TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – The first-ever Topeka Throwdown Volleyball Tournament was January 10th and 11th at the Stormont Vail Events Center (SVEC).

The tournament was for teens and preteens, and brought 19 clubs and 85 teams to Topeka.

“Like 11s and 12s and that’s just, like our youngest age we have,” said Tournament Director Grace Steele. “And then 17, 18, that’s for like the juniors or seniors who potentially could be playing next year in college.”

The weekends competition came from four different states:

• Kansas
• Missouri
• Oklahoma
• Iowa

Teams in or close to Topeka have an added bonus.

“I think a lot of people that are local are really enjoying getting to wake up in their own beds versus having to travel to Kansas City or Wichita, or one of the other maybe cities that host more tournaments,” Steele said.

Steele added that SVEC was an ideal spot for the tournament.

“I also think its important for these sizes of cities to get a tournament like this, because it brings in so many people that would never come and see Topeka,” Steele said. “Like, I’ve never been to Topeka.”

Two athletes, Haley and Josie, play for Topeka Fury. Both had sentiments similar to Steele about the location.

“It’s really nice to be able to play so close to home because we’re always playing in like Kansas City or Wichita,” Josie said. “So, it’s nice to be playing close.”

They shared that bonding with each other off the court helps them play better together.

“I just like being with my team and just hanging out with everyone in between times because we have a lot of fun together,” Haley said.

With so many of the athletes having a strong passion for the sport, Haley and Josie feel it’s important the competition remain on the court.

“It’s just cool to like get to like meet new people cause you know you get to like talk to them and bond with them cause you know we’re all playing volleyball together,” Josie said.

Haley and Josie added that they’ve played several of the other teams in the past and it’s always nice to see a familiar face.

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MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Behind three victories and 11 New England D3 qualifying efforts, the UMass Dartmouth men’s track & field team had an outstanding opener on Saturday at the non-team scoring Wesleyan Winter Invite. The Corsairs were paced by 31 finishes in the Top-10, including wins in the 600-meters, 200-meters and the high jump.

Read full story on corsairathletics.com

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Senior Zander Hooten established a new men’s indoor program record in the 60m hurdles as Bellarmine University track and field competed Friday and Saturday in the University of Kentucky-hosted Rod McCravy Memorial at the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center.

Hooten actually posted two times at the meet that bested his previous program record of 8.06 in the 60m hurdles at the 2024 ASUN Championship. His 7.99 in the semifinals will stand as the new highwater mark. He also recorded an 8.04 in the finals while placing fourth.

Bellarmine competed with a partial squad. Freshman Dylan Forster placed in the upper half of the men’s shot put at 13th (15.26m).

The men’s 4×400 relay team of sophomore Grant King, freshman Tucker Smith, senior Zac Hutslar and senior Jackson Gordon notably threatened the program record, with their 3:16.54 not far off from the 3:14.91 benchmark.

Bellarmine will host its next two meets at Norton SLC, starting with Friday’s Bellarmine Open.

For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow BUKnights on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.

 

 

 

After watching a three-peat championship slip away last spring, redemption hangs in the air.

But the Bruins are stepping back onto the court with something to prove.

No. 1 UCLA men’s volleyball will kick off its season with a weekend showdown against No. 15 McKendree and Concordia at Pauley Pavilion. Taking on both teams will give the Bruins an opportunity to dictate tempo and drive early on in their redemption season.

While UCLA enters the weekend with championship aspirations, the foundation for that pursuit was laid during an intense offseason.

“I’m just super proud of the guys and how hard they work, but we need to work harder,” said coach John Hawks. “That’s something that, going from last year to this year, we’ve already dialed up. Our fall was fantastic, so I’m just excited about where we’re going.”

The Bruins will take on the Bearcats – a program they have not faced since a UCLA win in 2019 – on Friday. McKendree finished its 2025 season with a 20-8 record in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, bringing experience and physicality into Pauley Pavilion for the season opener.

On the other hand, Concordia enters as a more familiar opponent. The Bruins last faced the Golden Eagles in 2024, capturing two straight-set wins.

Both matches will offer UCLA the opportunity to sharpen its play and help the squad develop consistency and flow early on before its schedule intensifies.

With Pauley Pavilion set to host the 2026 national championships later this spring, UCLA’s ambitions extend far beyond its opening weekend. The Bruins aim to compete for the title on their own home court. This champion mentality, however, is not new to the program.

“The mindset has been the same all throughout,” said senior setter Andrew Rowan. “I came in, and we were looking for a championship, and every year, it doesn’t matter what’s going on if you have that common goal with the team of winning a championship. Being exposed to that as a freshman implanted that into my brain for the rest of my career.”

That standard now meets a season filled with pressure and opportunity. With a national match slated for a UCLA home game, early performances like this weekend’s will carry an added weight as the squad looks to position itself to return to the sport’s biggest stage.

Looking ahead to the season, the Bruins’ offseason exposure to international play has helped display a clear benchmark.

Sophomore outside hitter Sean Kelly, sophomore setter Trent Taliaferro and freshmen outside hitters Grayson Bradford and Marek Turner participated in the men’s U21 World Championship in China this summer. The United States squad was led by Hawks and finished third overall in the championship.

“We all worked really hard this summer,” Kelly said. “It’s really going to help us in the long run. The more we learn, the better we all get. And I think the outcome could be different. We’re hungry for it.”

The offseason emphasis now shifts into competitive application. These early-season matches against McKendree and Concordia will reveal how effectively UCLA can translate offseason progress into in-game execution, particularly in extended rallies and out-of-system plays.

As players step into expanded responsibilities, UCLA will look to establish lineup stability and dependable options across all six rotations. But beyond individual growth, the offseason exposure to higher-level competition reinforced the program’s belief in its ceiling.

“We can compete with anybody in the world,” Hawks said. “I know that we compete with these guys internationally and nationally this year.”

UCLA will begin testing that belief this weekend against McKendree on Friday at 7 p.m.

STANFORD, Calif. – In its season opener, No. 9 Stanford fell in straight sets to No. 12 Lewis, 30-28, 25-21, 25-22, Saturday, in Burnham Pavilion.

Stanford (0-1) hit .231 as a team, while Lewis (2-0) posted a .355 clip. The Flyers registered 11.0 blocks to just 2.5 by the Cardinal. Both teams tallied three service aces.

Senior opposite Moses Wagner led the team with 12 kills, six digs, an ace and a block. Outside hitter Alex Rottman, who redshirted last season, added seven kills on .417 hitting.

Senior Theoren Brouillette started the match at setter, totaling 21 assists and a team-best seven digs in two sets played. Sophomore Ryan Gant set in the third, finishing with 12 assists and two digs.

In total, 15 of 19 Cardinal players appeared in the match, including true freshmen Luke Morrison and Erik Ask. Morrison came off the bench as a serving sub in all three sets, while Ask started the third at outside hitter and totaled three kills and a dig.

Senior Theo Snoey notched five kills, four digs, two assists and two aces, while junior Nate Clinton chipped in with three kills, five digs and a block. Both Snoey and Clinton stated at outside hitter.

Junior Gray Mandelbaum and sophomore Kaumana Carreira were the starting middle blockers for the Cardinal. Mandelbaum registered four kills on six swings with just one miscue. Carreira finished with a kill, a dig and two blocks.

Sophomore Kai Schmitt started at libero, collecting two digs in two sets. Sophomore Evan Porter replaced Schmitt in the third and had six digs.

Up next, Stanford travels to Phoenix for the First Point Collegiate Challenge, Jan. 17-18. The Cardinal will face No. 7 Loyola Chicago and No. 16 Ball State at the Phoenix Convention Center.

PHILADELPHIA – Rutgers senior pole vaulter Kevin O’Sullivan improved on his school record, setting a new mark in his first action of the 2025-26 season. The Scarlet Knights returned to action for the Penn Select on Saturday, Jan. 10 at the Ott Center.
 
O’Sullivan owned the previous record which he set in 2025 at the Armory. His new school record cleared the bar at 18′ 2.5 (5.5m) and was an Ott Center record as well.
 
“Great start to the year,” said Bobby Farrell, director of track & field and cross country. “We were able to come out of the gate strong and get some NCAA top ranked performances. The field events were outstanding today. We’re looking forward to next week when we open up the majority of the track events.”
 
A dominant showing in the field events helped spark one of the program’s best season-opening performances. The Scarlet Knights posted six first-place finishes and a number of marks near the top of the NCAA rankings.
 
Rutgers took the top spot in the triple, long and high jump events. Malachi Yehudah was first in the high jump, clearing 2.11m (6′ 11″), while Sincere Robinson won the long jump. The Big Ten Champion and NCAA qualifier posted a mark of 7.77m (25′ 6″) in his first action in nearly a year after returning from injury. Donavan Anderson finished first in the triple jump with a leap of 15.89m (52′ 1.75″).
 
The Scarlet Knights also took second place in three field events on the men’s side. Anthony Conrey finished runner up to Robinson in the long jump with a leap of 7.03m (23′ 0.75″), while Daniel Arana followed Anderson in the triple jump with a distance of 15.33m (50′ 3.50″). Brian O’Sullivan was second in the pole vault, clearing a height of 5.45m (17′ 10.5″).
 
Andrew Krall finished first in the weight throw, earning a mark of 19.43m (63′ 9″) and Celine-Jada Brown turned in the first-place effort on the women’s side. Also coming back from a yearlong hiatus, Brown returned to her Big Ten Champion and NCAA qualifier form as she took first in the long jump with a distance of 6.45m (21′ 2″). The distance from Brown set the Ott Center record for the event. 
 
Also supporting the effort on the women’s side was Jenovia Logan, who took second in the high jump with a height of 1.78m (5′ 10″), followed by Alanna Woolfolk in third, clearing 1.72m (5′ 7.75″). Tey’ana Ames finished second in the shot put with a throw of 15.45m (50′ 8.25″), while Llyric Driscoll and Ayotunde Folawewo went 3-4 in the triple jump. Driscoll jumped 12.34m (40′ 6″), followed by Folawewo with a distance of 12.33m (40′ 5.50″).
 
Anna Barber finished third in the weight throw, recording a distance of 16.70m (54′ 9.5″).
 
Rutgers will make a return trip to the Ott Center next week for the Quaker Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 17.  
 
Penn Select
 
Men’s Results
Pole Vault
1. Kevin O’Sullivan                                                     5.55m (18′ 2.5″) – SCHOOL RECORD
2. Brian O’Sullivan                                                      5.45m (17′ 10.5″)
 
High Jump
1. Malachi Yehudah                                                   2.11m (6′ 11″)
 
Long Jump
1. Sincere Robinson                                                   7.77m (25′ 6″)
2. Anthony Conrey                                                     7.03m (23′ 0.75″)
 
Triple Jump
1. Donavan Anderson                                                15.89m (52′ 1.75″)
2. Daniel Arana                                                           15.33m (50′ 3.50″)
 
Weight Throw
1. Andrew Krall                                                           19.43m (63′ 9″)
 
400M
2. Gabriel Rodriguez                                                  48.83
 
 
Women’s Results
High Jump
2. Jenovia Logan                                                         1.78m (5′ 10″)
3. Alanna Woolfolk                                                    1.72m (5′ 7.75″)
 
Long Jump
1. Celine-Jada Brown                                                 6.45m (21′ 2″)
 
Shot Put
2. Tey’ana Ames                                                         15.45m (50′ 8.25″)
 
Triple Jump
3. Llyric Driscoll                                                          12.34m (40′ 6″)
4. Ayotunde Folawewo                                             12.33m (40′ 5.50″)
 
Weight Throw
3. Anna Barber  16.70m (54′ 9.5″)