GREENWOOD, Ind. – Ten members of the St. Olaf College men’s and women’s cross country and track and field teams were named to the 2025 Academic All-District ® Men’s and Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC), as announced on Tuesday.

Recent graduates Sophie Abernethy ’25 and Alison Bode ’25 and rising seniors Ashlyn Jore, Grace Moeller, and Isabel Wyatt represented St. Olaf on the women’s list, while rising junior Max Albertson, rising senior Gael Manzur Strandlund, rising senior Lance Nemecek, recent graduate Andrew Skemp ’25, and rising senior Kevin Turlington did so on the men’s list. The Academic All-District ® Teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined athletic and academic accomplishments.

In order to be recognized, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically and must carry a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.50. Nominees must also have either finished in the top 50 at the 2024 NCAA regional competition in cross country or hold a top-50 regional ranking in a single event in track and field (indoor or outdoor).

Skemp and Bode both earned their third consecutive Academic All-District ® accolade, while Abernethy, Moeller, Turlington, and Wyatt collected their second. Albertson, Jore, Manzur Strandlund, and Nemecek were all first-time honorees.

Bode, Skemp, Turlington, and Wyatt advanced to the CSC Academic All-America ® ballot, with first-, second-, and third-team Academic All-America ® honorees set to be announced on July 15 (women) and July 16 (men).

 

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Five members of the Union College men’s cross country and track & field teams were recognized for their achievements in competition as well as their success in the classroom with spots on the 2024-25 Academic All-District Track & Field and Cross Country Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators and announced last week.
 
Senior Ben Neff was recognized for the third straight season, while juniors Tony Cocchiaro and Mason Lang both earned the honor for the second straight year. Senior Sam Ahern and sophomore Aaron Binion picked up Academic All-District honors for the first time in their careers as well.

To be nominated for College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-District honors, student-athletes must rank in the top 50 in their region in a single individual event in cross country, indoor track or outdoor track; maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher; and reach sophomore athletic and academic standing at the school. All Academic All-District honorees are considered for advancement to the CSC Academic All-America ballot.

 

Neff capped off his collegiate career with another successful year on the cross-country trails and the track for the Garnet Chargers. During the fall, Neff earned All-Liberty League second-team honors and went on to post his best 8K time of the season at the NCAA Mideast Regionals, finishing 27th to earn All-Region honors and qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The senior ended the indoor track season 19th in the Mideast Region in the mile and also finished eighth regionally and 78th nationally in the outdoor 1500 meters. The economics major finished his career by anchoring the 4×800 relay that earned an AARTFC Championship and broke the school record, giving him a share of three program records.

 

Ahern also finished his decorated Union career on a high note this year, breaking three Union track records and earning the school’s William B. Jaffe ’26 Athletic Award. The senior reset his own program standards in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes during the indoor season, finishing sixth and second in the region, respectively. His 200 time of 21.89 seconds earned him All-Liberty League second-team honors, ranked 22nd best in Division III and qualified him for the NCAA Indoor Championships, making him Union’s first sprinter at the national event in 20 years. The economics major also reset the program mark in the outdoor 200 meters with a time that ranked 10th in the region and just outside the top-100 nationally.

 

Lang had another solid season leading the Union throwing unit, ranking in the top-40 of the Mideast Region in four different events. His best event was the shot put, in which he ranked eighth regionally during both the indoor and outdoor seasons, including All-Liberty League second-team honors during the indoor season. The biomedical engineering and Chinese double major spread out his success to other throwing disciplines as well, ranking 15th regionally in the outdoor javelin throw as well as 36th in the indoor weight throw and 40th in the outdoor hammer throw.

 

Binion finished his sophomore season regionally ranked in four different events for Union. He posted the team’s top triple jump of the indoor season to rank 32nd in the Mideast Region and also placed top-50 in the 60-meter dash as well. His top regional finish of the year came outdoors in the 100-meter dash, ranking 30th among Mideast runners, while the electrical engineering major also ranked 37th in the 200-meter dash as well.

 

Cocchiaro was recognized for the second straight season after earning a top-50 regionally ranking in both the indoor and outdoor shot put. He finished the indoor season 31st in the Mideast Region in the event, and the mechanical engineering major also ranked inside the top-30 during the outdoor season.

 

With the five honorees, Union student-athletes have now earned 270 Academic All-District honors since 2001.

 

Congratulations to the Susanville Little League minor boys for winning the district championship! It sounds like an exciting game against the Feather River Allstars. A big thank you to all the umpires, official bookkeepers, concessions workers, and field prep team for their hard work and dedication. Your efforts made this event possible and enjoyable for everyone involved.

AUSTIN, Texas – Five Minnesota State men’s track and field student-athletes were named to the Academic All-District Team by College Sports Communicators on Tuesday (June 24). They included Liam Byrne, Paul Lins, Ray Ure, Ben Wieser and Collin Windorski.
 
The Academic All-District teams, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances in competitions and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes track and field honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
 
Byrne is a senior thrower from Ridgefield, Connecticut. During indoor season, he was All-NSIC and USTFCCCA All-Region in weight throw. At the NSIC Outdoor Championships, Byrne won the hammer throw event with a toss of 58.07m.
 
Lins (Lodi, Wisconsin) was an NSIC Champion in indoor 800 meters with a time of 1:52.65. During outdoor season, he placed second in 800 meters (1:51.48) for the Mavericks.
 
Ure (Des Plaines, Illinois) a senior, was All-NSIC in the indoor 5000 meters. He went on to win the 3000 meter steeplechase at the NSIC Outdoor Championships in May.
 
Wieser (Rushford, Wisconsin) took second place for All-NSIC honors in shot put during indoor season. He competed to fifth position in outdoor shot put for the Mavericks.
 
Pole vault specialist Colin Windorski (Oak Creek, Wisconsin) competed in four indoor meets for the Mavericks, then nine more during his outdoor campaign, including first place in pole vault at the Maverick Open #1 with a personal best mark of 5.03 meters.
 
Byrne, Lins, Ure and Wieser advanced to the national ballot and Academic All-Americans will be announced on July 16.
 

BOWIE, MD – Bowie State head women’s volleyball coach Edric Poitier has officially released the 2025 season schedule, featuring 31 total matches and 15 non-conference contests as the Bulldogs gear up for a competitive fall campaign.

“We are very excited about this year’s schedule,” said Coach Poitier. “Due to recent changes in the Division II regional and national ranking metrics, we’ve scheduled matches outside our region, including our trip to Florida. While we couldn’t schedule Lynn University, the defending national champion, we’ll compete against three teams from their conference, which will prepare us well by playing the same level of high-caliber competition.”

Bowie State will kick off the 2025 season with back-to-back road tournaments. The Bulldogs begin at the CIAA/MEC/PSAC Challenge, hosted by Virginia State University from September 5–6, where they’ll face Shepherd, Concord, Bloomsburg, and Pitt-Johnstown. The following weekend, BSU will travel to Pennsylvania for the Shannon Sullivan Memorial Tournament at Kutztown University, scheduled for September 12–13, where they’ll take on Kutztown, California (PA), and Caldwell.

The Bulldogs are set to open their home slate at A.C. Jordan Arena on September 16 with a match against West Chester.

They’ll wrap up in-season tournament play in St. Petersburg, Florida, at Eckerd College from September 19–20, with matchups against Nova Southeastern, Saint Leo, and the host team, Tritons.

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) conference play begins on September 25 as the Bulldogs hit the road to face Virginia State for a division matchup. Northern Division play will continue with road stops at Elizabeth City State (9/29), Virginia Union (10/9) and Lincoln (PA) on October 27. Bowie State will also compete in two CIAA Roundups, in which the Bulldogs will host the second portion on October 18–19.

“The highlight for us this year is hosting the CIAA Roundup,” Poitier added. “It allows us to play additional conference opponents in front of our growing fan base. We’re looking forward to an exciting season and encourage everyone to come out and support us.”

A pivotal stretch of home matches begins in mid-October for BSU, featuring five contests at A.C. Jordan Arena. The Bulldogs will host Bluefield State on October 13, Elizabeth City State on October 23, Millersville in a nonconference matchup on October 28.

BSU will resume divisional action with matchups against Virginia Union on October 30 and Lincoln (PA) on November 6. They’ll close out the regular season at home against Virginia State on November 13.

Bowie State will return for its third year hosting the 2025 CIAA Women’s Volleyball Championship on Nov. 21-23 in Bowie, Md.

For the most up-to-date information on Bowie State Athletics and its 13 varsity sport teams, visit bsubulldogs.com.

Audio By Carbonatix

David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig are the reigning Olympic champions in beach volleyball. The Swedish duo rolled through the knockout round at the Paris Games to win the gold medal.

They continue to fool everybody with their wicked jump sets!

Ahman and Hellvig recently collaborated with Norwegian beach volleyball athlete and content creator Joel Kristian Nicolaysen to throw up some of the wildest jump sets you will ever see. They used random parts of their bodies to set up for the kill with unconventional form. It is equally as ridiculous and unnecessary as it is impressive. More the latter than the former.

For those who do not know, a “set” in volleyball is typically the second of three contacts that a team makes with the ball on a returning offensive sequence. The main goal of the “set” is to float the ball in the air for the hitter to attack into the opposing side of the court. Pretty straightforward.

A jump set is a little bit different but it serves the same purpose. Whichever player makes the second contact for his or her team jumps in the air before he or she contacts the ball and releases the set. It allows the setter to run a quicker offense by setting the ball at a higher point of contact. There is less distance between the setter’s hands and the hitter’s spike reach.

As you can see from the last two highlights, jump sets are most commonly used indoor. David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig break that trend. They use the jump set on every point possible.

To jump set on a beach court is not easy but the Swedes have it down. Their use of the jump set adds an additional element to their offense by keeping their opponents guessing. The blocker leaves his feet at the net when it looks like they are going to attack before the ball is flicked out to the poles.

The defense doesn’t know what to do. If the blocker doesn’t jump on the second ball, Ahman and Hellvig swing on an empty net. If the blocker does jump, it leaves the empty net for whichever Swedish player received the first ball.

It is nearly impossible to stop.