COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Lucy Milliner delivered yet another school record performance, this time on the national stage setting the program 800m record to highlight day one of the NCAA First Round Thursday.
 
Milliner broke the program record with a time of 2:06.41, narrowly coming out ahead of the previous best set by Kelly Young in 2005 (2:06.53). The freshman came just .23 seconds away from advancing to the quarterfinals of the event on time, but now holds the UH records at both 800m and 1500m outdoors, and in the mile indoors.
 
Lilian Turban started off the day for the Rainbow Wahine in the javelin, coming in 40th with a toss of 43.30m (142-1). The Big West champion in the event will next compete in the high jump Saturday – an event in which she also took home the conference crown and was an All-American in 2023.
 
In her first appearance at an NCAA event, Helen Hoadley capped off her incredible UH career by finishing 35th in the pole vault with a mark of 4.02m (13-2.25). Hoadley ends her career as the Hawai’i record holder in the pole vault both indoors and outdoors.
 
Two Rainbow Wahine athletes will be in action Saturday at the NCAA First Round, with Tara Wyllie looking to advance to the NCAA Championships in the triple jump beginning at 9:30 a.m. HT and Turban looking to move on in the high jump starting at 10:30 a.m. HT.
 

SCRANTON – Holy Redeemer hadn’t faced much adversity during a dominant run to the District 2 Class 2A championship final.

The top-seeded Royals, the Wyoming Valley Conference champions, overwhelmed their opponents, losing only one set in 18 matches.

However, in the title showdown against No. 2 Crestwood, the fifth-ranked Class 2A team in the state, according to the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association, got stung. The spirited Comets built a tidal wave of momentum and took the early lead.

Josh Rocha, the dynamic, hard-hitting senior, and his Holy Redeemer teammates would not be derailed. The Royals recovered, responded, and triumphed in a 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-14) win on Thursday night at Scranton High School to claim the team plaque and gold medals.

Holy Redeemer (19-0), which won its first title since 2021, will play the third-place team from District 12 on June 3. Crestwood (14-4), which gave a valiant effort, also qualified for the PIAA tournament and will play District 11 champion Southern Lehigh in the first round.

“This is awesome,” Rocha said. “It is my senior year and my last time playing with the boys. We knew that we just had to play together as a team, and we could come out with the win.”

Holy Redeemer, while showing its tenacity and ability to respond to pressure, turned to Rocha and a more intense attention to defense to win three straight sets.

Rocha’s ability to bounce off the floor and elevate is accentuated by a powerful swing. He slammed 52 kills that pushed his eye-popping total to 896 this season.

Jack Wasiakowski gave the Royals energy.

Even as they had to navigate through a frustrating first set, he continued to encourage them. He helped launch Rocha’s attack with a series of well-placed sets that led to 49 assists.

“They came out strong in that first set, and we were a little bit frazzled,” Wasiakowski said. “I think we figured things out, and we played the kind of ball that we have been working on all year.

“It really goes to show how deep this team is, and when our backs are against the wall, we play our best.”

Defensively, Holy Redeemer clawed its way back by thwarting more threats by Crestwood. Rocha had 10 digs, and Wasiakowski and Max Mohutsky each had eight.

Hayden Fleegle contributed 14 service points, and Mohutsky had 10 for the Royals. Brandan Delbalso and Korey Tang each had four blocks.

“This shows that we are resilient and that we play as a team,” Rocha said.

Crestwood, which suffered a 3-0 loss to Holy Redeemer during the regular season, got off to a good start with Thomas McLaughlin and JJ Stec slamming home winners.

After falling behind, 6-1, in the second set, the Comets fought their way back into the match, pulled even with Holy Redeemer at 15-15, and took a lead of 21-20 before falling, 25-23. Crestwood went toe-to-toe with the Royals again in the third set and had an 18-16 lead late, but couldn’t hold off Rocha, who carried the momentum to a fourth-set win where he had 12 kills.

“We watched a lot of film and got a handle on where Josh liked to hit, and I think that helped us come out with a win in that first set,” Crestwood coach Jeff Stec said. “Josh adjusted, but we kept fighting. We never stopped playing, and I have no regrets with how we played.”

Originally Published: May 29, 2025 at 11:05 PM EDT

Florida Volleyball gained their fifth offseason addition in international player Milica Vidačić on Wednesday.

Welcome to the Gator family, Milica

https://t.co/Xij817Ys2z#GoGators pic.twitter.com/0mEGpm1BEI

— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) May 28, 2025

Milica Vidacic

The 6’4 freshman opposite hitter has multiple honors to her name: MVP of the 2024 Serbian Junior Championships, MVP and best scorer at the Serbian National Championships. Vidacic scored 42 points in seven games at the 2023  FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U19 World Championship. She is the first international player that the Gators have recruited this offseason.

She is an important addition to the Florida team that lost senior outside hitters AC Fitzpatrick and Isabel Martin as well as Kennedy Martin, who transferred to Penn State.

International Tour

The Gators wrap up their near two-week international tour Thursday. Florida’s volleyball team has travelled to three countries, Turkey, Slovenia, and Italy, and has played several games while they have been away. The Gators played two games against both the Italian National B Team and OTP Banka Brank, a Slovenian professional volleyball team.

The international tour was set up as a way for players and staff to bond while also getting exposure to competition in the offseason. Not only has Florida volleyball welcomed new players this offseason, but they have welcomed new coaches. Head coach Ryan Theis joins the Gators after long-time head coach Mary Wise announced her retirement in February. This will be the first season that Wise has not coached the Gators since 1990.

Views & volleyball #GoGators pic.twitter.com/IhIgtZLbCT

— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) May 28, 2025

Next Up

The Gators’ season opener is scheduled for Aug. 22 against Stanford University at the AVCA First Serve Tournament in Lincoln, NE.

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The new chief executive of Stellantis Antonio Filosa “learned at the knee” of Sergio Marchionne, the legendary automotive leader who saved Italy’s Fiat from bankruptcy during the mid-2000s. 

The 51-year-old protégé will need those teachings more than ever as he seeks to revive the fortunes of the world’s fourth-largest carmaker navigating Donald Trump’s trade war and the industry’s shift to electric vehicles.

The Naples native inherits a sprawling group of 14 brands — which was formed in 2021 from the merger of France’s PSA and Italy’s Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The company suffered a 70 per cent drop in net profit last year, burned through €6bn in cash and is yet to rebuild its position in the US, its most profitable market.

“As Mr Sergio Marchionne would say: ‘Mediocrity is not worth the trip.’ Let’s win this one together!,” Filosa wrote on social media hours after being named CEO.

Filosa was chosen from several internal and external candidates following a six-month search that began after his predecessor Carlos Tavares abruptly resigned in December on the back of declining sales and profits. 

Appointed by Tavares to oversee the group’s operations in North America in October, the former head of the Jeep brand was given additional responsibilities to manage the larger Americas region.

During the interim period led by chair John Elkann, Filosa also took on the role of chief quality officer while also becoming heavily involved in tariff negotiations with the Trump administration as the board tested his leadership capabilities. 

“He has shown that he could do it,” one person close to Filosa said. He has learned from Marchionne that “to run the company properly, you need to be close to your people and you need to be on the ground”. 

People close to the company say Filosa will continue efforts started by Elkann to repair strained relations between the carmaker under Tavares and governments in Italy and France as well as dealers, suppliers and unions.

In a memo to employees on Wednesday, Filosa also said he would focus on further strengthening “the bonds and trust we have with our partners”.

Those who have worked with him describe a man who is focused and energetic. A longtime water polo player, Filosa celebrated his 50th birthday by swimming across the Strait of Messina between Sicily and Calabria, known for its strong currents.

“He’s not a soft guy by any stretch,” said another person who has worked closely with Filosa. “He can be tough as nails.” 

Filosa joined Fiat in 1999 and rose through the ranks from a paint shop quality supervisor at a plant in Spain. He is best known for his roles in Latin America, a key region that maintains high profitability despite the group’s struggles in the US and Europe.

The auto executive brings a deep understanding of the US market but Bernstein analysts warned that “there is a lot that still needs to be done” to rebuild trust with the company’s dealers. 

Tom Narayan, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said pricing of the group’s vehicles in the US also remained “far above historical levels”.

He added: “With the US tariff situation a key concern near term, we could envision a scenario where the new management team resets expectations lower.” The company last month withdrew its guidance for the year citing tariff uncertainty.

The board led by Elkann also looked at strong industry candidates such as Hyundai’s global chief executive José Muñoz and Mike Manley, the former Jeep boss and now the CEO of car retailer AutoNation, as well as a non-auto industry executive.

It concluded that a strong internal candidate was better suited to tackle the challenging industry environment than an outsider who could be too disruptive during a period of deep uncertainty, according to one person close to the process.

“Antonio is a proven leader who brings a hands-on approach to his work, and he believes strongly in the power of collaboration and teamwork,” Elkann wrote in a memo to employees. 

The Peugeot family group, Stellantis’s second-largest shareholder through its investment vehicle Peugeot 1810, also praised Filosa’s “close familiarity with Stellantis’s industrial culture”.

The appointment of an Italian to the head of Stellantis was welcomed by the country’s industry minister Adolfo Urso, as an “excellent choice”.

In France, Filosa’s first destination for his visits across the company’s sites following his appointment, the CFE-CGC union said in a statement that it expected the new Stellantis boss to “break with the authoritarian, cost-cutting management style of the Tavares era”. 

Filosa, who is married with two children and based in Detroit, will need to split his time between the US and Europe, while also travelling to Latin America and other markets. But travelling to plants across the world has been a signature part of his career.

“He has always been on the move,” said a person who worked with Filosa in Latin America.

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. — A pair of Panthers stepped into the spotlight on Thursday night as UNI’s Katie Fare and Carlie Jo Fusco opened up the women’s competition at the 2025 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field West Preliminary Meet at E.B. Cushing Stadium on the Texas A&M University campus.

Fare the reigning Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) champion in the shot put made her second career appearance at the NCAA Preliminary Meet after finishing 22nd in 2023, while Fusco, this year’s conference champion in the 400-meter hurdles, made her NCAA Preliminary debut in her first outdoor campaign as an attached athlete, looking to qualify for the final NCAA Championship meet next month in Eugene, Oregon.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Making her second career NCAA Prelims appearance, Fare threw 51 feet, five and three-quarter inches (15.69 meters) in the shot put in her final collegiate meet to place 22nd. One of UNI’s most dominant throwers in recent history, Fare won the shot put competition in each of her seven prior outdoor meets this year, including the MVC Outdoor Championships earlier this month, not only completing the indoor and outdoor title sweeps in the event this season, but also being named the MVC Women’s Most Outstanding Field Athlete of both meets. A two-time conference outdoor field athlete of the week, she finishes her career as Northern Iowa’s school record holder in the indoor shot put and ranks second all-time in the outdoor shot put.

Running the fourth of six heats of the 400-meter hurdles, Fusco clocked a 1:00.76 to close out the second day of competition, finishing in 42nd place overall in her first NCAA Preliminary meet. After redshirting the 2024 outdoor season, Fusco captured three 400-meter hurdle titles this season, including the Wartburg Outdoor Select, the Cyclone Twilight and the MVC Championships, where she posted the fourth-fastest time in school history (58.85).

UP NEXT

The Panthers return to action on Friday with the men’s 4×400-meter relay quarterfinals at 8:45 p.m. CT, featuring Zack Butcher, Drake Hanson, Parker Kiewiet and Jake Bosch. Live coverage can be found on ESPN+.

PANTHERS AT NCAA WEST PRELIMINARY MEET

Wednesday, May 28

• Men’s Javelin (First Round) | Justice Miller – 19th – 217 feet, 1 inch (66.18m)
• Men’s Shot Put (First Round) | Carson Lienau – 22nd – 59 feet, 9 inches (18.29m)
• Men’s Shot Put (First Round) | Spencer Kessel – 34th – 57 feet, 11 ¾  inches (17.67m)
• Men’s Shot Put (First Round) | David Russell – 41st – 56 feet, 7 ½  inches  (17.26m)
• Men’s Pole Vault (Semifinals) | Brendan Safley – 21st – 16 feet, 11 ½ inches (5.17m)
• Men’s 800m (First Round) | Drake Hanson – 32nd – 1:49.35
• Men’s 800m (First Round) | Chase Knoche – 37th – 1:50.03

Thursday, May 29

• Women’s Shot Put (First Round) | Katie Fare – 22nd – 51 feet, 5 ¾ inches (15.69m)
• Women’s 400m Hurdles (First Round) | Carlie Jo Fusco – 42nd – 1:00.76

Friday, May 30

• 8:45 p.m. CT – Men’s 4x400m Relay (Quarterfinals) [Butcher, Hanson, Kiewiet, Bosch]

Saturday, May 31

• 3:30 p.m. CT – Women’s High Jump (Semifinal) [Moreland]
• 5:40 p.m. CT – Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase (Quarterfinals) [Hoins]
• 7:25 p.m. CT – Women’s 400m Hurdles (Quarterfinals)***

                *** Pending qualification

UNI track and field action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Track and Field), X (@UNITrackFieldXC) and on Instagram (@uni_tf_xc). Schedules and rosters, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.