TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Sun is not the only team to restore the “Champa Bay” slogan to this part of Florida. The USF men’s 4×400 meter relay team won a national championship at last weekend’s NCAA meet in Eugene, OR. The race itself was filled with drama when Gabriel Moronta, the Bulls’ final runner, was in third place for most of the last lap.

“I felt that if Gabe was close, it was going to be interesting. And he made it very interesting,” USF head coach Erik Jenkins said calmly. That’s an understatement. Moronta passed runners from Florida and Texas A&M over the final 50 meters to cross the line first.

“As soon as I gave him the stick, I knew [we were going to win],” Corey Ottey said with a smile. It was Ottey who handed the baton to Moronta on the final exchange. “I knew he was in great shape, but seeing it happen in real time, I’m like ‘Whoa, the moment is finally here.’ I don’t know what to think. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s like… thank God.”

WATCH: USF Bulls track and field adds to ‘Champa Bay’ legacy

USF Bulls track and field adds to ‘Champa Bay’ legacy

Less than an hour before the relay, Moronta was disqualified from the individual 400 meters for taking two steps out of his assigned lane, stripping him of a silver medal.

USF Athletics

“It was a lot of emotions before that, in the warm-up,” Gabriel said when describing how he rebounded from the earlier disappointment. “I just stopped thinking about myself, and I just thought about my teammates and what I have to do. I have to get the job done for them, as well. It’s not just about me. So I was just thinking of what I had to do to prepare and get the job done.”

Moronta’s teammates felt like it was their job to get Gabriel to the top of the medal podium.

“We knew we had to go out there and give him something to go back home with. “Outside of the 400 that would’ve been his last shot. So we knew we actually had to come together, do exactly what we need to do,” said second-leg runner Alexavier Monfries. “I’m watching him the whole way around. I’m like “Catch him, Gabe. Catch him, Gabe.” He actually went out there and he did it. I always say to him, out everybody, we’re really proud of him. Because he actually deserved this a lot.”

“Going into the meet, I was just like, this is my last year, and I just have to go out with a bang and I gotta give it my all,” Moronta, a transfer from Mississippi State, added.

The national profile of the USF track and field program continues to rise. A top-15 national finish for the men’s team makes a nice addition to the AAC indoor and outdoor championships the team won in 2024 and 2025.

“I think they continue to set the standard at which we want to compete at,” Coach Jenkins said frankly. “We hope that in years to come there will be people that will come in here and run faster than they did. And hopefully we’ll get a few more national champions in the future.”

A new high school girls volleyball event is coming to the Civic Arena, a venue where teams invited could find themselves hoisting a state championship trophy not long after.

On Wednesday, the St. Joseph Sports Commission announced the dates for the Inaugural Pony Express Girls State High School Volleyball Tournament at the Civic Arena beginning Aug. 29 and ending Aug. 30. The Civic Arena will be the home of the Missouri State High School Activities Association girls high school volleyball state championships for the upcoming season, and 16 schools invited to this new tournament this August will get a taste of what the venue has to offer for the sport of high school girls volleyball.

Teams from St Joseph and the surrounding area invited as part of the 16-team field were Mid-Buchanan, Bishop LeBlond, Savannah, Central, Plattsburg and Maryville. In a release from the St. Joseph Sports Commission, the Civic will be separated into three courts for the two-day event with 32 games expected to be played in total. 

“We are honored and extremely excited to get the opportunity to host the MSHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championship this coming November and in our continuing effort to create/attract events that fill fit and niche locally but also can engage participants, regionally, statewide and nationally, the creation of this event was an obvious fit and we are excited to see some high level volleyball the first weekend of the season in downtown St. Joseph,” Brett Esely, Executive Director of the St. Joseph Sports Commission said in a release Wednesday.

Different levels of success from last season will enter the Civic Arena for the tournament, including three state semifinal teams and six district champions from 2024. 

St. Pius Festus and Bishop LeBlond will enter as the only teams that have appeared consecutively in the state semifinals of their respective classes over the last two seasons. St. Pius Festus was the Class 4 state champion in 2024.

Few coaches in San Diego County are likely to have as extensive a coaching resume as newly hired Coronado High School boys’ and girls’ water polo Head Coach David Throop. 

For the past 30+ years, Throop has coached at almost every level, from high school to NCAA and international development. That included an extended previous run with CHS water polo from 1991 to 2015 and again from 2019 to 2021. After a brief four-year separation, the two have been reunited once again. 

“It’s a privilege to even be considered for something like this,” said Throop. “I can’t wait to get to work and start getting ready.” 

With decades of coaching experience, Throop has seen just about everything one needs to see and understand in order to be a successful head coach. For him, there are a few critical pillars that define his coaching style: communication and adaptability.

“Being able to communicate with your players is key. To balance individual growth with team growth and ride that delicate balance is huge,” said Throop. “I think being adaptive is my strongest trait. There are some things we need to do as a group, there are different ways to do it, and be flexible in that regard. Something that I strive to do is understand each athlete, their motivations, their objectives, but also educate them towards the larger team concepts.”

Along with the excitement of coaching Islander athletes, Throop is also excited by the opportunity to be a part of the Coronado aquatic and water polo community once again. Throop views the community not only as die-hard supporters but also as a place where the program can draw resources and knowledge from. 

“I think tapping into the community and their resources and support will be vital for the maturation of the individual and the maturation of the team,” Throop said. “Our mantra is going to be patience. One of the analogies I’ve used in the past is when we built the BBMAC. Before the pool was built, we had to dig up holes and build the foundation one moment at a time to create what the facility is now.  Building a team for success is the same. We will have to strip some things down and use our existing resources, like our parents and alumni, to help us build. We’ve had a lot of outreach so far from the community and look forward to continuing with that.” 

Not many major decisions have been made regarding filling out his coaching staff as of this moment. However, one large decision Throop has made is to retain Matt Finley as the assistant coach. Finley and Throop share a long history. When Finley was in high school, Throop served as one of his coaches. Since then, the two have shared the pool deck as coaches. 

“Me and Matt have good continuity. He has had the opportunity to be around this current group of players. He is a big asset to have,” commented Throop. “We are also bringing in, potentially, one or two former alumni to help build that sense of community and, again, tap into those resources.”  

Over the past five or more seasons, the Coronado High School boys’ and girls’ water polo teams have seen success, with both programs winning CIF DI titles as recently as 2023. However, the goal for many in and around water polo is to once again start making regular appearances and runs in the CIF Open Division bracket. 

For Throop, the goal is to get there once again. But he knows it’s a process that will require that aforementioned patience.

“In that regard, it’s about building the individual foundations of the technique that you can apply on a tactical level and also putting yourself to the grindstone of playing and competing against those top teams,” said Throop. 

“Then, on the micro view, it’s what we can do today to get better than we were yesterday. It’s not an easy task; it will take some time. But I am convinced, by creating the right kind of community and expectations, that both teams will have the opportunity to grow into that role in the future. For this upcoming season, we’ll build off what was successful and refine the things that need improvement. While also adding some elements that raise the bar weekly and month by month.”

VOL. 115, NO. 25 – June 18, 2025

After completing the 400 meters as part of the men’s decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 11, Jaden Roskelley took a few moments to catch his breath. The BYU sophomore started talking to his coach under the tunnel leading out to the track when he felt a pat on his shoulder.

It was Washington State’s Parker Duskin, who had just completed the men’s 400 relay. Of all the events that took place during the four-day championship at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, it was quite the coincidence that these two athletes would wind up in the same spot together, even for a moment.

While competing for separate programs last weekend, the two graduated from Arlington High School a year apart — Roskelley in 2021, Duskin in 2022 — after competing for the Eagles track & field program. The pair would talk about competing for their dream schools, and eventually doing it on a national stage.

They each checked the first box a couple years ago, with Roskelley enrolling at BYU and Duskin at WSU. Last weekend they checked the second box, becoming the first pair of Arlington athletes to compete at the same national championship, much to the pride of Eagles coach Judd Hunter.

“That is a rarity,” Hunter said. “Even to have one make it, let alone two that graduated a year apart.”

With the strict rules and official proceedings of such an important meet, Roskelley and Duskin couldn’t talk to each other in that moment in the tunnel, but both were able to appreciate it. Duskin even texted Hunter a video of Roskelley completing his 400.

“It was definitely strange to see each other on such a big stage,” Roskelley said. “So many people around us and so many things going on when we came from such a— although Arlington isn’t that small, it had that small-town vibe.”

Duskin agreed it was weird in a good way. They managed to talk to each other after the meet about each other’s races, about what went right and what went wrong.

“We talked like we just never left,” Duskin said. “It’s really awesome, but it was just surreal for us, and no matter what, we still want to be champions and we still have that grind. So it’s almost like, job’s not finished.”

Duskin and the Cougars 400 relay placed 20th in the preliminaries with a time 39.41 seconds. It would ultimately be Duskin’s final race with the school he grew up wanting to compete for following Washington State’s decision to cut part of the track & field program to focus on a “distance-approach,” which was announced on Monday. Duskin, who competes in hurdle events as well as sprints, entered the transfer portal shortly after the news broke.

Meanwhile, Roskelley placed 19th in the decathlon despite entering the meet seeded fourth. In the long jump, he fouled his first two attempts, which forced him to take a more conservative approach in order to ensure he would be scored. His 7.02-meter jump (23-00.5) was more than a foot shorter than his personal record 7.75m (25-05.25).

Additionally, a stumble on the 110 hurdles slowed Roskelley down to a 15.97-second finish, last among the 20 finishers, costing him valuable placement and points.

“He’s just running, probably, his best race of his life,” Hunter said, recalling watching it on TV. “(He) nails — I can’t remember what number hurdle it was, maybe six, and almost bites it. Almost goes down, saves it, gets back and finishes. He still ran a (15.97) after almost falling down, but that’s tough. … That’s a difference of probably 100, 150 points right there.”

Roskelley excelled in other events, finishing second in the discus throw (150 feet), fifth in the javelin (184 feet, 1 inche) and tied for third in the high jump (6 feet, 8.25 inches), but ultimately the mishaps in two of his best events set up for a disappointing weekend in his eyes. He still turned it into a learning experience.

Following his trip on the hurdles, Roskelley realized he faced less pressure since placing high was more than likely off the table. He started to see better results in the subsequent events after focusing on each individual one rather than stressing about the points.

“It was so fun for me. … I was focusing on, you know, hitting my positions and doing the right thing in the event,” Roskelley said. “So that also was great. That was super cool to see, and I’m gonna carry that on to other meets, you know, focus on the event, not the overall score.”

Roskelley said he learns more in one track meet than he does over a few weeks of practice, and he credits Hunter for instilling the value of simplifying his focus to one thing at a time on each rep.

Going forward, Roskelley plans to focus on practicing higher quality reps and lowering his volume in order to maximize his progress while also staying fresher over the course of the season. Despite graduating high school in 2021, he just finished his sophomore season because he spent two years as a missionary in Ecuador before enrolling at BYU.

With his missionary work, Roskelley stayed moderately active but was unable to train, especially not at the level of a Division I athlete. He believed he didn’t return to the level of fitness he was at before the mission until halfway through this past season.

With two more years of eligibility left and this experience at nationals under his belt, Roskelley is excited to see his progress going forward. He plans to keep the bib from nationals on his locker throughout next season.

“It really is disappointing to do not as good as you know you can, because you’ve done it before,” Roskelley said. “So seeing that bib on my locker … for the rest of summer and next season is going to be a huge motivator.”

As for Duskin, once he finds a new team for his upcoming senior season, he hopes to return to nationals not just sprinting, but as a hurdler as well. He expects to train with Roskelley in Arlington at some point this summer, as both remain closely tied to Hunter and the Eagles program. Hunter introduced each of them to what is now their primary event — hurdles for Duskin and the decathlon for Roskelley — and the pair even returned last spring to speak to the current Arlington team at the time.

“I was just that kid at one point, right?” Duskin said. “I just walked in, I saw how amazing our track program is. … I was that kid who didn’t want to do hurdles at all, and now I’m doing it at the NCAA national meets, so it’s just, you never know what you’re going to get. I wanted to go out and talk to those guys and say, ‘Just give it your all. Listen to Coach (Hunter).’ I mean, we have such a successful program that we have set up in the Washington area.”

Hunter said their words for the Arlington team served as great motivation, and he noticed performances started to tick up as a result. As proud as he is for what the two are accomplishing now, he’s also proud of what they give back to the program.

“It’s just a great thing,” Hunter said. “To have two guys from the same high school that are really good friends, both competing at the Nationals.”