EUGENE, OR – UMBC junior thrower losif Papa finished 17th in the county in the discus to earn All-American honorable mention accolades at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Friday afternoon in Eugene, Oregon.

Papa just missed earning All-American honors (top 16) as he recorded a throw of 56.98 meters (186-11). Papa’s top throw came in the second round. Maxwell Otterdahl (Nebraska) just edged Papa for the final All-America slot with a toss of 57.07 meters (187-3).

Papa punched his ticket for the event after placing ninth at the 2025 NCAA East Regionals in late May.  Papa’s launch of 58.02 meters (190-4) on his third attempt provided the Nicosia, Cyprus native with his first trip to the national meet. Papa turned in the top performance in his flight, and he came up just shy of his school record.

Papa came into the regionals ranked 13th in the east with a school record throw of 59.12 meters (193’11), which occurred at the Maryland Invitational. He won the 2025 America East Championship (56.65 meters, 185’10) and then took the gold medal in the event (54.38 meters, 178-05) at the IC4A meet.

Results

UNIVERSITY PARK — Wedged into a room in the depths of Penn State University’s Rec Hall on Saturday, members of the Manheim Central boys volleyball team fielded questions and traded answers from various media outlets.

Players fist-bumped after providing statements. They shared similar testaments. The Barons stuck to descriptors like “together,” “redemption” and “revenge.”

It was fitting, a spitting image of the performance they put on the floor in the PIAA Class 2A championship match.

“There’s nothing these guys would rather do than spend time together,” Barons coach Craig Dietrich said. “Not every team is like that.”

Manheim Central blitzed District 10 champion Meadville 3-1 — by scores of 21-25, 25-23, 25-16 and 27-25 — to hoist its first PIAA title in program history. The District Three kings also avenged a 3-1 setback to the Bulldogs from the 2024 state final.

Meadville was seeking its fourth crown. The Barons (24-1), along with last spring’s loss, dropped the 2018 title tilt to Northeastern.

“The outcome today is something we’ve dreamed of,” Dietrich said. “These guys have kept it one match at a time all year long and have not jumped ahead. I’m so proud of these guys and the effort they’ve put in, and just being able to represent the town of Manheim is really special.”

The Barons had a feeling history could’ve been written even before they touched the floor. But when Saturday’s second set came into view, the winning picture became clear.

Meadville (19-1) raced to advantages of 6-1 and 8-4 and placed the acting visitors on their toes. Then Central’s fortune flipped, as the Barons attacked for a 5-0 spree and forged a 12-11 lead, its first edge since the first point.

Landon Mattiace began carving and cutting through the Bulldogs’ defense during the stretch. The senior pounded five of his 16 kills in Game Two and pocketed one of his three aces. Blake Neiles, Mattiace’s counterpart in the middle, thumped seven additional kills.

“It’s a pleasure setting them,” said setter Dylan Musser, who teed up 43 assists. “Any time I set them, they put the ball away. They’re always trustful. With Landon, you just throw the ball high, and you’re almost guaranteed a kill. Blake, he’s always gonna be there.”

The dynamic duo wasn’t contained to the offensive side of the net. Penn State recruit and Team USA product Luc Soerensen, standing a towering 6-foot-8, was Mattiace and Neiles’ defensive assignment.

Soerensen still bludgeoned the Barons for 16 kills. He was an equal sore on defense, swatting four blocks. But outside of the Bulldogs’ weapon, the defending champs scraped 12 kills from Parker Gosnell and 10 from Tymir Phillips, a supporting cast Central could handle.

“As the season wore on, when we got to leagues and districts,” Dietrich said, “it was the Neiles and Mattiace show at times. They really set the table for us. Blocking was really good throughout districts, throughout states, and it makes a big difference when you have two guys like that.”

The plus for Central and the downfall for Meadville: depth was at the ready. And once the accelerator was pressed, there was no letting off.

Reagan Miller had 13 kills, which included a behind-the-head prayer, to help drive the commanding Game Three victory. Weston Longenecker was the stabilizer of the bunch, producing six markers, with two drawing 10- and 20-all results in Game Four.

“I think we do a good job between all four of us, five of us, (six of us) seniors, getting messages around,” Miller said. “I think we’re all on the same page. We all kind of have the same messages. It’s just different people articulating it.

“So in that fourth set, the message was, ‘We’re not comfortable.’ ”

While not comfortable, Central was confident. Like how they were side by side, packed in tight in the post-match presser, the Barons wedged out of each sticky situation in Saturday’s proceedings.

Together. With redemption. With revenge.

“We’re going to enjoy this,” Miller said. “… It’s a special group of boys and wouldn’t want to do it with anybody else.”

EUGENE, Ore. – The Samford track and field program competed on the national stage this week as Bradley Franklin made it to the NCAA Championship in the 100-meter hurdles. Franklin finishes his NCAA season 15th in the nation, missing out on the finals by six spots.

The Bulldog freshman ran in heat two of three heats at the championship. He finished sixth overall in the fastest heat of the three, with a time of 13.57 seconds. The top two finishers from each heat and the next three fastest times qualified for the finals which were run tonight. Franklin was one of just two freshmen who made it to the NCAA championship event and his finish marks the highest for the Bulldogs in the 110m hurdles.

Franklin won the indoor Southern Conference championship in the 60-meter hurdles and qualified for nationals. He broke the school and SoCon record as he won the SoCon 110-meter hurdles title and ran a time of 13.46 at the East Region to qualify for the outdoor championship.

He will be back in action on July 31 when he returns to Eugene to compete in the USA Outdoor Championship.

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For the latest news and information on Samford Track and Field, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordSports (Facebook), @SamfordXC_TF (Twitter), and @samfordxctf (Instagram).

BUTTE — Montana Tech’s volleyball team wrapped up a busy week of camps on Friday.

After several stops on the eastern side of the state earlier this week, the Orediggers returned home to host a two-day camp for high school players that gave Tech an opportunity to see the game from a different vantage point.

“I think it helps a lot with how I talk to my teammates,” said junior setter Rhys Layton. “I know someone’s gonna take this piece of advice a lot of better if I’m saying something in this way versus this way. And then I think it helps with understanding why people do what they do.”

Watch the video here:

Montana Tech volleyball camp gives Orediggers a different view of the game

“It’s one thing to learn it and hear it and it’s another to teach it,” said Tech head coach Brian Solomon. “And I think it’s a great chance for them to see some of the keys that we use. And as you teach them it really reaffirms what we’re working toward as a program.”

The Orediggers, who will be looking to advance to the national tournament final site for the third straight season in 2025, open the preseason at home on Aug. 21 as they host the Big Sky Volleyball Challenge.

The start of the World Championship was not good for young Montenegrin water polo players. Our U20 selection opened the planetary championship in Zagreb with a convincing defeat to Hungary – it was 18:10.

The question of the winner was not raised since halftime, as the Hungarians, with a furious game in the second half of the second quarter, escaped to an unattainable 11:5…

The opening half was goal for goal, with Montenegro taking the lead through Srđan Janović in a man-up attack. It was then 2:1 and 3:2 for Aleksandar Aleksić’s team, who allowed their rival to take a 3:0 series to reach plus two (5:3).

Janović later reduced the score to 5:4 and it was the last moment in which our national team was in the game, as Hungary reached a 10:4 lead in three and a half minutes. The rival had the biggest advantage with three and a half minutes left in the match, when they took a 17:8 lead.

Janović and Danilo Stupar were the most efficient in the Montenegrin team with three goals each, Milan Nikaljević scored two, and Ilija Kojičić and Nikola Petrović scored one each. The best individual for the Hungarians was Oliver Lejnweber with five goals.

On Sunday (19 pm), Montenegro will face a new derby against host Croatia, and on Monday (17.30:XNUMX pm) a match against the United States of America.

Montenegro is in Group A, while four teams make up Group B – Greece, Serbia, Italy and Spain. The other 12 national teams are divided into four groups of three teams each.

From Groups A and B, all teams advance – the top two teams from each group advance directly to the quarterfinals, while the third- and fourth-place teams will play for a place among the top eight with teams from Groups C, D, E and F.

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