc golf all weekend and clutched up when it counted on Sunday to earn his first elite series victory since the Portland Open in 2023. Hammes has all the tools, and this could be the win that sparks him towards multiple top performances this season.
  • Ezra Robinson was right there for two days; he just didn’t have a strong back nine to match the hot start to his final round.
  • Calvin had two bad holes in the final round (bogey on nine and a triple on 17). Mix that with a slow round overall and at a course like WACO where the hot round was at or above twelve under all weekend, and you get a recipe for a lost opportunity on Sunday.
  • The lackluster final rounds from Calvin, AB, and Paul were surprising. It will be interesting to see how these three bounce back next week at The Open at Austin where they will have two different courses to show their skills (Sprinkle Valley & Harvey Penick 
  • Ricky Wysocki had a tough weekend. He shot two under in the opening round and fought to recover after that (-7 and -9) to end up in a tie for 38th at -18. After a top 5 finish at the Supreme Flight Open, Ricky will try to reset for the last Texas event and gain some momentum again going into Music City and Kansas City. 

Round One

  • Going into Sunday, Lätt (-14) had to hold off Blomroos in 2nd (-12), Weese in third (-11), Handley in fourth (-10), and Gannon and Hansen at -8. She did just that, pulling away early and shooting a nine-under final round to take down her third straight WACO title.
  • The race for second between Blomroos and Handley came down to the wire. Handley birdied 16 and 18 to overtake Blomroos and secure solo second place at -16. Blomroos went par, par, bogey to end her day and drop to third.
  • Rebecca Cox had a record-setting Sunday. She shot the course record -11, moved into the top ten, and shot the highest-rated round of her career, 1035.
  • Jessica Weese had a great weekend, finishing tied for 6th at 11 under par.

FPO Takeaways

  • Kristin is back in the States and continues to own WACO. She secured her third straight WACO Annual Charity Open title on Sunday, shooting -23 to win by seven. She pulled away from the pack through the first six holes of the final day and put an exclamation point on her 3-peat by parking 14 and draining a 32-foot birdie putt on 15 to walk in her victory.
  • Missy Gannon fought hard in the final round, stringing together four birdies in a row on the back nine on Sunday, but OB strokes on 16 and 17 left her with back-to-back double bogeys, which ended her chances for a podium finish. Missy cashed a 40-footer for birdie on 18 to finish at 12 under par and in a tie for fourth with Ella Hansen.
  • Handley and Blomroos had great finishes this weekend. They have the tools and skills to be towards the top of the leaderboard at most events this season, and they could snag a win or two. 

Adam Hammes has finished in 19th and 14th at the Open at Austin the past two seasons. I think the momentum from his first win in over a season will propel him to a top-ten finish this weekend.
FPO Players to watch at the Open at Austin:

  • Kristin is back, and that’s not good for the rest of the FPO field. She is the clear favorite headed into the Open at Austin after her win this weekend.
  • Blomroos, Handley, and Missy Gannon could stay in the hunt with Kristin and even push for the win on the final day. 
  • Ohn Scoggins, who won Austin last year, has two top-ten finishes to open her season (6th at SFO and 8th at WACO). She’s played well at Harvey Penick, and she took home 4th place at Sprinkle Valley last year when it hosted the USWDGC. Despite lacking a podium finish so far this season, Ohn is going to have all the confidence going into Austin this week.

Next Event: MVP’s Open at Austin presented by Flight Factory

MPO Players to watch at the Open at Austin

  • FPO Coverage begins with Tournament Central at 10:00 AM CT / 11:00 AM ET
  • MPO Coverage begins with Tournament Central at 3:15 PM ET / 4:15 PM ET

Adam Hammes, Ezra Robinson, Jake Monn, Paul McBeth, Ricky Wysocki, Niklas Anttila, Simon Lizotte, and Anthony Barela

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Nine Current and Former Long Beach State Athletes Competing in Volleyball Nations League – The562.org

The Volleyball Nations League got underway last week, with nine current and former Long Beach State athletes representing four different countries. Brothers Alex and Moni Nikolov are both competing for Bulgaria, alongside middle blocker Lazar Bouchkov and outside hitter Alex Kandev. Team USA features Long Beach alumni Mason Briggs, Kyle Ensing, and Shane Holdaway. Simon […]

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June 22, 2025

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The Volleyball Nations League got underway last week, with nine current and former Long Beach State athletes representing four different countries.

Brothers Alex and Moni Nikolov are both competing for Bulgaria, alongside middle blocker Lazar Bouchkov and outside hitter Alex Kandev. Team USA features Long Beach alumni Mason Briggs, Kyle Ensing, and Shane Holdaway. Simon Torwie is representing Germany, while Skyler Varga is playing for Canada.

Bulgaria

Alex and Moni Nikolov each had a one-year stint at Long Beach State and became the only two players in NCAA history to win both AVCA Player of the Year and AVCA Newcomer of the Year honors. This year marks the first time the brothers are sharing the court in the VNL. 

Alex Kandev was a major contributor to Long Beach State’s 2025 national championship run, leading the team in kills in both the semifinal and championship matches. He plans to return to the Beach after the VNL season.

Through four matches, Bulgaria is 2-2 with wins over Argentina and Germany. Alex Nikolov has averaged over 14 kills per match, while Moni is averaging 22 successful sets per match and was named to the VNL’s Week One Dream Team. Each brother has also recorded at least one ace per match, with Moni averaging two aces per match.

USA

Three-time AVCA First Team All-American libero Mason Briggs has appeared in all four matches for Team USA. Briggs played four seasons at Long Beach State and helped lead the Beach to the 2024 national title game.

Opposite hitter Kyle Ensing is in his fourth year with Team USA in the VNL since graduating from Long Beach State in 2019. He was a key part of Long Beach State’s back-to-back national championships in 2018 and 2019, reaching the NCAA Final Four in all four collegiate seasons.

Shane Holdaway, a middle blocker, also played four years at Long Beach State and was part of the 2019 national title team. He graduated in 2023 after starting all 25 matches in his senior season.

Team USA is 2-2 after one week of play, with wins over Iran and Cuba. The team currently ranks sixth in the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Rankings.

Germany

Middle blocker Simon Torwie is representing Germany, where he grew up and played for the country’s U18 national team. He played four years at Long Beach State and earned First Team All-Conference honors as a senior in 2024.

Torwie is averaging over five kills and four blocks per match through Germany’s first four matches. Germany is 1-3, with a win over France and three narrow five-set losses to Bulgaria, Canada, and Italy.

Canada

Skyler Varga is one of two active Long Beach State players in the VNL and has started to see action in the last two of Canada’s matches. Varga joined the VNL following a standout junior season at Long Beach State, where he helped the Beach capture a national championship.

The outside hitter saw the court for the first time in the VNL during a match against former teammate Moni Nikolov and Bulgaria, recording a pair of kills. Varga also tallied 12 kills against France.

Canada is 2-2, with wins over Germany in the opener and a recent sweep of Bulgaria.



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Ames Regional Economic Alliance hosts second part of Summer Series – Iowa State Daily

The Ames Regional Economic Alliance kicked off its second “Summer Series” event Wednesday afternoon, bringing brief moments of music and sunshine before inclement weather forced the event into an early end.  The event hosted Campustown businesses, including Superdog, Macubana and a range of other vendors. Wednesday’s festivities also hosted local band Mango Soul. According to […]

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June 22, 2025

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The Ames Regional Economic Alliance kicked off its second “Summer Series” event Wednesday afternoon, bringing brief moments of music and sunshine before inclement weather forced the event into an early end. 

The event hosted Campustown businesses, including Superdog, Macubana and a range of other vendors. Wednesday’s festivities also hosted local band Mango Soul.

According to the Vice President of Economic Development, Travis Toliver, Summer Series checks a multitude of boxes in satisfying the local community.

“Events like [Summer Series] are designed to promote family fun,” Toliver said. “We want the community to see Campustown as a family-friendly environment.”

Thanks to the event’s location, some locals arrived on foot, none walking more than a few blocks to attend.

“Campustown is only two blocks from where we live,” local resident Charlie Case said. “We love these types of events, and having them this close makes it that much easier.”

Due to lightning in the area, the event was cut short and forced to shut down early, but not to the dismay of its attendees.  

“I don’t think the weather should stop people from having fun,” Ames local Dave Wagner said. “It’s live music, and it’s free. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

According to another event goer, Stacy Woodword, the event achieved its goals.

“The goal is to show that Campustown isn’t just college students,” Woodward said. “We come over here all the time to shop, have dinner, grab a drink, and we love it. There’s no reason that the students and community members can’t coexist.”

The Economic Alliance hopes to continue the event for years to come. It aims to showcase the likes of the local community and its members. 

“It’s awesome that we have the support of our sponsors, and we thank them all,” Toliver said. We’re proud to be supportive of Campustown and the local businesses and the community that calls Ames home.”



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Round ‘em up! Noxen’s Rattlesnake Roundup raises funds for fire company

Crystal Rondinella holds Matilda, a Blue Gold Macaw. Mark Moran | For Times Leader Harrison Malara works the Potato Pancake stand. Mark Moran | For Times Leader Alysha Sherwood holds a rattlesnake so kids can touch the rattle. Mark Moran | For Times Leader […]

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June 22, 2025

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<p>Crystal Rondinella holds Matilda, a Blue Gold Macaw.</p> <p>Mark Moran | For Times Leader</p>

Crystal Rondinella holds Matilda, a Blue Gold Macaw.

Mark Moran | For Times Leader



<p>Harrison Malara works the Potato Pancake stand.</p> <p>Mark Moran | For Times Leader</p>

Harrison Malara works the Potato Pancake stand.

Mark Moran | For Times Leader



<p>Alysha Sherwood holds a rattlesnake so kids can touch the rattle.</p> <p>Mark Moran | For Times Leader</p>

Alysha Sherwood holds a rattlesnake so kids can touch the rattle.

Mark Moran | For Times Leader



<p>Handlers measure a rattlesnake.</p> <p>Mark Moran | For Times Leader</p>

Handlers measure a rattlesnake.

Mark Moran | For Times Leader



<p>People walk the midway.</p> <p>Mark Moran | For Times Leader</p>

People walk the midway.

Mark Moran | For Times Leader



<p>Lilly Mahalick takes a ride on the swings.</p> <p>Mark Moran | For Times Leader</p>

Lilly Mahalick takes a ride on the swings.

Mark Moran | For Times Leader



<p>Alivya McKitish (center) holds a French fry for Alana Rinaldi and Zack McKitish.</p> <p>Mark Moran | For Times Leader</p>

Alivya McKitish (center) holds a French fry for Alana Rinaldi and Zack McKitish.

Mark Moran | For Times Leader


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❯

NOXEN — The annual rattlesnake roundup returned to the Noxen Volunteer Fire Company grounds this week, featuring four days of live music, educational snake displays, food, rides and family activities. The event, which is the fire company’s biggest fundraiser of the year, began in 1973.

According to noxenpa.com/snakes, education is an important part of the event.

“The Noxen Rattlesnake Roundup has gained popularity throughout the region and is even known in other parts of the U.S.,” the website state. “We’ve heard stories of people making the trip from Philadelphia and Cleveland, and some from as far off as Las Vegas, Nevada!”

The event will continue Sunday, set to wrap up in the evening with a fireworks display.

Sunday schedule

1 p.m.: Grounds open.

1 to 5 p.m.: Snakes on display.

1 p.m.: DJ Ray Phillips.

6 p.m.: Music by Jimmy Stranger.

9:30 p.m.: Fireworks by Pyro Joe LLC.

To learn more, visit the Noxen Volunteer Fire Co. Facebook page.



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Neptunes outsmart Sirens to lift President’s Cup

Valletta secure top-flight berth Neptunes secured the President’s Cup for the first time since 2019, marking their tenth triumph in this charity match. The Balluta Bay team delivered a commanding performance against Sirens, dominating large stretches of the encounter despite a brief wobble in the second session. The Reds began strongly, with goals from Jake […]

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June 22, 2025

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Valletta secure top-flight berth

Neptunes secured the President’s Cup for the first time since 2019, marking their tenth triumph in this charity match.

The Balluta Bay team delivered a commanding performance against Sirens, dominating large stretches of the encounter despite a brief wobble in the second session.

The Reds began strongly, with goals from Jake Bajada, Stevie Camilleri, and a brace by Gergo Zalanki giving them early control.

Gianni Farrugia pulled one back late in the first session. Mattias Ortoleva added another for Neptunes to make it 4–2.

However, Sirens showed signs of a comeback when their foreign import Nicolas Bicari netted a quickfire hat-trick to close the gap to 6–5.

But Neptunes quickly reasserted themselves, raising the tempo with goals from Zalanki (2), Sam Gialanze, and Camilleri, stretching the lead to 9–5. From that point onward, the outcome was never in doubt.

Camilleri completed his hat-trick before the end of the third session, extinguishing any remaining hopes Sirens had of mounting a comeback.

The Reds’ experience and quality ultimately proved too much for their opponents.

At the end of the match, Karl Izzo, president of the ASA, presented the trophy to Neptunes captain Stevie Camilleri.

In the other President’s Cup match, San Ġiljan staged a remarkable comeback, overturning a four-goal deficit to edge out Sliema in a thrilling, topsy-turvy encounter.

The Blues burst out of the blocks, storming to a 4–0 lead with goals from Elijah Schembri, Angelos Vlachopoulos, Dino Cachia, and Jamie Gambin.

San Ġiljan, however, regrouped in the second session.

Led by Aaron Younger and Ben Plumpton – who both netted twice – the Saints clawed their way back to level terms at 7–7, erasing Sliema’s early advantage.

But just before the half-time break, Dino Zammit struck to give Sliema a narrow edge heading into the interval.

Two goals from a five-metre throw at either side, delivered by Nikolai Zammit and Vlachopoulos kept Sliema one goal ahead but Darren Zammit made it 9-9.

San Ġiljan then took the lead for the first time when Plumpton found the net with just two minutes remaining in the third session. Their advantage was short-lived, however, as Liam Galea responded immediately to make it 10-10.

A brilliant through ball by Nikolai Zammit carved open the Sliema defence, setting up Younger to score past Benji Busuttil for 11-10 – but Gambin hit back yet again to restore parity.

With seconds left on the clock, Jake Bonavia beat the buzzer to hand the Saints a slender lead heading into the final session.

Two goals from Jeremy Abela, a strike by Nikolai Zammit, and two crucial saves by San Ġiljan goalkeeper Jake Tanti further tipped the balance in favour of the Saints.

Dino Zammit offered Sliema a glimmer of hope with a goal to make it 15-14.

But the Blues were denied from completing their comeback as a five-metre penalty restored San Ġiljan’s two-goal cushion, sealing a 16–14 final scoreline.

Earlier, Valletta only assured themselves of the Premier Division in the last session when Ivan Nagaev, woke up to his responsibilities to hit a poker as the Citizens finally distanced themselves from their opponents.

Nagaev, stepped up when it mattered most with a four-goal haul in the last session – completing a stunning seven-goal tally overall. His heroics ensured the Citizens pulled clear of their rivals and joined Exiles in securing a top-flight spot.

Edward Aquilina’s Birżebbuġa had threatened an upset early on, racing to a 7-4 lead in the opening session.

However, Valletta regrouped in the second quarter, overturning the South Seasiders’ momentum to draw level at 10-10 by half-time.

The third session saw a tight and thrilling contest, with both sides trading goals in a balanced and entertaining eight-goal spell. But when it came to the final stretch, Nagaev took matters into his own hands, decisively tipping the scales in Valletta’s favour.

Birżebbuġa, despite their spirited effort, will now drop to Division One.

VALLETTA 21

BIRZEBBUĠA 16

(4-7, 6-3, 4-4, 7-2)

VALLETTA: A. Bugeja, M. Mifsud 4, M. Carani, J. Sciberras 2, S. Busuttil 1, J. Colombo, M. Zammit 1, I. Nagaev 7, K. Borg 1, K. Erdogan 3, M. Chircop 2, K. Cremona, G. Borg

BIRZEBBUĠA: M. Sladden, M. Aquilina 4, M. Cassar, N. Bursac 4, J. Ciantar 2, I. Galea, J. Abdilla, N. Saliba 1, D. Farrugia, M. Cutajar 1, M. Mannino 1, N. Bugelli 2, S. Livori, J. Saliba 1.

Refs: Federico Braghini, S. Licari

NEPTUNES 17

SIRENS 7

(4-1, 3-4, 5-0, 5-2)

NEPTUNES: Matthew Castillo, S. Gialanze 1, G. Zalanki 6, L. Mallia, J. Camilleri 1, J. Valletta 1, S. Camilleri 4, Mark Castillo 1, B. Schranz, J. Bajada 2, A. Fenech, M. Azzopardi 1, M. Rossi, E. Mallia.

SIRENS: J. Parnis, P. Serracino, N. Bicari 3, P. Borg, J. Cachia, K. Agius, M. Ortoleva 1, I. Riolo 2, J. Zerafa Gregory, M. Sciberras, Z. Mizzi, G. Farrugia, 1 M. Bonello Dupius, G. Pace.

Refs: Angelo Petraglia, Ronnie Spiteri

SLIEMA 14

SAN ĠILJAN 16

(4-1, 4-6, 3-5, 3-4)

SLIEMA: N.Grixti, E. Schembri 2, L. Galea 3, J. Gambin 2, J. Cassar, B. Cachia, J. Cutajar, D. Rizzo 1, J. Chircop, A. Galea, A. Vlachopulos 3, D. Zammit 2, B. Busuttil, S. Engerer

SAN ĠILJAN: J. Tanti, D. Bugeja, D. Tully, R. Caruana, A. Younger 4, J. Bonavia 1, B. Plumpton 3, J. Abela 3, N. Zammit 3, D. Zammit 1, N. Schiavone, Z. Attard, G. Bonavia

Refs: Federico Braghini, Massimo Anigileri





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Team Spirit among four teams now 2-0 at PGL Wallachia Season 5 – Field Level Media – Professional sports content solutions

Team Spirit, Gaimin Gladiators, Aurora Gaming and Natus Vincere improved to 2-0 at PGL Wallachia Season 5 with victories Sunday in Bucharest, Romania. In Round 2 of the five-day group stage, Spirit swept Edge 2-0, Gaimin Gladiators blanked Team Tidebound and Aurora beat Xtreme Gaming by the same score, while Natus Vincere notched a 2-1 […]

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June 22, 2025

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Team Spirit, Gaimin Gladiators, Aurora Gaming and Natus Vincere improved to 2-0 at PGL Wallachia Season 5 with victories Sunday in Bucharest, Romania.

In Round 2 of the five-day group stage, Spirit swept Edge 2-0, Gaimin Gladiators blanked Team Tidebound and Aurora beat Xtreme Gaming by the same score, while Natus Vincere notched a 2-1 victory over Team Liquid.

The group stage runs through Wednesday and features 16 teams in a modified Swiss system. All matches are best of three. Eight teams will advance to the playoffs, which are double elimination and run from June 26-29. All playoff matches are best of three except for the final, which is best of five.

The prize pool totals $1 million, with the winner taking home $350,000.

On Sunday, Spirit earned a quick 25-minute win on red before outlasting Edge in 72 minutes on green for the sweep. GG defeated Tidebound in 42 minutes on red and 29 minutes on green, while Aurora similarly wrapped things up against Xtreme in 34 minutes on red and 33 minutes on green.

In the other match between 1-0 teams, Natus Vincere opened with a 36-minute triumph on red, then lost to Team Liquid in 44 minutes while on green. NaVi bounced back to win the do-or-die third map in 33 minutes on red.

There were also four matches pitting 0-1 teams against each other, with the losers falling to the brink of elimination Monday. Tundra Esports defeated AVULUS 2-0; BetBoom Team shut out Virtus.pro 2-0; OG topped Nigma Galaxy 2-0; and Wildcard pushed past HEROIC 2-1.

The tournament continues Monday with eight matches in Round 3:
2-0 Group
–Aurora Gaming vs. Gaimin Gladiators
–Team Spirit vs. Natus Vincere
1-1 Group
–Xtreme Gaming vs. BetBoom Team
–Team Tidebound vs. Wildcard
–Team Liquid vs. OG
–Edge vs. Tundra Esports
0-2 Group
–AVULUS vs. HEROIC
–Nigma Galaxy vs. Virtus.pro

Prize pool:
1. $350,000
2. $145,000
3. $100,000
4. $80,000
5-6. $60,000
7-8. $40,000
9-11. $20,000
12-14. $15,000
15-16. $10,000

–Field Level Media



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Lucas Schneider is The Star’s Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year

The first race of Lucas Schneider’s junior track season foretold the future. In his main event, the 300-meter hurdles, Schneider crossed the finish line at the Tara Davis Invitational in 38.29 seconds — a lifetime best by more than two seconds that nearly set a Thousand Oaks High program record.  The breakout performance didn’t just signal […]

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June 22, 2025

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The first race of Lucas Schneider’s junior track season foretold the future.

In his main event, the 300-meter hurdles, Schneider crossed the finish line at the Tara Davis Invitational in 38.29 seconds — a lifetime best by more than two seconds that nearly set a Thousand Oaks High program record. 

The breakout performance didn’t just signal Schneider’s potential, it woke him up to it.

“I’ll be honest, that completely caught me off-guard,” Schneider said. “After that race, I just kind of realized that I needed to set some goals for myself.”

Five months later, nearly all of those goals have been blown out of the water.

Schneider ran 36.94 seconds to finish third at the CIF-State Championships, the cherry on top of a fairytale season that saw the star hurdler win his first Ventura County and CIF-Southern Section titles and set the county 300 hurdles record.

Now, he has been selected as The Star’s Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year for 2025.

“I was a little bit shocked by it,” Schneider said. “It’s still kind of hard to process now.”

Schneider’s path — from failing to qualify for the CIF-SS finals the previous year to winning the title the next — took time, effort and consistency. 

It began before he even made it to high school. 

Before teaming up under legendary coach Marlene Wilcox’s tutelage at Thousand Oaks, Schneider competed with future teammate high school teammate and excellent short hurdler Gabriel Chin on the Thousand Oaks Flyers Club. 

As he got closer to equaling Chin’s times, Schneider said, he started to realize his potential in the event.

“I never did eventually beat him, but it was me recognizing the fact that I was starting to catch up to him,” Schneider said. “By my freshman year, I just really locked in with the hurdles.”

Over the course of his high school career, Schneider saw incremental improvement. After finishing his freshman season with a personal best of 45.86 seconds, Schneider dropped more than five seconds to run 40.54 at the end of his sophomore campaign.

Wilcox attributed Schneider’s success to his consistency and focus in following the training program. 

“It’s called showing up. He showed up every day,” Wilcox said. “That’s why I show up every day. That’s what feeds my desire — to see that buy-in, that potential and that willingness to commit (and) lay it on the line.” 

With time and experience, Schneider learned how to not only survive the difficult event, but how to compete. 

“I don’t believe you can have a bad race,” Schneider said. “I think every single race you run is going to give you at least some type of experience. Even if you have to run it slowly, you are still finding your pattern, you are still getting comfortable.”

Schneider set the ambitious goal of dropping another four seconds and hitting the 36-second mark by the end of his junior year. His ability to reach that goal was due in large part to a minor change he and Wilcox made to his approach to clearing the first hurdle. 

His start was phenomenal — so powerful, in fact, that he was reaching the first hurdle far too quickly, disrupting his rhythm. 

“Consequently, he had to really stutter to get over that first hurdle, and that just really kills your momentum,” Wilcox said. 

Wilcox pushed her star hurdler to reposition his blocks, and to use his opposite leg at the first hurdle — a change that was uncomfortable in the moment, but could raise his ceiling. Reaching his goals meant placing his trust in Wilcox’s wisdom. 

It paid off. 

“She was so experienced in being able to teach and just in the hurdles, themselves, she was able to really guide me through that,” Schneider said. “Honestly, that first hurdle is probably one of the biggest contributors to my time.”

While tweaking and optimizing the minutiae of technique could be tedious for some, Schneider said it’s one of the things he enjoys most about his unique event. 

“It’s the reason why I like hurdles so much,” Schneider said. “It adds some depth and sophistication to the running.”

Wilcox said she believes Schneider will be able to maintain a 13-step rhythm throughout the entire race. If he can do that, even more special times lie ahead for the Thousand Oaks star. 

“He has always got an ace in his pocket,” Wilcox said. “He is very competitive — don’t be fooled by the quietness, don’t be fooled by that boyish smile, believe me. He is not afraid to go for it.”

Outside of technique, Wilcox made mental toughness central to her training plan this year, but it was clear early on that Schneider’s mentality was one of his biggest assets. 

His grit was on full display while racing in the seeded section of the 300-meter hurdles at the Arcadia Invitational. Schneider came off of the fifth hurdle far behind the leaders, but he clawed back over the final 150 meters to win the race. 

“That is when I realized, ‘Ah, there it is. He has got the dogfight in him,’ ” Wilcox said. “It has been that way ever since.”

The Star’s All-County Boys Track and Field Second Team

  • Jaden Griffin, Newbury Park
  • Jalen Aguilar-Carnes, Moorpark
  • Andrew Driver, St. Bonaventure
  • Anthony Tafoya, Fillmore
  • Grant Jones, Oak Park
  • Cooper McNee, Oaks Christian
  • Jackson Knowles, Rio Mesa
  • Graham LaBass, Royal
  • Myles Russell, Ventura
  • Dean Guzman, Moorpark
  • Mason Badgett, St. Bonaventure
  • Kevin Ilano, Simi Valley

Dominic Massimino is a staff writer for the Star. He can be reached at dominic.massimino@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcsdominic on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.



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