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$2K up for grabs in Grand Rapids spring break teen esports event

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$2K up for grabs in Grand Rapids spring break teen esports event

The event series will take place on April 5, 6, 11 and 12 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at GRPS’ Ottawa Hills High School, 2055 Rosewood Ave SE. Jones will also teach students about game design, content creation, name-image-likeness (NIL), digital currency, podcasting and “just how they can truly capitalize on the esports industry.”Jones said the goal is to provide students with new opportunities through financial education and exposure to careers through online industries like cryptocurrency. “We intentionally selected a location that will offer some other activities for youth as well,” he said. “Including our recording studio at Ottawa Hills High School and some other board games… educational opportunities and reading clubs.” A program flyer lists esports activities open to 50 students at a time. Johnson said the district is not yet sure many students will be able to participate in the program, as there will be more activities offered than only esports.The event series is being funded with a ,000 grant received by Jones through the city of Grand Rapids. Larry Johnson, the district’s director of public safety, said the esports events are part of a larger student safety initiative held at Ottawa Hills High School during spring break, which runs from Friday, April 4 to Friday, April 11. “Students are just excited to learn,” Jones said. “I think that they’re going to be excited about the initiative itself, but also the education side.” Jones said he’s been advocating for esports for seven years now, after seeing the positive impact it can have on students. “It’s an opportunity for kids who have an interest in cyber activities, cyber sports, computer programming (or) computer software,” Johnson said. “I see young kids or scholars who may not be in your traditional athletic programs, but get involved in after-school programming in a different way that engages them.” Students can earn a prize of up to ,000 for competing in Fortnite, an online gaming platform, and can learn about game design from its developer Epic Games. It will be open to students 13 and older across the GRPS district, and will allow participants to try their hand at online gaming, game design, content creation and podcasting. Want more Grand Rapids-area news? Bookmark the local Grand Rapids news page or sign up for the free “3@3 Grand Rapids” daily newsletter.The program is a collaboration with Jump Ahead L3C, a West Michigan nonprofit aimed at “empowering and educating the young adults in the Grand Rapids area.” Johnson said the goal is to get kids off the street during a week when they don’t otherwise have school activities, giving them a safe place to spend time. The district will offer up one of its existing six esports labs, where students can play online games like Fortnite, Call of Duty, NBA 2K, Overwatch and Super Smash Bros, Jones said. In addition to providing safe activities for students, Johnson said access to esports gives students an introduction to coding and computers, which can provide a pathway to a college education and even scholarships for esports and gaming. “It’s going to change a lot of things,” he said. “It’s going to help students get out of poverty. It’s going to help with the school-to-prison pipeline and finding creative outlets for outdated systems that really … do their best to keep individuals and our youth locked up.” RELATED: Teen offenders in Kent County have a new outlet – esportsDepending on the success of the esports portion of the program, Johnson said it could be expanded as part of the district’s summer learning program, a collaboration with the city of Grand Rapids and the Urban League of West Michigan. He said with additional sponsors, he’s hopeful to extend esports programming further across the state and even the country. Johnson described it as a “lifetime of learning through disguised learning opportunities.”GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A West Michigan nonprofit is partnering with Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) to host a week-long esports event for students over spring break, part of an initiative to offer safe recreation opportunities. The event will also make use of the high school’s basketball court. Similar to that program, Johnson said the GRPS pilot with Jones will “keep our youth safe (with) organized and supervised activities.” Jones’ nonprofit, Jump Ahead L3C, has previously partnered with Kent County’s 17th Circuit Court Family Division to create and operate a program to steer youth offenders away from the “school-to-prison pipeline” using video games.“If our kids have an interest in that, we surely want to make that another avenue they could possibly look into,” he said.

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Three Volleyball Players Receive Academic All-District® Honors

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Women’s Volleyball | 12/9/2025 12:02:00 PM

Granville, Ohio – Three members of the Denison volleyball team were named to the 2025-26 Academic All-District® Volleyball Team, selected by the College Sports Communicators, to acknowledge the top student-athletes in the nation for their combined performance on the field and in the classroom. Earning recognition for this year’s team were senior Alice Kempf, and juniors Claire Hamilton and Ayla Dunbar. This is Hamilton and Dunbar’s second time earning the honor, while this makes Kempf a three-time honoree.

Kempf, a Communication major, makes it three consecutive seasons earning the honor. The senior from Louisville, Kentucky, led the Big Red and was second in the conference in assists (771) and was third on the team in digs with 281. She had 13 double-doubles on the year, and also had 43 kills and 24 service aces to power through the team to a NCAC Tournament Semifinal appearance.

Hamilton, a Biology major, lands on Academic All-District®  for the second-straight season. The junior from Lower Merion, Pennsylvania led the Big Red in kills with 291 and put up 2.88 points per set to help lead the Denison offense to first in the conference in total kills (1,295). She had 14 matches of double-digit kills and had 2.85 kills per set in 102 sets played.

Dunbar, a double major in Psychology and Health, Exercise and Sports Studies, joins Hamilton in earning  Academic All-District® for the second consecutive season. The junior from Ann Arbor, Michigan was second on the Big Red in kills with 219 and had 2.69 points per set to help lead the Big Red offensive attack. Her 2.26 kills per set was ranked third on the team as well.

To be eligible for CSC Academic All-District, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, hold a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher and must be a standout on the field, competing in at least 90 percent of their team’s games and starting at least 66 percent of their team’s games.



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Householder Earns All-Region Honorable Mention Recognition from AVCA

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Youngstown, Ohio — Adding one more achievement to her historic career, Youngstown State’s Abbie Householder has become the third player in program history to earn All-Region accolades from the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

The AVCA announced its All-Region honors on Tuesday, and Householder was named Honorable Mention in the Midwest Region. She joins Ruth Boscaljon, an Honorable Mention selection in 2009, and Paula Gursching, an All-Region honoree in 2022, as the only Penguins to be recognized by the AVCA.

Householder was the 2025 Horizon League Volleyball Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year as the conference’s leader with 4.22 kills and 4.73 points per set. She posted 502 kills, the third most in school history and the second most in the rally scoring era, and her 562.5 points were also the third-highest total ever by a Penguin. Householder also ranked seventh in the conference in aces per set, and she was 12th in digs per set.

Householder, an outside hitter from Canfield, Ohio, finished her career as YSU’s all-time leader in kills with 1,427, passing the previous mark of 1,408 that had stood since 1999. She also is the career record holder with 4,241 attempts, and she ranked third in digs, fourth in points and sixth in aces. Entering NCAA Tournament week, Householder was the only active Division I player with at least 1,400 career kills and 1,200 career digs.

Householder was joined on the All-Region Honorable Mention team by IU Indianapolis’ Grace Purichia as the only players from the Horizon League to be recognized by the AVCA. Householder was also one of just five players from Ohio on the list.



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How Gen Z is leading latest boom in distance running

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Dec. 9, 2025, 6:02 a.m. ET



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Chloe Leluge Earns 2025 AVCA All-Pacific Region Honorable Mention

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Ranking 2nd in the Big West and 36th in Division I with a .383 hitting percentage, Leluge has helped keep Cal Poly’s offense in the national top-20 for most of the season. The team currently sits 18th heading into the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals, marking the program’s first return to this stage since 2007.

Even if her career ended today, Leluge’s .372 career hitting percentage would far outpace the current program leader in the Division I era by 17 points. Her current season rate also places her in the top-10 on the program’s single-season leaderboard. A true two-way middle blocker, Leluge co-leads the team and the conference this season with 130 total blocks.

Just a few weeks ago, Cal Poly upset top-seeded UC Davis to win the Big West title and secure an automatic NCAA bid. Leluge, who committed only one error on 57 attacks throughout the tournament, was named Big West Championship MVP and later to Michella Chester’s NCAA Rotation of the Week.

Since then, Leluge has been instrumental in helping the Mustangs topple ranked programs BYU and USC in the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Sweet 16. She helped stun the Cougars in the first round’s opening set, tallying six kills to kickstart Cal Poly’s tournament run, before recording a trio of block assists against USC, extending her multi-block streak to 13 matches.

As arguably one of the best all-around middle blockers in the country, Leluge has positioned herself to continue an already legendary career while helping propel Cal Poly to one of the single greatest seasons in program history.



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Cail Named to 2025 AVCA Central All-Region Team

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JONESBORO, Ark. (12/9/25) – Arkansas State volleyball middle blocker Daedrianna Cail was named to the Division I Central All-Region First Team by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, as the organization announced its regional teams for the 2025 campaign on Tuesday.
 
Cail is the Red Wolves’ 10th AVCA All-Region selection in program history and the first to secure a spot on the first team since Mallory Warrington and Markie Schaedig achieved the feat in 2016.
 
The Marion native tallied a program-record 183 total blocks alongside 282 kills and a .355 attack percentage over 31 matches and 119 sets played. The All-Sun Belt Conference First Team selection ranks second nationally for total blocks and fifth for blocks per set, averaging 1.54.
 
Cail posted five-plus blocks in 18 matches and registered a career high of 15 to lead A-State past Texas State in a 3-2 (15-25, 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 15-10) victory in the Sun Belt Volleyball Tournament semifinals. In addition, the senior landed double-digit kills in 14 matches, including a season and career high of 19 at Georgia State on Sept. 26.
 
Cail was named Sun Belt Volleyball Tournament Most Outstanding Player following the Scarlet and Black’s victory over James Madison in the championship round.
 
Following the all-region selection, Cail is eligible for AVCA All-America consideration. All-America teams will be announced on Wednesday, Dec. 17.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Fans can follow the team on Twitter (@AStateVB) and Instagram (astatevb) along with liking the Arkansas State Red Wolves Volleyball page on Facebook for the latest news and updates regarding the team.



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EIU Hosts Former OVC Rival On Wednesday

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EASTERN ILLINOIS (2-6) vs. Eastern Kentucky (2-7)

Wednesday, December 10  •  7 pm 

Charleston, Ill.  •  Groniger Arena

GAME INFO

RADIO: Hit Mix 88.9 WEIU

TV: ESPN+

LIVE STATS: www.eiupanthers.com

SERIES RECORD: EKU leads 28-18

LAST MEETING: EIU 81, EIU 66 on Dec. 14, 2024 at Berea College (Ky.)

NOTES: EIU Complete Game Notes

GAME 9

Eastern Illinois plays its second straight home game as the Panthers will have four of five contests at Groniger Arena in the month of December.   The Panthers host former Ohio Valley Conference rival Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday night.  EIU lost its OVC opener on Saturday against Lindenwood falling to 2-6 on the season with three straight losses.   It was EIU’s first loss at home this season and snapped a four game home win streak.  Eastern Kentucky snapped its seven game losing skid at home over the weekend with a big win over IU East to move the Colonels to 2-7 on the season.  

JACOBI WITH A DOUBLE-DOUBLE

Graduate student Kooper Jacobi posted his first double-double of the season on Saturday with 20 points and 10 rebounds against Lindenwood.  Jacobi led the OVC in both rebounding (8.9 rpg) and double-doubles (9) last year and had just missed adding to his career total in two other games this season.  The double-double against Lindenwood was the 12th of his EIU career as he continues to inch his way towards 500 career rebounds at EIU (453 at EIU … 8.1 rpg for EIU career / 538 college career).  

OLAFIOYE WITH A CAREER HIGH 

Last season Malik Olafioye scored in double figures in two games cracking the double figure mark for the first time with ten points in the OVC opener at Southeast Missouri and posting a season high 11 points in a win over Blackburn.  In this year’s OVC opener with Lindenwood, Olafioye again opened conference play with double figure scoring as he finished with a career high 14 points going 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from the line.  His previous high this season was nine points in the opener at Valparaiso.

PANTHERS GOOD IN THE FIRST HALF 

Eastern Illinois opened the first half of OVC play on Saturday connecting for the Panthers best 20 minutes of the season as they shot 54.8 percent from the floor to take a 41-34 lead into the break.  It was the fourth time this season EIU has shot 50 percent or better in a half with 51.7 percent at home against Tiffin in the first half and second half efforts at Central Arkansas and at Purdue.  On the season EIU is shooting 41.0 percent from the field (10th in the OVC) while averaging 62.1 points per game (11th in the OVC). 

UP NEXT

Sunday – December 14, 2025 at #4 Iowa State (12 pm on ESPN+)



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