FARGO, N.D. — The University of Jamestown men’s track and field team opened their indoor season Friday and Saturday at the NDSU Alumni Classic, posting competitive marks across sprint, hurdle, jump, and throw events.

Competing against strong regional competition, the Jimmies showed depth and talent throughout the meet.

Sprint and Hurdle Highlights

Freshman Conrad Baard placed 28th in the 60 Meters Preliminaries with a time of 7.51 seconds and added a 14th-place finish in the 400 Meters at 58.80 seconds. Senior Cael Church secured 12th place in the 400 Meters, crossing the line in 53.29 seconds. Freshman Andrew Rexin posted a 5th-place finish in the 60 Hurdles with a time of 9.72 seconds.

Jumping Events

Junior Ashton Judge had a strong showing in the Long Jump, placing 4th with a leap of 6.70 meters (21’11.75″). Freshman Matthew Hoppe placed 13th in the Long Jump at 6.24 meters (20’5.75″). Sophomore Jayden Bittner contributed two top-20 finishes, placing 16th in the Long Jump (6.11 meters / 20’0.5″) and 5th in the Triple Jump with a mark of 12.59 meters (41’3.75″).

Pole Vault and Throws

Freshman Brady Crabtree finished 6th in the Pole Vault with a vault of 4.22 meters (13’10”). Sophomore Evan Schmit earned 10th place in the Shot Put at 14.58 meters (47’10”) and 12th in the Weight Throw with a mark of 14.95 meters (49’0.75″).

WHATS NEXT?

The Jimmies will return on January 15 to compete in Aberdeen, S.D., at the Northern State Dual.

PITTSBURGH – The No. 1 seeded Pitt volleyball team (29-4, 18-2 ACC) will play No. 3 seed Purdue (27-6, 15-5 Big Ten) for a chance to advance to its fifth consecutive National Semifinal on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center. The match will be streamed on ESPN2. 

Pitt and Purdue meet for the 13th time, with the Boilermakers holding an 11-1 advantage. Most recently, the Panthers defeated Purdue in the 2021 Regional Final in the Fitzgerald Field House to advance to the program’s first National Semifinal. Pitt great Leketor Member-Meneh recorded 21 kills, and 2024 ACC Setter of the Year Rachel Fairbanks added 28 assists, 10 kills and eight digs as a freshman to lead the Panthers. That victory marked the first of four consecutive National Semifinal appearances for Pitt. 

ALL THE SWEEPS!

• Pitt swept Minnesota in the Regional Semifinal to advance to its sixth consecutive Regional Final.

• For the first time in program history, the  Panthers have opened the NCAA Tournament with three straight sweeps.

• Olivia Babcock led the way with 19 kills, and Bre Kelley hit .800 with eight kills on 10 swings.

EAST COAST’S BEST

• Many Panthers were honored with All-Region accolades on Tuesday.

• Dan Fisher was named the back-to-back AVCA East Coast Region Coach of the Year. This marks the fourth time Fisher has earned the award.

• Olivia Babcock won the AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year award for the second consecutive season.

• Six Panthers were dubbed AVCA East Coast All-Region – Olivia Babcock, Bre Kelley, Brooke Mosher, Blaire Bayless Marina Pezelj (honorable mention) and Ryla Jones (honorable mention). 

SIXTH SWEET 16

• The Panthers advanced to their sixth consecutive Regional Semifinal with a 3-0 sweep over Michigan.

• Olivia Babcock recorded 24 kills on a .370 hitting percentage.

• This marks the third most kills in an NCAA Tournament match in program history with Babcock holding the first and second spots as well with 33 and 31.

LIV BREAKING RECORDS AGAIN 

• Olivia Babcock broke Pitt’s single-season kills record with her 556th of the 2025 campaign against UMBC in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. 

• Wendy Hatlestad owned the previous record set in 2003 with 555.

• Babcock achieved this milestone a year after setting the 25-point rally scoring kill record, finishing the 2024 season with 538 kills.

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

• Pitt is on a 51-match winning streak at home, dating back to Sept. 14, 2023.

• The Panthers have won 14 straight matches in the Petersen Events Center in the last three seasons.

• Pitt has not lost in the Petersen Events Center since Dec. 7, 2019 when it fell to Cincinnati in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

PREMIUM VOLLEYBALL AT THE PETE

• The Panthers will host the second Opening Spike Classic at the Petersen Events Center next Aug. 28 and 30. 

• Pitt will play Kansas the first day of the tournament and conclude with Wisconsin. 

• All four programs are competing in the 2025 Regional Semifinal. 

• Stanford boasts nine national championships, and Wisconsin won its first in 2021. 

FOUR STRAIGHT!

• The Panthers earned a share of the ACC Championship with a sweep over Georgia Tech.

• This marks Pitt’s fourth consecutive ACC title and seventh overall.

• Bre Kelley, Olivia Babcock, Blaire Bayless and Haiti Tautua’a have captured a conference title in every season of their Pitt careers.

SWEPT SEASON SERIES

• Pitt defeated Louisville in three sets to earn a season sweep over the conference rival.

• This marked the first time the Panthers have swept the Cardinals since 2020.

• Olivia Babcock notched 22 kills on a .404 hitting percentage, and Brooke Mosher recorded 30 assists and a season-high five kills.

ROOKIE COMING ALIVE

• Freshman middle blocker Abbey Emch was named the ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Dec. 1.

• She averaged 2.33 blocks per set in two sweeps and recorded a career-high 10 blocks against Georgia Tech to help secure the ACC Championship.

ALL-ACC AWARDS

• The Pitt volleyball team was well represented on the ACC awards list.

• Olivia Babcock was named the ACC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

• Bre Kelley is the first Panther in program history to earn ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors.

• Babcock, Kelley and Brooke Mosher were named First Team All-ACC, and Blaire Bayless notched Second Team honors.

• Marina Pezelj impressed as a rookie and saw her name on the All-ACC Freshman Team. 

PRO PANTHERS!

• Bre Kelley and Brooke Mosher were chosen in the MLV Draft.

• Kelley was drafted number six overall in the first round by the reigning champion Orlando Valkyries, and Brooke Mosher went in the second round as the 15th pick by the Omaha Supernovas. 

• Kelley will be joining Pitt libero great Emmy Klika in Orlando.

A NATIONAL PHENOM

• Olivia Babcock made an appearance on SportsCenter with Christine Williamson on Nov. 25, breaking down her record-breaking season and the team’s success.

• In addition, Babcock was highlighted on NFL Countdown heading into the match against Louisville on Oct. 19. 

FIELD HOUSE FINALE

• The Panthers played their final match in the Fitzgerald Field House on Nov. 23

• Pitt defeated Boston College in three sets, and Olivia Babcock recorded a match-high 13 kills while Brooke Mosher added 36 assists. 

• The Panthers haven’t lost at home since Sept. 14, 2023, when they fell to Oregon in five sets.

CHICAGO, Ill. – The Milwaukee women’s track & field team opened its season at the Blue Demon Holiday Invitational hosted by DePaul University on Friday.
 
“I thought it was a good season opener for us” head coach Andrew Basler stated. “We didn’t bring a full squad, but I felt that the athletes we brought really stepped up and started us off on a strong foot.
 
Anna Szepieniec led the way for the Panthers, securing victories in three events on the day. Szepieniec took home first-place in the 60-meter hurdles (8.53) and secured a new personal best in the prelims with a time of 8.49. She also finished at the top of the podium in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.68, the third best time in program history, and in the long jump (5.76m).
 

The Black & Gold claimed the top two spots in the 400-meter dash, with Leah Handshoe taking first with a time of (56.88), and Katie Burns following closely behind, crossing the finish line in 56.91. Taylor Thimmesch added a fourth-place finish in the event as well, registering a time of 57.78
 
Also finding the top of the podium was Olivia VanZeeland who cleared 1.72m in the high jump.
 
Success in the high jump continued for Milwaukee with Kallie Volk taking second, soaring over 1.66m.
 
“Our women’s 400 group performed really well,” added Basler. “We had some seniors in the high jump that showed another strong event for us with VanZeeland taking some attempts at school records. Szepieniec had an awesome start to her junior campaign with a top third best 200 in school history, second best in the 60m hurdles and a really good long jump performance from short approach.”
 
In her first meet as a Panther, freshman Kara Meeteer secured a second-place finish in the 300-meter dash, clocking a time of 42.90.
 
“Overall, very happy with how things went. We have a good sense of where we are at and a good sense of what we have to work on going forward,” concluded Basler.
 

LINCOLN, Neb. – Playing in their fourth Sweet 16 in program history, the Kansas Jayhawks fell to the unbeaten Nebraska Cornhuskers, 3-0, in the NCAA Volleyball Regional Semifinal at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb., on Friday.

Kansas finishes its season at 24-11 (13-5 Big 12) in its first year under head coach Matt Ulmer, while it was Kansas’ fourth appearance in the Sweet 16 in program history. Nebraska improves to 33-0 (20-0 Big Ten) and will take on No. 3-seed Texas A&M in the Elite 8 on Sunday, Dec. 14.

Nebraska hit .450 for the match, recording 41 kills, 10 blocks and only five errors. The Cornhuskers were led by Rebekah Allick and Andi Jackson with nine kills each, while Reilly Bergen led the way with 30 assists.

For the Jayhawks, freshman Jovana Zelenovic led the team with seven kills on 22 attacks, while senior Katie Dalton added 11 assists. Kansas hit .029 as a team.

Nebraska wasted no time getting started, jumping out to a 4-0 lead early in the first set. Kansas found its first point on a kill by freshman Selena Leban, but the Cornhuskers would extend their lead to 8-1, forcing a Kansas timeout. 

Kansas stayed aggressive and found points from seniors Dalton and Rhian Swanson to make the score 10-3. After another first set timeout for the Jayhawks, Kansas rallied for three-straight points to cut into the deficit at 13-6. Nebraska would grow its lead to as many as 13 and would go on to take the opening set, 25-12.

The second set started with both teams trading the opening points, before Nebraska rallied for three-straight points to open with a 4-1 lead. Kansas would strike back with points from Zelenovic, sophomore Reese Ptacek, sophomore Grace Nelson and Swanson and Dalton to bring the score to 10-7 early in the second set. Nebraska would then score three-straight points to force a KU timeout at 13-7.

After Kansas scored back-to-back points, Nebraska rallied for six-straight points to take an 11-point lead at 20-9. Nebraska would go on to finish on a 5-0 run to finish the second set, 25-11.

Nebraska remained in control going into the third set by claiming an early 5-1 advantage to force a Kansas timeout. Out of the timeout, Nebraska expanded its lead to 8-2, before Kansas responded with two-straight points on Nebraska errors to make the score 8-4. The Cornhuskers’ attack was too much as they would pull ahead 13-6 midway through the third set. 

The Cornhuskers continued their success late in the third set, hitting .621 as a unit in the third set. Nebraska would go on to pull away to clinch the match with a third set win, 25-12.

FARGO, N.D. — The University of Jamestown women’s track and field team continued their indoor season with strong performances at the NDSU Alumni Classic, showcasing talent across sprints, jumps, and pole vault events.

Competing against tough regional competition, the Jimmies demonstrated growth and competitive spirit throughout the meet.

Sprint Highlights

Freshman Emily Erhardt placed 19th in the 400 Meters with a time of 1:07.33.

Jumping Events

Sophomore Sydney Ulrich earned 10th place in the Long Jump with a mark of 4.90 meters (16’1″). Sophomore Monica Goven posted a 9th-place finish in the Triple Jump with a leap of 10.12 meters (33’2.5″). Sophomore Ruth Harris followed with a 12th-place finish in the Triple Jump, recording a mark of 9.62 meters (31’6.75″).

Pole Vault

Sophomore Ruth Harris cleared 3.10 meters (10’2″) in the Pole Vault, securing 11th place.

WHATS NEXT?

The Jimmies return to the track on January 15th at the Northern State Dual in Aberdeen, S.D.