Sports
Altzman on “Full Circle” Moment in Long Beach GTD Debut
Photo: Bob Chapman/Ford Jenson Altzman said making his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut at Long Beach in his capacity as a Ford Performance Junior Driver Team is a “full circle” moment. Altzman, a podium finisher with the Ford Mustang GT4 in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition with McCumbee McAleer Racing, has formed Gradient Racing’s sprint race […]



Photo: Bob Chapman/Ford
Jenson Altzman said making his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut at Long Beach in his capacity as a Ford Performance Junior Driver Team is a “full circle” moment.
Altzman, a podium finisher with the Ford Mustang GT4 in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition with McCumbee McAleer Racing, has formed Gradient Racing’s sprint race lineup with Robert Megennis in the team’s No. 66 Mustang GT3.
The rising star is one of six Ford Performance Junior Driver Team members and the first to step up to GT3 competition.
“This amazing opportunity to be the first driver to bridge the gap from Mustang GT4 to Mustang GT3 and be competing at the top level that Ford Performance is currently competing in sports cars,” Altzman told Sportscar365.
“On the Junior Team side, it’s just awesome to have that presence here. I think I can showcase what Ford Performance’s Junior Program truly can deliver as far as results, as far as feedback.
“Gradient has been part of Ford Performance for the past eight months or so. Andris [Laivins, team owner] has been super awesome and wanted to work with a partner that was going to work with them too.
“That’s where he and I immediately clicked as [we] both saw the support Ford Performance can give, both on a driver side for me, and the engineering side for him.
“Coming here, getting this opportunity to work with Andris, ‘Pinky’ (Andrew Pinkerton, race strategist) and the whole Gradient team, even Robert [Megennis] is super cool.
“I want to make sure Ford Performance’s Junior Team is taken seriously.
“I don’t mean that in a derogatory way. But it’s very common we see these ‘junior programs’ form and nothing really comes of it or it doesn’t really mean anything.
“It can be something on your Instagram bio and that’s kind of it.”
Altzman said he had been talking to Ford Performance global sports car manager Kevin Groot on the concept of a junior program for over a year, although it only recently officially came together for the 2025 season.
“They took their time and when it finally got announced and I was picked — I went through the same selection process as everyone else — It was awesome to see why this took this long,” he said.
“Now having this opportunity, being here, really making the step…
“I want to deliver for Ford Performance. I want to deliver for everyone who’s a part of the Junior program and a part of putting the Junior Program together.
“I want to deliver for the other junior drivers. It’s just an amazing opportunity to come and do this, being involved with a manufacturer like Ford Performance is something I’ve dreamed about since a kid.
“This is a full circle moment in so many ways. This event, with this brand, not only for me but for the brand, having a driver make this step, it being a Junior Team driver.
“There’s a lot of good energy and we’re excited.”
Long Beach Debut Ideal Ahead of Pilot, WeatherTech Double Duty Weekends
Altzman said making his WeatherTech Championship debut at Long Beach, a track that his parents, then-safety car drivers for Champ Car and the American Le Mans Series, first brought him to at the age of 4, offers a number of benefits as he undertakes a dual series program.
The six-race WeatherTech Championship sprint race program comes in addition to his full season commitments with MMR in Pilot Challenge, alongside fellow Ford Performance Junior driver Sam Paley.
“Because the opportunity came after my Pilot Challenge season has already started, it’s certainly not a bad thing, whether it be Endurance Cup or the sprint rounds I was doing, but not having every weekend be a double header,” Altzman said.
“I want to make sure that on weekends where I’m doing both that I’m splitting my time evenly and both teams are getting information they need from me.
“Having only a handful of races where we’ll be doing both is probably a good transition for doing that.
“The first few sprint rounds help too. Long Beach — the walls don’t bother me at all. I love a good street circuit, especially this one.
“Here, it feels like a bigger, faster GT4 car that stops better.
“Then we’ll get to Laguna, where we do start to use the downforce a little bit and then we’ll go to [CTMP] where we’re full downforce. The GT3 and GT4 cars will be quite different.
“In the sense of the tracks that I’ll hit in that order will be a good progression for me to get in the car and get comfortable.
“For me to do this first race where I don’t have to be doing double duty, I can fully focus on these guys and get to know their program as in-depth as possible, so that when we get to Laguna, I know what these guys expect from me and can deliver.”

Sports
DePaul University Blue Demons – Official Athletics Website
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – DePaul track and field makes the trip down I-57 for its final regular-season meet on Friday, May 2, competing in the third annual Gary Wieneke Memorial at the University of Illinois. Originally scheduled as a two-day meet, all events have been moved to Friday due to forecasted inclement weather. Click here […]

Click here to follow live results and streaming.
For the Blue Demons, action begins at 1:30 p.m. with an early slate of field events and hurdles, followed by sprint races, distance events, and relays throughout the afternoon. Both the men’s and women’s 4×100 and 4×400 relays are scheduled to close out the day.
The Blue Demons enter the weekend following a high-powered showing at the Drake Relays, highlighted by a pair of event titles and multiple top-three finishes. Darius Brown secured the men’s 110m hurdles championship with a time of 13.58—good for first in the BIG EAST and tied for 23rd nationally in NCAA Division I. The men’s 4x100m squad also took first place, clocking a season-best 40.09 behind the efforts of Dominic Cole, Charles Lewis, Amaru Mazibuko, and Demetrius Rolle.
On the women’s side, Kash Allen delivered a record-setting performance in the shot put, claiming the title with a mark of 15.98m to lead the BIG EAST and crack the NCAA top 50. Sade Miller advanced to the 100m final and ran 11.54 in prelims, a time that ranks first in the conference. Rolle also posted a conference-leading mark of 10.29 in the men’s 100m prelims, breaking the school record and placing third in the final.
Additional BIG EAST leaders include Jaiah Hopf in the triple jump (12.72m), Jaiden Gary in the men’s shot put (17.18m), and Alex Bernstein in the hammer throw (66.47m)—a distance that currently ranks 29th nationally. Both 4x100m relays also top the BIG EAST performance list, with the women’s group of Nevaeh Lowe, Maia Mays, Jetta Mays, and Miller placing third at Drake with a 45.96 finish.
UP NEXT
DePaul readies for the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships, May 15-17, hosted by UConn.
FOLLOW THE BLUE DEMONS
For all of the latest on DePaul Cross Country, Track & Field, stay tuned to DePaulBlueDemons.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
Sports
Track and Field Travels North for Gary Wieneke Memorial
Story Links Gary Wieneke Memorial Demirjian Park | Champaign, Ill. May 2-3 | 11:30am (Fri) 10am (Sat) Schedule (TBA) | Live Stats ON-TAP: The Eastern Illinois Indoor Track and Field team is heading north up I-57 to participate in the University of Illinois Gary Wieneke Memorial at Demirjian Park in Champaign, Ill., […]

Gary Wieneke Memorial
Demirjian Park | Champaign, Ill.
May 2-3 | 11:30am (Fri) 10am (Sat)
Schedule (TBA) | Live Stats
ON-TAP: The Eastern Illinois Indoor Track and Field team is heading north up I-57 to participate in the University of Illinois Gary Wieneke Memorial at Demirjian Park in Champaign, Ill., on Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3. This marks the second time this calendar year that Eastern Illinois has traveled to the University of Illinois for a Track and Field events as they competed in the Fighting Illini Challenge and Combined Events on Friday, Jan. 24.
Day one action will showcase only a few events from each the sprinters, jumpers, distance, and field athletes. Friday will kick off with only four events on the oval –100m hurdles, 400m hurdles, 200m dash, and 5000m run. Meanwhile, field events and jumps will get started with hammer throw, javelin, and the triple jump.
Saturday’s will feature the remainder of the events throughout the day, ending with the men’s and women’s 4x400m relay in the evening.
EIU EARLY BIRD RECAP: The Eastern Illinois track and field team wrapped up a successful weekend at the Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Invitational at Owsley B. Frazier Cardinal Park, highlighted by multiple top finishes and personal or season bests.
Graduate distance runner Mackenzie Aldridge also competed Thursday at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, placing 18th in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:37.85.
Isabella Fabrizio opened the meet strong for the Panthers, finishing seventh in the shot put with a mark of 13.03 meters and 10th in the hammer throw with a personal-best 50.83 meters. Sam Bradbury followed with a 15.29-meter toss in the men’s shot put, also placing seventh.
Distance runners Kylie Haacke, Rylea Borgic and Cale Smith continued their strong seasons. Haacke ran a personal-best 17:44.89 to finish sixth in the 5,000. Borgic earned a personal best and placed fourth in the 3,000 steeplechase with a time of 11:03.22. Smith won the men’s 3,000 steeplechase in 9:18.16.
In the high jump, Kenyetietta Quinn won the “C” flight with a personal-best jump of 1.65 meters, while Porter Conroy placed fifth in the “B” flight at 1.85 meters. Abby Venhaus took third in the long jump with a season-best 5.71 meters as Abraham Johnson finished second in the triple jump with a mark of 15.26 meters.
Sprinter Daniel Lacy headlined the Panthers on the track, winning the 400-meter dash with a personal-best time of 46.39 seconds.
OVC TOP THREE: Ten Panther athletes, along with the men’s 4x100m Relay teams, currently sit in one of the top three spots in the OVC for their respective events.
Kylie Haacke’s performance in the 10,000m run at the WashU Distance Carnival has earned her the third spot on the podium in the OVC, as Rylea Borgic’s time of 11:03.22 in the 3000m Steeplechase at the Louisville has also earned her the second place spot in the conference. Cale Smith also recorded a strong 3000m Steeplechase finish at the Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Open, crossing the finish line in 9:18.16 to sit second in the OVC.
The Panther men’s 4x100m relay team, consisting of Jahleel Perrin, Daniel Lacy, Shawn Lacy, and Isreal Jackson posted a season best time last weekend, crossing the finish line in 40.93 to slide into the second place spot in the conference.
Daniel Lacy currently holds the second-place spot the 200m dash and the 4th place spot in the 100m dash. Lacy posted a time of 21.22 in the 200m at the Pacesetter Invitational and followed up with a time of 10.63 at the Normal Invite. His 400m time of 46.93 also puts him at the top of the 400m dash list in the OVC.
Abraham Johnson continues to build his freshman resume, as he currently holds the first-place spot in the triple jump after his performance at the Normal Invite on April, 11th. Taryn Tarquin also manufactured success in the sand pit, sliding into the third place spot in the OVC in the triple jump after posting a mark of 12.13m at the Gibson Invitational. In addition, Elijah Skutt moves his way onto the high jump leaderboards, posting a height of 2.01m at the Normal Invite to slide into the third place spot.
Hallee Thomas also had a successful home meet, securing the third-place spot in the conference in the 400m hurdles after posting a time of 1:02.79.
Sam Bradbury and Alex Stout fill out the leaderboard for the Panthers in the field events, as Bradbury holds third for the discus Stout sits in third for shot put.
NEXT UP: The Panthers are back in action next weekend for their final regular season meet of the 2025. EIU is slotted to head east to Terre Haute, Ind. for the third time this outdoor season to compete in the Sycamore Open at Gibson Track & Field Complex on Friday, May 9th.
Eastern Illinois will then prepare for the OVC Outdoor Championships the following weekend, hosted on May 15-17 at Abe Stuber Track Complex on the campus of Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Sports
Seattle Mariners Prospect Tyler Locklear Named Minor League Co
One of the hottest hitters in the Seattle Mariners minor league system has been recognized for his torrid first month of the season in the organization’s first set of monthly minor league awards. First baseman Tyler Locklear (Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers) was named the Mariners minor league co-hitter of the month on Thursday. Top 100 prospect […]


One of the hottest hitters in the Seattle Mariners minor league system has been recognized for his torrid first month of the season in the organization’s first set of monthly minor league awards.
First baseman Tyler Locklear (Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers) was named the Mariners minor league co-hitter of the month on Thursday. Top 100 prospect Lazaro Montes (High-A Everett AquaSox) was the other batter to earn the honor.
These guys were on fire
Congratulations to our April Minor League Players of the Month! #TridentsUp
https://t.co/ykogwRi7JZ pic.twitter.com/wDXeT7ghFa
— Mariners Player Development (@MsPlayerDev) May 1, 2025
Locklear has scored 12 runs this season and has hit 12 doubles, two home runs and 17 RBIs in 26 games entering Thursday. He’s slashed .317/.400/.485 with an OPS of .885 in that stretch. He’s had a base hit in 17-of-26 games, has 10 multi-hit games and two four-hit games.
Some people do Easter Egg Hunts, others will hunt for where this Tyler Locklear home run went pic.twitter.com/KuA8ZYlHbO
— Tacoma Rainiers (@RainiersLand) April 20, 2025
The 24-year-old Locklear was picked in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Virginia Commonwealth. He was promoted to Triple-A for the first time and made his major league debut last season. He had a double, two homers and three RBIs in 16 games for Seattle last season. He had a slash line of .156/,224/.311 with a .535 OPS in his first taste of the big leagues.
Locklear (No. 11 Mariners prospect according to MLB Pipeline) was thought to the organization’s long-term answer at first base as recent as a season ago. His struggles nixed the possibility of a longer stay in the majors last season.
Locklear hasn’t had a batting average lower than .263 this year with the Rainiers. And his solid year might lead to him returning to the big leagues soon.
MARINERS SELECT OUTFIELDER RHYLAN THOMAS FROM TRIPLE-A TACOMA RAINIERS: The Mariners brought up the former USC product after an injury to outfielder Luke Raley. CLICK HERE
TOP 100 MARINERS PROSPECT JONNY FARMELO HITS HOME RUN IN 2025 DEBUT: The Mariners outfielder hit a homer in his first game of the season, as he comes back from a torn ACL. CLICK HERE
SEATTLE MARINERS SELECT SAMAD TAYLOR FROM TRIPLE-A TACOMA: Taylor will get his first look in the majors this season after the Mariners placed Gold Glove winner Dylan Moore on the 10-day injured list. CLICK HERE
You can also follow Teren Kowatsch on social media on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch.
Sports
Two Mavericks Secure Women's Tennis All
Story Links ARLINGTON, Texas – The Western Athletic Conference announced on Thursday afternoon the 2024-25 women’s tennis award recipients and All-Conference selections. Two Mavericks earned honors across First and Second Team. Primary Court 1 singles player Ana Paula Jimenez capped her impressive Mavs career with a spot on the All-WAC Singles First Team. This is her fifth […]


ARLINGTON, Texas – The Western Athletic Conference announced on Thursday afternoon the 2024-25 women’s tennis award recipients and All-Conference selections. Two Mavericks earned honors across First and Second Team.
Primary Court 1 singles player Ana Paula Jimenez capped her impressive Mavs career with a spot on the All-WAC Singles First Team. This is her fifth career honor and second time being All-WAC Singles First Team. Jimenez paced the with an 8-1 overall record, all from Court 1. Her eight wins were tied for the team lead. She ended the season winning her final two matches while going 4-1 in her last five matches.
Freshman Maria Lucia Araoz-Gosn earned a spot on the All-WAC Singles Second Team after she ended her rookie campaign with a 7-2 overall record, all coming from Court 6. She ended the year by winning her last four matches while going 6-2 in her last 10 matches to wrap up her freshman season.
WAC Women’s Tennis Awards
WAC Player of the Year
Lamija Avdic, Seattle U
WAC Freshman of the Year
Maria Castano, Tarleton State
WAC Coach of the Year
Dané Vorster, Grand Canyon
All-WAC First Team
Maria Cascos, Abilene Christian
Bella Crossman, Grand Canyon
Karina Hofbauer, Grand Canyon
Lamija Avdic, Seattle U
Maria Castano, Tarleton State
Ana Paula Jimenez, UT Arlington
Karina Hofbauer & Gala Arangio, Grand Canyon (Doubles)
All-WAC Second Team
Gala Arangio, Grand Canyon
Dania Deaifi, Grand Canyon
Noelia Lorca, Tarleton State
Adeliya Mukhutdinova, Tarleton State
Maria Lucia Araoz-Gosn, UT Arlington
Maya Inouye, Utah Tech
Lamija Avdic & Natalia Michta, Seattle U (Doubles)
Maretha Burger & Emma Persson, Tarleton State (Doubles)
– #BuckEm –
FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the women’s tennis program on X (formally known as Twitter) (@utamavswtennis), Instagram (@utamavswtennis) and Facebook (/utamavswtennis).
Sports
2025 USA Water Polo Division III Women’s Collegiate Water Polo National Championship Bracket Announced
Story Links Rock Island, IL – May 1 – The USA Water Polo Division III Women’s Collegiate Water Polo National Championship returns this season with competition headed to Rock Island, IL from May 3-4. Augustana College earned hosting honors after claiming the 2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association Conference Championship. They will be joined in […]


Rock Island, IL – May 1 – The USA Water Polo Division III Women’s Collegiate Water Polo National Championship returns this season with competition headed to Rock Island, IL from May 3-4. Augustana College earned hosting honors after claiming the 2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association Conference Championship. They will be joined in the competition by CWPA runner-up Washington & Jefferson, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions Pomona-Pitzer, and SCIAC runner-up Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Admission for the tournament is $12 for the day or $20 for the weekend. To purchase tickets, click here. All games will stream live on Overnght with live stats available courtesy of The FOSH. Team rosters can be accessed here.
Pool Location:
Lindberg Center
Anne Greve Lund Natatorium
Rock Island, IL 61201
Game Schedule (all times Central):
Saturday May 3rd:
2:00 PM: Pomona-Pitzer vs. Washington & Jefferson (Live Stats)
4:00 PM: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps vs. Augustana (Live Stats)
Sunday May 4th:
10:30 AM: 3rd Place Game
12:30 PM: 1st Place Game
-
College Sports2 weeks ago
Former South Carolina center Nick Pringle commits to Arkansas basketball, John Calipari
-
Rec Sports6 days ago
Deputies investigating incident that caused panic at Pace youth sports complex
-
Fashion6 days ago
This is poetry in motion.
-
High School Sports1 week ago
Appling County football to forfeit all 10 wins from 2024
-
Sports2 weeks ago
Sports Roundup
-
College Sports1 week ago
Lehigh wrestlers prepare for wrestling U.S. Open
-
NIL2 weeks ago
Patriots Legend Rob Gronkowski Makes Surprising Career Move
-
Fashion2 weeks ago
Watch Saudi Arabian GP free live stream
-
NIL6 days ago
Save Like a Pro: NIL money isn’t free cash—taxes take a bite! Set aside part of …
-
Sports1 week ago
How to watch Yahoo Sports' NFL Draft Live show