MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) – Several State Games of Mississippi events were held in the Queen City on Saturday.

Cycling/Time Trials kicked things off at 7 AM on Saturday, as several riders were out and about competing in the heat and humidity.

For the first time, Chess was added as a competition, and multiple competitors showed up.

“A lot of people don’t consider chess to be a sport. They see you sitting there and just moving pieces, but there have been biometrics measured. They’ve measured the heart rate, pulse rate, and respiration rate of Grand Masters at chess tournaments, and they’ve found that they burn as many calories as tennis players. While some people don’t consider chess a sport, it indeed is physically draining. All the thought process and everything behind it. We’re excited to add chess to the State Games today,” Tournament Director Lizabeth Thrasher said.

The Beach Volleyball Competitions were moved due to all the rain our area has experienced, but the competition was still fierce.

“You know, a lot of the guys that are on the lower net down there have played Men’s Open at some point in their life, traveled around a lot. Judd Smith is here. He’s the owner of Bulldog Beach, so we’re happy to have him back from Florida. So there’s a lot of talent on that lower court right now. And then the co-ed teams and the women’s teams, we’ve got two college players right now that are playing on the co-ed net… college female players, a beach player and an indoor player, so there’s a lot of talent out here today,” Beach Volleyball Commissioner Doug Everett said.

Out at the Northeast Park Soccer Complex, teams from all over the Magnolia State came and competed in the 7v7 High School Soccer Event.

“State Games 7v7 has been running for a long time, and we’re glad to have all the team support. We’ve got teams from Picayune, Moss Point, and some local teams [such as] West Lauderdale Boys and Girls, and Meridian High are here. It’s just a great opportunity for the local teams to play some teams that don’t normally play,” 7v7 High School Soccer Commissioner Matt Castleberry said.

The Lauderdale County Agricultural Center held the State Games Equestrian events on Saturday, and riders of all ages competed in the events!

“It means everybody’s interested in it again. It’s growing again. It had slacked off for a while, but now it’s coming back. It means more money from Meridian, more shows here, more money for them, more money for us, and a greater diversity of horses,” Equestrian Events Commissioner Scott Thomas said.

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ALMONT — The Almont varsity volleyball team and coaches ended a week of fun Thursday capping off their annual youth volleyball camp that ran Monday-Thursday at the high school. New varsity coach Michelle Wangler, along with assistant coach Cortney Kendall, stressed not hitting the ball as hard as you can, rather, hitting it up, out and fast to serve across […]

By The Associated Press

(All times Eastern)
Schedule subject to change and/or blackouts
Sunday, June 22
AUTO RACING

7:30 a.m.

FS1 — FIM MotoGP: The Brembo Grand Prix of Italy, Tuscany, Italy

10 a.m.

FS1 — NTT IndyCar Series: Warmup, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.

11 a.m.

FS1 — NXT IndyCar Series: The Grand Prix at Road America, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Noon

CBS — ABB FIA Formula-E: The Jakarta Grand Prix – Round 12, North Jakarta, Indonesia (Taped)

NBC — IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: The Saleh’s Six Hours of Glen, Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, N.Y.

1:30 p.m.

FOX — NTT IndyCar Series: The Xpel Grand Prix at Road America, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.

2 p.m.

FS1 — NHRA: Qualifying, Virginia Motorsports Park, North Dinwiddie, Va. (Taped)

PRIME VIDEO — NASCAR Cup Series: The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM, Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa.

4 p.m.

CBSSN — FIM Motocross: The MX2, Matterly Basin, Great Britain (Taped)

FOX — NHRA: The Virginia NHRA Nationals, Virginia Motorsports Park, North Dinwiddie, Va.

5 p.m.

CBSSN — FIM Motocross: The MXGP, Matterly Basin, Great Britain (Taped)

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

1 p.m.

CBSSN — AVP League: Week 4 – Day 2, East Hampton, N.Y.

3 p.m.

CW — AVP League: Week 4 – Day 2, East Hampton, N.Y.

BIG3 BASKETBALL

1 p.m.

CBS — Week 2: Detroit Amps vs. Miami 305, Boston Ball Hogs vs. DMV Trilogy, Houston Rig Hands vs. Chicago Triplets, L.A. Riot vs. Dallas Power, Baltimore

COLLEGE BASEBALL

2:30 p.m.

ABC — Men’s College World Series – Final: LSU vs. Coastal Carolina, Game 2, Omaha, Neb.

ESPNU — Men’s College World Series – Final: LSU vs. Coastal Carolina, Game 2, Omaha, Neb. (UmpCast)

GOLF

1 p.m.

GOLF — PGA Tour: The Travelers Championship, Final Round, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.

3 p.m.

CBS — PGA Tour: The Travelers Championship, Final Round, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.

GOLF — PGA Tour Champions: The Kaulig Companies Championship, Final Round, Firestone Country Club South Course, Akron, Ohio

NBC — LPGA Tour: The 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: Final Round, Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, Frisco, Texas

HORSE RACING

12:30 p.m.

FS1 — NYRA: America’s Day at the Races

2 p.m.

FS2 — NYRA: America’s Day at the Races

4 p.m.

FS1 — NYRA: America’s Day at the Races

LACROSSE (MEN’S)

Noon

ABC — PLL: Utah vs. Denver, Baltimore

MLB BASEBALL

1:30 p.m.

MLBN — Regional Coverage: Texas at Pittsburgh (1:35 p.m.) OR Atlanta at Miami (1:40 p.m.)

4:30 p.m.

MLBN — Regional Coverage: Kansas City at San Diego (4:10 p.m.) OR Boston at San Francisco (4:05 p.m.)

7 p.m.

ESPN — N.Y. Mets at Philadelphia

ESPN2 — N.Y. Mets at Philadelphia (StatCast)

NBA BASKETBALL

8 p.m.

ABC — NBA Finals: Indiana at Oklahoma City, Game 7

SOCCER (MEN’S)

3 p.m.

TNT — FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage: Real Madrid vs. CF Pachuca, Group H, Charlotte, N.C.

TRUTV — FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage: Real Madrid vs. CF Pachuca, Group H, Charlotte, N.C.

7 p.m.

FOX — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: U.S. vs. Haiti, Group D, Arlington, Texas

FS1 — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: Saudi Arabia vs. Trinidad and Tobago, Group D, Las Vegas

9 p.m.

TNT — FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage: Manchester City vs. Al Ain FC, Group G, Atlanta

TRUTV — FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage: Manchester City vs. Al Ain FC, Group G, Atlanta

10 p.m.

FS1 — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: Mexico vs. Costa Rica, Group A, Las Vegas

FS2 — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: Dominican Republic vs. Suriname, Group A, Arlington, Texas

SOCCER (WOMEN’S)

10 p.m.

CBSSN — NWSL: Washington at San Diego

SOFTBALL

7 p.m.

ESPNU — Athletes Unlimited: Talons vs. Volts, Norman, Okla.

TENNIS

6 a.m.

TENNIS — London-ATP, Halle-ATP, Berlin-WTA, Nottingham-WTA Finals

11:30 a.m.

TENNIS — Bad Hoburg-WTA Early Rounds

5:30 a.m. (Monday)

TENNIS — Eastbourne-ATP/WTA, Mallorca-ATP, Bad Homburg-WTA Early Rounds

6 a.m. (Monday)

TENNIS — Eastbourne-ATP/WTA, Mallorca-ATP, Bad Homburg-WTA Early Rounds

VOLLEYBALL (WOMEN’S)

10:30 a.m.

CBSSN — FIVB Nations League Pool Play: France vs. U.S., Pool 6, Belgrade, Serbia

WNBA BASKETBALL

3 p.m.

ESPN — Indiana at Las Vegas

7 p.m.

NBATV — New York at Seattle

_____

Jon Carcarey, a rising junior at Pepperdine University, secured a silver medal with Team USA at the U20 Water Polo World Championships in Croatia, marking the nation’s best finish ever at this level. The team advanced to the championship match after a dramatic penalty shootout win against Serbia and a tight semifinal victory over Hungary, with Carcarey contributing four goals throughout the tournament. The U.S. began the competition with losses against Croatia and Hungary but rebounded by defeating Montenegro and Iran in knockout stages. In the final match, they faced Spain but were edged out 14-11. This achievement marks only the second medal for the U.S. in the tournament’s history.

By the Numbers

• The U.S. finished with a silver medal, the highest-ever at a Junior World Championship.
• Carcarey scored four goals during the tournament, including three against Hungary.

State of Play

• Team USA started the tournament with a 19-10 loss to Croatia and a 13-12 defeat to Hungary.
• They rebounded by defeating Montenegro (16-10) and Iran (23-5), leading to a quarterfinal win over Serbia.

What’s Next

Carcarey will return to Pepperdine, where he has a total of 60 goals over two previous seasons. The Waves are set to begin their next season at the Triton Invite in San Diego from August 30-31.

Bottom Line

Carcarey’s performance at the U20 World Championships not only highlights his personal achievements but also signals a rising trajectory for U.S. water polo on the international stage, making it a pivotal moment for future competitions.

SYLVA, N.C. — (WLOS) – The 2025 Deaflympics in Tokyo, Japan in November will have a WNC native as a member of its USA deaf volleyball team.

“As you can tell, I can talk completely normal, I can interact completely normal. Growing up, a lot of people didn’t know I was deaf unless I told them, or they saw the implant,” said Ella Gamble.

Gamble, who attends Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. is home in Sylva for just a little bit as she prepares for another season, teaching, playing, and studying.

“We are in the middle of the city, on campus it’s nice because it’s kind of secluded. It’s fenced in so you kind of have your own world. But then you go out and have so many people and so many things, it’s definitely different. But I’m getting used to it, when I come back home, it’s definitely a breath of fresh air.”

First attending Carson-Newman out of high school, Gamble transferred to Gallaudet, a school that specializes in deaf and hard-of-hearing. Before her time in D.C., sign language wasn’t an essential part of her daily life. Though being born deaf, her life was most predicated by her implants, as the sign language community in Western North Carolina isn’t too large of a community.

“Whenever I transferred to Gallaudet, they had all signed there. So when I got there, I didn’t really know anything except the absolute basics. I’ve become fluent in sign since being there. Obviously I don’t really use it here because there’s nobody to talk to. I will with my sister every once in awhile, she knows a little bit. When I go back up there, sometimes I won’t even wear my implants just because that’s the language, and that’s what I feel more natural doing, even though spoken English is my first language.”

Volleyball has been Ella’s whole life, something she saw her mom doing and coaching, and a path she seeks to follow.

“I’ve thankfully had a lot of opportunities because I want to coach in the future. That’s my dream job right now, my goal. I’ve been helping my mom for years, her club team, and now she’s coaching the middle school District team here. I’ve been helping her out with practices and stuff. This past year, Gallaudet started men’s volleyball, I coached their club team the year before that through an internship as an assistant. This past year, I’ve been able to be a student assistant, and that’s been a lot of fun. It’s weird because all the guys are my age, or older and younger you know. It’s a little bit weird because we’re the same age, because I’m friends with some of them.”

Teaching, coach, learning, clearly a passion of hers. Ella is the eldest of four in her family, with two brothers between her and the youngest, her sister.

“She’s been in the gym since she was four. Her experience is very different from mine. I started playing in maybe fifth grade and I wasn’t really good until my sophomore year of school. While she’s been in the gym and she’s been going at it for awhile. The stuff I was doing when I was older, seeing her doing it now, and seeing her be as good as she is, it’s really cool.”

Volleyball has already taken Ella to one Deaflympics, and world championship, and to-be another Deaflympics this fall. Seeing the world because of her lack of ability to hear, something she never could have foreseen.

“It’s been really cool to see where I started here, in little Cullowhee, Sylva. And playing for Smoky Mountain, to going to do this. I never would have imagined, my little high school self would never imagined – ,my little high school self would never have thought I’d be doing this one day.”

• There are 6 pools in the area, including in Appleton, Neenah, Menasha, Little Chute and Kaukauna.
• Three cities have splash pads, ranging in size, shape and age.
• Swimmers can find man-made beaches in five communities, depending on which part of the Fox Cities is your starting point.
• There are three beaches which grant access to Lake Winnebago, though checking the DNR website ahead of time to make sure the water quality is up to snuff.

The Fox Cities are expecting a heat wave.