GREENSBORO –  The North Carolina A&T men’s and women’s track and field programs started off their respective seasons with programs capturing four first-place finishes apiece over the weekend at the Visit Winston-Salem College Kick-off hosted by the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, NC.

The Coastal Athletic Association awarded some of those accomplishments by naming junior sprinter Hayleigh Bryant Women’s Track Athlete of the Week and senior Dyimond Walker Men’s Track Athlete of the Week.

Bryant captured her first career weekly honor. She took first place in the seeded 200 meters by running an indoor personal-best 24.03, the eighth-fastest time in the country and the best in the CAA. Bryant joined junior Kymara Brodie, freshman Richari Wildgoose, and junior Serenity Brazell to win the 4×400-meter relay in 3:45.85. Their time is also a CAA-best thus far this season.

Meanwhile, Walker led a strong contingent of Aggies in the 800m. Walker won the event with a time of 1:52.68. Four other Aggies finished in the top 10 to dominate the event, including freshman Taysaun Wilson (2nd, 1:53.05), senior Dawson Grogan (3rd, 1:54.25), sophomore Elijah Thomas (5th, 1:55.69), and junior Kaleb Conway (9th, 1:59.15).

Walker also joined senior Ha’Mir Hampton, Wilson, and junior Isaiah Taylor to run a 3:12.29 to win the 4×400-meter relay. Walker’s 800m time is the best in the CAA and ranks ninth nationally. The Aggies are second in the CAA in the 4×400 and 12th nationally. Bryant, Walker, and the Aggies are not scheduled to return to action until January 17, when they will participate in the Mondo Collegiate Invitational at the JDL Fast Track.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – [BOX SCORE | BRACKET] The Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats won their third consecutive Red Banner on Tuesday night in the Tyson Events Center against the Northwestern (Iowa) Red Raiders in four sets (25-23, 23-25, 25-18, 25-19).

At the beginning of the season, Indiana Wesleyan had a bumpy start, battling injuries. The Wildcats recorded losses to Concordia (Neb.), Bellevue (Neb.) and Viterbo (Wis.) before hitting their stride. IWU then went on a 17-match win streak before a loss to Crossroads League opponent Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio). The Wildcats then went on a 12-match winning streak, which culminated in a conference title and a trip to the NAIA national championship match for the third consecutive year.

Northwestern had only three blemishes on its record this season, the last of which came on Sept. 20 to Oklahoma Wesleyan. Since then, the Red Raiders have gone on a 22-match win streak that saw them capture the Great Plains Athletic Conference title and advance to the NAIA national championship match for the second time in three years.

The 2025 championship match is a rematch of the 2023 championship match, in which Indiana Wesleyan won its first title, and Northwestern made its first championship appearance. They also met earlier this season on August 20, when Northwestern traveled to Indiana Wesleyan and the Wildcats won the match in four sets.

Tonight, the two teams meet again, with the Wildcats hoping for a third title and the Red Raiders their first.

The match opened with teams trading points until seven all on the scoreboard before Indiana Wesleyan went on a 12-point run. Northwestern hung around and made their move at 23-18, where the Red Raiders went on a five-point scoring run to tie the score at 23. However, with a kill by Eva Joldersma and a solo block by Marin Sanchez, IWU took the opening set 25-23.

NWC opened up the second set with the first three points and held the lead until a 7-2 scoring run that gave the Wildcats their first lead of the set at 11-9. A quick back-and-forth and the teams were tied again at 11 and 12 before another 7-2 scoring run by the Wildcats. But Northwestern wasn’t done yet as they went on a five-point run at 23-20, sparked by a kill off the hand of Stella Winterfield that closed out set two, 25-23 in favor of the Red Raiders.

With a tie of one set apiece on the scoreboard, the teams continued the Battle for the Red Banner into set three. IWU struck first blood in the third set with a kill from Marissa Mullins. The teams fought through seven ties, but at 14 all, a kill from Shae Williams sparked a four-point run that gave the Wildcats the advantage they would not relinquish for a 25-18 set four win, which was clinched with a kill from Eva Joldersma.

Marissa Mullins started things off for the Wildcats in set four as IWU took the initial lead in the set. The teams traded points until 14 all when an 8-2 scoring run gave Indiana Wesleyan a six-point lead that they would see through to a 25-19 set and match win.

With the win, IWU became part of an elite group with three other teams (Fresno Pacific (Calif.), Brigham Young-Hawaii, and Hawaii-Hilo) that have won three consecutive titles.

All-Tournament Team

Eve Fountain, Bellevue (Neb.)

Ashley Keck, Concordia (Neb.)

Ella Waters, Concordia (Neb.)

Makayla Roginski, Corban (Ore.)

Kiera Vaughn, Eastern Oregon

Brooke Womack, Eastern Oregon

Eva Joldersma, Indiana Wesleyan

Shae Williams, Indiana Wesleyan

Marissa Mullens, Indiana Wesleyan

Enya Fierens, McPherson (Kan.)

Gabi Jakubowska, Missouri Baptist

Zavyr Metzger, Northwestern (Iowa)

Stella Winterfeld, Northwestern (Iowa)

Bella Thompson, Providence (Mont.)

Setter of the Tournament: Bella Thompson, Providence (Mont.)

Defender of the Tournament: Zavyr Metzger, Northwestern (Iowa)

Attacker of the Tournament: Stella Winterfeld, Northwestern (Iowa)

Tournament MVP: Eva Joldersma, Indiana Wesleyan

Coach of the Tournament: Candace Moats, Indiana Wesleyan

CHARLESTON – The Charleston Southern Track & Field programs released their schedules for the 2026 outdoor season on Wednesday afternoon. They will compete in seven meets up and down the East Coast during the regular season with each scheduled for consecutive weekends.
 
The season will begin in mid-March with some student-athletes traveling to Charlotte for the 49er Classic while others will stay back to compete in the home meet, the Buccaneer Invitational. The home meet is scheduled for Friday, March 20 while Charlotte’s is from Thursday, March 19 through Saturday, March 21.
 
Following this, they will be on the road for four consecutive trips to ACC and SEC programs before finishing the regular season at Charlotte. Those big trips include the Raleigh Relays, hosted by NC State, (3/26-3/28), Florida Relays (4/3-4/4), Duke Invitational (4/9-11) and Georgia Tech Invitational (4/17-4/18). The season ends at the Charlotte Invitational, which is held from Friday, April 24 through Saturday, April 25.
 
The Buccaneers will then enjoy a pair of weekends of rest and recovery before traveling to High Point, North Carolina for the Big South Championships. The Panthers are serving as the hosts for this year’s championship meet which is scheduled for Monday, May 11 through Wednesday, May 13.
 
The NCAA East First and Second Round Regional meet returns to Lexington, Kentucky with the University of Kentucky to host the event. It is scheduled for Wednesday, May 27 through Saturday, May 30. The NCAA Championships are in Eugene, Oregon with the University of Oregon hosting. The meet is scheduled for Wednesday, June 10 through Saturday, June 13.
 

The AVCA is proud to announce its 44th annual All-America teams for NCAA Division II women’s volleyball.

The 2025 All-Americans include 42 players—14 on the first, second, and third teams—from 29 schools, and 117 honorable mention selections. Two programs have three players on those teams: Point Loma (one on the first-, second-, and third-team) and Missouri-St. Louis (two first-team picks and a third-team selection).

The 2025 AVCA Freshman of the Year is Valeriya Kozlova of Barry. The outside hitter had 475 kills, averaged 5.48 points per set, and she hit .351. She helped the Bucs to a 25-5 record, and the team was ranked in the top 5 of the AVCA Poll every week since early October.

Abi Nua of Point Loma earns her third All-America award, as she’s made the first-team the past two seasons after being a third-team pick in 2022. Caitlin Bishop of Missouri-St. Louis and Peyton Neff also are two-time, first-team All-Americans. Three third-team selections—Elizabeth Blinn of Bentley, Anna Coulter of East Stroudsburg, and Mikayla Weiss of Fresno Pacific—become the first players in their respective school’s history to make one of the three AVCA All-America teams.

Freshman of the Year: Valeriya Kozlova, Barry University, OH
Player of the Year: Makenna Nold, Concordia University-St. Paul, RS, So.
Coach of the Year: to be announced Dec. 11
Assistant Coach of the Year: to be announced Dec. 11

The 2025 All-America selections were made by the AVCA Division II All-America Committee: Chuck Waddington of Angelo State University (chair), Wick Colchagoff of University of Findlay, Chris Herron of Washburn University, Travis Hinkle of Fairmont State, Danielle MacKnight of Adelphi University, Mika Robinson of Rollins College, Jonathan Scott of Point Loma, and Michael Smith of Mars Hill University.

Click here to see links to bios on First-, Second-, and Third-Team All-Americans.

ALL-AMERICANS

HONORABLE MENTION

FARGO, N.D. – The Beavers get another chance to compete early in the indoor season this week as Minot State’s track and field teams head to the Dakota Alumni Classic hosted by North Dakota State this Thursday.

The second meet of the indoor track and field season gives Minot State’s runners, throwers, and jumpers a chance to compete against top competition to test their skills, and training, prior to the Christmas break.

“It’s a great opportunity to get a few more kids a chance to compete before we head into the winter break,” Minot State head track and field coach Jordan Aus said. “We’ll have a couple football guys that will have a chance to get a competition in, which is great.”

A small group of Beavers opened the indoor season this past weekend, competing in Bismarck at the Mike Thorson Open hosted by the University of Mary on Saturday, with senior Summer Krebsbach and redshirt-freshman Sam Butikofer leading the way for the women and men, respectively. Kresbach was 3^rd in both the 60-meter dash and 200 meters, while Butikofer made a successful collegiate debut, finishing third in the high jump.

Saturday’s meet at Mary also provided a few other Beavers the chance to make their collegiate debut, including freshman thrower Jamie Ward, who was 8^th in the women’s shot put.

While the pair of opening meets offer some the chance to make their debut, for others, it’s a measuring stick after a long and busy fall of training in preparation for the opportunity to compete.

“The expectations are to highlight the hard work that the kids have put in this fall, and to see that hard work pay off with a competition before going into the break,” Aus said.

After Thursday’s meet, the Beavers get more than a month off before starting the bulk of the indoor season at the Marauders Indoor Opener on January 17, the first of five meets in a race toward the NSIC Indoor Track & Field Championships, held February 28 and March 1, and hosted by Minnesota State, Mankato.

 

The Cal Poly women’s volleyball team is dancing into the Sweet 16 and into the national spotlight after an improbable NCAA Tournament run that’s captured the hearts of fans near and far.

The Mustangs, unseeded entering the tournament, stunned USC in Los Angeles last week to keep their postseason dream alive.

“Just pure happiness and joy for each other and how far we have made it because we weren’t expected to make it this far,” redshirt Emme Bullis said. “It’s kind of cool because you feel like the Cinderella team in a way.”

Right now, Bullis is second all-time for career assists in NCAA history.

Following their first two tournament victories, Head Coach Caroline Walters says the program has experienced a surge in attention.

“It’s insane,” Walters said. “I looked at our Instagram last night and I think we’ve added 5,000 followers…and it’s only going to keep adding.”

Players say the buzz has even spilled over to TikTok, where strangers are posting videos about the Mustangs’ tournament run.

Cal Poly’s success is resonating in the San Luis Obispo community, especially with local high school volleyball players who now see a small, mid-major team excelling on the sport’s biggest stage.

“I think it’ll just bring more popularity to not just the big teams, but even smaller programs and high school teams like us,” SLO High School sophomore Hazel Williams said.

Williams is a part of the local club program ran by Coach Walters and her players, 805 Elite.

The timing couldn’t be better for the sport. Women’s volleyball is already riding a wave of growth, with USA Volleyball reporting a 40% increase in girls ages 11–18 playing club volleyball between 2013–14 and the summer of 2024.

“Popularity has definitely increased a lot,” SLO High School senior Maddie Immoos said. “We’re having a huge jump in skill level, which is obviously great. And I think Cal Poly’s part of that — it’s just so inspiring.”

Walters says the moment is special for her players and for the program.

“They feel important and they should. They’ve worked really, really hard for this moment,” she said. “To be the only unseeded team left in the Sweet 16 and one of only two mid-majors is something we’re all incredibly proud of and have a lot of gratitude for.”

The Mustangs face the top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in Lexington. The match will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.