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BHS Volleyball Team Eyes Return to the Playoffs

By KEN HAMWEY, Bulletin Sports Writer The Bellingham High boys’ volleyball team is aiming to improve on last year’s .500 record. Coach Steve Mantegani’s squad finished at 9-9 last season, then split a pair of matches in the tournament, defeating Innovation Academy before losing to Keefe Tech. Mantegani’s goals this season are to not only […]

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By KEN HAMWEY,

Bulletin Sports Writer

The Bellingham High boys’ volleyball team is aiming to improve on last year’s .500 record.

Coach Steve Mantegani’s squad finished at 9-9 last season, then split a pair of matches in the tournament, defeating Innovation Academy before losing to Keefe Tech. Mantegani’s goals this season are to not only return to the playoffs, but to return with a winning record.

At the Bulletin’s deadline, the Blackhawks were off to a good start to achieving their coach’s goals. They were 5-2, a record that included a 3-2 victory over powerful Medfield.

The only coach the boys program has known, Mantegani started the sport in 2019 and has guided the Blackhawks to four tourney appearances. 

“The victory over Medfield was the first time we’ve beaten them, he said. “Definitely a great win for us. Our goals are realistic, and we believe we’ll achieve them. We lost only two seniors from last year’s squad and have six returnees with varying degrees of experience.’’  

Mantegani’s cast has a variety of strengths and he’s optimistic those assets will improve as the season moves along. 

“Our experience is a plus,’’ he said. “Our core players have 2-3 years of varsity experience. We also have good athleticism; the boys are very coachable and their skills and techniques are at a high level. The team has hard-working competitors and they’re mentally tough. Our ball control, serving and passing are also plusses.’’

Senior Jack Davidson is a capable outside hitter who has four years of varsity experience. “Jack works hard, and he’s strong and aggressive at the net,’’ Mantegani said. “He relies heavily on his technical skills, and his passing and ball control have improved.’’ 

Junior Aiden Gibbs plays setter, and he’ll be counted on to quarterback the offense. “Aiden has been our starting setter for two years,’’ Mantegani said. “He’s athletic and has great hands. A strong server, he knows how to direct our offense.’’

Junior Thomas Crandall returns as the team’s libero (defensive specialist). “A two-year starter, Thomas is our QB of serve-receive,’’ Mantegani noted. “One of our best passers, his technique is very sound.’’

Mantegani considers Hesrick Richards the Blackhawks’ strngest hitter. “A 6-foot-2 junior, he’s in his second year of varsity competition as a middle hitter, and he’s effective blocking and jumping,’’ said Mantegani.

Esdras Goncalves, a junior outside hitter, is a second-year player who has improved. “Esdras is athletic, jumps well and hits the ball hard,’’ Mantegani offered.

Junior Wagner Lourenco is another second-year player. “An outside hitter, he jumps effectively, hits hard and is very athletic,’’ the coach said.

Sophomores Caleb Platek (outside hitter) and Lucas Lahousee (defensive specialist) and junior Rehan Shah (middle hitter) are all in their first year on the varsity. “We are hoping that Caleb, Lucas, and Rehan can contribute as the year goes on, and they strengthen their skills and techniques,’’ Mantegani said.

Mantegani’s son, Justin, who coaches the freshmen girls’ squad in the fall, is directing the boys’ junior-varsity team. “Justin knows the game, and the players know him well since he teaches at the high school,’’ his father said.

This year’s team is a co-op venture. Holliston and Medway High don’t have a boys’ volleyball program but now have joined BHS. Players from those two schools, however, will compete solely at the jayvee level to comply with MIAA rules. “The two schools hope to begin a boys’ varsity program next year,’’ Mantegani said.





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Highlands Natural Pool opens Saturday

Highlands Natural Pool, located next to the New Weis Center and Norvin Green State Forest at 180 Snake Den Road, Ringwood, will open for the season Saturday, May 24. The pool is a nonprofit community-owned and -operated facility. The drug- and alcohol-free facility is open to the public on Memorial Day weekend, then on weekends […]

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Highlands Natural Pool, located next to the New Weis Center and Norvin Green State Forest at 180 Snake Den Road, Ringwood, will open for the season Saturday, May 24.

The pool is a nonprofit community-owned and -operated facility.

The drug- and alcohol-free facility is open to the public on Memorial Day weekend, then on weekends until the end of June.

Beginning in July, the pool is open daily until Labor Day, then on weekends through September.

The pool hours are noon to 6 p.m.

Day passes may be purchased at the entrance. They cost $20 for adults age 18 and older; $15 for senior citizens age 65 and older and active military/veterans; and $10 for children ages 3-17. Children age 2 and younger are admitted for free.

Memberships also are available.

The cost is $25 for a table with grill in the picnic grove.

Adjacent to the pool and picnic grove on New Weis Center property is a beach sand volleyball court and ping pong tables.

The Norvin Green State Forest offers a variety of hiking options and destinations. Several of the trails climb hills of up to 1,300 feet, providing views of the New York City skyline, Wanaque reservoir and Ramapo mountains.

For information, go online to highlandsnaturalpool.org or call 973-835-4299.



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Treavor Scales Returning to ESPN as SportsCenter Anchor

Television host and digital personality Treavor Scales is returning to ESPN as an anchor for SportsCenter, the network’s signature news and information program. He will begin work on Tuesday, May 20. “Returning to ESPN to host SportsCenter is the latest scene in what feels like a dream sequence of a career — one that started […]

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Television host and digital personality Treavor Scales is returning to ESPN as an anchor for SportsCenter, the network’s signature news and information program. He will begin work on Tuesday, May 20.

“Returning to ESPN to host SportsCenter is the latest scene in what feels like a dream sequence of a career — one that started in Remote Operations at ESPN as a Crewing Coordinator,” said Scales. “Being given the opportunity to, once again, play a role in what is the gold standard for sports news and highlights is truly an honor, and I’m ecstatic to join this incredibly talented team.”

Scales previously spent nearly a decade (2013-21) with ESPN in a variety of on-air and digital roles, including hosting SportsCenter on Snapchat, co-hosting The Wrap Up and The College Football Show, and contributing across the network’s digital platforms.

Since departing ESPN in 2021, Scales has served as a host with Bally Sports and FanDuel Sports Network, anchoring pre- and post-game coverage for the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks. He also spent the past two seasons as a reporter and sideline analyst for CW Sports’ college football broadcasts.

“Treavor brings an authentic creative energy that fits perfectly with where SportsCenter is headed,” said Mike Foss, ESPN Senior Vice President of Studio & Entertainment. “He’s got a great feel for storytelling, knows how to connect with fans, and understands how to thrive across multiple platforms. We’re excited to have him back in the lineup.”

Scales is a graduate of Harvard University, where he was a standout running back on the Crimson football team. He launched his broadcasting career through ESPN’s early digital verticals, helping to shape the tone and voice of sports content for a new generation of fans.

Scales will be based at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn.

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Media contact: Beatrix.Panitz@espn.com



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Wildcats of the Week: May 12- May 18

Story Links DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. –  Kasie Ugeh of B-CU and Micheal Walker of B-CU Track & Field has been named Wildcats of the Week for the week of May 2 – May 18, 2025.  This past week, the Wildcats traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana where they competed in the 2025 SWAC Championships. Kasie […]

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DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. –  Kasie Ugeh of B-CU and Micheal Walker of B-CU Track & Field has been named Wildcats of the Week for the week of May 2 – May 18, 2025. 

This past week, the Wildcats traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana where they competed in the 2025 SWAC Championships. Kasie Ugeh finished second in the javelin with a mark of 40.08m. She also finished third in the discus with a mark of 42.70m.

Micheal Walker placed first in the javelin with a mark of 52.70. It marks his personal best of the season.

Each week, The Bethune-Cookman Office of Athletic Communications recognizes one male and one female student-athlete through the Wildcats of the Week award.

This award recognizes student-athletes who have excelled in competition, in the classroom, and in the community over the past week, exemplifying the Championship Culture of Wildcat Athletics. 

2024-25 Wildcats of the Week

May 12 – May 18


M: Micheal Walker, Track & Field

W: Kasie Ugeh, Track & Field

May 5 – May 11

M: Andrey Martinez, Baseball

W: Kendall Macauley, Softball

April 28 – May 4

M: Jose Fernandez, Baseball

April 21 – April 27

M: Edwin Sanchez, Baseball

W: Kasie Ugeh, Track & Field

April 13 – April 20

M: De’Quon King, Track & Field

W: Katie Robinson, Women’s Golf

April 7 – April 13

M: Shanard Walker, Track & Field

W: Alyssa Lopez, Softball

March 31 – April 6

M: Andrey Martinez, Baseball

W: Alyssa Lopez, Softball

March 24 – March 30

M: Joel Core, Baseball

W: Kasie Ugeh, Track & Field

M: (CO) Xavier Bogan, Track & Field

March 17 – March 23

M: Sytrevion Dyer, Track & Field

W: Kasie Ugeh, Track & Field

March 10 – March 16

M: Edwin Sanchez, Baseball

W: Zahara El-Zein, Tennis

March 3 – March 9

M: Nehemiah Armstrong, Track & Field

W: Zion Harvey, track & Field

February 22 – March 1

M: Armani Newton, Baseball

W: Shanai Owens, Softball

February 17 – February 23

M: Joel Core, Baseball

W: Lauren Johnson, Track & Field

February 10 – February 16

M: Joel Core, Baseball

W: Emma Bradley Tse, Softball

February 3 – February 9

M: De’Quon King, Track & Field

W: Molly Blackwood, Softball

January 27 – February 2

M: Xavier Bogan, Track & Field

W: Keona Burley, Women’s Tennis

January 20 – January 26

M: Victor Kibet, Track & Field

W: Valencia Butler, Track & Field

January 12 – January 19

M: Trey Thomas, Men’s Basketball

W: Asianae Nicholson, Women’s Basketball

January 6 – January 12

M: Xavier Bogan, Track & Field

W: Alyssa Wiliams, Track & Field

December 30 – January 5

M: Brayon Freeman, Men’s Basketball

W: Janessa Kelley, Women’s Basketball

December 16 – December 22

M: Reggie Ward Jr., Men’s Baskeball

W: Daimoni Dorsey, Women’s Basketball

December 9 – December 15

M: Daniel Rouzan, Men’s Basketball

W: Asianae Nicholson, Women’s Basketball

December 2 – December 8

M: Victor Kibet, Track & Field

W: Alyssa Williams, Track & Field

November 25 – December 1

M: Brayon Freeman, Men’s Basketball

W: Asianae Nicholson, Women’s Basketball

November 18 – November 24

M: Dennis Palmer, Football

W: Ktyal Price, Volleyball        `    

November 11 – November 17

M: Brayon Freeman, Men’s Basketball

W: Mecca Freeman, Volleyball

November 4 – November 10

M: Dallaz Corbitt, Football

W: Asianae Nicholson, Women’s Volleyball

October 28 – November 3

M: Joshua Thornhill, Football

W: Mecca Freeman, Volleyball

October 21 – October 27

M: Victor Kibet, Cross Country

W: Valencia Butler, Cross Country

October 14 – October 20

M: Dennis Palmer Jr., Football

W: Elizabeth Philips, Volleyball

October 7 – October 13

M: Victor Kibet, Cross Country

W: Elizabeth Phillips, Volleyball

September 30 – October 6

W: Ashlie Hobbs, Women’s Golf

W: Ktyal Price, Volleyball

September 16 – September 22

M: Victor Kibet, Cross Country

W: Valencia Butler, Cross Country

September 9 – September 15

M: Darnell Deas, Football

W: Jasmine Robinson, Volleyball

September 2 – September 9

M: Raymond Woodie III, Football

W: Elizabeth Phillips, Volleyball

August 26 – September 1

M: Dearis Thomas, Football

W: Niara Hightower, Volleyball

For all the latest Bethune-Cookman Athletics news, follow us on Twitter (@BCUathletics), Instagram (@BCUathletics) and www.bcuathletics.com
 



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Surprise Stadium to Host Big 12 Baseball Championship Starting in 2026

Story Links IRVING, Texas – The Big 12 Conference has selected Surprise Stadium, the spring training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals, as the new host site for the Big 12 Baseball Championship beginning in 2026. Located in Surprise, Arizona, Surprise Stadium was recently ranked #1 in USA Today’s […]

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IRVING, Texas – The Big 12 Conference has selected Surprise Stadium, the spring training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals, as the new host site for the Big 12 Baseball Championship beginning in 2026. Located in Surprise, Arizona, Surprise Stadium was recently ranked #1 in USA Today’s Best Spring Training Facility rankings.  

“We are excited to continue our partnership with REV Entertainment as the Big 12 Baseball Championship moves to a world-class venue in Arizona,” said Big 12 Chief Competition Officer Scott Draper. “Surprise Stadium is a premier facility that will create a great atmosphere and experience for our student-athletes and fans.”

The 10,714-seat venue offers lawn seating, air-conditioned suites and other premium seating areas. Surprise Stadium has hosted MLB spring training for two decades as well as the Arizona Fall League and an annual college baseball tournament that will be operated by REV Entertainment in partnership with the City of Surprise beginning in 2026.

The Big 12 Baseball Championship has been hosted at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas since 2022 in conjunction with REV Entertainment. The Big 12 will continue its partnership with REV Entertainment for the planning and operation of its baseball championship at Surprise Stadium.

“Bringing the Big 12 Baseball Championship to Surprise Stadium represents an exciting new chapter in our partnership with the Big 12 Conference and the City of Surprise,” said Jared Schrom, Senior Vice President of REV Entertainment. “We look forward to creating a new tradition in Arizona starting in 2026.” 

The 2026 Big 12 Baseball Championship will make its debut at Surprise Stadium with its 12-team field May 20-23.





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In Case You Missed It – Ewelina Gacek Mental Health Advocate on and off The Court

NCAA Article – George Mason Volleyball’s Ewelina Gacek Champions Mental Health on and off the Court A four-year member of the George Mason women’s volleyball team, Ewelina Gacek is clearly a talented athlete, having helped the Patriots this year to their most successful season since 2010, but she’s also so much more. While competing at […]

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NCAA Article – George Mason Volleyball’s Ewelina Gacek Champions Mental Health on and off the Court

A four-year member of the George Mason women’s volleyball team, Ewelina Gacek is clearly a talented athlete, having helped the Patriots this year to their most successful season since 2010, but she’s also so much more. While competing at the D1 level, she has been a cadet for the George Mason police force and an advocate for mental health awareness. This is her story.

When she came to George Mason, Gacek entered as a criminal justice major with plans to apply to law school after finishing her undergrad. It was her sophomore year that ended up shaping Gacek’s future. She describes it as “probably my lowest point […] nothing brought me happiness.”

She took a chance while at her lowest and ended up getting into the police cadet program, which she describes it as the best thing for her. “After that is when I realized I had a worth outside of my sport and I can do things outside my sport that makes me happy,” said Gacek.

Though it doesn’t seem like it, volleyball and law enforcement intersect in very interesting ways. They both can increase in leadership skills as well as working as a team to do things like winning a game or trying to serve the community. According to Gacek, “I feel like student-athletes are put into a bubble that like that is all that they are.”

Gacek is going against that bubble. While being a police cadet she “realized the importance of doing something outside of the one thing that defines you.” As time went on with her job as a police cadet, it gave her a thing that she neglected in her freshman and sophomore years: connecting with other people outside of her normal sphere. It helped spread her wings and she was able to branch out in the George Mason community.

One of the benefits of being more connected in the community is that Gacek could used her voice as a volleyball player and a police cadet to try and spread mental health awareness. As an ambassador for the Morgan’s Message club on campus, she helped organized a Morgan’s Message dedication game this fall, and the police program came out to the event to support her.

According to fellow student and Cadet LT Ellen Hailey, “we try to come out to her games and support her in that way, but also to [Morgan’s Message] kiosks and show her that different areas in her life can be supported here.”

Having her police program come out to the Morgan’s Message dedication game meant a lot to Gacek. She reflected on it, saying, “it’s one step toward our goal of getting more training for police departments to raise mental health awareness, training for them to work with people having these mental health crises, and knowing that they have their own outlets to get help themselves so they no longer have to silence their thoughts due to their field.”

Mental health is a thing that a lot of people struggle with and that is no different with police officers. “They work in a field that asks a lot of them and are the ones that are supposed to be almost like a role model with people looking up to them to the serve the public and not show signs of weakness,” said Gacek. “A lot of police departments are talking more about mental health especially for police officers recently. There have been a lot of officers in the past year that have taken their own live due to the stress of the job.”

Gacek has seen this and has stepped up to try to raise awareness of mental health in general and to try to find ways to help others with improving it. She recovered from her own struggles with mental health and wants to help people recover from similar struggles. According to Gacek, she’s trying to “just show people that it is okay, talk about it, bring the conversation up. I think it has been successful recently.”

After graduating from George Mason in the spring, Gacek plans to get her master’s in criminal justice and to continue playing beach volleyball next year. With how much outreach she has been able to do as a police cadet, she is “thinking about doing victim advocacy work – working in a police department but not really being a uniform patrol officer.”

Ewelina Gacek’s story is one of perseverance. Of a student-athlete dealing with mental health issues, to being the one that stepped up to advocate for others. She says she hopes to continue to be impactful and “be the change and shed a light on this issue.”





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Sprinters Sara Schermerhorn and Liam Danitz Qualify for NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

Story Links Hope College juniors Sara Schermerhorn and Liam Danitz have qualified to sprint at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships this week:  SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, outside of Cleveland, is hosting the three-day meet that runs Thursday-Saturday, May 22-24. Watch the meet live on ncaa.com. Schermerhorn […]

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Hope College juniors Sara Schermerhorn and Liam Danitz have qualified to sprint at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships this week: 

SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, outside of Cleveland, is hosting the three-day meet that runs Thursday-Saturday, May 22-24.

Watch the meet live on ncaa.com.

Schermerhorn (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City West HS) will race in the 200-meter prelims on Thursday at 6:55 p.m. and in the 400-meter prelims on Friday at 3:15 p.m., aiming to qualify for Saturday’s finals in both events.

The exercise science major will make her third trip to outdoor nationals. In 2024, Schermerhorn finished fifth in the nation in the 400 and earned All-America First Team accolades, and 14th in the 200 and received All-America Second Team honors.

In March, Schermerhorn placed seventh in the nation in the 400 at the NCAA Indoor Championships and ninth in the 200.

Danitz (West Branch, Michigan / Ogemaw Heights) has qualified for outdoor nationals for the first time and will compete in the men’s 200 meters.

The exercise science major will race in Thursday’s prelims at 6:45 p.m.

At this year’s NCAA Division III Indoor Championships, Danitz placed seventh in the nation in the 200 meters and claimed All-America honors.



 



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