Senior Jamar Marshall Jr. competes in the 110-meter hurdles on May 30 in College Station, Texas. | Juan DeLeon/UH Athletics

COLLEGE STATION, Texas —Senior Jamar Marshall Jr. stood just off the track, hand to his ear like a phone, after punching his ticket to his second NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

“Eugene is calling,” he said. “He told me to be ready.” 

After clocking the third fastest time of the day at 13.19 in the 110-meter hurdles at the NCAA West Regionals, Marshall is headed to Eugene, Ore. It wasn’t just a celebration — it was survival.

Diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a rare heart condition that causes dangerously fast heartbeats, Marshall’s track future was uncertain. While still an athlete at Arizona State, an EKG revealed the condition — but it wasn’t until he transferred to Houston that he learned how serious it truly was.

One moment, he was competing on the national stage. Next, he was facing life-altering news, unsure if he would ever run again. 

In January 2023, he underwent heart surgery to burn off the extra electrical pathway causing the condition.

Nearly two years after his last race, he returned to the track for his first race as a Cougar, fittingly, at home during the Cameron Burrell Alumni Invitational.

For a moment, it seemed like he was finally back over the hurdles, placing no lower than fourth in any race until the NCAA West First Round. There, Marshall slipped to a 20.04 last-place finish, ending his season. 

The Stockton, Calif., native thought he was past his prime. After all, it was his 21-year-old freshman self who finished fifth at the National Championships just a year after being one of the nation’s best high school hurdlers. 

He began to wonder if this comeback wasn’t about glory. Maybe it was just about proving he could return to the track at all.

Then came the voice of Olympic legend and coach Carl Lewis, offering hope.

 “Carl always told me, ‘If you trust yourself and believe in the process, we are going to get you to another National Championship,’” Marshall said. “That moment came two years later.”

Just two weeks before the regional, Marshall won his first conference title since surgery. He broke a 14-year-old Big 12 record by 0.10 seconds as he recorded a personal best time of 13.13.

In the preliminary round at the regional, the hurdler came in second in his heat with a time of 13.52, enough to push him to the semifinals. 

Two days later, he won his heat in 13.19 seconds, finishing behind only Texas’ Kendrick Smallwood and Texas A&M’s Ja’Qualon Scott in the region, securing the fourth-fastest regional time nationally.

“The fact that he had the resilience to stay at it and keep his confidence is just tremendous,” Lewis said. “I think he has just as good a chance as anyone to win it all.”

Marshall walked off the track to accept his second career call from Eugene and was shouting long after his heat ended. This time he answered with even more pride.

“I got revived,” Marshall said.

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MONROE, CT — A trio of Masuk High teams will compete in state tournament semifinals at neutral sites on Tuesday.

The No. 4 girls lacrosse team will take No. 1 Simsbury at Brookfield High at 5 p.m. On the volleyball court No. 2 Masuk will challenge No. 3 New Canaan at Naugatuck High starting at 4:30 p.m. In the softball playoffs No. 1 Masuk faces No. 5 St. Joseph at Eastern Connecticut State University at 7 p.m.

USA Beats Australia 13–12 at the Buzzer to Open Water Polo Exhibition Series

Team USA opened its June men’s water polo exhibition series with a dramatic 13–12 victory over Australia, sealed by a buzzer-beating goal at Mt. San Antonio College.

In front of a spirited California crowd, the match featured high-level physicality, sharp execution, and a back-and-forth scoring battle. Emerging star Ryder Dodd led the way with five goals, including the final shot that found the back of the net as time expired. Dodd was in San Francisco the night before to receive NCAA Water Polo’s highest honor, The Peter J. Cutino Award.

Australia jumped out to an early lead, but the Americans responded with strong second and third quarters. Contributions came from a balanced group including Chase Dodd,  Dominic Brown, Jake Ehrhardt, Hannes Daube, and Dylan Woodhead.

The final moments were tense. With the game tied at 12-12 and just seconds remaining, Team USA executed a set play that gave Dodd the final look. His buzzer-beater secured the one-goal win and gave the U.S. the early edge in the exhibition series.

Veteran goalkeeper Bernardo Herzer anchored the defense with 12 saves, helping stifle Australia’s attack in critical moments.

Game Highlights

• Final Score: USA 13–12 Australia

• Venue: Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut, CA

• Series: Men’s Exhibition Series Opener

• Top Scorer: Ryder Dodd (5 goals)

• Goalkeeper Saves: Bernardo Herzer (12)
  

What’s Next

The exhibition series continues June 11 at JSerra Catholic High School and wraps up June 13 at Chapman University in Orange, CA. These games offer critical prep time as Team USA continues building toward the LA28 Olympic Games.

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EUGENE, Ore. — Cal Poly’s three NCAA qualifiers are all set to take center stage this week at one of the world’s most prestigious track and field facilities to compete in the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Action for the Mustangs from University of Oregon’s Hayward Field in Eugene starts at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday when senior Travis Martin and junior Rory Devaney take part in the final of the men’s hammer throw, with redshirt junior Aidan McCarthy hitting the track in the semifinals of the men’s 800-meter at 5:58 p.m. Wednesday. The two top finishers in each of the three 800 semifinal heats along with the next three fastest times ran across the three heats will advance to the 800 final at 6:14 p.m. Friday.

Live coverage on the first day of the meet Wednesday is available on ESPNstarting at 4 p.m., while a stream of the men’s hammer throw competition at 1:30 p.m. can be found on ESPN+. Live coverage of the final day of the men’s events at the NCAA Championships is available on ESPN2 starting at 5 p.m. Friday.

The field for the NCAA Championships is comprised of the 24 best times and marks in the country with the top 12 finishers in each event at the NCAA West Prelims and NCAA East Prelims respectively earning a ticket to the coveted meet less than two weeks ago.

The three NCAA qualifiers for the Mustangs are the most by the program in a single season since Cal Poly sent three athletes to nationals in 2005 (two women, one man) and are tied for the most individual qualifiers ever by the Cal Poly men’s team, joining the 1979 squad. This also marks the first time since 2015 (Danielle Bryan, Ashley Windsor) that Cal Poly has qualified multiple athletes for the NCAA Championships.

By qualifying for the NCAA Championships, Devaney, Martin and McCarthy have all earned the chance to grab All-American honors. At the NCAA Championships, the top eight finishers in an event secure First Team All-American status, ninth through 16th place garner Second Team All-American praise and 17th through 24th place receive Honorable Mention All-American recognition. 

If Devaney and Martin record a mark at the NCAA Championship meet, they would officially become the second and third All-Americans in the Division I history of the men’s track and field program in the hammer throw, joining Tom Pagani who won the 1961 Division I national championship in the event while Cal Poly was still competing in Division II. Prior to 1983, the NCAA allowed student-athletes from all divisions to qualify for the Division I championships. Devaney and Martin both earning a spot at NCAAs marks the first time in the Division I history of the men’s track & field program that the Mustangs have had more than one NCAA qualifier in an event during a season.

Devaney and Martin rightfully earned their tickets to their first NCAA Championship meet. Martin placed fifth in the West Prelims (222 feet, 6 inches) and Devaney took 10th (216 feet, 4 inches) to secure their spots at NCAAs. Entering the meet, Martin and Devaney are seeded seventh and eighth respectively out of the 24 competitors. Martin owns the No. 10 mark recorded in the NCAA this season (232 feet, 3 inches; 70.80 meters) while Devaney is right behind him with the 11th best mark in the nation (230 feet, 9 inches, 70.33 meters). 

Martin and Devaney have broken the school record a combined four times this season, with Martin currently owning the program record and Devaney sitting at No. 2 all-time. Martin broke the school record en route to finishing runner-up at the Big West Championships for the second straight year, while Devaney captured third at the conference meet for the third consecutive season to become a four-time All-Big West honoree across his career.

Devaney is in Flight 1 of the men’s hammer throw at the NCAA Championships while Martin is in Flight 2. Each of the 24 competitors across the two flights will get three throws, with the top nine marks advancing to the final and earning three more attempts. 

The national stage is no stranger to McCarthy who is set to compete in his second NCAA Outdoor Championship meet and first since 2023 after missing the 2024 outdoor season due to injury. McCarthy is looking to cap off a sensational season that’s seen him already secure First Team All-American honors by placing third in the 800-meter at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships in March. McCarthy is the first Cal Poly men’s track and field athlete to secure Division I First Team All-American honors in an event on the track indoors and just the third overall, joining Mohinder Gill and Reynaldo Brown.

At the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, McCarthy became the first Mustang in program history to secure First Team All-American honors in the men’s 800 by finishing seventh at the national meet (1:46.78). He also became the first Mustang in 12 years to earn First Team All-American status.

McCarthy is the current school record holder in the outdoor 800, indoor 800, indoor 1,000 and mile. The Pleasanton, Calif. native won the Big West title in the men’s 800 for the third time to become just the second athlete ever to do so and claimed his first conference title in the men’s 1,500 with a meet record time (3:39.35) to become just the fifth athlete in Big West history to sweep the men’s 800 and 1,500. During this year’s indoor season, McCarthy also ran the fastest indoor 800 by an American in collegiate history (1:45.19).

McCarthy placed fifth in the NCAA West Prelims (1:47.01) to qualify for nationals and enters the meet with the eighth-fastest time ran in the nation this season (1:45.53). McCarthy is in the second of three heats in the men’s 800 semifinals and will have to contend with the likes of 2025 NCAA indoor runner-up Abdullahi Hassan and 2024 NCAA outdoor runner-up Sam Whitmarsh in his heat. At NCAAs in 2023, McCarthy won his semifinal heat and had the second fastest time across the three heats.

Follow Cal Poly track and field on Twitter/X and Instagram for live updates on all three Mustangs throughout the NCAA Championships.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — Junior Madison Booker has been selected for USA Basketball Women’s AmeriCup team trials. Twenty-one athletes are expected to participate in the 2025 USA Basketball Women’s AmeriCup Team trials which begin June 17 at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Players were selected by the USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Committee.    

Following the selection of the 2025 USA Women’s AmeriCup Team and a training camp in Colorado Springs, the United States will travel to Santiago, Chile, for the 2025 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup, set for June 28-July 6. 

Booker has a successful history with USA Basketball having won three gold medals prior to her freshman year at Texas. Booker has been part of gold medal teams at the 2023 FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup, 2022 FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup and 2021 FIBA Women’s U16 Americas Championship. 

Booker had a stellar sophomore season at Texas as she earned First Team All-America honors from the Associated Press and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. She was the SEC Player of the Year and for the second time earned the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award. 

As previously announced, Kara Lawson (Duke University) will serve as head coach with assistant coaches DeLisha Milton-Jones (Old Dominion University) and Jennie Baranczyk (University of Oklahoma). They will be assisted by court coaches Jim Flanery (Creighton University) and Robyn Fralick (Michigan State University) at trials.

“On behalf of the USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Committee, I am proud to announce a talented group of 21 athletes who will compete for their place on the 2025 USA Women’s AmeriCup Team,” said Cori Close, USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Committee chair. “About half of these young women have already claimed a gold medal with USA Basketball, so they bring great international experience with them. They are sure to be fierce competitors at trials. We look forward to choosing the group who will best represent the U.S. at the 2025 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup.”

Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota leaves Autzen Stadium after a win over Colorado in November of 2014. Mariota headlines the 2025 Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees. (Jaime Valdez/Portland Tribune)

Five athletes and four championship seasons will be inducted into the University of Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame later this year, the school announced Monday, June 9.

Former Ducks quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota headlines the group, joined by his starting center Hroniss Grasu for the football team’s two inductees. Oregon’s 2011-2014 women’s indoor track and field teams will also inducted, joining the already-honored 2010 squad to round out the Ducks five-straight national championship-winning squads. Jenna Prandini, a three-time national champion as a member of the 2012-2015 women’s track and field teams, will also inducted as an individual athlete along with men’s javelin thrower Sam Crouser. Softball centerfielder and Olympic medalist Janie Reed (née Takeda) rounds out the 2025 class.

“The 2025 Hall of Fame Class for Oregon Athletics is truly exceptional, including a Heisman Trophy winner, a Bowerman Award recipient, an Olympic medalist, and multiple NCAA team and individual national champions,” Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said in a press release. “The excellence achieved by all inductees places them among the very elite in the storied history of Oregon Athletics, and we look forward to honoring them and their remarkable achievements this fall as they take their well-deserved place in the Hall of Fame.”

Marcus Mariota, football, 2011-14

Oregon’s lone Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota ended his time as a Duck as the most decorated player to step on the field of Autzen Stadium. Mariota was a three-year starter for the Ducks and the Pac-12’s first three-time all-conference first-team quarterback, being the first quarterback in the conference’s history to be a first-team selection as a freshman.

Mariota’s tenure as the Ducks starting quarterback came to an end with a College Football Playoff national championship berth in January of 2015. Alongside his Heisman Trophy and Associated Press player of the year honors, Mariota concluded his career as Oregon’s all-time leader in total offense (13,033), passing yards (10,796), passing touchdowns (105) and starts (41). The native of Hawaii was selected No. 2 overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2015 NFL Draft and has had a decade-long professional career.

Hroniss Grasu, football, 2011-14

Snapping the ball to Mariota over the span of his career was Grasu, a four-year starter in the middle of the Oregon offensive line and a two-time AP all-American selection as a junior and senior. Grasu was also a two-time finalist for the Rimington Trophy, awarded to the nation’s top center, and helped block for the Pac-12’s leading rushing attack all four seasons he played.

Grasu was selected by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft and played for six teams over a nine-year career as a professional. He’s also married to another Ducks legend in Sabrina Ionescu.

Jenna Prandini, women’s track and field, 2012-15

Prandini was the 2015 Bowerman Award winner and a three-time NCAA champion with a pair of long jump wins (2014 outdoor, 2015 indoor) and the 2015 100 meters. She also netted five Pac-12 individual championships and was a 14-time all-American. Her 26-point performance at the 2015 NCAA meet helped lead the Oregon women to its first outdoor national championship in over 30 years, winning the 100 meters and placing second in both the 200 meters and long jump.

Prandini’s success has continued onto the international circuit, qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and winning a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games as a part of the 4×100 relay.

Sam Crouser, men’s track and field, 2011-2015

Crouser is the third of his family to be inducted into the Ducks hall of fame, joining his uncle Brian (2001) and father Dean (2003). Dean and Sam Crouser also mark the first father-son duo in Oregon’s history to be inducted to the hall of fame. Sam was a four-time Pac-12 champion in the javelin throw and a two-time NCAA champion in the event. His throw of 265 feet, 1 inch as a sophomore won him a silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Trials and still ranks as the second-furthest in program history.

Sam won the 2014 and 2015 NCAA championship with throws of 252-7 and 259-10, respectively. The effort helped lead the men’s squad to its first two titles in over 30 years.

Janie Reed (Takeda), softball, 2012-2015

Outfielder Janie Takeda was a key piece in ushering in an era of dominance for then-head coach Mike White’s Ducks softball squads, batting leadoff for three Pac-12 championship teams and making three Women’s College World Series appearances in her four-year career. Takeda was a three-time all-American, Oregon softball’s first, and ended her career as the Ducks’ all-time leader in hits (309) and second in batting average (.392).

Takeda made the Olympic roster in 2021, playing left field for Team USA and wining a silver medal. She was the first Oregon Duck to win an Olympic Medal in softball.

2011-2014 women’s indoor track and field

As previously mentioned, the 2011-2014 women’s indoor teams join the 2010 squad in the hall of fame, with the five-year stretch representing the second-ever five-straight national championship-winning program in NCAA indoor history. The 2010-14 Ducks joined the 1993-1997 LSU teams as the only squads to do so.

To accomplish the feat, Oregon fended off Kansas (2012), LSU (2013) and Texas twice (2011, 2014). After running away with the titles from 2010 to 2013, Oregon’s 2014 championship came down to the wire, with Ducks 4×400 meter anchor Phyllis Francis beating the Longhorns’ Ashley Spencer across the tape by two-hundredths of a second and giving Oregon the 44-43.5 win.

Over the span of the inducted 2011-2014 seasons, Oregon’s indoor squad produced 48 all-American honorees.

Induction

The four track and field teams and five individual athletes will be honored at Oregon football’s matchup against USC on Saturday, Nov. 22.