It’s been over five years since the Lizzie McGuire revival series was officially scrapped, and Jake Thomas is weighing in.

The former Disney Channel actor who played Hilary Duff’s little brother Matt in the comedy explained why the sequel series didn’t move forward.

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“Sometimes that just happens,” Thomas told E! News. “It was bad timing with everything. It was right at the beginning of COVID.”

The sequel series was announced during the Disney D23 Expo in 2019 and was being developed for the new Disney+ streaming service. However, the original series’ creator, Terri Minsky, stepped down in January 2020. Duff took to social media to ask Disney to move the series to Hulu, allowing the character to live more authentically to her age.

Despite the series being canceled altogether, Thomas finds it “crazy how embedded Lizzie McGuire has become within a millennial culture as something that we’re still referencing today,” adding, “It blows my mind, and I’m thankful for that.”

The revival series would’ve brought back the original cast members, and in 2024, one of the writers of the series revealed that two episodes were filmed. Jonathan Hurwitz said in a TikTok video that the first episode found Lizzie living in New York City as an interior designer. Lizzie soon finds out her chef boyfriend is cheating on her with her best friend, which prompts her to return to her childhood home in California, where animated Lizzie is waiting for her.

Hurwitz noted that Episode 3 didn’t end up getting filmed, and believed this was the episode that Disney might have had some issues with.

“Episode 3 wasn’t filmed, but there was a script for it,” Hurwitz said. “Lizzie wakes up in Ethan’s bed, in his water polo t-shirt. Animated Lizzie pops up and she has this little checklist, like a to-do list, and Ethan is on the list and she checks it off.”

Hurwitz continued, “I think she says something like, ‘I checked that box –dramatic pause– twice.’ So if I had to guess, I saw another comment about certain storylines [about] why Disney wasn’t comfortable with it, my guess was… that moment was probably one of them.”

In an interview on Watch What Happens Live in 2023, Duff continued to be optimistic about the revival getting another shot, saying the show “lived up to her vision.” She added, “Disney+ was very new and I think they were figuring out their… and we were figuring out our… and I am optimistic.”

Since the launch of Disney+, the lines between Disney’s streaming platforms have been blurred. Subscribers of both services can see Hulu’s content within the Disney+ app. Shows not necessarily Disney+ friendly, like The Kardashians, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Only Murders in the Building, are available on the Disney+ platform for those with the bundle.

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EUGENE, Ore. – The TCU men wrapped up their 2025 season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Wednesday at Hayward Field. TCU senior Kashie Crockett led the way, securing Second Team All-American honors in the 200m to end his collegiate career.
 
The Horned Frogs competed in six events on day one of the championship meet; however, none advanced to the finals of their respective events.
 
TCU’s 4x100m relay turned in a season best 39.35 to start off the meet. Freshman Justin Frater stepped in as an alternate and didn’t disappoint running the opening leg before passing off the baton to Crocket. Jordan Parker and Sanjay Slamon ran the final two legs to help the Frogs finish 18^th overall and earn Honorable Mention All-American honors.
 
In the javelin throw, freshman Preston Kuznof closed out his rookie campaign. The Big 12 Champion threw 64.62m (214-10) to place 20^th and earn Honorable Mention All-America status.
 
Running in the 800m, Lloyd Frilot went down on the final turn as he attempted to make a move to the outside. Although he was tripped up, the senior got back on his feet and crossed the finish line as an Honorable Mention All-American in Hayward Field.
 
Sophomore Jayden Douglas made his debut at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He competed in the 400m hurdles, turning in a time of 54.16 for his first career All-American nod (Honorable Mention honors).
 
Back at the championship meet for the second straight season in the 200m, Crockett ran a 20.48 (+0.4 m/s), finishing fifth in his heat. His time was good for 12^th overall, officially making him a two-time All-American in the event (2025 Second Team Indoor and Outdoor).
 
The Frogs closed out the meet with a 17^th place finish in the 4x400m relay (3:05.16). Ronnie Kendrick, Douglas, Destin Drummond and Frilot finished just over half a second behind Georgia adding Honorable Mention All-American honors to their name.
 
The TCU women are up next, competing on Thursday, June 12. They will be represented with 11 entries and look to advance to Saturday’s finals.
 
For all the latest TCU track and field news, follow the Frogs on X at @TCUTrackField, on Instagram at @tcu_track_xc and on Facebook at TCU Track and Field.
 

Montana State senior Rob McManus took a tumble during the final lap but was still able to finish fourth in his heat and advance to the men’s 3000 meter steeplechase finals at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Wednesday in Eugene, Oregon.

McManus finished in 8:34.54, taking fourth in his heat and 9th overall out of 24 racers. He held the sixth fastest time in the field heading into Thursday’s action. His career-best time of 8:26.83 was set earlier this season at the Bryan Clay Invitational in April.

The Cashmere, Washington native was leading the race during the final lap but took a spill getting through the final water jump, allowing three competitors to pass him down the finishing stretch. 

McManus has now advanced to finals for the first time in his career after making his third straight appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The steeplechase finals will take place on Friday at 6:24 p.m. MST.

Earlier on Thursday’s opening fay action, Bobcats sophomore Harvey Cramb competed in the 1500 meter semifinals. The Australian product was in the top half of the pack midway through the race but faded down the stretch to a last place finish in his heat, crossing the finish line in 3:44.57. Cramb’s heat was the faster of the two, so his time ended up ranking 12th out of 24 total runners between the two semifinal races.

Still to come at this week’s national championships meet will be several more Bobcat competitors.

On Thursday, Billings native Hailey Coey will compete in the women’s long jump finals, scheduled for 6:40 p.m. MST.

Also on Thursday, the Montana State women’s 4×400 relay team will be in action for a semifinals race at 8:36 p.m. MST.

On Saturday, Seeley Lake native and Colorado State junior Klaire Kovatch will compete in the women’s discus, set to get underway at 1:30 p.m. MST.

2025 NCAA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
THURSDAY, JUNE 12 | HAYWARD FIELD | EUGENE, ORE.
ESPN
LIVE STREAM | LIVE RESULTS
6:56 p.m. | 10,000m National Final | Logan Hofstee, Rosina Machu

EUGENE, Ore. – Gonzaga women’s track will make program history Thursday evening at Hayward Field, racing two athletes in the same National Final event for the first time ever. This will also mark the first time two Bulldog women have qualified for the NCAA Championship week, as Logan Hofstee and Rosina Machu will compete in the 10,000-meter final at 6:56 p.m. on ESPN.

For Hofstee, she becomes the first true freshman to reach the NCAA Championships after a gritty 11th place finish at the NCAA West Prelims in College Station on May 29. Her time of 34:30.82 in College Station came amidst the chase pack, working her way into the Top 12 before crossing just one second ahead of the final qualifying mark. She reached the qualifying round with a time of 33:17.80 at the Stanford Invitational in April.

Machu makes her second consecutive 10,000-meter Final appearance, placing 15th to earn Second Team All-America honors last spring in Eugene. Two weeks ago, she finished third at the West Prelims in 33:50.76 after running a qualifying time of 32:33.18 at Stanford in April. Machu is just the third-ever repeat finals qualifier and first since James Mwaura in 2023, and she’ll look to become the first female two-time All-American on the track in GU history.

Including Gonzaga’s first appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2015, the Zags will send at least one athlete to the final week of NCAA competition for the eighth time in the last ten championship meets (2020 canceled due to COVID-19). In five of the previous seven instances, GU has walked away with an All-American. Fraley was the first Zag to earn the honor in 2017 before Mwaura earned five over the span of three years in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

With the future of the Colorado track and field program in transition, a small contingent of Buffaloes hit the track on Wednesday in Oregon for the NCAA outdoor track and field championships.

Assistant coach Lindsey Malone’s final appearance for the Buffaloes won’t be an extended one.

June 11, 2025

By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X

This is the first in a series of area schools involved in the upcoming Foothill Area releaguing that will begin for the 2026-2027 school year. The 20 schools involved, in what will be a new conference are from the current 605 League, Del Rio League, Gateway League and Mid-Cities League. The name of the new conference and potential leagues will be determined during the 2025-2026 school year. This is the third time since the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year that area schools have been involved in releaguing.

When Artesia High, and two other area schools, broke off from the old Suburban League after the 2017-2018 school year to form the 605 League with the addition of three other schools, it was meant to create more competitive equity in its athletic program. In the past seven years, the Pioneers have seen some success while other sports continued to struggle.

Now, those struggling sports will have a chance to do something that was not possible in the former Suburban League, or even the 605 League-compete for a CIF-Southern Section playoff berth.

Artesia athletic director Matt Soriano, who hasn’t been in his position as long as the other athletic directors, wasn’t as skeptical when the process began leading up to the May 1 Foothill Area releaguing vote.

“To be honest, I don’t think I had the most positive favoritism towards a 20-team league”, said Soriano. “As a new A.D., I just heard, ‘oh, it’s time to revote for bylaws and see if anyone’s open to releaguing’”.

The initial buzz amongst the athletic directors was to simply keep the 605 League together and not add other schools. But all six proposals which were brought to the table last month involved a 20-school conference.

“We kind of sat down as A.D.’s and said, ‘hey, we like the six of us staying together in most sports’ even though we would get killed by Cerritos and Whitney in some tennis events or golf events,” said Soriano. “We’re competitive in every other sport, and I like the six of us about it.”

The 2018-2019 school year had mixed feelings around the 605 League with Artesia winning two league titles and sharing one of the major sports in the inaugural year. The most notable one was the football team where the Pioneers won all three league games and advanced to the Division 12 championship game. Since then, the program has finished in second place and earned a playoff spot.

Boys soccer won its first 605 League title in 2019 and the softball team tied Cerritos High for first place that spring. Since then, the Pioneers have won 11 league titles, six coming from boys soccer, three from boys basketball, and one each from girls flag football and girls soccer.

Soriano went to the first meeting with the plan of just moving for football only because he thought that’s how Orange County schools did their releaguing.

“We sat down as A.D.’s and said if we’re going to support something, I need to know number one, we’re all in this, or if we’re going to be against this, we’re all against it,” said Soriano. “The one commitment we couldn’t have was that Glenn would still field a football team.”

With the new 20-school conference, Artesia may not face ABC Unified School District rival Cerritos in league competition, but the program figures to be in a desirable place for playoff contention every season.

“We were not the best team in [the 605 League], but every school had a chance to qualify for the playoffs every year,” said Soriano. “And I think that’ s the way we wanted it to be. There were years where we won on the last play on a double reverse against Pioneer to qualify for the playoffs. There were years that Glenn was up there in the top two; there were years where they weren’t in the top two. Pioneer didn’t get an automatic bid this [past season] but they went to the [CIF-Southern Section] finals. The 605 League gave people what they wanted out of it, football-wise.”

Soriano says other than boys basketball and some of the other major sports, which has been near or at the top of the league consistently, the other sports aren’t nowhere near the other schools. Part of that reason, which the league has looked at and voted together as a league, is some schools in certain sports have a lower level team.

Since the 605 League was formed, the Artesia girls volleyball program has finished no higher than third place while the other two fall sports, boys water polo and girls tennis have finished in fourth place or below. In fact, of the major sports, the Pioneers have finished in fourth place 18 times, fifth place 10 times and last place nine times.

Boys basketball and the two soccer programs have done quite well as has the softball program and should be grouped in with the upper to ‘middle of the pack’ schools once the new conference begins. Sports like boys tennis, boys volleyball, boys water polo, girls basketball and girls tennis are projected to be situated in the last of the three or four leagues in two years and be with other fifth and sixth place teams from the Del Rio League, Gateway League and Mid-Cities League. It should be noted that in a six-team league, the top three get an automatic playoff berth.

“It is going to be every sport on a per sport basis,” said Soriano. “So, just like in Orange County, your football team may be in this league, but your basketball teams will be in a different league. The model, I think, that makes the most sense…is if there are 20 teams in every place but football, you do four leagues of five [teams]. That would make the top three all get an [automatic] berth. Technically, you would get 12 automatic spots out of your 20 teams.”

Soriano believes that the new conference will benefit Artesia in a lot of the sports that aren’t mentioned on an everyday basis. For example, Artesia’s girls basketball team most likely wouldn’t have to play Cerritos, Pioneer or Whitney twice every season in league competition.

“I’m not even saying it will help us get wins, it will just help the games be more competitive,” said Soriano. “The big part about it is we have to sit down as a group and decide…I guarantee the first year is going to be based on CIF rankings. But they talk about some relegation or promotion. If you’re in the middle league, hey, you won and you get to move up to the top league. I would prefer to see two teams [go] up and down every time.”

He continued to add that since this will be a conference, divided into three or four leagues, technically by the rules, the conference can do whatever it wants regarding the movement of teams to other leagues every year instead of going off power rankings.

This upcoming school year will be a stressful one for the athletic directors and principals for the 20 schools. When the 605 League was formed, there were four school districts involved and transportation, while difficult at times, wasn’t as big as an issue as it will be in two years. The scheduling of sporting events will be a nightmare, especially during the winter season as your traditional girls-boys basketball doubleheaders could be compromised.

“When we started meeting as the 20 schools, that was the whole 605 League’s contention; is how do you guys do it,” asked Soriano. “La Mirada kind of looked at me and was like, ‘well, when we ask for a bus, my district gives us a bus’. Well, my district doesn’t. Every bus that we took as a sports team was an overtime payment to a bus driver. My transportation [bill] is huge, and that’s with me sending boys and girls basketball to the same place.”

Another issue that schools will have to navigate through is the splitting up of cheerleaders during basketball games or other school functions. Soriano was quick to mention that Artesia decided to have its senior prom on a Thursday night in the middle of league. He worked with the other five athletic directors to have the games off that Thursday so the players could go to the prom and admitted he doesn’t know if he can get that same commitment from the other 14 schools that will be part of the new conference.

One bright area of the new conference will be schools reuniting with old rivals from previous leagues. It’s a fact that Artesia will face Bellflower High, La Mirada High, Mayfair High and Norwalk High in many sports. Those four schools were in the Suburban League prior to 2018.

“I don’t come from a time when all the rivalries [happened],” said Soriano. “I know I can just look up scores and see the main ones; the football, the soccer and basketball. We had some battles with Mayfair, but some of it is if we wanted to renew rivalries and things like that, we would have called them earlier and played non-league [games].

“We, as a 605 League, didn’t even want to play Gahr in anything anymore, even though they’re a part of a school district that had three of us in it,” he continued. “It took a long time for Cerritos football to say [they’ll] play Gahr. When we were playing Gahr and the scores weren’t very close…if Gahr is with us, then it should say that we should be competitive with them, and I think that’s the point of a conference.” 

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