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Mykolas Alekna, one of the best athletes in Cal history, closed out his Golden Bear career Friday with a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

T&F6/13/2025 8:52 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Two-Time World Medalist Battles In Clash Of Olympians

EUGENE, Ore. – Coming into day three of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, just one man from California track & field had yet to compete: discus world record-holder Mykolas Alekna, who hoped to follow up second- and third-place finishes at his first two NCAA Championships with a title for the Golden Bears. All knew nothing would come easy, however, as his main opponent in the ring was the No. 2 discus thrower in the history of the NCAA: Oklahoma’s Ralford Mullings, who had posted a best mark of 69.13m (226-9) in March at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays and, like Alekna, was a finalist at the 2024 Olympic Games.
 
Competing third in the initial order, Alekna took an early lead with a first-round throw of 66.44m (218-0), while Mullings’ first throw came off his hand short and wobbly; the reverse happened in the second round, as the Cal graduate took an intentional foul while Mullings moved into second place with a throw of 65.92 (216-3). The Jamaican native then took the lead for good in the third round after another Alekna foul, the discus finally falling at 67.70m (222-1) to break a 33-year-old meet record.
 
The next three throws featured multiple personal bests in a battle for third place, prompting several cries of admiration from the crowd. USC’s Racquil Broderick, who was one of just two men to qualify from the first flight, unleashed a throw of 63.31m (207-8) in round five, after which Virginia Tech’s Uladzislau Puchko responded with a 63.94m (209-9) to surge ahead. Neither of them ultimately challenged for the top two spots, which came down, as billed, to Alekna and Mullings: Alekna’s fourth throw sailed farther than any of his previous attempts but was ultimately ruled foul, while his fifth throw improved his mark to 66.77m (219-0).
 
Alekna’s sixth throw crashed into the right side of the cage, ricocheting off the pole with a resounding clong. Mullings, his victory assured, then launched a personal-best rocket of 69.31m (227-4) for the final exclamation point.
 
In addition to becoming the first man in world history to surpass the 75-meter mark in the discus as well as a three-time top-three NCAA finisher, Alekna’s outstanding career at Cal includes an Olympic silver medal, two World medals, and two European medals; his 2022 gold in the latter made him the youngest European champion in history at just 19 years old, while his silver at the 2022 World Championships enshrined him as the youngest world medalist in history. He appeared on The Bowerman Watch List 23 times – the most by any thrower in the history of the award and third-most among all men – and broke eight facility records and 10 meet records throughout his four years as a collegian to cement himself as one of the greatest throwers of all time.
 
2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships – Day Two Results
Men’s Discus Final – 2. Mykolas Alekna 66.77m/219-0
 
 
UP NEXT
Olympic discus thrower Caisa-Marie Lindfors will close out Cal’s outing at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, competing in Flight Two of the women’s discus Saturday. The event is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. PT.
 
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WESTWOOD – The Needham boys volleyball team started Friday night firing on all cylinders on a stage the program – making its fifth straight Div. 1 state final appearance – is quite used to.

But Brookline, in its first trip since it last won a state championship in 1992, wouldn’t be denied of the ultimate glory any longer.

Anchored by junior setter Alec Smagula (49 assists, four blocks, three kills) and senior outside hitter Kris Vaivars (27 kills), the top-seeded Warriors (25-1) shook off a rocky start to end a 33-year title drought with a 3-1 win (20-25, 27-25, 25-22, 25-15) over the No. 3 Rockets in a Div. 1 state final that lived up to its billing.

Resilience and late-game composure were staples for Brookline all year, so it was fitting for its first lead of the match to come in extra points of the second set, and for that to spark wins over the next two frames inside a jam-packed Xaverian High School.

“Right now, it’s surreal,” Vaivars said. “That fourth set, the emotions – it was crazy. This is something I worked for for my whole high school career. Coming close, going to the semifinals (in 2023), quarters (last year), for it to finally come true in my senior year … it’s amazing.”

Not much could go wrong for Needham early in each of the first two sets, twice taking a 6-1 lead.

Outside hitters Matt Cloonan (14 kills) and Will Rozman (12 kills) got off to hot starts, pairing with stellar blocking and passing to keep the Warriors at a safe distance for all of a 25-20 first set. Countless intense battles at the net and high-intensity defense filled every frame, but Needham’s efforts prevailed more consistently.

Much of the same success continued in the second, though Brookline punched back with a few big runs to tie the score at 9-9, and then at 18-18. Smagula and Vaivars played central parts, but the all-around contributions from right-side Conor Christopher (nine kills, block), middles Luka Gallucci (three kills, three blocks) and Liam Raybould (five kills, three blocks), and outside hitter Amir Tomer (nine kills, two blocks) were critical.

First-year head coach Lexi De La Cruz couldn’t say enough about the spark off the bench either, as junior Sebi Levi had some good passes and sophomore Jacob Lam eventually took over the libero role after the second set.

“Jacob Lam, the 10-grader that just came in to the libero – at this stage – it was amazing,” De La Cruz said. “He didn’t play the whole season. … He was a key factor.”

Side-out volleyball followed from there, and Needham twice had set-point lined up. Service errors on both extended it, and Smagula’s assist to Tomer paired with his ensuing block to even up the match.

“We knew we had no choice,” Vaivars said. “We had to come out, we’re playing for our lives, we’re playing for our careers. We knew that we were a better team, so we just locked in and did it.”

“(Needham) came out strong, I was expecting that,” De La Cruz added. “My team kept fighting. … The job was done in the second set. We were down 24-23. If we don’t win that set, we don’t win the match.”

Will McDonald, Cloonan, Rozman and the defense kept the rock-fight going in the third set for Needham, but Vaivars erupted in pockets to separate the Warriors for a lead as large as 17-11. The Rockets clawed back, but the Vaivars’ ninth and 10th kills of the set secured a 25-22 win and a 2-1 lead.

“I knew we had to win that third set,” Vaivars said. “I knew the ball was coming to me. I knew what I had to do.”

What can’t be lost from the set, though, was the three-year starter who assisted Vaivars all 10 times – as well as Christopher’s four kills in the span.

“(Smagula), for me, was the MVP of the day,” De La Cruz said. “He was really smart on the way to use his best weapon. He used his best weapon when he needed it, and when he opened the game – just like the last set – everyone was scoring. He had a game plan, he stuck with it, and today, for me, he was the best player on the court.”

Brookline took off from there, using a 13-3 run to build a 20-9 lead in the deciding fourth set.

LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego women’s water polo standout Holly Roberts has been selected to play for the New Zealand Women’s U20 National Team that will compete at the 2025 World Aquatics Women’s U20 Women’s Water Polo Championships. 

Roberts is one of 14 players from New Zealand that will travel to the event, which is scheduled for August 10-16 in Salvador, Brazil.

She recently wrapped her first season as a Triton, which culminated in her earning a spot on the Big West All-Freshman Team.

Roberts was one of seven UC San Diego players that saw action in all 31 games. The center finished with 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points. Her assist total was the fifth-highest on the team. Defensively, Roberts recorded five field blocks and 17 steals, which ranked tied for second and eighth, respectively, on the roster. She netted a season-high four goals against No. 14 Michigan and rang up four points with a goal and three assists versus No. 4 California.

Hailing from Auckland, Roberts joined fellow Kiwi Lucia Doak on the Triton roster in 2025.

Roberts competed for Baradene College of the Sacred Heart in high school.

UC San Diego, which climbed to a No. 9 national ranking, finished its campaign with a 17-14 overall record and a 4-3 mark in Big West play. The Tritons served as the fourth seed in the Big West Championship, where they defeated fifth-seeded UC Santa Barbara in a quarterfinal before falling to top-seeded Hawai’i in a semifinal.

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About UC San Diego Athletics

After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world’s preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.

 

EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 13 Texas men’s track and field team was led by Kody Blackwood’s third-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field. Texas finished 34th in the team standings scoring nine points.

Blackwood scored six team points with his third-place finish in the 400mH and finished with a personal best time of 48.66. The junior’s time is the 12^th-fastest time in school history and improved his spot at No. 3 on UT’s All-Time Performer List.

Sophomore Xavier Butler was seventh in the 200-meter dash finishing with a time of 20.39 and scored two team points. Butler finished the season as the program record holder with his time of 20.02.

The 4×100-meter relay of Kendrick Smallwood, John Rutledge, Almond Small and Butler were eighth finishing in 39.10. The quartet earned USTFCCCA First Team All-America honors for the finish. It marks back-to-back seasons the Longhorns earned First Team honors.

Sophomore Osawese Agbonkonkon reached his first NCAA Championships in the high jump and finished tied for 19^th after clearing 2.10m (6-10.75) on his second attempt. Kelsey Daniel joined Agbonkonkon as the lone field participants taking on the triple jump and finished 12^th with a jump of 15.53m (50-11.50).

Texas Scorers:

Nina Ndubuisi – Shot Put – 3^rd (6 pts)

Kody Blackwood – 400mH – 3^rd (6 pts)

Aaliyah Foster – Long Jump – 7^th (2 pts)

Xavier Butler – 200m – 7^th (2 pts)

Kendrick Smallwood, John Rutledge, Almond Small, Xavier Butler – 4×100 – 8^th (1 pt)

All-America Honors:

Nina Ndubuisi – Shot Put – 3^rd – First Team

Aaliyah Foster – Long Jump – 7^th – First Team

Xavier Butler – 200m – 7^th – First Team

Kendrick Smallwood, John Rutledge, Almond Small, Xavier Butler – 4×100 – 8^th – First Team

Chrystal Herpin – Shot Put – 11^th – Second Team

Kelsey Daniel – Triple Jump – 12^th – Second Team

Mackenzie Collins – 400mH – 17^th – Honorable Mention

Osawese Agbonkonkon – High Jump – T-19^th – Honorable Mention

Holly Okuku – 200m – 21^st – Honorable Mention

BILLINGS — Inside the red-accented gymnasium of Lockwood High School, Team Blue found a way to win Friday night’s Montana All Star Volleyball Classic 3-1 over the Red squad.

Watch the video below to see Friday’s all-star action:

Blue powers past Red in Montana All-Star Volleyball Classic, 3-1

Kansas State commit Cadence Lundgren of Bozeman Gallatin led everybody with 19 kills while Addie Falls Down of Billings Senior served up 20 assists, helping lead the Blue team to the four-set win, 25-22, 20-25, 25-14, 25-20.

Avaree Thompson of Billings Senior and Juliana McFarland of Belgrade each finished with nine digs.

Greg Rachac / MTN Sports

Helena High graduate Birdie Heuiser led the Red team with 17 kills. Teammate Lauren Fox of Bozeman High led everybody in assists with 33. Red outlasted Blue in digs 71-54, though roles reversed in assists with Blue delivering 43 to Red’s 34, and kills 48 to 36.

Greg Rachac / MTN Sports

All 18 players chosen for the Midland Roundtable’s fourth annual all-star match have signed to play collegiately.