TOPEKA — The Kansas Volleyball Association selected Ellinwood as the 2024–2025 Class 2A Program of the Year, recognizing a season filled with excellence, grit, and tradition.

Ellinwood finished with a 42-5 record and fourth-place 2A state finish. The Eagles defeated Sedgwick 25-8, 25-10; state runner-up Valley Heights 25-17, 25-20; and Doniphan West 25-9, 25-15 in pool play.

State champion Shawnee Maranatha downed Ellinwood 25-22, 25-17 in the 2A semifinals. Inman beat the Eagles 25-21, 16-25, 25-28 for third place.

The prestigious honor was awarded during the KVA All-Star Match Saturday, June 7, where the plaque was presented before volleyball supporters. 

“It’s great to be recognized as one of the outstanding volleyball programs in the state of Kansas,” said Ellinwood volleyball coach Greg Maxwell. “This award is a reflection of our players’ dedication, our coaching team’s commitment, and the community that stands behind us every step of the way.”

Representing Ellinwood at the ceremony were assistant volleyball coach Cami Thomas and 2A all-stater Kennedy Behnke, who accepted the award on behalf of Ellinwood.

The award reflects not just the win-loss column, but the full body of work invested by the players, coaches, and supporters throughout the season. 

From tournament titles to state appearances and all the work behind the scenes, this recognition affirms that Ellinwood is one of the most respected 2A volleyball programs.

The Ellinwood Eagles continue to build a legacy of success, sportsmanship and pride.

BOZEMAN, Mont. — Montana State University’s Hailey Coey got the national party started in College Station, Texas, becoming the first Bobcat to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

But Coey more importantly is making history as Montana State’s first athlete to compete in the long jump at nationals.

“I’m super honored to represent MSU on the national stage, especially being the first long jumper in school history,” Coey said. I’m super excited and hope I do a well job representing us.”

Coey has exploded onto the long jump scene in her junior campaign.

She broke the MSU program record twice this season, with her farthest leap of 6.49m (21 feet, 3.5 inches) at the Bengal Invitational in Pocatello, Idaho, also ranking No. 2 all-time in the Big Sky Conference.

“This year, she just got to an incredibly high level. She’s got so many jumps over 21 feet, so consistent,” MSU head track and field coach Lyle Weese said about Coey’s season. “To get Hailey into the NCAA Championships is so exciting and she’s definitely deserved it for the level she’s been at since she started jumping back in January.”

Coey took second in long jump in the Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships in back-to-back seasons, but came out of Sacramento lacking confidence. She dealt with an injury that didn’t allow her to compete in the triple jump at the conference meet, but took flight at the NCAA West Regional.

The second-farthest jump of Coey’s career at 6.44m (21 feet, 1.5 inches) placed her eighth and booked her ticket to Eugene.

“At our conference meet, I had hurt my hamstring during long jump on the first day, so I wasn’t able to compete the second day,” Coey said. “After that, my confidence was pretty low, but then seeing that I was able to come back and jump my second-best jump of my life at regionals helped a lot.”

But a trip to nationals is also an opportunity for the Billings West product to not only represent MSU, but the Treasure State on the national stage.

“I’m really glad that I’m able to do it and be the first in school history again,” Coey said. “I’m really glad it’s someone from Montana that’s able to represent Montana State.”

Coey becomes the 13th Bobcat woman to reach the NCAA Championships, but won’t be the only female making the trip from Bozeman. Montana State’s 4x400m relay team is also competing, proving how much the MSU women’s program has elevated this season.

“I think we probably have the best MSU women’s team in school history,” Coey said. “It’s really exciting to be a part of this team, and to see all of my fellow teammates excel and have great successes.”

“It’s really built upon itself,” Weese said on the success of the MSU women. “It’s been that situation where they’ve raised each other’s ability level, but to see so many school records from every event group is really an exciting thing for our program, and also that so many of them will be back for future years.”

Coey competes in the long jump at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene on Thursday at 5:40 p.m. PST.

Kiefer Black has had an exceptional start to his college career with the Navy Midshipmen. He has played for their polo team for the last two seasons and is going into his junior year. He will now have the honor to represent his country after a stellar start as a Midshipmen.

The USA Junior National Team will start action on June 14 in the World Aquatics Men’s Junior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. After a week of hard fought action between countries a winner will be crowned.

The U.S. will be competing in Pool A against Croatia, Hungary, and Montenegro the Naval Academy announced. 

During their 2024 season the Mids went 22-10 overall and 10-4 in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC). Black played in all 32 games as their lead attacker and had a total of 171 points, the next closest on the team was Michael Heller with 63.

In the 32 games he played he had 185 shots, next closest was Luka Sekulic with 100 and assisted on 77 goals. The next closest to him in assists was Austin Kahn with 32. 

With a stellar sophomore season he added more awards to his list of personal recognitions. He finished the year earning Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Honorable Mention All-American, First Team All-MWAPC, and First Team MWAPC All-Tournament Team. 

It is no surprise that Black had such an exceptional season after a strong start to his career as a freshman. The list of accolades he acquired in his rookie season is quite impressive. 

As a freshman Black led the team in total points, goals, and assists (125/68/57). He was then named an ACWPC Honorable Mention All-American, MAWPC Rookie of the Year, MAWPC First-Team, among other personal accolades.

There had only been 12 players in school history who had amassed 100 points in a season prior to his arrival and he has now done it twice. His 171 points in 2024 is now second all-time behind Doug Munz in 1994. Third most belongs to Paul Pedrotty who had 137 in 2012 and fourth most belongs to Black during his freshman season. 

The 6-foot-7 sophomore out of San Diego, Calif., has been a consistent and hard to defend attacker. Expect him to make a difference during this tournament.

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Maple Mountain’s Trey Thornton reacts during a Region 7 boys volleyball match against Springville on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Daily Herald

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Maple Mountain’s Trey Thornton (28) holds up the 5A Boys Volleyball State Championship trophy at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 10, 2025.

Courtesy Jeff Porcaro, Maple Mountain Sports

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Maple Mountain’s Trey Thornton serves the ball in a high school boys volleyball match against Orem during the 2025 season.

Courtesy Jeff Porarco, Maple Mountain Sports

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Maple Mountain’s Trey Thornton (28) takes a swing against Wasatch in the 5A boys volleyball state finals at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, May 10, 2025.

Jeff Porcaro, Maple Mountain Sports

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Maple Mountain’s Trey Thornton (8) takes a swing against Springville’s Nolan Snead (left) and Evan Straw in a Region 7 boys volleyball match on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Growing up in Alabama, 12-year-old Trey Thornton’s introduction to volleyball came through his three sisters, who all played, and a number of other girls on teams where he learned the game.

Thornton eventually grew to 6-foot-7, moved to Utah and helped created a very special legacy for the boys volleyball program at Maple Mountain High School.

Thornton was part of two state championships in the Beehive State and totaled 851 kills over that two-year span. His dominant, confident and complementary play has earned him the Daily Herald’s Valley Player of the Year for 2025.

Thornton said he sometimes practiced with the Maple Mountain girls team when he first arrived in Utah. That team, led by twins Marley and Morgan Pratt, won the 2023 5A state title. In Alabama he often played with Merritt Beason, who became an All-American and team captain for the Nebraska women’s volleyball team from 2021 to 2024.

Thornton credits time he’s spent playing volleyball with girls as a key to his all-around game.

“Ball control is something girls have on us,” Thornton said. “We might have more athleticism, where we can jump higher and hit harder, but their technical skills are so good. I can tell you it’s way harder passing on a girls net than on a men’s net because of their float serves. That’s really helped my control a lot.”

Maple Mountain has won 42 straight matches against Utah opponents and posted a 29-1 record in 2025. Thornton had 422 kills (he had 429 last season) which is 4.7 kills per set. He raised his hitting percentage from .364 to .431 and totaled 49 aces, 43 total blocks and 169 digs.

In the 5A state semifinals against Alta and future BYU teammate Corbin Batista, Thornton totaled 25 kills in a 3-1 victory. He added 21 kills and hit .421 as the Golden Eagles swept Wasatch in the finals.

“Trey can hit and block really well, but one of the things that’s overlooked generally and one of the skill sets that sets him apart is his ball control,” Maple Mountain coach Napoleon Galang said. “His defense and passing is really good. If we asked him to be a libero, he’d be the best libero on the team.

“He really grew into his game this year. His IQ with his offense just skyrocketed. He added smart tips and deep pushes to the corner, just any kind of shot he needed to score. He added so much to his tool belt offensively and had 10 different ways to score, not just five.”

Two summers ago, Thornton moved to Utah and was introduced to his future teammates at a casual get-together where the group played pickup beach volleyball in a backyard. That was the start of a many friendships that would carry him through the transition of the move to Utah.

“Trey is a very quite and humble kid,” Galang said. “He doesn’t celebrate loudly and just shows what he is by the way he played. It’s cool to see that from such a high-caliber player. He lets his skills speak for him.”

Thornton had plenty of help from talented teammates in winning back-to-back state titles, including 6-7 junior setter Taft Hillman and 6-6 senior middle Manase Storey. Thornton, Hillman and Storey mentored younger players such as junior Matheus Borges and freshmen Kimball Olsen and McKay Beattie as they worked to replace key teammates who graduated from the 2024 state champions (Mac Hillman, Gavin Pricer).

“I think our team had a great sense of self,” Thornton said. “We knew our identity and we were just a family. We knew that we had each other’s backs every game. Every day at school we were always looking out for each other. We’re really good friends and translated into our game play because we trusted everyone to do everything for the right reasons to reach our goals.”

Thornton — whose mother, Alisha Griffiths, played basketball at BYU in the early 2000’s — will begin his Cougar career as a counselor at the school’s volleyball camps this spring and summer and intends to play for Shawn Olmstead in 2026.

“I would say the culture at BYU is very special,” he said. “I could feel it even before I went on my official visit. We went to one of the women’s volleyball games. It was sold out and I had kind of that ‘aha!’ moment. I was meant to be here. It’s where I’ve been led and I’ve always dreamed of playing there. The coaching is some of the best around. They really care about their players.”