BOSTON, Mass. – A steady stream of PRs and new top-10 marks meant that Husky track was back. Washington had a group of a dozen distance runners, some of them just two weeks removed from the NCAA Cross Country Championships, racing on the famously fast oval at the BU Track & Tennis Center to kick off the 2025-26 indoor season.
 
The big UW highlight out of many at today’s Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener was new Dawg Chloe Thomas shattering the School Record in the 5,000-meters. Thomas, an All-American transfer from UConn, just last week took runner-up honors at the Canadian Cross Country National Championships, and she carried that momentum onto the track today with a PR time of 15:16.93.
 
That broke the Husky indoor 5k record by a massive 22 seconds. Haley Herberg set the prior record of 15:38.37 in 2024. Thomas’ time was also faster than the UW outdoor record of 15:22.81 set just last season by Amina Maatoug.
 
In a later 5k heat, Julia David-Smith dropped a 10-second indoor PR to jump up to No. 4 in school history behind just Thomas, Herberg, and Izzi Batt-Doyle. David-Smith ran 15:45.01 today in her first track race since July.
 
Another new Husky went out and broke a national record on day one. Freshman Chloe Symon, a Vancouver, B.C. native, knocked off a Canadian U20 indoor record that had stood since 1988. Symon ran 2:04.56 to take fourth in the 800-meters and set the new record. It also puts her up to No. 7 in Husky indoor history just one race into her career.
 
There was a third Chloe thriving today for the women’s team, as All-American Chloe Foerster ran the fastest 3,000-meters time of her career, going 8:56.22. That puts Foerster up to No. 3 in school history indoors.
 
First-year Dawg Jenica Swartz dropped an impressive mile season opener, taking fourth in the elite section in 4:35.67, just a second off the top-10 list. Mia Cochran, coming off leading the squad at NCAA XC two weeks back, opened her track season in the 3k with a time of 9:16.54.
 
For the men’s team, all six Huskies on the trip were focusing on the 3,000-meters. The top time came from transfer Reuben Reina, who went straight to No. 4 in school history with a run of 7:43.16.
 
Two more Husky men opened up with sub-8-minute runs. Tyler Bilyard, making his Husky debut, ran 7:55.80 for a PR, and redshirt freshman Nathan Neil came across in 7:57.01. True freshman Josiah Tostenson opened up with a 8:03.31 and Thom Diamond clocked a time of 8:16.62. Freshman Owen Powell also raced today but served as a pace-setter in the 3k.
 
Next week will see many of the Husky jumpers, vaulters and sprinters get an early season test at the Spokane Invitational, on Saturday, Dec. 13. Then it’s a month-long break from competition for the end of the quarter and the holidays before the Dempsey

For the first time since 2007, Cal Poly Volleyball is advancing to the third round of the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament, after upsetting No. 4 seed USC in a five-set match on Friday.  

With the 3-2 win, they claimed a spot in the top 16, also known as the “Sweet Sixteen,” and destroyed any remaining perfect tournament brackets in ESPN’s bracket prediction challenge.  

“That was an incredible performance by a group of people that love one another, that love this game and that have committed to something bigger than themselves,” head coach Caroline Walters said.  

The Mustangs have not faced the Trojans since 2012, where they lost in a 3-0 sweep. Ranking at No. 13 in the country and beating three ranked teams throughout the season, USC was favored in Friday’s match. Just like in Thursday’s upset win over BYU, Cal Poly defied the odds once again, ending the Trojan’s season.  

READ MORE: Cal Poly Volleyball upsets BYU to advance to second round of NCAA Tournament 

The Mustangs started the match hot, winning the first two sets 25-19 and 25-20. With a shot at a sweep, the momentum was not enough as they fell to the Women of Troy in set three with a score 25-20, and again took a 25-14 loss in the fourth set, recording their worst offensive performance of the night with a hitting percentage of .079%.  

“I just kept saying to everyone, and I knew everyone else was saying it or thinking it in their heads, but we’re here for a reason,” redshirt senior setter Emme Bullis said. “We’re going to the fifth set for a reason.” 

Despite the back to back losses, the Mustangs came up big in set five, mirroring sets one and two and dominating USC 15-7 to send themselves to the next round of the tournament.

“I am in awe of my team,” Walters said. 

Fredrick and Beshear lead the charge

Two standout players for the Mustangs throughout the entirety of the season have been junior outside hitter Emma Fredrick and sophomore outside hitter Kendall Beshear. Through the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament their dominance has only increased. 

In Friday’s match both achieved double-doubles with Fredrick leading both the offense and defense with 17 kills and 17 digs, while Beshear notched 12 kills and 14 digs.  

During the season, Beshear led the Big West Conference with 52 service aces followed by Fredrick in the No. 3 spot with 37. The pair combined for three out of Cal Poly’s eight total service aces against USC. 

“Being able to go back there and knowing that I have the support of everyone around me to just go be free and be smiley and take a rip out of the ball … that’s what gives me the confidence to do what I can do,” Beshear said.  

Dominant on defense 

With a player earning a new career high in blocks and four players entering the double digits in digs, Cal Poly’s defense worked like a charm in helping them secure the upset win.  

Freshman middle blocker Charlotte Kelly was a force to be reckoned with at the net as she notched seven blocks, a career high and accounted for over half of Cal Poly’s blocks. Kelly is getting her first ever tournament action this season after she was moved up to the starting rotation when redshirt middle blocker Breklyn Pulling faced a season-ending injury over the summer.  

“I think Charlotte Kelly is the unsung hero of this group,” Walters said. “Her coming in as a true freshman and doing what she does is insane,” 

Following closely behind Fredrick in defensive statistics, sophomore libero Elif Hurriyet claimed the second defensive spot in tonight’s match as she brought in 16 digs. 

Racking in 71 digs and 10 blocks, the Mustangs were able to hold the Trojans at an overall hitting percentage of .237%, just under their season. 

The Mustangs are up for a challenge as they will head to Kentucky to face No.1 seed University of Kentucky in the regional semifinals on Dec. 11 at 12:30 p.m. 

The Wildcats are on a 24 game winning streak and have an overall record of 27-2, only losing to No. 1 ranked University of Nebraska and No. 7 ranked University of Pittsburgh. 

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The Eagles opened the indoor season in emphatic fashion as three school records and seven all-time top five marks powered Winthrop at Sunday’s JDL Early Bird Invitational. 

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Meet Information 

Dec. 7 | JDL Fast Track | Final Results

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IN THE FIELD

• Freshman Carina Fiorucci delivered one of the day’s highlights with a 3.30m clearance in the women’s pole vault, moving her to fourth all-time in program history. 
• Senior Faith Wood added another top performance in the women’s triple jump, finishing with an 11.62m mark that ranks fifth all-time for the Eagles. 
• On the men’s side, senior Timothy Speaks broke into the Winthrop top five in the weight throw, placing fifth overall with a 16.24m toss that now stands fifth all-time.  

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ON THE TRACK 

• The men ignited the afternoon with a sweep of school records on the track. Junior Shane King opened the run with a 21.85 performance in the 200m, securing the win and breaking the long-standing indoor school record of 21.89 set in 2007. Teammate Michael Boucher also climbed the charts, posting a 22.09 claiming the #4 all-time spot. 
• The momentum continued in the 600m, where junior Kendale Cooke stormed to a 1:23.11 finish to take the event to win and shatter the program record. Juniors Jurnii Lucas (1:24.01) and Darrell Price (1:24.58) followed close behind, slotting into #2 and #3 all-time, respectively. 
• Winthrop closed the meet by rewriting another record, as Price, King, Lucas, and Cooke combined to win the men’s 4x400m relay in 3:18.06, breaking the previous school mark. 
• On the women’s side, junior Jordan Bailem turned in a strong showing in the 60m hurdles, running 8.85 to earn fourth all-time in program history. 

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NEXT UP
The Eagles will return to the track in the new year for the Gamecock Opener on Jan. 10.

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The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team rolled into the next round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night, dispatching K-State 25-17, 25-21, 25-16 to advance to a Sweet 16 matchup against Kansas. 

All-American Andi Jackson led Nebraska with 10 kills, hitting .533 in the match, while Harper Murray also added 10 kills and the Huskers hit .253 as a team in the match. 

Nebraska held Kansas State to a .118 attack percentage, the seventh straight match the Huskers out-hit their opponent by at least .100. Nebraska had a 43-27 advantage in kills and a 48-32 edge in digs, while the Wildcats out-blocked the Huskers, 8-5.

Jackson hit .533 in the match, producing her 10 kills on just 15 swings. Taylor Landfair (8 kills), Virginia Adriano (7) and Rebekah Allick (6) all had more than five kills, as Bergen Reilly dished out 34 assists. Defensively, Olivia Mauch had 13 digs and Laney Choboy added 12 digs. 

K-State made Nebraska work in both sets one and two of Saturday night’s match, but in set one, the Huskers had a pair of 5-0 runs that kept them in front. Nebraska hit .457 as a team in set one and had 16 kills.

In set two, Nebraska spotted K-State a 4-1 lead, before taking a 6-5 lead. K-State eventually cut Nebraska’s lead to 22-21 with a 4-0 run before Allie Sczech posted a key sideout kill, and K-State hit wide for set point. Murray and Jackson ended the set with a block.

An 8-1 in set three helped Nebraska take a decisive 16-10 lead. A 5-0 run late in the set helped the Huskers roll to a sweep and punch their ticket to the regional. Nebraska has won 28 consecutive home matches in the NCAA Tournament, a school record.

The Huskers advance to play the No. 16 Jayhawks next weekend in a regional semifinal at 8:30 p.m. (CT). Also set to come to Lincoln is Louisville, the former team of Nebraska head coach Dani Busboom Kelly, who outlasted Marquette on Saturday in five sets to advance in the tournament. No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 9 Louisville will play at 6 p.m. (CT) on Friday. The regional final will be played on Sunday with the time to be determined on Friday night.

Winchester, Va. – The Lynchburg indoor men’s and women’s track & field team’s young talent impressed at the Shenandoah Holiday Kickoff as 11 newcomers posted top-10 results in the team’s final competition before winter break.

While first-year athletes delivered dominant performances on the sprints side, junior thrower Kenzie Swicegood bolstered her resume with two first-place finishes in throwing events. In the women’s weight throw, Swicegood posted a 55′ 1″ (16.79m) personal-best performance to dominate the field and come within two feet of Logan Babbs’ 56′ 11″ (17.35m) school record.

Swicegood also secured the victory in the women’s shot put with a 38′ 3¼” (11.67m) throw for first place. 

In each throwing event, five Hornets submitted top-eight results.. In the women’s weight throw, Kya Rucker claimed third place with a 45′ 10¾” (13.99m) performance, while Dajanaeia Johnson clinched third in the women’s shot put by setting a 33′ 10½” (10.33m) mark.

Haylee Smith, Alyssa McGregor and Kaylee Maxfield also emerged into scoring positions during their Hornet debuts for the throws team.

Lynchburg also placed a pair of sprinters in the 60m dash finals following stellar displays in prelims. 

Michael Coley advanced with a 7.08m result in his opening race, clocking 7.07 for fifth in the 60m dash final. First-year Brianna Taylor registered an 8.07 women’s 60m dash prelim result to qualify for finals, crossing the line in 8.06 for fourth place in her second race.

Coley also competed in the men’s long jump, leaping 21′ 5″ (6.53m) for fourth place in the field. Taylor doubled with the 200m dash, finishing fifth with a 27.41 showing.

In the 60m hurdles, Ardarian Diamond posted 8.74 in his Hornets debut to finish second overall. First-year Audrey Lacombe finished seventh on the women’s side, clocking 10.49 in prelims and 10.73 in finals. In the women’s triple jump, Lacombe occupied fourth place with a leap of 33′ 2¾” (10.13m).

Ayeshia Watson headlined an impressive showing from Lynchburg’s jumpers, placing second in the women’s triple jump with a 35′ 7¾” (10.87m) performance. In the long jump, Watson posted 15′ 1″ (4.60m) for sixth in the field. In high jump, Catalina Puglisi opened her sophomore campaign with a second-place finish, clearing the 4′ 7¾” (1.42m) bar.

Chris Watkins earned two top-10 finishes for the men’s team, posting 6′ 0″ (1.83m) in the men’s high jump for fourth place and 18′ 6¼” (5.65m) in the men’s long jump for 10th. Sean O’Loughlin cleared 12′ 5½” (3.80m) in the men’s pole vault for second.

To round out Lynchburg’s top-five performers, Noah Glenn secured fifth in the men’s weight throw with a 41′ 5½” (12.64m) toss for fourth, and the men’s 4x400m relay team crossed the line in 3:38.08 for fifth.

The Hornets concluded action for the 2025 calendar year and will return to action on Friday, Jan. 9 when they host the Burg Open at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex.

For full results from Sunday’s competition, click here.

Visit Lynchburg athletics’ home online, LynchburgSports.com, anytime for up-to-the-minute news on all Hornets sports and coverage from the Lynchburg Hornets Sports Network.

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–LYN–

 

WALTHAM, Mass. – Call it a three-peat! The Bentley volleyball team swept Mercy (25-20, 25-20, 25-12) in the NCAA DII East Regional Championship match Saturday night, as the Falcons captured their third consecutive NCAA DII East Regional title. Prior to 2023, the Bentley program had never won the regional championship.

Bentley makes a return to Sioux Falls, South Dakota this coming week as one of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Championship. It is the same site as the 2024 NCAA Championship in which the Falcons reached the final four.

Bentley attacked at a .324 clip in the Regional Championship against Mercy, marking the team’s best hitting percentage since a late October match against Southern New Hampshire.

Sophia Poehlein had a match-high 14 kills, while Elena Coban and Elizabeth Blinn both added nine. Blinn and Tory Vitko both finished with four blocks, and Erica Borzone joined the defensive efforts by leading all players in digs with 12.

Vitko had 38 assists against Mercy, bringing her total to 112 assists through 11 sets in the NCAA DII East Region Tournament.

Bentley is the first program from the region to win three consecutive regional titles since Dowling did it 2005-07.

More details will follow in the coming days about Bentley’s 2025 NCAA Championship run.

Recap provided by Bentley athletics. 

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