Edwardsville High School announced two student-athletes will be moving on to compete in NCAA sports.

Zach Lane (track and field) and Cincere Ruffin (track and field) will both compete at the next level.

Here’s a closer look at their accomplishments.

Lane will continue his track and field career at SIUE.

One of the top sprinters in the state, Lane graduates with state medals, including a state championship on the 4×100-meter relay team in his junior season, and two outdoor school records.

Despite missing much of his senior season with an injury, Lane helped the 4×100-meter relay team finish second at the state meet.

During Lane’s career, Edwardsville won a state championship in 2024 and finished second in 2022.

SIUE is an NCAA Division I school that competes in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Ruffin will continue his track and field career at McKendree in Lebanon.

In his only season with the Tigers, Ruffin was a state qualifier in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash.

Ruffin is part of one program record at Edwardsville. He, along with Darren Wilson, Clayton Lakatos and Lane, own the 4×100-meter record.

Individually, Ruffin ranks second in program history in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.37 and third in program history in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.65.

McKendree is an NCAA Division II school that competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

GARDENDALE, Ala. (WBRC) – A Gardendale High School legend, NCAA All-American, and current professional volleyball player is returning to her alma mater as head coach.

Merritt Beason, Gardendale High School c/o ‘21, is preparing for her first season leading the Rockets.

“A bunch of the girls that are actually going to be seniors and juniors this year, I was doing private lessons for in my driveway before I left for college,” said Beason.

And once Beason left for college, she made a name for herself on a national scale. Beason began her career at Florida and ended as an All-American at Nebraska, leading the Cornhuskers to back-to-back final four appearances. Beason is now a professional volleyball player after being selected first overall in the 2024 Pro Volleyball Federation Draft (PFV).

While Beason has been a private coach for years, this is her first time leading a team for a full season.

“The goal is to ultimately change the goal in Gardendale, and to me that looks more than just a year. Obviously, you can’t build a historic program in a year,” said Beason.

Beason played for the Atlanta Vibe last year in the PVF. She says it is yet to be determined which team she will play for in 2026.

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Wheeling, W. Va. – After seeing a successful fall followed by historic performances during the winter, the spring season would bring new life to the Wheeling Athletic Department. With two of the three new programs beginning their years, it was a chance for new opportunities for women in the department while other programs looked to build on their success. The competitive fire continued into the spring, with the teams combining for four conference tournament appearances, two trips to the National stage, and several highlight moments throughout the year. 

Up first was the newest sport to the Wheeling athletics lineup, Acrobatics & Tumbling, as they compete in their inaugural season. They kicked off the season on February 2nd in front of a packed Alma Grace McDonough Center and scored 185.170 points against West Liberty. It was a strong start to the season and as the year went on they continued a Mountain East Conference (MEC) heavy schedule. They had several strong individual performances throughout the season, and it all came together with the first win in program history on March 10th against West Virginia State. The Cardinals beat the Yellow Jackets 215.255-203.555. The Cardinals would earn  one more win in their final event of the regular season against Bluefield State to finish 2-6. The season continued at the MEC Individual Championships, with the Cardinals qualifying in the trio pass and scoring a 5.525 to round out their inaugural season. 

Next in the lineup was the rebirth of the Wheeling Women’s Lacrosse program, who made their return to the field after a five-year hiatus. They would make a splash in their season debut, taking down Allegheny 22-9 to get things started. The Cardinals would win each of their first two games, but a tough non-conference stretch had them sitting at 2-3 entering MEC play. Wheeling’s offense would once again be the catalyst to the team’s success, as they scored 39 goals in their first two conference games, starting out 2-0. The Cardinals would add two more conference wins to their ledger, and clinched the #4 seed in the MEC Tournament field. They would host Davis & Elkins in the MEC Play-in Game and picked up an 11-8 win to advance them to the semifinals. There, their run would come to an end as they fell to the #1 seeded Bobcats, but capped off a strong return to the field. Wheeling was recognized for their hard work on the field with four players earning All-MEC honors, including a First Team honor for Trinity Rose and Head Coach Faith Flanagan winning MEC Women’s Lacrosse Coach of the Year. 

The women’s sports continued to lead the charge as the Wheeling Softball team was up next, playing host to UINDY. The year began with a tough non-conference schedule as Head Coach Mallory Chapman prepared her team for the road ahead in the MEC. The Cardinals would take on UINDY, Malone, and Gannon before heading to Florida, where they picked up their first win and went 2-8 in 10 games. The Cardinals would split a doubleheader with Walsh upon their return and entered conference play at 3-15. After a slow start that saw them go 1-10 over their first 11 conference games, the Cardinals would turn things around at the end of March with a rain delay doubleheader sweep of Frostburg State. They would go 5-6 over their next 11 games and played themselves back into the MEC playoff picture. It came down to the final weekend of the season, with the Cardinals needing a split against Point Park, and a 13-1 win in game one would clinch their first MEC playoff spot since the 2018 season. The Cardinals would play a pair of tough games in the tournament, falling 1-0 to Glenville State before dropping the second game 2-1 to end their run. Amber Morgan led the way, earning Second Team All-MEC honors as she helped lead the young team. 

The first men’s sport of the spring season would be Men’s Lacrosse and they got things started against #19 Chestnut Hill. The offense was strong, but the Cardinals fell 16-10 showing they can compete against ranked opponents. Wheeling would split their four non-conference games, before falling to Lake Erie in their Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) opener. They picked up their first conference win the next time out and ended up splitting their first six conference games to sit at 3-3. Wheeling needed a late-season win against Malone on April 16th and got just that as they earned a 17-13 win to clinch their playoff spot. They ended the regular season with a 23-6 win over Davis & Elkins, awarding the Cardinals their first home playoff game since 2011. Wheeling would defeat #5 seeded Davenport 12-9 in the first round, before falling in the GMAC semifinals to Seton Hill. It was Wheeling’s first semifinal appearance since 2018 as they put an exclamation point on the revitalization of the program, that began with this year’s senior class. 

Wheeling Baseball was the next program to take the diamond and they started things off strong taking three of four against Pitt-Johnstown. They would go 5-5 over their 10-game non-conference schedule to start the season and hit MEC play with a bang going against defending champion The University of Charleston. The Cardinals went 1-3 in that opening weekend, a trend that continued through the MEC south portion of their schedule. With a team consisting of 23 new players, the Cardinals had their struggles and would finish 14-33 overall and 5-22 in conference play. In their final weekend of the season, the Cardinals would host West Liberty and picked up a 7-1 win in their final home game of the year. The Cardinals had two All-MEC honorees, with pitcher Sebastian Khan and outfielder Brett Johnson each earning honors for their work throughout the season. Just this past week, the Cardinals racked up their final honor, with centerfielder Nic Ancelet earning American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Atlantic Region All-Defensive honors. 

Coming off a National Championship in their inaugural season, the Wheeling Women’s Rugby team was back for their first 7’s season. After going undefeated in 15’s, the Cardinals opened the 7’s season at the Frostbite 7’s and went 3-3 in their first 7’s run. The Cardinals played six regular season tournaments and would win three of those tournaments as they put together a 20-7-1 regular season record. It would earn them a spot in the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) National 7’s and they opened postseason play with a handed 19-5 win over Bowdoin College. However, in the quarterfinals they would meet their 7’s nemesis American International College, falling 31-14. The Cardinals would win their consolation round opener against New Haven before seeing their spring season come to an end. Overall, the Cardinals went 32-7-1 combined in their inaugural season and look to continue to build towards a National Championship sweep. 

The following week, it was the Men’s Rugby team’s turn to take the pitch, coming off a CRC National 7’s Championship a season ago. Just as they did that season, the Cardinals rolled through the 7’s regular season schedule, winning two of their three regular season tournaments and going 13-1, with their lone loss coming against Iowa Central Community College in their final regular season game. The Cardinals then went into the Big Rivers Rugby Conference (BRRC) 7’s Tournament and tied their first round match with Aquinas College 14-14. From there, the Cardinals never looked back, scoring 30 or more points in each of the final four games and earning a BRRC Championship with a 31-5 win over Marian. The Cardinals rode that momentum into the CRC National 7’s, scoring 30 or more points in three of the first four games to get back to the National title game. There, they would take on St. Bonaventure and won 19-5 to win their second straight national title. Also for the second year in a row, Shadreck Mandaza was named the tournament’s MVP and the Cardinals continued their National Championship reign. 

After having their share of success in the fall, the Men’s and Women’s Golf teams returned to the course for their spring seasons. For the men, the Cardinals once again took on a new look with a young roster and they showed improvement each time they hit the course. Their top finish came at the West Liberty Invitational, where they finished 7th out of 10 teams shooting a team score of 602. On the women’s side, the Cardinals added two more top 10 finishes while also taking part in match play in two separate events. The Cardinals top performance was a second place finish at West Liberty, where they shot a combined 422 over two days of competition. Nicole Lincicome and Ella Keffer would each take home All-MEC honors, rounding out a strong season on the course for each of Wheeling’s top golfers. 

The Track & Field team rounded things out with their outdoor season as they once again battled for MEC titles. The Cardinals once again had a strong array of talent to face throughout the spring season with a combination of NCAA DI and DII talent. The Cardinals once again had a young team at the helm, and as they entered the MEC Championship field, many athletes were competing for the first time. The Cardinals would put two athletes on the podium on the men’s side, with Kabwe Bwalya taking second in the Men’s Triple Jump and Joshua Boehm taking third in the 400-Meter Dash. On the women’s side, the Cardinals had one individual champion, as Keala McCurry swept the Pole Vault title with a height of 3.35 meters. The Cardinals additionally had four athletes finish in the top five of their events, rounding out the outdoor season. 

As the department looks ahead to 2025-2026 season, the Cardinals look to continue their growth in the department and continue to compete for National Titles. 

STOCKTON, Calif. – Head Coach Greg Gibbons dipped into the transfer portal Monday afternoon, bringing in two in-state transfers in graduate Olivia Keller and sophomore Mila Stojakovic as well as sophomore Olga Gergacz from the east coast to join the Pacific volleyball program as the 2025 season approaches.

“Our latest additions of Olivia, Mila, and Olga bring a lot of veteran experience and leadership both on and off the court to our squad and add to an already very competitive team. I am excited for this team and look forward to being with them as they grow and compete together,” Gibbons said.

Keller spent the last three seasons at Fresno State, highlighted by her 2022 campaign in which she tallied 135 kills in 27 matches played and a career-high 15 kills against Boise State. Keller was also a key component of the 2023 Fresno State team that toppled the top two seeds of the Mountain West Conference en route to the MWC tournament title and a postseason berth.

In addition to her success on the court, she was a two-time Academic All-Mountain West Team selection in 2022 and 2023 as well as a Mountain West Scholar Athlete in 2023.

Meanwhile Stojakovic comes up to Northern California from Pepperdine, where she did not appear in any contests for the Waves as a freshman last season. Prior to hitting the collegiate ranks, she was a four-year letter winner as a middle blocker and outside hitter at St. Francis Catholic High School where she helped her school to a sectional championship in 2023.

Off the court, Stojakovic hails from a highly decorated family athletically as her dad, Peja, was a first round draft by the Sacramento Kings in the 1996 NBA Draft where he spent seven and a half seasons, garnering three NBA All-Star Appearances, an All-NBA Second Team Selection and two NBA three-point shooting contests. His number 16 jersey was retired by the Kings during the 2014 season. Her brother Andrej is currently a member of the University of Illinois men’s basketball team.

Reaching Pacific after spending the previous season at American University, Gergacz brings with her a championship pedigree at the international level. Despite not appearing in a contest for the Eagles, she was a U17 National Champion in her native Hungary and placed tenth at the European Championships before earning a 15th place finish at the World Championships as part of her U19 team. She’s made a total of 17 appearances representing the Hungarian National Team.

All three will make their Pacific debuts on Aug. 29 when Pacific faces Cal Baptist to open the 2025 season.

Tigers Tickets

Tickets for upcoming events can be purchased through the PacificTigers.com tickets tab, or by calling the Box Office at 209-946-2474.  Groups of 10 or more are eligible for a group discount and exclusive fan experiences.

 

Stay Social

For all the latest on Pacific Volleyball, be sure to follow the team on X (@PacificVball), Instagram (@pacificvolleyball) and Facebook page (Pacific Volleyball).

#PacificProud

 

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana announced Monday that it will join the NAIA’s Southern States Athletic Conference as a full member, effective July 1, 2026.

The SSAC Board of Presidents voted unanimously June 4 to accept XULA’s application for membership.

In addition, three XULA programs — competitive cheer, men’s indoor track and field and women’s indoor track and field — will compete for SSAC championships in 2025-26 as affiliate members.

The SSAC was founded in 1999 and consists of teams in Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee.
“We are thrilled to welcome Xavier University of Louisiana as a full member of the SSAC beginning in 2026,” said SSAC Commissioner Mike Hall. “They’re coming off a top-25 finish in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings and have a proud tradition of excellence both academically and athletically. Their addition strengthens our conference on many levels. We appreciate the leadership of President Reynold Verret, Vice President Curtis Wright and Athletics Director Pat Kendrick throughout this process and look forward to working with them in the years ahead.”

Said Verret: “Joining the Southern States Athletic Conference affirms our commitment to excellence and affords more opportunities for our scholar-athletes who excel in the classroom and their respective sports. We thank the SSAC for its confidence in Xavier University of Louisiana.”

Said Kendrick: “We are excited to join the Southern States Athletic Conference. We look forward to great competition in that league. We also look forward to renewing conference rivalries with Loyola, Mobile and William Carey.”

Current SSAC members are:
• Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Ga.
• Blue Mountain Christian University in Blue Mountain, Miss.
• Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon, Ga.
• Dalton State College in Dalton, Ga.
• Faulkner University in Montgomery, Ala.
• Life University in Marietta, Ga.
• Loyola University in New Orleans, La.
• University of Mobile in Mobile, Ala.
• Point University in West Point, Ga.
• University of Tennessee Southern in Pulaski, Tenn.
• Thomas University in Thomasville, Ga.
• William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Miss.

The move to the Southern States will end a 5-year membership for XULA in the Red River Athletic Conference, which it joined in the summer of 2021. XULA teams will compete for at least 12 RRAC championships in 2025-26.

This will be XULA’s fourth full-time conference affiliation. It competed in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) from 1935-60 and the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference from 1981-2021. XULA competed against Loyola, Mobile and William Carey in the GCAC as recently as 2009-10, and XULA and William Carey were charter members of the GCAC in 1981.

About Xavier University of Louisiana
Being America’s only historically Black and Catholic University is only the first among many distinctions that have set Xavier University of Louisiana apart for 100 years. Despite its relatively small size — 3,218 students during the fall 2024 semester — Xavier is a nationally recognized leader in the STEM and the health sciences, producing more African American students who graduate from medical schools each year than any other university in the United States. Its College of Pharmacy is among the top producers of African American pharmacists.

Its liberal arts-based programs in such areas as art, business, education, psychology, and political science — as well as recent additions in bioinformatics, data science, neuroscience, crime and social justice, and jazz studies — offer students an unbeatable combination of traditional classroom study, hands-on research, service-learning opportunities, and life experiences. The winning Xavier formula provides students with a well-balanced curriculum and an environment that nurtures their intellect and feeds their souls.

The Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine will launch soon.

For more information about Xavier University of Louisiana, visit us online at www.xula.edu or follow us on Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram: @XULA1925. To interview XULA faculty, contact Regina Reyes at rreyes@xula.edu.

A team of 85
student-athletes will represent New Zealand across multiple
sports at the FISU
World University Games, held in Germany
from 16-27 July.

The FISU World University
Games are the world’s second largest multi-sport event
after the Olympics, bringing together around 8,500
student-athletes and officials from over 150 countries to
compete for medals in 18 sports.

For many athletes,
the World University Games are a key stepping stone on the
pathway to the Commonwealth Games and Olympic
competition.

Team NZ comprises athletes
from universities and tertiary institutes across New Zealand
and overseas. They will compete in a range of sports,
including archery, athletics, 3×3 basketball, beach
volleyball, fencing, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics,
taekwondo, rowing, and water polo.

Chef De Mission
Evelyn Williamson says the Games are a moment of
national pride and opportunity.

“Having 85
student-athletes wearing the silver fern on the
international stage is a point of immense pride for New
Zealand. It’s not just about participation, it’s about
showing the world that our small nation consistently punches
above its weight in sport,” she says.

“The Games
are a unique opportunity for athletes to perform at an elite
level and gain experience in a high-performance environment.
It’s where future Olympians are forged.”

New
Zealand’s history at the Games includes alumni such as
Eliza McCartney, Zoe Hobbs, Hamish Kerr, Anthony Mosse, and
Lauren Boyle, athletes who have gone on to become household
names. For this year’s cohort, the Games offer the chance
to follow in their footsteps.

“What stands out most
is the dedication these athletes show, balancing study,
intense training, and often part-time work.

“Their
achievements deserve to be celebrated not just for their
sporting prowess, but for the commitment, resilience, and
time management it takes to compete at this
level.”

From 16 to 27 July, the Rhine-Ruhr cities of
Bochum, Duisburg, and Essen will host 12 days of world-class
sport. With all venues located in proximity, the Games will
create a vibrant atmosphere, bringing together athletes,
officials, media, and fans from around the world.

As
Team NZ heads to Germany, Kiwis across the country are
encouraged to follow their journey, share in their success,
and support the rising stars of New Zealand
sport.

Notes:

• The
  delegation will be led by
  University and Tertiary Sport New Zealand (UTSNZ), the
  organisation responsible for fostering competitive sport
  within the tertiary sector and promoting opportunities for
  student-athletes to represent New Zealand on the world
  stage.
• Follow Team NZs journey on UTSNZ’s Instagram
  and
  Facebook.
• The full Team NZ can be found on the
  UTSNZ
  website.
• Some Team NZ athletes are New Zealand
  citizens currently studying at international
  universities.
• Attached image (left to right):
  Victoria Li, Alexi Evett, Abby Wheeler, Sophia Tweddle.
  Credit: Colin
  McDiarmid.

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