With Oregon now in the Big Ten, was there any doubt where the conference Track and Field Championships would be held?

Where else but the mecca of the nation, Hayward Field!

And the Ducks didn’t disappoint the hometown fans as the Men claimed the Big Ten title while the women finished as the runner-ups.

The men claimed the title Sunday, scoring in 13 of 21 events on its way to 110 points. With the weekend result, the men completed a sweep of the conference indoor and outdoor championships. Simeon Birnbaum capped the weekend with an individual victory at 5,000 meters.

On the women’s side, the Ducks won four titles Sunday and finished as the conference runner-up by just eight points behind top-ranked USC. Klaudia Kazimierska won the 800 meters, Silan Ayyildiz and Aaliyah McCormick completed their indoor-outdoor double at 5,000 meters and in the 100 hurdles, respectively, and Ryann Porter took the top spot in the triple jump, with Cassie Atkins finishing second.

The Track and Field National Championships, now less than a month away, will be held at, you guessed it, Hayward Field.

BOULDER – The Colorado volleyball team announced its nonconference schedule consisting of 11 matches on Tuesday, May 20. The Buffs will play 10 before their second season back in the Big 12 and one during conference play in October.
 
As with conference games, CU opens nonconference play on the road against Cleveland State at the Rumble in the Rockies tournament in Laramie, Wyo., on Aug. 29. The Buffs are 27-12 (.692) in season openers and 661-552 (.545) in matches all-time.
 

Before the season begins, the Buffs will host the annual Black & Gold Scrimmage on Aug. 23. Along with Cleveland State, Colorado will face Tulsa and host school Wyoming in the Rumble in the Rockies on Aug. 30 and 31, respectively. The following week, the Buffs will venture to Irvine, Calif., for the UCI/adidas Invitational to take on Fresno State (Sept. 4), Pennsylvania (Sept. 5) and host school UC Irvine (Sept. 6).
 
CU will return to Boulder to host a home tournament in Buffs Invitational the following week. The Buffs will compete against Arkansas (Sept. 12), Toledo (Sept. 13), and Denver (Sept. 14) to round out the preseason tournaments. CU will also host neutral matches in this tournament — Denver vs. Toledo (Sept. 12), Denver vs. Arkansas (Sept. 13) and Toledo vs. Arkansas (Sept. 14).
 

Matches before conference will wrap up with back-to-back games against Colorado’s nonconference in-state rival, Colorado State (Sept. 18 & 19). The first match will take place in Fort Collins, Colo., and both teams will return to the CU Events Center the following day for the Battle for the Golden Spike. The Buffs have one final nonconference match at the end of October at Northern Colorado (Oct. 28). CU will follow up later that week with a Big 12 match at home on Halloween against Baylor.
 
Fans can view the full nonconference schedule here and below. All times are in Mountain and matches in bold will take place at CU Events Center.
 
August
8/23     Black and Gold           3 p.m.
 
Rumble in the Rockies
8/29     vs. Cleveland State      1 p.m.
8/30     vs. Tulsa                      1 p.m.
8/31     at Wyoming                  1 p.m.
 
September
UCI/adidas Invitational
9/4       vs. Fresno State           4:30 p.m.
9/5       vs. UPenn                    5 p.m.
9/6       at UC Irvine                 6 p.m.
 
Buffs Invitational
9/12     Arkansas                    6 p.m.
9/13     Toledo                         6 p.m.
9/14     Denver                         2 p.m.
 
9/18     at CSU                         6 p.m.
9/19     CSU                             7 p.m.
 
October
10/28   at UNCo                       6 p.m.

 

Under ninth-year head coach Jesse Mahoney, Colorado finished the 2024 season 13-17 and went 6-12 against Big 12 opponents. After the conclusion of the regular season, sophomore OH Ana Burilovic was selected to the All-Big 12 Second Team, and sophomores DS/L Avery Bolles and OH Sydney Jordan were both named to the CSC Academic All-District Team. The Buffs registered five dominant sweeps in the 2024 season, including victories over Cincinnati (Nov. 9) and Kansas State on senior night (Nov. 27). CU also played in nine five-set matches in 2024, seeing victories over six teams and three five-set victories in a row in October – against Texas Tech on Oct. 5, at UCF on Oct. 13 and at Arizona on Oct. 16.

 

For more information on the Colorado volleyball team, please visit cubuffs.com/vb. Fans of the Buffs can follow @cubuffsvb on Instagram, X, and Facebook.

 

DAVIS, Calif. – Recruited from warmer, tropical climates, Chelsea Johnson and Georgia Daly have brought with them elite skills in the pool while representing their home countries on the highest levels of international competition.
 
That experience and level of knowledge has carried over to Schaal Aquatics Center and flirted through the ranks of their UC Davis women’s water polo teammates.
 
Johnson hails from Brisbane, Australia, while Daly calls Auckland, New Zealand home and the two Aggies have goals of playing for their respective countries under global lights this coming August at the 2025’s edition of the World Aquatics U20 Women’s Water Polo Championships, located in Salvador, Brazil.
 
It’s no surprise this pair have been called to action for their homeland teams. This season alone, these international athletes have numbered up some impressive stat lines. Johnson, the Aggies’ starting defender, has registered 26 goals, 32 assists, 42 steals, and drawn 35 exclusions across the in-season games. Daly, putting up big numbers as a freshman, has logged 24 goals, 32 drawn exclusions, and has made seven steals.
 
Johnson has been a part of great success in her home country of Australia, being crowned Queensland State Champion, Australian National Club Champion, a U18 and U20 Brisbane Championship winner, and she has competed in the Australian Youth Championships for multiple years.
 
In summer of 2024, she traveled with a U20 squad for a European tour in preparation for this year’s world championships with the Australian team.
 
“Even though it wasn’t the official world champs we played in, it was nice to travel with the girls I’ve been playing with my whole life” says Johnson. “It was nice to play against other teams and experiencing the European style of water polo.”
 
Known for a rougher, quicker sort of game where calls will not always go the way you want them to, “we had to adjust to fact you can’t play to the whistle; but to just get the ball in the back of the net.’
 
“Because the U19 at the time will be the U20 this year, the coaches thought it’d be good to start scouting the teams we’d play at champs, so it was good exposure to play the teams we could face this year” notes Johnson.
 
Daly was selected for the 2023 U20 traveling team with the Tūīs, named after a bird native only to the island of New Zealand. For years, Daly had been competing and moving up the ladder and just a mere eight months before the Portugal championships, she was called up to play in the U20 squad.
 
“When I had gotten that email, I was so grateful and excited to be going. Months before, I didn’t even think that I would be training with the group at all” says Daly. However, Daly was called to action after the main center drew out of the roster due to injury, making Georgia the official 15th member of the national team.
 
“That all happened within three days, it was a weird getting all these emails with massive news. It was also my first time representing New Zealand, so it was nerve-wracking, but I was mainly excited for the opportunity to play.”
 
She still recalls the electric game against Canada, where the New Zealand team crossed the threshold to become part of the top eight competitors in the tournament.
 
It’s undeniable that they have brought their foreign expertise to the small California town, eager to share their knowledge and elite experience to the pool deck every day. “In Australia, we had a chat about what it meant to be a Stinger and legacy we want to leave.
 
“Showing leadership, emphasizing nutrition, leading by example, and leaning into different styles of play is important. Even though we all play the same game, it ultimately differs from country to country and there’s so much to learn.”
 
Making the Aggies and the Stingers proud, Johnson filled big shoes and started at defender for the Aggies all season in just her second year.
 
Daly credits the national team for teaching her resiliency. “It showed me how much hard work pays off, and I don’t think I would have been pulled up to the squad if I didn’t stay motivated and chose to go extra mile every day.
 
“It also made me really appreciate my coaches and family and showed me how much I love this sport and how great it is to represent my country.”
 
Johnson looks forward to the final selection camp in June, where the Stingers will solidify their final team for the U20 tournament in Brazil. Meanwhile, Daly will head back to New Zealand in May for her final selection camp to be part of the recently rebranded New Zealand White Caps, paying homage to the peaks of the waves surrounding their country.
 
The pair of internationally experienced Aggies have also gained priceless experience from what Davis has offered them for them to carry into this summer’s stretch of competition and on to the international stage.
 
This story is an example of UC Davis Athletics’ commitment to the Ignite Strategic Plan Pillar of “Competitive Excellence” by recruiting and developing high performing student-athletes on the international stage. Read more about our strategic plan here; IGNITE.

In just over a year, Triton College sophomore Ava Connerty of Riverside has seen her track and field fortunes change drastically. They did so the same way for the finals of the women’s 100-meter high hurdles at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Championships May 10 in Utica, N.Y. after a disappointing fourth-place preliminary finish in cold and gloomy conditions May 8.

“(Finals) was such a nice day. It was warm. It was sunny. I just had a different mindset,” Connerty said. “I was so confident, just in the right headspace that day. I knew I would do good and I did.” 

Connerty captured the national title with a huge lifetime-best of 15.24 seconds to become the first women’s track and field national champion in Triton history. In 2024, Connerty was second at nationals after joining the team mid-season.

WELCOME BACK. THANKS FOR STICKING WITH US. THE SUMMER OLYMPICS ARE RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER. AND HERE TO TELL US MORE IS PRESIDENT AND CEO OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS NEBRASKA, CAROLYN CHAMBERLAIN. CAROLYN, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AT NOON. WELL, THIS IS EXCITING. YOU JUST MADE ME AWARE THAT SPECIAL OLYMPICS START WEDNESDAY HERE IN THE METRO. YES. OUR ANNUAL SUMMER GAMES KICK OFF ON WEDNESDAY AND WILL BE COMPETING THROUGH SATURDAY. OVER 700 ATHLETES. FOUR DAY EVENT. TAKE US THROUGH SOME OF THE EVENTS THAT WILL BE STARTING WEDNESDAY. YEAH, WE HAVE ATHLETES AND PARTICIPANTS COMING FROM ALL OVER THE STATE AND THEY WILL ARRIVE AT CREIGHTON ON WEDNESDAY, AND THEY’LL BE WELCOMED WITH A BARBECUE. AND THEN WE WASTE NO TIME. VOLLEYBALL STARTS THAT NIGHT. NICE. AND THE NEXT MORNING, SWIMMING ALL DAY. AND THURSDAY EVENING OUR OPENING CEREMONIES, WHICH IS A NIGHT OF ENTERTAINMENT FOR OUR ATHLETES IN THE COMMUNITY. OH I BET. YEAH. AND THEN FRIDAY. OTHER FIELD EVENTS. WE HAVE A HEALTH SCREENING ALL DAY FRIDAY AND THEN SATURDAY TRACK ALL DAY. WE CLOSE WITH A FORMAL SIT DOWN BANQUET AND CLOSING CEREMONIES AND A DANCE, AND THEN EVERYBODY GOES BACK HOME ON SUNDAY. CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH THE THE EMOTIONS YOU SEE FROM THE ATHLETES BEING ABLE TO COMPETE, JUST LIKE AT THE WORLD STAGE, ALL THE ENERGY AROUND WHAT IT MEANS TO THEM? YEAH. OUR ATHLETES TRAIN HARD ALL YEAR. A LOT OF THE SPORTS THAT YOU’LL SEE IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS, THEY HAVE TO QUALIFY FOR, SO THEY COMPETE ON THE LOCAL LEVEL AND THEN QUALIFY TO COME TO STATE. THIS WOULD BE CONSIDERED A STATE COMPETITION. BUT IT’S IT’S REALLY POWERFUL TO SEE OUR ATHLETES BE CELEBRATED FOR WHO THEY ARE AND EARNING THEIR SPOT. WE DON’T JUST GIVE THIS AWAY, THEY HAVE TO EARN IT. AND THE BEAUTIFUL PART IS THAT IT GIVES OUR ATHLETES A CHANCE TO SHINE AND TO TRAIN, TO SET GOALS, TO HIT A PERSONAL BEST RIGHT, AND TO BE CELEBRATED FOR THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS. I LOVE IT, AND A FOUR DAY EVENT LIKE THIS CANNOT GO ON WITHOUT ALL THE VOLUNTEERS. I’M SURE YOU HAVE AND STILL OPPORTUNITIES FOR OTHERS TO COME OUT AND VOLUNTEER. IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH, THIS EVENT TAKES A LOT OF VOLUNTEERS, AND IF YOU HAVEN’T SIGNED UP, YOU STILL CAN AT OUR WEBSITE, WHICH IS S O E DOT. THERE’S A LITTLE BUTTON THAT SAYS GET INVOLVED. IF YOU CLICK THAT, IT’LL GIVE YOU WAYS TO SIGN UP. OH THAT’S PERFECT. CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH AS A VOLUNTEER FOR THESE VOLUNTEERS, WHAT IT MEANS TO THEM, THE REWARDS OF BEING ABLE TO HELP THESE ATHLETES COMPETE. SEE THEM TRIUMPH, AND WHAT THEY GET OUT OF IT, BECAUSE I’M SURE IT’S JUST AS REWARDING AS THE ATHLETES. YEAH, THE FEEDBACK I GET FROM OUR VOLUNTEERS IS OFTEN I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO GO THERE AND HELP. I THOUGHT I WAS GIVING, AND WHEN I LEFT, I REALIZED I WAS FED. I REALIZED I RECEIVED FAR MORE THAN I GAVE, AND WE HAVE SO MANY RETURNING VOLUNTEERS BECAUSE IT’S SUCH A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE. ABSOLUTELY. THAT’S WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT. HOW ELSE CAN PEOPLE GET INVOLVED? MAYBE THEY CAN’T VOLUNTEER. CAN THEY COME AND WATCH AND PARTAKE IN SOME OF THE EVENTS AND SEEING AND CELEBRATING THESE ATHLETES? YEAH, ALL OF OUR EVENTS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. WE DON’T CHARGE FOR ADMISSION. SO IF YOU WANT TO JUST COME BE A FAN FOR A COUPLE HOURS, YOU ARE WELCOME TO COME DO THAT. IT’S A COME TO OPENING CEREMONIES. IT’S OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. WE HAVE. LEMON FRESH DAY, LOCAL LOCAL ARTISTS ENTERTAINING. WE HAVE ALL-STAR STUNT DOGS, WHICH WILL BE PART OF THE SHOW. SO IT’S A GREAT WAY TO CELEBRATE SOMETHING AMAZING IN THE COMMUNITY IN OMAHA TO SUCH A GREAT PART IN SUPPORTING THIS. I LOVE TO HEAR IT.