Siminiuc Wins High Bar Gold at B1G Event Finals; Xiao, Richard Honored
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)Event: Big Ten Event FinalsU-M Team Result: No Team ScoringNext U-M Event: Friday, April 18 — host, NCAA Qualifier (Crisler Center), 1:30 p.m./7 p.m. ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan men’s gymnastics team finished out conference competition with 11 athletes competing in the Big Ten Event […]
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center) Event: Big Ten Event Finals U-M Team Result: No Team Scoring Next U-M Event: Friday, April 18 — host, NCAA Qualifier (Crisler Center), 1:30 p.m./7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan men’s gymnastics team finished out conference competition with 11 athletes competing in the Big Ten Event Finals Saturday (April 5) at Crisler Center.
Michigan took home six medals, with Evgeny Siminiuc winning gold on the high bar and silver on the parallel bars. Head coach Yuan Xiao was named Coach of the Year for the fourth straight year and Fred Richard was named Gymnast of the Championships for the third straight year.
Richard and Siminiuc were named First Team All-Big Ten while Solen Chiodi, Zach Granados, Pierce Wolfgang and David Wolma earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors.
How It Happened
Floor Exercise Paul Juda and Charlie Larson represented Michigan in the floor exercise. Juda led the duo’s effort with a fifth-place finish (13.600) while Larson finished seventh (13.325).
Pommel Horse All three U-M competitors landed on the podium after strong performances on the pommel horse. Granados took bronze with a season-high score of 13.800, topping his previous high by 0.550 points, and Richard followed just behind with a score of 13.750 to place fourth. Aaronson Mansberger rounded out the trio with a 13.575, earning sixth despite counting a fall.
Still Rings Rithik Puri and Juda took seventh and eighth in the still rings, respectively, with Puri earning a 13.575 and Juda a 13.650.
Vault Michigan put together another strong rotation, with all three Wolverines landing on the podium. Wolma led the Maize and Blue with a season-high 14.550, earning a stick bonus and a silver medal. Chiodi took bronze in his Big Ten Event Finals debut, posting a score of 14.400 to come just 0.100 points shy of his season high. Juda rounded out the trio with a 14.300 and took fifth, competing on vault for the first time all season at Friday’s team and all-around finals.
Parallel Bars Siminiuc led the way for the Wolverines on the parallel bars, sticking the dismount to claim silver (14.400) in his first medal of the day. Logan McKeown also ended on the podium with a score of 13.775, finishing fourth and narrowly missing a medal by just 0.075 points. Juda took tenth with a 12.875 after a fall on the dismount.
High Bar Siminiuc once again led the way for Michigan, taking the high bar crown behind a season-high 14.100. Wolfgang performed one of his best routines of the year with a 13.700, just 0.050 behind his season high, to earn bronze.
Up next The Wolverines will return to action as the hosts of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics National Championship at Crisler Center on April 18–19. The team will open the weekend in the qualifying round for both the team and individual competitions, with the first of two sessions beginning at 1:30 p.m. on April 18.
El Camino coach April Ross lands national coaching role with USA Volleyball ahead of LA Games
El Camino College beach volleyball coach and three-time Olympic medalist April Ross was named coach of USA Volleyball’s Beach National Teams, the organization announced Monday, April 28. Ross, 42, who was hired at ECC last August, begins her new role on May 12 supporting Beach National Teams’ coaches in their professional development. She will also […]
El Camino College beach volleyball coach and three-time Olympic medalist April Ross was named coach of USA Volleyball’s Beach National Teams, the organization announced Monday, April 28.
Ross, 42, who was hired at ECC last August, begins her new role on May 12 supporting Beach National Teams’ coaches in their professional development.
She will also work to enhance the training and performance of American athletes on the international level ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to that level and being able to challenge myself to figure out how to help these athletes find very small competitive advantages that can help them do better,” Ross said.
She will be based in Torrance at the Beach National Team Training Center and will report directly to Sean Scott, the director of the team.
“[I’m] just working to working towards the LA 28 games and putting our teams in a position to win medals,” Ross said.
Ross secured a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo (2021) with Alix Klineman, silver with Jen Kessy in London (2012) and bronze with Kerri Walsh-Jennings (2016).
Wilson Advances to Semis With Santa Barbara Win – The562.org
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009. The562’s coverage of high school volleyball in 2025 is brought to you by the MLP’s Bay Area Breakers The Wilson beach volleyball team is on to the semifinals thanks to a 4-1 victory on the road at […]
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
The562’s coverage of high school volleyball in 2025 is brought to you by the MLP’s Bay Area Breakers
The Wilson beach volleyball team is on to the semifinals thanks to a 4-1 victory on the road at Santa Barbara in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs. The Bruins will host their semifinal opponent at 330pm at LBCC on Thursday (Millikan is hosting their semifinal at 2pm at LBCC while Poly will travel for their semi in Division 3).
Wilson got a 21-6, 21-13 win in flight one from Simrin Adams and Sadie Calderone; a 17-21, 21-16, 15-11 comeback win on court three from Kierin Adams and Peyton Agura; a 21-14, 21-17 win on court four from Iyla Alvarado and Jane Morrisson; and a 21-17, 15-21, 15-8 win on court five by Milan Lewis and Nai’ima Lewis.
Opposites Attract to Speak the Same Language and Dominate the Court
Beach Volleyball Duo Prepares to Make a Splash at NCAA Championship Allanis Navas and Sofia Izuzquiza both speak Spanish … technically. When this duo stepped onto the sand together for the first time as partners for the TCU Women’s Beach Volleyball team, though, what came out was a cacophony of Spain Spanish, Boricua Spanish and […]
Beach Volleyball Duo Prepares to Make a Splash at NCAA Championship
Allanis Navas and Sofia Izuzquiza both speak Spanish … technically.
When this duo stepped onto the sand together for the first time as partners for the
TCU Women’s Beach Volleyball team, though, what came out was a cacophony of Spain
Spanish, Boricua Spanish and desperation Spanican.
“There were some funny moments for sure,” Horned Frogs coach Hector Gutierrez said
with a chuckle. “Puerto Ricans have different ways. There is always a word or expression
that I do not understand. You’d hear ‘What? What do you mean?’ during a match even
though they are speaking the same language.”
Navas is a 5-foot-4 senior from Puerto Rico, Izuzquiza a 6-foot freshman from Spain
and, when playing together, they are 22-2 from TCU.
Socia. Dominante. Molar. This senior-freshman duo has been every translation of dominant
since first being paired together in March. Yes, they have been playing together less
than two months. In that time, they:
Helped TCU beat No. 5 Stanford, No. 9 Long Beach State and No. 1 UCLA in a span of
two days at the Death Valley Invitational in late March.
Helped TCU win the Big 12 Championship in the first year it was awarded, joining women’s
soccer, women’s basketball and men’s tennis to give the Horned Frogs four conference
championships in 2024-25.
The NCAA Championship is this weekend and the No. 2-seeded Horned Frogs are counting
on this duo.
“I didn’t know her too much before she came here, just that she was one of the best
players in Spain,” Navas said. “When Hector told me I was going to be playing with
her, and here we are … Sofia and me, we are more than a partnership. We are more friends,
with really good energy outside and inside the court.”
Navas and Izuzquiza played together for the first time on March 7, 2025—a double line
in a box score marking the occasion: Allanis Navas and Sofia Izuzquiza (TCU) def. Bailey Higgins and Carra Sassack (FSU)
21-18, 21-14.
This had not always been the plan. Navas had competed internationally with, spent
2024 trying to qualify for the Paris Olympics with and transferred to TCU this year
to play with Horned Frogs senior, Maria Gonzalez.
They played together, and well, but Gutierrez had an idea to try Navas with Izuzquiza.
They have been getting better and better right through to the Big 12 Championship
held on TCU’s campus.
“I have never experienced anything like that,” Izuzquiza said. “I’m so thankful for
the team we have, for a championship on our home court, and for coach.”
Gutierrez has a knack for building things. He arrived at TCU in 2016, tasked with
starting a beach volleyball team from scratch in a place with no beach and no real
history. He was undeterred. He recruited talent, built teams, had a vision and never
stopped believing.
The program really took off in 2021. The Frogs made their first-ever NCAA appearance
that year and have been back every year since, including reaching the Final Four in
2023. There have been 36 home-match win streaks, No. 1 rankings and so many individual
awards in this span but there was something about winning the Big 12 Championship.
“Looking back to how we started and where we are right now. To have a conference championship
and to be able to host on campus, this is what I wanted from the beginning,” Gutierrez
admitted. “And then to have it come down to one court at home, I’m still emotional
about it.”
Gonzalez, as well as Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno (who competed for Spain in the
2024 Olympics), have been around for almost half of that stretch. They are seniors
on this team, trying to do what, in nine years of NCAA Women’s Beach Volleyball Championships,
only USC and UCLA have been able to: Win it all.
“You never know who is going win,” Navas said. “We just have to keep with what we’ve
been doing.”
It should be noted that Navas and Izuzquiza both speak beautiful English but, when
on the sand together, they still sometimes revert to “Spanican” while playing.
Amigas. Campaneros. Teammates. Friends. In every translation.
Local teams compete in track and field action – Pottsville Republican Herald
Pottsville at North Schuylkill ASHLAND — North Schuylkill hosted Pottsville on the track Tuesday. Pottsville’s girls defeated North Schuylkill, 84-55, and North Schuylkill’s boys defeated Pottsville, 76-72. Girls 100-meter dash — 1. Atera Young (NS) 13.62, 2. Myla Fegley (P) 13.62, 3. Mia McDonald (NS) 14.03 Girls 200-meter dash — 1. Molly Frantz (NS) 27.90, […]
Boys 100-meter dash — 1. Nathan Frankenfield (PGA) 11.50, 2. Teagan Schneck-Haines (PGA) 12.03, 3. Luis Sanchez (Tam) 12.06
Boys 200-meter dash — 1. Tanner Kolb (PGA) 24.41, 2. Jacob Hehn (Tam) 25.46, 3. Jonathan Knepper (Tam) 26.13
Boys 400-meter dash — 1. Luis Sanchez (Tam) 55.72, 2. Jacob Hehn (Tam) 57.05, 3. Peyton Schwartz (Tam) 57.72
Boys 800-meter run — 1. Levi Kunkle (Tam) 2:06.54, 2. Alex Dubbs (PGA) 2:16.46, 3. Adam Schock (Tam) 2:26.26
Boys 1600- meter run — 1. Aidan Elston (Tam) 4:52.55, 2. Anthony Marchetti (Tam) 4:53.35, 3. Brody Boyce (Tam) 5:00.02
Boys 3200-meter run — 1. Anthony Marchetti (Tam) 10:52.92, 2. Parker Steencken (Tam) 12:19.02, 3. John Herber (PGA) 13:37.66
Boys 110-meter hurdles — 1. Gio Rivera-Poke (Tam) 17.44, 2. Luis Tejada (Tam) 19.98, 3. Kolton Krause (Tam) 21.03
Boys 300-meter hurdles — 1. Conan DeBruyn (PGA) 43.73, 2. Luis Tejada (Tam) 44.58, 3. Kolton Krause (Tam) 49.64
Boys 4×100 meter relay — 1. Pine Grove (Tanner Kolb, Tegan Schneck-Haines, Dane Hannevig, Nathan Frankenfield) 44.89, 2. Tamaqua (Scott, Case, Brody Schlier, Victor Schlosser, Luis Tejada) 47.03, 3. Tamaqua 50.77
Boys 4×400 meter relay — 1. Tamaqua Area (Peyton Schwartz, Luis Sanchez, Aidan Elston, Jacob Hehn) 3:48.13, 2. Tamaqua (Brody Schlier, Brody Boyce, Jonathan Knepper, Adam Schock) 4:00.43
Boys 4×800 meter relay — 1. Tamaqua (Aidan Elston, Parker Steencken, Levi Kunkel, Brody Boyce) 9:29.77
Boys high jump — 1. Scott Case (Tam) 5-08.00, 2. Terrence McDowell (Tam) 5-06.00, 3. Nicholas Barron (Tam) 5-06.00
Boys long jump — 1. Dane Hannevig (PGA) 18-11.50, 2. Nicholas Barron (Tam) 17-07.25, 3. Terrence McDowell (Tam) 17-03.50
Boys triple jump 1. Scott Case (Tam) 37-04.25, 2. Victor Schlosser (Tam) 35-11.75, 3. Terrence McDowell (Tam) 34-10.50
Boys shot put — 1. Thomas Rivera (Tam) 34-07.50, 2. William Behun (Tam) 33-08.50, 3. Isaiah Davis (Tam) 31-07.75
Boys discus throw — 1. Jacob Hehn (Tam) 133-01, 2. William Behun (Tam) 93-07, 3. Thomas Rivera (Tam) 91-08
Boys javelin throw — 1. Larson Hudak (Tam) 114-01, 2. Keagan Coleman (Tam) 112-01, 3. Alex Dubbs (PGA) 110-05
Panther Valley vs Shenandoah Valley
LANSFORD — Panther Valley and Shenandoah Valley split in track and field action. Panther Valley boys defeated Shenandoah Valley, 78-62. Shenandoah Valley girls defeated Panther Valley, 84-40.
Boys 400-meter dash — 1. Edison Mitchell (PV) 1:05.3, 2. Chase McArdle (PV) 1:10.3, 3. Carlos Meza (SV) 1:12.3
Boys 800-meter run — 1. Abraham Cabrera (PV) 2:38.0, 2. Ibraaheem Porter-Pippen (SV) 2:40.0, 3. Nassir Nobles (PV) 2:58.0
Boys 1600-meter run — 1. Robert Guzman (SV) 5:27.0, 2. Abraham Cabrera (PV) 5:44.0, 3. Ibraaheem Porter-Pippen (SV) 6:20.0
Boys 3200-meter run — 1. Robert Guzman (SV) 11:14.0, 2. Abraham Cabrera (PV) 13:16.0, 3. Ibraaheem Porter-Pippen
Boys 110-meter hurdles — 1. Frank Shubeck (PV) 18.3, 2. Ayden Zamudio (SV) 20.3
Boys 300-meter hurdles — 1. Nuredin Gjoca (PV) 50.3, 2. Ayden Zamudio (SV) 53.3, 3. Gabe Rodriguez (PV) 54.3
Boys 4×100 meter relay — 1. Panther Valley (Edison Mitchell, Troy Nunez, Mrgim Neziri, Frank Shubeck) 50.2, 2. Shenandoah Valley (Todd Seiger, Ayden Zamudio, Jozel Solano, Jayden Mulkusky) 51.8, 3. Panther Valley 58.4
Boys 4×400 meter relay – 1. Panther Valley (Gabe Rodriguez, Brody Vermillion, Chase McArdle, Jason Ahn) 5:15.0
Boys 4×800 meter relay — 1. Shenandoah Valley (Ayden Zamudio, Carlos Meza, Bryan Garcia, Robert Guzman) 10:26.0, 2. Panther Valley (Anthony Self, Neredin Gjoca, Abraham Cabrera, Nassir Nobles) 10:26.0
Boys high jump — 1. Michael Elschisak (SV) 5-10.00, 2. Mrgim Neziri (PV) 5-02.00, 3. Justhing Jimenez (SV) 4-10.00
Boys long jump — 1. Michael Elschisak (SV) 17-06.00, 2. Bekim Mehmeti (PV) 15-10.50, 3. Chase McArdle (PV) 15-01.50
Boys triple jump — 1. Michael Elschisak (SV) 38-09.00, 2. Frank Shubeck (PV) 34-09.00, 3. Chase McArdle (PV) 32-04.00
Boys shot put — 1. Gino Williams (PV) 40-03.00, 2. Bryan Chagolla (SV) 38-06.00, 3. Marcus Rodriguez (PV) 33-08.00
Boys discus throw — 1. Gino Williams (PV) 122-04, 2. Bryan Chagolla (SV) 110-05, 3. John Boctor (SV) 109-01
Boys javelin throw— 1. Gino Williams (PV) 128-10, 2. Jason Ahn (PV) 113-07, 3. Christ Rodriguez-Castro (SV) 104-06
When Peter Carter ’69 first arrived at Harvard, he planned to join the men’s ice hockey team. A five-year starter in high school at Milton Academy, Carter expected his college experience to be defined by his time spent at the rink. But after losing the starting position to the other goalie in his year, he […]
When Peter Carter ’69 first arrived at Harvard, he planned to join the men’s ice hockey team. A five-year starter in high school at Milton Academy, Carter expected his college experience to be defined by his time spent at the rink. But after losing the starting position to the other goalie in his year, he decided he did not want to spend his collegiate career on the bench and pivoted to an entirely different sports team: alpine ski.
“My brothers and I started skiing pretty much as soon as we could walk decently,” Carter explained in an interview with the Independent. For him, this meant stepping into a pair of skis at age two under the supervision of his father, a member of the U.S. Ski Team in the 1930s. Carter grew up skiing year-round on Cannon Mountain, N.H., staying at his grandparents’ house in Jefferson; this house would later house the Harvard Ski team during their East Coast competitions. He began skiing competitively at age twelve, following in the footsteps of his family members.
After switching to the ski team, Carter shifted his schedule to be on the mountain as much as possible. “I had a combined studies program of economics, government, and history with a Latin American flavor… It worked perfectly for me, because I had no requirements other than the requirements that I proposed to the different departments,” Carter said. Frontloading his classes on Mondays and Tuesdays, he trained up north the rest of the week.
Carter’s undergraduate career was extremely successful, including a team near victory in the Eastern Championships in 1969. In his three years on the team, Harvard qualified for the NCAA every season and ranked in the top three in the country. After graduating, Carter worked with an MIT professor to develop a new system to make artificial snow. The machines they developed proved highly successful, and after selling the company, he returned to Harvard—this time not as a student, but as the head coach of the team.
Upon his return, Carter was faced with the challenge of continuing a nationally competitive program while on a minuscule budget. “While I was coaching, I think we never spent a night in a hotel, as our budget was very meager at that point… We would mooch off of friends for sleeping arrangements we didn’t have [and] we didn’t have a van or anything at that point. Fortunately, there were enough local people that we could use local cars, so that the ski team was functioning on a shoestring at that point.”
Despite budget constraints, Carter arranged international travel for the team, taking them to train in Argentina and Chile alongside international teams during the summer. Carter recalls one particularly eventful trip in September of 1973, which found the team in Santiago, Chile, during a military coup.
“When we got to Santiago the day before our flight back home, there were major riots in response to General Augusto Pinochet and the military trying to take over the government. Naively, we walked around the city until people started getting shot. At that point, we immediately headed for and holed up in our hotel. The next day, we caught the last plane out of Chile before President Salvador Allende was assassinated with the support of the CIA,” recounted Carter. Had they failed to make that flight, the team would have likely been imprisoned in a local soccer stadium along with other foreigners.
Beyond the stories from his coaching tenure, one of Carter’s lasting impacts on the program was to combine the men’s and women’s teams. While the men had operated at the Division I level since its founding in 1934, the women’s team was functioning more akin to a club sport.
“When I started coaching, the women pretty much had a caretaker, not a coach. They didn’t have anybody who knew skiing,” he said. “So I joined the women’s and the men’s teams together so that they could train with us, and it really brought the level of the women’s team way up, because they had not had decent coaching and no recruiting or anything. That was one thing I was proud of, which was really bringing the women up to the level of the men’s team.”
After four years as coach, Carter decided to step down and focus full-time on pursuing his law degree; during his tenure, he was concurrently taking classes at Harvard Law School. While his time as head coach was short, his impact on the program was significant, as the coaching position title was renamed after him in 2020. “I was very surprised and shocked, and pleased. It was a real honor that I hadn’t expected at all,” shared Carter. He said that Paul Finnegan ’75—the man who donated the money for the endowment—did so as a dedication to the positive atmosphere coach Carter was able to create.
The balance of being both serious and having fun was a defining principle of Carter’s tenure—an approach that resonated beyond collegiate athletics and offered a valuable life lesson applicable in any field. “They’re not mutually exclusive. No, in fact, I think you do better when you’re having fun,” Carter said. Kate Oliver ’26 (koliver@college.harvard.edu) learned how to ski on an artificial mountain in the middle of Missouri.
Coastal Carolina’s Kinloch & Arkansas State’s Pujol Earn Sun Belt Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Weekly Honors
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NEW ORLEANS – Coastal Carolina’s Amanda Kinloch and Arkansas State’s Carly Pujol earned recognition as the Sun Belt Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week for their performance last week. Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
Amanda Kinloch, Coastal Carolina
(Sr. | Sprints/Hurdles | North Miami, Fla.)
[…]
NEW ORLEANS – Coastal Carolina’s Amanda Kinloch and Arkansas State’s Carly Pujol earned recognition as the Sun Belt Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week for their performance last week.
Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
Amanda Kinloch, Coastal Carolina
(Sr. | Sprints/Hurdles | North Miami, Fla.)
Coastal Carolina’s Amanda Kinloch won the 100 meter hurdles at the Charlotte Invitational with a time of 13.11, ranking second-best in school history. The North Miami, Fla. native moved into the top 25 with her time at No. 19. She also ran in the 4×100 meter relay, where the Chants finished third and ran the ninth-fastest time in school history with a time of 45.23.
Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week
Carly Pujol, Arkansas State
(Grad. | Pole Vault | Cape Girardeau, Mo.)
Arkansas State’s Carly Pujol won the women’s pole vault at the Alumni Classic, clearing 4.06m/13-3.75 on her first attempt at the height. She continues to lead the Sun Belt Conference by nearly a foot in the event and is also tied for 15th in the West Region entering the week and top 30 in the nation. In eight of her last nine meets dating back to February, Pujol has finished third or better with five event victories after Saturday’s event crown.
2025 Sun Belt Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
Week 1 – Taejha Badal, Texas State
Week 2 – NaJ Watson, Georgia Southern
Week 3 – Shanyah Washington, Troy
Week 4 – Isabelle Russell, Louisiana
Week 5 – Abigail Parra, Texas State
Week 6 – Amanda Kinloch, Coastal Carolina
2025 Sun Belt Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week
Revealing details of the ‘productive’ meeting | Get Up
