By: Hunter McKay

MURFEESBORO, TENN. – The Kennesaw State track and field teams won four medals at the Conference USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Saturday at the Dean A Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium on the campus of the Middle Tennessee.  

Men’s Team Scoring (8 of 21 events scored)

KSU – 91.5 points

Liberty– 89 points

MTSU – 29 points

Western Kentucky – 28 points

Sam Houston – 27.5 points

UTEP – 25 points

Louisiana Tech – 14 points

FIU – 7 points

Women’s Team Scoring (8 of 21 events scored)

Liberty – 89 points

FIU – 57 points

KSU – 47.5 points

UTEP – 29 points

MTSU. – 26 points

Western Kentucky – 17.5 points

Jacksonville St. – 14.5 points

Sam Houston– 14 points

New Mexico State – 11 points

Louisiana Tech – 6 points

 

Heptathlon (Completed)

• Laysha Tunti (4751 points) finished third in her first career heptathlon.
• Amelia Coker placed fourth, scoring 4745 points.

 
Medal Winners

• Evan Martinez finished second in the shot put with a mark of 17.01m (55’9.75″).
• Simon Seid won the pole vault with a clearance of 5.18m (17’0.00).
• Kenyatta Bennett cleared a personal-best height of 2.14m (7’0.25″) to secure second place in the high jump. That mark ranks No. 19 in the NCAA East Region and No. 40 in the country this season. The clearance at 2.14m is good for No. 6 in program history.
• Madison Seiler finished third with a time of 10:21.40 in the 3K steeplechase.

 
 
Running Event Qualifiers for Sunday’s Finals

 
Next Up
The Owls will finish the competition on day three of the CUSA Outdoor Championships beginning at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday, May 18.
 

Owen Martin walked into the first day of spring sports practice inside the Blue Ridge gymnasium and many of the familiar faces were gone.

Reality hit that afternoon for the senior. Gone to graduation were five starters, including Connor Cranage, the program’s all-time kills leader, Carson Gallagher, the all-time assists leader, two-time All-Region selections Aiden Glasgow and Nick Laude, and Morgan Thomas.

The group dominated the Lackawanna League with an impressive two-year run as District 2 Class 2A champions and a 42-3 overall record.

While being excited about the new season, Martin understood the daunting task with so little experience returning. Enter coach Lori Zick, who is a master at teaching the skills of the game while always being encouraging, and a determined group of athletes looking to carry on the tradition of the Raiders.

Things got off to a less-than-stellar start, but Blue Ridge enters the playoffs having won seven of the last nine matches and is the No. 5 seed. The Raiders (11-5) will go on the road to play No. 4 Berwick (11-5) on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

“When I came in four years ago, I was the young guy looking up to the older guys,” Martin said. “This year, with those guys gone, I had to take a leadership role on a completely different team. I had to step up and keep the confidence of the players up.

“I learned a lot from the guys who graduated about the seriousness of playing the game. Everyone on last year’s team took what they did seriously. They wanted to go to states. This year, what we wanted was to keep getting better to get to where we are this year.”

Blue Ridge opened the season with a win over Tunkhannock but lost to eventual champion Abington Heights. After a win over Lackawanna Trail, the Raiders suffered their second loss of the season to second-year program Valley View.

Still, Martin and his teammates saw progress.

“At the beginning of the season, some of us were a little down,” Blue Ridge junior libero Bryce Conklin said. “We had key guys bring the team together, and they said that we had time and that we could make improvements.

“Our practices were important. We put in crazy hours at the gym and outside of practice, learning about where to be in rotations. We also had team-bonding events, team dinners—everything we could do, we did. We knew that we had great potential.”

Blue Ridge had a dominant sweep over North Pocono and battled to a 3-2 win over West Scranton before a 3-1 setback to Crestwood had the team with as many losses this spring as it had in the two previous seasons combined.

The steady stream of positivity and commitment to improve at practice sparked a five-match winning streak.

“When you start to get some wins, it keeps you up,” Conklin said. “We got wins, and that got us pumped up.”

Western Wayne and Holy Redeemer, two teams in this year’s District 2 Class 2A field, swept the Raiders, 3-0, in back-to-back matches. But Blue Ridge closed with a 3-1 win over Dallas, the No. 8 seed in the bracket, and Hazleton Area.

Parker Glasgow, a junior, leads the team with 156 kills and 124 service points. Martin has contributed 85 kills and 101 service points, freshman Jacob Brown has 76 kills, and sophomore Jacek Motyka has 65 kills. Conklin has 116 service points with 36 aces and a team-high 321 digs, and junior Riley Phillips has 397 assists.

The development as a group has elevated the energy heading into the district tournament.

“It’s an honor to be the defending champions, even though only one of us really played a lot,” Conklin said. “We are going to play to our potential, and we are going to give it our all.”

Originally Published: May 18, 2025 at 12:00 AM EDT

Todd Allen Lane

OBITUARY

Todd Allen Lane, a devoted husband, loving father, generous friend, and respected member of the Santa Cruz community, passed away unexpectedly on April 27, 2025, in his hometown of Santa Cruz, California. He was 61 years old.

Born on January 7, 1964, in Santa Cruz, Todd was proud of the company he built, a successful pool company business. For over 40 years, he ran a thriving business built on quality craftsmanship and trustworthiness. Beyond his professional achievements, he was most proud of his family.

Todd and Carrie were married for over 22 years, together raising their three children. He supported them wholeheartedly–in the pool at water polo and swim meets, in school, and in every ambition they pursued. He was their biggest cheerleader, and instilled in them a strong work ethic and encouraged them to follow their passions.

Todd loved to cook and was serious about his barbeque skills. Some of his most cherished memories were family vacations to Hawaii. He recently had the opportunity to visit his oldest daughter in Rome during her semester abroad, where he also visited his grandmother’s hometown of Lucca. He enjoyed spending time at the beach and in the ocean. He worked out daily and prioritized an active lifestyle. As a friend, Todd was the one who showed up, ready to help, to laugh and to listen. He was generous, funny and if he loved you, you knew that.

He is survived by his wife Carrie; two daughters, Dillan and Addison and his son, Ryder who will forever carry his love in their hearts. Also survived by his mother; Donna Sawyer, his father, John Lane and wife Joan. Todd is predeceased by his sister, Christy Lane. Todd also leaves behind countless friends, extended family, and members of the community who were touched by his spirit.

Todd lived fully and loved deeply, you could say he wore his heart on his sleeve. His memory will live on in the lives he brightened and the legacy he leaves behind. He is deeply loved, dearly missed and forever remembered.

A celebration of life will be held on June 14, 2025, where family and friends will gather to honor and celebrate his extraordinary life. Please email, toddlanecelebration@gmail.com for further information. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter, a reflection of Todd’s giving nature.

Outdoor Track & Field
The NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Committee announced the accepted entries for the 2025 NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships over the weekend. Thirty-five MIAC student-athletes are listed among the qualifiers for this year’s NCAA Championships.

For each individual event contested, including the decathlon and heptathlon, the top 22 declared student-athletes were accepted into the competition. For each relay event contested, the top 16 declared relay teams, one per institution, were accepted into the competition.

The championships run from Thursday, May 22, to Saturday, May 24, at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

A complete list of national qualifiers from the MIAC is below.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The opening day of the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships got off to a strong start for the UNI Panthers on Saturday as Northern Iowa secured three field event titles at the Lew Hartzog Track and Field Complex on the Southern Illinois University campus.

Josey Dunbar set a new career-best to win her first MVC championship in the women’s long jump, while Justice Miller successfully defending his conference title in the men’s javelin throw. Additionally, Brendan Safley outlasted a competitive field to win the men’s pole vault in thrilling fashion.

The Panthers also secured 14 qualifying spots in 13 events for Sunday’s finals, recording 12 career-best marks. UNI sits in second place in the women’s team race with 31 points, while the Panther men are in third with 37.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Dunbar set the tone early in the women’s long jump, leaping for a career-best 6.09 meters on her first attempt, the second-best mark in outdoor program history. After placing 11th in the MVC indoor long jump back in February, Dunbar joins Dianna Leftridge (1994, 1995) and Allenah Marcucci (2021) as the fourth MVC outdoor long jump champion in school history, and only the fourth Panther to ever leap for over six meters.

Miller’s javelin title defense was a tight competition, but would swing his way with a 64.57-meter throw to become Northern Iowa’s first-ever thrower to win the javelin in consecutive seasons, while also being the conference’s first repeat champion in the event since 2018 and 2019. Davis Brogan also put on a strong showing in the javelin throw with a career-best 59.13-meter toss, while Zack Butcher took seventh (54.56m).

Safely’s chase of a second outdoor conference pole vaulting crown came down to the wire, edging out Indiana State’s Will Staggs with a 5.38-meter vault, tying his career-best. With the win, Safely, who previously won the MVC outdoor pole vault in 2023 and the indoor vaulting title this past winter, becomes the first UNI vaulter to sweep both the indoor and outdoor vaulting championships in the same year since Sam Kranz in 2011.

In the multi-event competitions, the Panthers flexed their muscles with Joey Perry jumping out to an early lead on day one through four events, winning the 100-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash, along with a second place showing in the high jump to record 3,199 points. Katy Hand, who won the shot put portion of the heptathlon, sits in fifth (2,939 points) with Silvana Kabolo (2,902 points) in eighth. Butcher meanwhile leads the decathlon through five events with 4,040 points, winning the 100 and 400 meters, as well as the shot put with second place showings in both the long jump and high jump. Brody Lovell sits in in seventh in the decathlon with 3,458 points.

Additionally in field action, Breanna Hackman collected a runner-up finish in the women’s discus with a 47.45-meter throw, while David Russell threw for 50.78 meters in the men’s discus, placing fifth.

In distance competition, Emma Hoins finished second in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:20.08), while Caleb Shumaker (30:53.87) and Eden Mueller (37:32.52) each recorded a fifth-place finish in their respective 10,000-meter runs.

 

The following athletes all secured top finishes in their preliminary heats and will advance to Sunday’s finals:

Women’s 1,500m

 

Women’s 100m Hurdles

 

Men’s 400m

 

Women’s 400m

 

Men’s 100m

 

Men’s 800m

 

Men’s 400m Hurdles

 

Women’s 400m Hurdles

 

Men’s 200m

 

WOMEN’S TEAM STANDINGS (Thru Day One)

• 1st – Indiana State (66.5)
• 2nd – UNI (31)
• T3rd – Missouri State (29)
• T3rd – Illinois State (29)
• 5th – Drake (26)
• 6th – Belmont (21)
• 7th – Murray State (11.5)
• 8th – Bradley (11)
• 9th – Southern Illinois (9)
• T10th – Evansville (0)
• T10th – UIC (0)

 

MEN’S TEAM STANDINGS (Thru Day One)

• 1st – Indiana State (64)
• 2nd – Illinois State (44)
• 3rd – UNI (37)
• 4th – Belmont (35)
• 5th – Drake (23)
• T6th – Southern Illinois (11)
• T6th – Valparaiso (11)
• 8th – Bradley (6)
• 9th – Evansville (3)
• 10th – UIC (0)

 

UP NEXT

The Panthers will conclude action at the MVC Outdoor Championships tomorrow beginning at 9 a.m. CT. Live coverage of the meet can be found on ESPN+ beginning at 1:10 p.m. CT.

 

UNI track and field action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Track and Field), X (@UNITrackFieldXC) and on Instagram (@uni_tf_xc). Schedules and rosters, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Akala Garrett and Kendrick Smallwood led No. 17/13 Texas Track and Field with hurdle titles on the final day of the SEC Outdoor Championships. The 17th-ranked men finished seventh with 53.5 points, and the No. 13 women tied for ninth with 52 points.

Smallwood became the first male Longhorn to ever win a SEC track and field title on Saturday with a school-record time of 13.13 in the 110-meter hurdles. Smallwood now owns the five fastest times in UT history and is tied for the 12th-fastest time in NCAA history. The win gave the Longhorns 10 team points.

Garrett later won the second-ever SEC track and field title for UT’s women in the 400-meter hurdles with her time of 54.84. Her time equals her eighth-fastest time in school history and she has now won back-to-back 400mH conference titles after setting the Big 12 Championship record last season at 54.73. Freshman Mackenzie Collins was seventh with a time of 58.37, and the two combined for 12 team points.

In the men’s 400m hurdles, Kody Blackwood improved his personal best by .01 second to finish in 48.78 for the silver medal. Blackwood’s time improves his spot to No. 3 on the school’s all-time performer list. Chris Brinkley Jr. was seventh with a personal-best time of 50.58. The two combined for 10 team points.

Grad transfer Elizabeth Stockman used an 80-meter kick to secure the bronze medal in the 1500-meter run with her time of 4:20.88. She scored six team points for the Longhorns.

Sophomore Osawese Agbonkonkon returned to the high jump and finished tied for seventh clearing 2.12m (6-11.5) to score 1.5 points. Kelsey Daniel was also seventh in the men’s triple jump with a season-best mark of 15.79m (51-9.75) to score two points.

Back on the track, Kenondra Davis finished fourth with a personal-best time of 22.68 in the 200-meter, while freshman Holly Okuku was eighth in 23.10. Davis later finished eighth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.35 and the two combined for seven points.

Xavier Butler added a fifth-place finish in the men’s 200m with a time of 20.28 for four points.

The women’s 4×100-meter relay of Carleta Bernard, Okuku, Davis and Nita Koom-Dadzie finished eighth with a time of 43.85 to score one team point. The men’s relay saw Smallwood, John Rutledge, Almond Small and Butler finish fourth with a season-best time of 38.81 – the seventh-best time in program history.

Isaac Alonzo added a point for the men finishing eighth in the 5000-meters with his season best performance of 13:56.61.

Texas ended the competition with the women’s 4×400 relay of Ramiah Elliott, Garrett, Carleta Bernard and Okuku finishing sixth in 3:31.90. The men’s 4×400 relay of Nabil Tezkratt, Logan Popelka, Blackwood and Rutledge were fifth in 3:04.42.

Texas Scorers:

Nina Ndubuisi – Shot Put (1^st) – 10 pts

Akala Garrett – 400mH (1^st) – 10 pts

Elizabeth Stockman – 1500m (3^rd) – 6 pts

Aaliyah Foster – Long Jump (4^th) – 5 pts

Kenondra Davis – 200m (4^th) – 5 pts

Eva Jess – 10K – (5^th) – 4 pts

Meagan Humphries – Heptathlon – (5^th) – 4 pts

Elliott, Garrett, Bernard, Okuku – 4×4 (6^th) – 3 pts

Mackenzie Collins – 400mH (7^th) – 2 pts

Bernard, Okuku, Davis, Koom-Dadzie – 4×100 (8^th) – 1 pt

Holly Okuku – 200m (8^th) – 1 pt

Kenondra Davis – 100m (8^th) – 1 pt

Kendrick Smallwood – 110mH (1^st) – 10 pts

Kody Blackwood – 400mH (2^nd) – 8 pts

Solomon Washington – Long Jump (4^th) – 5 pts

Smallwood, Rutledge, Small, Butler – 4×100 (4^th) – 5 pts

Brock Lewis – Decathlon – (5^th) – 4 pts

Xavier Butler – 200m (5^th) – 4 pts

Tezkratt, Popelka, Blackwood, Rutledge – 4×400 (5^th) – 4 pts

Logan Patete – 3K Steeple – (7^th) – 2 pts

Isaac Alonso – 10K – (7^th) – 2 pts

Kelsey Daniel – Long Jump (7^th) – 2 pts

Chris Brinkley Jr. – 400mH (7^th) – 2 pts

Kelsey Daniel – triple Jump (7^th) – 2 pts

Osawese Agbonkonkon – High Jump (t-7^th) – 1.5 pts

Isaac Alonzo – 5K (8^th) – 1 pt