LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 17/13 Texas Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams earned their first points at the SEC Outdoor Championships in the 10,000-meter runs to close out the first day of the three-day meet.

Eva Jess scored the first points for the women finishing fifth in the 10K with her time of 33:52.36. It’s the third-fastest 10K in her career and is the 12th-fastest in school history. Her performance earned Texas four team points. Freshman Sydni Wilkins was just off the scorers in ninth with her time of 35:02.97.

The men were led by Isaac Alonzo’s seventh-place finish with a time of 30:27.54. Alonzo earned two team points for UT.

In the men’s decathlon, Brock Lewis recorded four personal bests and a day one personal best score of 3,698 points after five events. The sophomore began the day running his fastest career 100-meter dash in 11.22 seconds. He added a third-round jump of 6.97m (22-10.5) and a third-round throw of 11.93m (39-1.75) in shot put for two more personal bests.

Lewis added an outdoor PB in the high jump clearing 1.83m (6-0) before running a personal best 400-meter time of 49.79. Lewis sits in seventh place after a monster first day of competition.

Freshman Meagan Humphries ended the first day of the heptathlon also in seventh with 3,269 points. She began the championship meet running the 100-meter hurdles in 14.18 and followed with a clearance of 1.62m (5-3.75) in the high jump.

The California native added her first personal best of the competition in shot put on her first attempt with a heave of 11.31m (37-1.25). She concluded the day running the third-fastest 200-meter of the group in 24.42.

On the track, Kenondra Davis and Holly Okuku were the first Longhorns to advance to a final. Davis posted the third-fastest time of the afternoon with a wind-aided time of 22.58, while Okuku recorded the final spot in the final at 22.88w. Carleta Bernard was the first competitor out with her personal best time of 22.88, while Nita Koom-Dadzie finished in 23.59.

Xavier Butler climbed the Texas record book in the men’s 200-meter running 20.22 in the prelims and qualified for the finals with the fourth-fastest time in the field of 36. The time ties him for second on the UT All-Time Performer list and is tied for the sixth-fastest time in school history.

Sophomore Akala Garrett posted the fastest qualifying time in the women’s 400-meter hurdles in 54.75 to qualify for the finals. Freshman Mackenzie Collins will join Garrett in the finals after posting the seventh best time in 56.93.

The men also sent two to the 400m hurdle finals after Kody Blackwood record the third-fastest time in 49.70. Chris Brinkley also posted the fifth-best time in 50.26 for a personal best and moved to No. 10 on the UT All-Time Performer List.

After three scored events, both the No. 17 men and the No. 13 women are in 11^th.

Texas Scorers:

Eva Jess – 10K – 5^th (4 pts)

Isaac Alonso – 10K – 7^th (2 pts)

Evanston’s Parks and Recreation Board approved a plan Thursday that would allow the city’s parks department to offer two-hour basketball and beach volleyball court rentals.

The city now offers residents and community affiliate groups the opportunity to rent tennis and pickleball courts, but no process exists for renting outdoor basketball and beach volleyball courts, Tim Carter, the city’s lakefront and athletics division manager, told the board.

Carter said in the past year, city staff have received three rental requests for outdoor basketball and beach volleyball courts at Clark Street Beach — one from ETown Girls Feeder Basketball club, a youth girls basketball team that sought to rent outdoor courts for evening practices twice a week in the summer.

Since the city has no formal process and doesn’t allow court rentals, Carter asked for guidance about whether the board thought a similar program to the tennis and pickleball rental process, allowing the public or affiliated groups to rent the space at a fee, could work.

After a discussion, the board unanimously approved a plan to allow basketball courts at Baker, Bent, Foster, Harbert, James, Larimer, Lovelace and Mason parks, and three of the six beach volleyball courts at Clark Street Beach, to be rented for up to two hours.

The key issue some members of the board raised was informing the public about the process to ensure no one shows up to a court only to realize it’s closed off with a reservation.

Carter said the process would be the same as tennis and pickleball, with the reservation receipt serving as a permit. He said he believes there have been no issues with that rental process so far.

The rental rates for both basketball and beach volleyball courts would be $20 per hour for residents, $26 per hour for non-residents — a standard 30% increase — and $10 per hour for community affiliate groups, Carter said.

The fees are the same for tennis and pickleball.

If a court is not rented, it would remain open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

The board approved the plan as a one-year trial to see if any issues or significant complaints arise.

Related

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USC men’s volleyball middle blocker Parker Tomkinson (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad HS) and alumnus OH Kevin Kobrine (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar HS) were each named to the U.S. Men’s National Team’s 30-player long-list roster for the upcoming Volleyball Nations League (VNL), USA Volleyball announced on Thursday, May 15. 
 
The roster features a competitive mix of Olympic veterans, seasoned pros, and rising stars—of which Tomkinson is the youngest. The world’s top 18 men’s teams clash for this year’s VNL title over three weeks of preliminary play, with the top eight advancing to the final round.
 
The U.S. Men’s National Team—under the guidance of head coach Karch Kiraly—will select 14 athletes from the preliminary roster to compete at each stop: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (June 11-15), Hoffman Estates, Illinois (June 25-29), and Chiba, Japan (July 16-20). The VNL Final Round will take place July 30-Aug. 3 in Ningbo, China.
 
“We’re incredibly excited about the talent and depth we have to begin this new Olympic cycle,” said Kiraly. “The veterans on this roster continue to lead by example, while our younger athletes are pushing hard, bringing fresh energy and hunger. It’s a powerful combination. This VNL season will be a vital part of our journey toward the 2025 World Championships and beyond.”
 
The preliminary roster boasts four Olympians, including three who competed in the Paris 2024 Games: libero Erik Shoji, middle blocker Jeff Jendryk, and setter Micah Ma’a. Opposite Kyle Ensing was the official alternate in Paris and competed on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Team.
 
Eleven athletes on the roster have competed in previous VNLs for the U.S.: opposite Gabi Garcia, setter Quinn Isaacson, liberos Mason Briggs and Kyle Dagostino, outside hitters Ethan Champlin, Jordan Ewert and Jacob Pasteur, and middle blockers Patrick Gasman, Matthew Knigge, Michael Marshman and Daniel Wetter.
 
Seven athletes have competed for the senior U.S. National Team in NORCECA events: setter Andrew Rowan, middle blocker Merrick McHenry and outside hitters Nolan Flexen, Camden Gianni, Kaleb Jenness, Zach Rama and Cooper Robinson. Eight have the opportunity to make their debut for the senior U.S. National Team: setters Tread Rosenthal and Michael Wright, opposites Kyle Hobus and Kevin Kobrine, middle blockers Shane Holdaway, Cameron Thorne and Parker Tomkinson, and libero Jacob Reilly.
 
The U.S. men are currently ranked No. 3 in the world and have medaled four times in VNL history, including silver in 2019, 2022 and 2023 and bronze in 2018.
 
U.S. Men National Team Schedule for the 2025 Volleyball Nations League
Matches will be shown live and on-demand on VBTV
All times listed in PDT
 
WEEK 1: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
June 11 at 10 a.m. vs. Ukraine
June 12 at 5 p.m. vs. Iran
June 14 at 9:30 a.m. vs. Slovenia
June 15 at 1 p.m. vs. Cuba
 
WEEK 2: Hoffman Estates, Illinois
June 25 at 5:30 p.m. vs. China
June 26 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Canada
June 28 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Poland
June 29 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Italy
 
WEEK 3: Chiba, Japan
July 16 at 11:30 p.m. vs. Türkiye
July 18 at 11:30 p.m. vs. Argentina
July 19 at 3:30 a.m. vs. Germany
July 20 at 3:20 a.m. vs. Japan
 
The Trojans (21-7) finished second in the MPSF regular-season standings (8-4) and were awarded the second seed into the conference tournament. There, USC finished as runner-up to Pepperdine, which hosted the championship in Malibu, Calif. USC opened the year with a nine-match win streak for its best start to a season since 1991 (28-0) and won 10 matches in a row (Feb. 26-April 3) for the program’s longest win streak since 2012 (18 in a row). It was the second 20-win season for head coach Jeff Nygaard and the 20th 20-win season in program history. The Trojans spent 13 weeks ranked in the top five and reached as high as No. 3 for the team’s highest ranking since it was also No. 3 in 2015. USC led the MPSF for many weeks in all statistical categories but aces and finished the season as the NCAA leader in blocks (2.86 bps) with 16 matches in double-digits. The Trojans set a new school record for hitting percentage in a match (.691 vs. Dominican, Feb. 8) and hit better than .300 in 19 matches; and hit north of .400 in 10 contests.
 
For more information on the USC men’s volleyball team, please visit USCTrojans.com/MVB. Fans of the Trojans can follow @USCmensvolley on Instagram, X, and Facebook.
 

Mike Guardabascio

An LBC native, Mike Guardabascio has been covering Long Beach sports professionally for 13 years, with his work published in dozens of Southern California magazines and newspapers. He’s won numerous awards for his writing as well as the CIF Southern Section’s Champion For Character Award, and is the author of three books about Long Beach history.

http://The562.org

Two Galway teams competed in the Irish Water Polo Senior cup finals for the first time last weekend at the UL Arena Pool.

Tribes WPC was participating in their first Women’s Senior final, while Corrib WPC were participating in their fourth men’s final, a competition they last won in 2018. Unfortunately, the results did not go the way of either team: Tribes WPC lost 13-12 on penalties to St Vincent’s, which completed the double, as the Dublin club side were 14-9 winners over Corrib WPC in the men’s final.

Tribes came into the cup quietly confident having had a strong league season, topping the league table before this competition began, and their first game against Drogheda WPC opened with a strong first quarter.

Opening goals from Laura Casserly, Rachel Corcoran, Iona McDonnell, and Alanah Balcoe helped the Galway side race into a 4-1 lead. Drogheda struck back with three unanswered goals because of two exclusions and a penalty conceded by Tribes, and after a tight opening half, Tribes led 7-5 at the break.

It took Tribes no time at all to find their rhythm in the second-half, however, and quickly opened a commanding lead 13-6 by the end of the third quarter, with two goals from Niamh Connery, one each from Aoife Bundschu and Sophie Moran. Four further goals from the powerful hole-forward, Casserly, saw Tribes finish the game 15-7 winners.

They took on North Dublin in their second group game, knowing a win would see them qualify for a semi-final spot, and Tribes raced into a commanding lead once again, ending the first quarter 4-0 ahead.

Tribes asserted their dominance adding five more goals, before goalkeeper Lana Awaja scored a stunning goal, launching a throw from her own five-metre line, the ball sailing over Catherine Noorlandt’s head in the North Dublin goal and into the net on the buzzer to loud cheers from the packed gallery as Tribes led 9-3 at half-time.

The second half saw Tribes add to their tally with goals from Aishling Walsh and Oliwia Smialek and six in total from Casserly to end the game 14-4 and set-up a semi-final against Diamonds WPC from Belfast, which was a repeat of last year’s semi-final in Bangor which Diamonds won convincingly.

Tribes need not have any fears this time around, having beaten their opponents twice in league fixtures this season, and they opened the scoring through Niamh Connery. They held the lead until an exclusion saw them concede in the last minute of the quarter, but Oliwia Smialek regained the lead in the second with an opportunist goal.

Diamonds, however, again scored off an exclusion to level before Tribes took charge adding two more from Ashling Walsh and Casserly to lead at half time 4-2; and the Belfast side’s resistance was broken in the second half as Tribes exerted pressure on the wings and forced five exclusions and goals from Walsh, Moran, Casserly and McDonnell to lead 8-3 at the end of the third.

A further five goals with Lily Crudden and Lydia McNicholas contributing saw the game end 13-5 to Tribes and a place in the final for the first time.

The final was a repeat of the league game against the same opposition and at the same venue a week earlier, which St Vincent’s won on penalties.

The first quarter was a nervous affair for both teams, with neither side finding the breakthrough, before Bundschu broke the deadlock with a well taken goal from an acute angle on the right.

Casserly and Connery added to the lead, but St. Vincents responded with goals from Cliona Colvin and Keri Noonan to leave the score tied 3-3 at half time. Connery and Casserly again struck in the second-half to build a two-goal cushion, St Vincent’s replied, Casserly scored twice, and St Vincent’s called a time out to halt the gallop of the Tribes onslaught.

Pictured: The Tribes Water Polo Club squad which was beaten in the final of the Irish Water Polo Senior Cup at the UL Arena Pool last weekend. Back row, from left: Teresa Moran (manager), Alice Corcoran, Aoife Bundschu, Sophie Moran, Rachel Corcoran, Maebh Crudden, Sarah Bradley, Alannah Blacoe, and Goran Sablic (head coach). Front: Mariusz Smialek (assistant coach), Iona McDonnell, Niamh Connery, Lily Crudden, Lana Awaja, Laura Casserly (MVP), Oliwia Smialek, Aishlin Walsh, and Lydis McNicholas. Photo: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo.