Sports

Govs Conclude Successful Opening Day of ASUN Championships

Story Links JACKSONVILLE – Austin Peay State University’s track and field team concluded its opening day of the 2025 Atlantic Sun Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships with multiple Governors posting personal bests, Thursday, at Hodges Stadium. The Govs began the day’s events in the field in the hammer throw with […]

Published

1 month ago

May 16, 2025

Your Sports Nation

JACKSONVILLE – Austin Peay State University’s track and field team concluded its opening day of the 2025 Atlantic Sun Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships with multiple Governors posting personal bests, Thursday, at Hodges Stadium.

The Govs began the day’s events in the field in the hammer throw with both Emma Tucker and Marcia Dejesus setting personal bests at 44.21 and 40.58 meters, respectively. Both of their marks surpassed their previous record by over two meters.

Later in the evening, Ja’Kyah Montgomery set a personal best in the high jump with a 1.54-meter leap.

Off to the track, Busiwa Asinga qualified for Saturday’s finals in the 400-meter hurdles, while Shaniya Davis set a personal-best in the event with a time of 1:06.85.

Concluding the day’s events in the 200-meter dash preliminaries, Taylin Segree and and Asinga both qualified for the finals after posting personal bests with a 24.21 and 24.40-second marks. Seven Pettus also tallied a PR in the event with a time of 25.12.

The Governors are back in action tomorrow afternoon with Tucker, Dejesus and Chloe Peterson competing the discus toss.

For news and updates throughout the Governors’ postseason stay, follow the Austin Peay track and field team on X or Instagram (@GovsXCTF) or check back at LetsGoPeay.com for the latest news and stories.

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Sports

Nine Current and Former Long Beach State Athletes Competing in Volleyball Nations League

Published

4 minutes ago

June 23, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Nine current and former Long Beach State athletes are competing in the Volleyball Nations League, representing four different countries. Notable participants include brothers Alex and Moni Nikolov for Bulgaria, along with former Long Beach stars Mason Briggs, Kyle Ensing, and Shane Holdaway representing Team USA. Other athletes include Simon Torwie for Germany and Skyler Varga for Canada. This year marks a historic first for the Nikolov brothers as they share the court in the VNL, while both teams are looking to improve their standings mid-competition.

By the Numbers

Bulgaria’s Alex Nikolov averages over 14 kills per match; Moni Nikolov averages 22 successful sets per match.
Team USA is currently 2-2, with wins over Iran and Cuba, ranked sixth in the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Rankings.
Germany is 1-3, with a single win against France, while Canada stands at 2-2 after a win over Bulgaria.

Yes, But

Each team faces challenges, such as Team USA’s narrow losses and Bulgaria’s inconsistent performance against tougher opponents. While the Nikolov brothers shine individually, their team’s success is crucial to advance further in the tournament.

State of Play

Bulgaria’s record is 2-2, with notable individual performances from the Nikolov brothers.
Team USA also holds a 2-2 record, with veterans making significant contributions in tightly contested matches.
Germany struggles at 1-3, while Canada matches up with a 2-2 record, showing potential in their recent games.

What’s Next

The upcoming matches for all teams will be crucial for seeding in the playoffs. Continued strong performances from athletes like the Nikolov brothers and Mason Briggs could determine their teams’ trajectories as the tournament progresses.

Bottom Line

Fans and analysts should pay close attention to the individual and team dynamics as Long Beach State’s representatives strive for success in the VNL. Key players must maintain momentum to enhance their teams’ chances in the upcoming matches.

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Sports

What to expect at Haeundae Beach this summer

A new large-scale summer festival, 2025 Haeundae Festa, will launch at Busan’s Haeundae Beach from July 1 through the end of August. Organized by the University Festival Organizing Committee, the event combines performances, beach sports, interactive experiences, and local food to revive Haeundae’s signature summer energy and support nearby businesses. Under the slogan “Dreaming of […]

Published

21 minutes ago

June 23, 2025

Your Sports Nation

A new large-scale summer festival, 2025 Haeundae Festa, will launch at Busan’s Haeundae Beach from July 1 through the end of August.

Organized by the University Festival Organizing Committee, the event combines performances, beach sports, interactive experiences, and local food to revive Haeundae’s signature summer energy and support nearby businesses.

Under the slogan “Dreaming of Haeundae Again,” the festival aims to recreate the atmosphere of Haeundae’s past summers with a modern twist. Its featured programs include a Steel Troop Experience Zone inspired by the television survival series, a beachside DJ water party, and the return of the Haeundae University Song Festival.

The Steel Troop Experience Zone offers 10 challenge-based courses such as trench combat, tire moving, and tightrope walking. Admission is 15,000 won for elementary students and 20,000 won for older participants.

A DJ-led water party will run daily from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., followed by DJ sets from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., welcoming both domestic and international artists. Tickets for these all-ages sessions are 10,000 won per person.

In the food zone, Woongjangsanghoe, visitors can try dishes made with local ingredients, with free access to shade tents, bean bags, and tables on the beach. Central to the event grounds, a beach sports area will host volleyball, hockey, and Zumba performances against the ocean backdrop.

The opening ceremony on July 4 at 7 p.m. will feature live performances by Baek Ji-young, Jang Min-ho, Kim Soo-chan, and Nora Jo.

The Haeundae University Song Festival returns for a second year, with the final round scheduled for July 26. Composer Kim Hyung-seok will head the jury, joined by Harim and Kwon Jin-won. The event will be hosted by Oh Sang-jin and Park Jin-joo.

To strengthen ties with local commerce, the organizing committee has delivered 60 million won in community funds to the Haeundae Traditional Market Merchants Association and Gunnam-ro shop owners. Coupons will also be issued to tourists during the festival period to encourage spending in surrounding shopping areas and markets.

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Sports

South Jersey track star wins third national title, breaks Olympian’s state record

PHILADELPHIA— Natalie Dumas has pulled off another jaw-dropping triple crown. The Eastern junior won her third national championship at New Balance Nationals on Sunday, stopping the clock at 2:00.11 to rewrite the New Jersey state record set by Neptune legend Ajee Wilson in 2012. Dumas’ time is also a meet record and the fifth fastest […]

Published

52 minutes ago

June 23, 2025

Your Sports Nation

PHILADELPHIA— Natalie Dumas has pulled off another jaw-dropping triple crown.

The Eastern junior won her third national championship at New Balance Nationals on Sunday, stopping the clock at 2:00.11 to rewrite the New Jersey state record set by Neptune legend Ajee Wilson in 2012. Dumas’ time is also a meet record and the fifth fastest time in U.S. history.

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Sports

Time to clean up women's basektball

Laura Hollis Creators Syndicate Women’s basketball should dispel the tired platitude that the world would be a much kinder place if women ran it. I just watched yet another video of WNBA player Caitlin Clark on the receiving end of inappropriately violent behavior during a game. This time, Clark’s team, the Indiana Fever, was playing […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 23, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Laura Hollis

Creators Syndicate

Women’s basketball should dispel the tired platitude that the world would be a much kinder place if women ran it.

I just watched yet another video of WNBA player Caitlin Clark on the receiving end of inappropriately violent behavior during a game. This time, Clark’s team, the Indiana Fever, was playing the Connecticut Sun.

The Fever were up 10 points, and Clark was in possession of the ball when she was poked in the eye by the Sun’s Jacy Sheldon. As Clark was recoiling away from the jab, Sheldon deliberately bumped her, and then Sheldon’s teammate Marina Mabrey shoved Clark to the ground — all while Clark was still holding her painful eye. (Mabrey was apparently later given a Flagrant-2 foul, as was Clark’s teammate Sophie Cunningham, who retaliated by deliberately fouling Sheldon with only 46 seconds left in the game. “Flagrant” fouls have financial penalties attached, although the WNBA does not disclose how much players are fined.)

To her credit, Clark refused to back down. She came back from the multiple fouls and hit a series of free throws that helped the Fever clinch the win.

Still, these were hardly isolated occurrences. Other clips posted on X appear to show Sheldon gouging Clark’s arm with her fingernails. And video footage from other games shows Clark being called a “b—h” by former Chicago Sky player Chennedy Carter, getting slapped in the face (also by Mabrey) and elbowed in the throat by Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner when Clark wasn’t even in possession of the ball.

Personal attacks against Clark have become such a regular feature of WNBA games when the Fever play that observers on X are now referring to Clark as the league’s “punching bag.” It sure looks that way.

At this point, women’s basketball is starting to resemble mud wrestling without the mud. What’s next? Pulling hair?

Yes, I get it, basketball is a contact sport. And yes, these players are fiercely competitive. That can be said of men in certain sports as well. Hockey, for example, is notorious for the slams into the wall and fights that break out. But hockey players are wearing helmets, pads and other gear.

Bad behavior is bad behavior, in any sport. But this bad behavior reflects negatively on women’s sports, and at a time when women are fighting for the integrity of those sports. The women who have opportunities to play professionally should be role models for younger women and girls in college and high school who may have their sights set on playing professional ball, instead of setting poor examples by acting like spoiled brats on the court and in the press.

Some commentators opine that other WNBA players are jealous of the attention Clark has received since she went pro and joined the Fever. If that’s true, grow up. The athletes who feel that way should be glad that players like Clark are generating even more interest in their sport.

The gratuitous nastiness directed at Clark also encourages people to draw unfavorable comparisons between men’s and women’s sports.

Sure, we’ve all seen unnecessary roughness in football (again, a sport where the players are at least partially protected by their gear) and intentional fouls in men’s basketball.

But did you ever see another player poke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan or LeBron James in the eye because they were talented players and got too much attention?

Much of the fault for this nonsense must be laid at the feet of the league and the officials, who are too slow to call out violence that is more than just “aggressive defense,” eject players who display poor sportsmanship and — if need be — sanction teams that let it happen (or, dare I say, encourage it). In fact, both the coaches for the Sun and the Fever criticized the referees who should have stepped in sooner to quell the hot tempers.

Fever coach Stephanie White said, “I started talking to the officials in the first quarter, and we knew this was going to happen. You could tell it was going to happen. So, they got to get control of it. They got to be better.”

Rashid Meziane, who coaches the Sun, said, “The ref has to do their job, to clean up the game and make sure the best team won the game and not just who is more physical.”

It truly is in the league’s longer-term best interests to get this under control. As many headlines as the temper tantrums generate, it’s like a sugar high; some people are just tuning in to see who’s going to throw the next punch.

Catfights may keep the public’s attention for a while, but they’ll eventually grow bored unless the games are about talent, exciting (and fair) competition and great play.

Ultimately, professional sports (for women and men) should be about personal development, teamwork, and victories that are the product of hard work, a positive attitude and great sportsmanship.

Female professional athletes have the potential to leave legacies that are more than just internet clicks and inflammatory headlines. They should take those opportunities as seriously as they do their season wins.

Sports

Dumas Wins 800 In NJ Record, Completes Stunning Triple At NB

There has never been anyone quite like Natalie Dumas, not in New Jersey and perhaps not in the country on the scholastic level!!! Dumas, the indefatigable junior at Eastern, showcased her breathtaking talent once again on Sunday by sending the high school track and field world into an absolute frenzy by completing probably the greatest triple […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 23, 2025

Your Sports Nation

There has never been anyone quite like Natalie Dumas, not in New Jersey and perhaps not in the country on the scholastic level!!!

Dumas, the indefatigable junior at Eastern, showcased her breathtaking talent once again on Sunday by sending the high school track and field world into an absolute frenzy by completing probably the greatest triple by a U.S. high school girl with yet another head-spinning victory at the New Balance National Championships at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

Dumas, who already won the 400 hurdles on Friday (a meet record 55.99 ) and the flat 400 on Saturday (a meet and NJ record 51.14), pulled off another stunning performance in the 800 when she used a quick burst right before the finish line to win in heart-pounding fashion, stopping the clock at 2:00.11, which smashed the meet and NJ records and is No. 5 in U.S. history!!!!

That’s right – Dumas went 3 for 3 with 3 meet records and 2 NJ records over the past 3 days! This is a trifecta for the ages!!!!!

Oh, and she also earned All-American honors with a fast anchor split in the SMR!! So she is a quadruple All-American!

This is the National Championships!!!!! No one is supposed to be able to do that!!!!

We will be throwing a lot of numbers and stats at you about Dumas, which almost don’t seem real. But first a look at how the 800 played out.

Dumas was locked in a great battle with national leader Emmry Ross of Michigan, who led after a 58.85 opening 400, but Dumas stayed on her heels with a 59.08 quarter.

Dumas didn’t want to sit and kick, so she took the lead with about 300 to go and opened a 5-meter lead on Ross. But Ross refused to go away, fighting back and drawing just about even with Dumas with around 50 meters left and looked like she might take the lead. But Dumas, with Ross on to her right shoulder, did what she always does, finding something deep down in her tank to make one final surge to get just a stride ahead of Ross to secure the victory. Ross was second in 2:00.25, No. 6 in U.S. history.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

No let’s get into all the numbers and stats for Dumas.

With her times of 55.99 in the 400 hurdles, No. 6 in U.S. history, 51.14 in the 400, also No. 6 in U.S. history and her 2:00.11 in the 800, Dumas is the first girl in U.S. high school history to run sub-52, sub-56 and sub-2:01!!!

In the span of less than 24 hours, Dumas broke state records held by two of the greatest athletes in U.S. history, NJ legends Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Ajee’ Wilson.

When Dumas burned her 51.14 to win the 400, she broke the NJ record of 51.87 that she shared with McLaughlin-Levrone, who ran that time as a junior at Union Catholic at the 2016 Meet of Champions. McLaughlin-Levrone is a 4-time Olympic gold medalist and the current World Record holder in the 400 hurdles.

With her 2:00.11 in the 800 on Sunday, Dumas broke the NJ record of 2:00.91 set by the great Ajee’ Wilson of Neptune when she won 2-lapper at the the 2012 IAAF World Junior Championships. Wilson is a 2-time Olympian, is the current American Indoor Record holder in the 800, and she won the 800 at the World Indoor Championships in 2022.

The 2:00.11 by Dumas is also No. 8 on the all-time U.S. Under-20 list and makes her the 8th fastets NJ woman ever on any level!!! Trenton’s Athing Mu, the current American outdoor record holder in the 800 and the 2021 Olympic gold medalist in the 800, is No. 1 on the U.S. U20 list and Wilson is No. 2 at 1:58.21.

Dumas is now the second fastest junior in U.S. history in the 800. The only junior to go faster is Mary Cain of New York, who went 1:59.51 at the 2013 Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field in Oregon.

The 2:00.11 by Dumas would have placed her sixth at the NCAA Division 1 Championships!

Oh, I almost forgot, about 2 hours after she won the 400 on Saturday Dumas split 2:03.90 to rally Eastern from sixth to second in a NJ No. 4 and U.S. No. 12 all-time 3:53.15!

WHERE DOES THIS RANK?

There has already been plenty chatter about where this jaw-dropping performance by Dumas ranks all-time in U.S. high school history.

Well, I think it’s fair to say that McLaughlin-Levrone making the 2016 U.S. Olympic team in the 400 hurdles as a 16-year-old at Union Catholic is the greatest single-race performance we’ve ever seen by a girl in U.S. high school history.

I also think it’s equally fair to call this hat trick by Dumas, with the SMR anchor to go with it, the greatest all-round performance we’ve ever seen by a U.S. high school girl. There just isn’t anyone who can match the kind of range that Dumas has. She’s also run 4:55.66 for 1,600, 24.02 for 200, and she ran 20:26 for 5K at Holmdel Park last fall!!!

And she has one more year left!!!!

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