GENEVA, Ohio – North Central’s Braden Nicholson earned All-America First Team honors in both the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters, leading the Cardinals to a 13th-place team finish as one of four College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) teams to score points at the NCAA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship on Thursday through Saturday in Geneva, Ohio.
 
NCC was 13th with 13 points. North Park placed in a tie for 50th with four points, while Millikin and Illinois Wesleyan were among squads tying for 58th with three points apiece.
 
The CCIW collected five All-America First Team honors. Nicholson was the winner in the 10,000 meters and also placed sixth in the 5,000 meters. IWU’s Evan Lowder was a First-Team All-American thanks to a sixth-place effort in the 400 meters, while Jereme Ombogo of North Park was fifth in the 200 meters and Kyle Hensley of Millikin was sixth in the pole vault.
  
CCIW in the Final Team Standings
13. North Central, 13 points
T50. North Park, 4 points
T58. Millikin, 3 points
T58. Illinois Wesleyan, 3 points

CCIW Men’s First Team All-Americans

First Team

Illinois Wesleyan

Evan Lowder, 400 Meter Dash (6th, 47.21)

 

Millikin

Kyle Hensley, Pole Vault (6th, 4.95m)

 

North Central

Braden Nicholson, 10000 Meter Run (1st, 29:20.59)

Braden Nicholson, 5000 Meter Run (6th, 14:16.83)

 

North Park

Jereme Ombogo, 200 Meter Dash (5th, 21.32)

 

CCIW Men’s Second Team All-Americans

Augustana

Mike Hudson, Decathlon (10th, 6,331 points)

Joe Langridge, 3000 Meter Steeplechase (12th, 9:18.91)

AJ Banks, 110 Meter Hurdles (14th, 14.54)

 

Carroll

Jimmy Hinkley, Hammer Throw (11th, 58.64m)

 

Carthage

Lucas Leal, Hammer Throw (12th, 58.40 m)

 

North Central

BJ Sorg, 10000 Meter Run (12th, 30:17.57)

 

Wheaton

Ty Bova, High Jump (11th, 2.00m)

 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 25, 2025) — The third-ranked U.S. Women’s Sitting National Team withstood a furious rally at the 2025 ParaVolley Pan America Zonal Championship, posting a 3-2 (25-17, 25-17, 24-26, 23-25, 15-11) victory over No. 2 Brazil.

The U.S. (2-0) will return to the court later today to face No. 1 Canada at 5 p.m. MT/4 p.m. PT. On Saturday, the U.S. defeated Canada in three sets. Matches are live streamed on our event page.

Monique Matthews paced the U.S. with 17 points with a team-high 14 kills in addition to two blocks and an ace. Jillian Williams Coffee (11 kills, two blocks, one ace) had 14 points, and Raelene Elam (nine kills, three blocks and one ace) contributed 13 points.

Lora Webster recorded a match-high six blocks and added two kills to total eight points. Tia Edwards scored 11 points, registering three kills to go with three blocks and a match-best five aces. Kaleo Kanahele Maclay finished with seven points on three kills, three blocks and an ace. Nicky Nieves scored five points on five kills; Whitney Dosty had four points on three kills and an ace, and Lexi Patterson had an ace

“I thought we played well throughout, especially the first two sets,” Hamiter said. “Our error count was under six, which is super good for us. I changed the lineup in set three; we really should have won that. I thought we had our chances. Set four… same thing. Overall, when you’re looking at your second match of the year, I thought we handled things pretty well. A little up and down for us, but some of that is to be expected.

“We really want to get players in,” Hamiter continued. “It’s the first time Raelene (Elam) has played all around quite a bit. She started, and I thought she did a pretty good job. That’s what we have to keep doing, playing those players so they can step up when we need them.”

The U.S. continued its momentum from a sweep of Canada yesterday, cruising to 25-17 wins in each of the first two sets and extending its winning streak to five sets to open the tournament.

Consecutive kills by Matthews gave the U.S. a 19-12 lead in the first set and an Edwards ace closed the opening set. Brazil scored five of the first seven points in the second set before a 14-3 U.S. run, highlighted by three kills and a block from Webster in a 5-1 stretch. A Nicky Nieves kill made it 24-16 and Coffee ended the set with a kill.

Brazil led 18-17 in the third set before a 5-1 run positioned the U.S. to complete a sweep with a 22-19 lead. A Whitney Dosty kill tied the set at 18 and Matthews put the U.S. ahead by one. After falling behind by three, Brazil ran off five consecutive points for a 24-22 lead, eventually winning the set 26-24.

The U.S. fell behind 8-2 in the fourth set but went on a 12-4 run to take a 14-12 lead. Edwards served a pair of aces to even the set at 12 before a Webster block gave the U.S. the lead. A Coffee kill put the U.S. ahead 23-22, but Brazil evened the match by scoring the last three points.

Two kills and a block by Elam helped the U.S. take a 6-1 lead in the deciding set. Brazil twice cut the lead to two points (7-5 and 11-9), but two errors gave the U.S. a late four-point advantage, 13-9. A kill from Coffee made it 14-10 and an Elam kill sealed the match.

Hamiter said he relies on his players to find the motivation they need to win.

“That’s up to the players,” he said. “My job is to let them know what’s going on, what they need to do, the technical and tactical parts we need to execute on. They stayed calm and played the game.”

Brazil held a slight edge in kills (52-50), while finishing with a 19-13 advantage in blocks and 11-7 in aces. Janaina Petit Cunha led all players with 21 kills and 26 points.

Full Match Stats (PDF)

Schedule/Results

May 24
USA def. Canada, 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-15)

May 25
USA def. Brazil, 3-2 (25-17, 25-17, 24-26, 23-25, 15-11)
USA vs. Canada, 5 p.m. MT/4 p.m. PT

May 26
USA vs. Brazil, 5 p.m. MT/4 p.m. PT

May 27
Gold medal match, 1 vs 2 at 3 p.m. MT/2 p.m. PT

Roster

No Name (Position, Height, Hometown)
1 Lora Webster (MB, 5-11, Point Lookout, N.Y.)
2 Bethany Zummo (L, 5-3, Dublin, Calif.)
3 Lexi Patterson (S/L, 5-4, Waseca, Minn.)
7 Monique Matthews (MB/OH, 6-0, Ardmore, Okla.)
8 Whitney Dosty (OH/OPP, 6-3, Tucson, Ariz.)
9 Tia Edwards (OH/MB, 5-7, Skiatook, Okla.)
11 Jillian Williams-Coffee (MB/OPP/OH, 5-10, Odem, Texas)
12 Emma Schieck (OH, 5-7, Statesville, N.C.)
14 Kaleo Kanahele Maclay (S, 5-6, Oklahoma City, Okla.)
15 Kendra Hall (5-7, Westfield, Ind.)
16 Nicky Nieves (MB/OH, 5-10, Kissimmee, Fla.)
18 Courtney Baker (OH, 5-9, Crofton, Ky.)
22 MaKenzie Franklin (OH, 6-0, Red Wing, Minn., North Country)
24 Raelene Elam (OH, 6-1, St. George, Utah, Northern California)

KALISPELL — Hunter Loesch’s first javelin throw proved to be enough to win the event and help his team earn a third straight team title.

The Corvallis senior, the owner of the best javelin mark in the nation, threw for 209-04 on his first launch, the best mark of the day, earning 10 points for his team as the Blue Devils fended off Frenchtown by one point and wrapped up a three-peat at the Class A state track and field meet at Legends Stadium in Kalispell.

The Blue Devils finished with 76 points to Frenchtown’s 75. Laurel took third place with 64 points followed by Columbia Falls (55) and Whitefish (40).

Corvallis also got a first-place finish from Brennan Stuart in the 110 hurdles (14.53) and preserved the win with a victory in the 1,600-meter relay.

In the girls meet, Whitefish picked up its first team title since 2022 thanks to a pair of sprinting victories from Rachel Wilmot, who won the 100 (12.47) and 200 (25.05). Grace Sliman also delivered a victory for the Bulldogs with a mark of 5-4 in the high jump. Ginger Bergland contributed 16 points with a pair of second-place victories in the 100 hurdles (15.63) and 300 hurdles (45.79).

Havre took second place with 60 points, Hamilton came in third with 56, Miles City took fourth with 47 and Laurel was fifth with 40.

Miles City’s Peyton Frame won her second event after winning the 1,600-meter run on Friday as she delivered a first-place finish in the 800 with a time of 2.12:35, setting a Class A record.

The Polson boys also saw one of its own set a Class A record in the shot put. Senior Astin Brown threw for 64-07.75 on his first toss, shattering the previous record of 60-9.5 by nearly four feet.

INDIANAPOLIS –  The La Salle men’s and women’s track and field teams have four Explorers that qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field East Regionals. The Regional meet will be held in Jacksonville, Florida from Wednesday, May 28 through Saturday, May 31, with the men’s competition beginning Wednesday, and the women’s competition starting Thursday.  All events will stream on ESPN+.
 
Gwenno Goode and Helene Usher qualified from the women’s team, with Goode racing in the 3k steeplechase and Usher running in the 10k. This is Goode’s second straight year racing in that event for La Salle at the NCAA Regional meet.
 
Goode raced to a third place finish in the 3k steeplechase at the Raleigh Relays to start the outdoor season, finishing with a time of 9:56.8. Her time was the third fastest in the NCAA at the time, and is overall the seventh fastest time among the NCAA Division I East qualifiers. The event will commence at 5:40 p.m. on Saturday.

Usher qualified to run in the 10k thanks to her time of 34:13.65 that she ran at the Raleigh Relays. At that meet, she placed 10th overall with that performance. The 10k race at NCAA Regionals will happen at 9:10 p.m. on Thursday.

 

On the men’s side, MacCallum Rowe will make his NCAA track debut in the 10k, while David Butts will race in the 3k steeplechase in the NCAA Regional meet, his second appearance in the event at this stage.

 

Rowe’s time of 28:21.64 qualified him to race at NCAA Regionals, which he earned at the Raleigh Relays. At that meet, he placed 12th overall. Currently, his 10k time is the 14th fastest among the NCAA Division I qualifiers. He will race at 9:10 p.m. on Wednesday.

Butts made the Regional meet at the last second, qualifying with his time of 8:52.33 at the Princeton Elite meet, the most recent meet for the La Salle track teams. At that meet, he finished second overall. He last ran in the NCAA Regional meet in 2023. He will run on Friday at 5:40 p.m.

By:

Ted Sarneso


Saturday, May 24, 2025 | 4:39 PM

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North Allegheny was back in its familiar position of favorite entering this year’s WPIAL boys volleyball playoffs.

That wasn’t necessarily the case last year when North Allegheny lost to Shaler in the 3A finals, but the Titans subsequently dropped down to Class 2A and the Tigers brought back a team loaded with plenty of talent.

This year, North Allegheny was the hunted once again.

“This was the year we were supposed to come through and win it, and it put some pressure on us, but it’s good to check that box,” North Allegheny coach Dan Long said after North Allegheny defeated Seneca Valley, 3-1, in the Class 3A championship match Saturday at Peters Township. “I’m so proud of the way we competed.”

It didn’t look like the top-seeded Tigers (15-1) would come away with the win after they were dominated by second-seeded Seneca Valley (14-4) in the first set Saturday, but North Allegheny rallied to win the next three sets and come away with the Class 3A title.

“It felt like we were a bit tight in the first set, and we weren’t playing like ourselves and couldn’t find our comfort level,” Long said.

Everything that went wrong for the Tigers went right for the Raiders, who took the first set 25-17.

“It was all jelling,” Seneca Valley coach Brett Poirier said. “When you’re siding out, blocking, hitting and everything is going well, you’re going to play well.”

The Raiders set the tone early, exactly how Poirier had hoped they would, but he knows taking a set doesn’t guarantee another.

“I’ve seen so many times where you win by seven or eight points, and you turn around and you lose the next set,” Poirier said. “The guys knew they had to get that second set. We set the tone with the first set, so could we set the tone and get that second set and really push them to go.”

Seneca Valley senior Jordan Hoover led the way in the first set with four kills and a pair of blocks. Malach DeGraaf added three kills, and Chase Crawford added a pair. Abheek Nelikil had two blocks for the Raiders.

The Tigers got a pair of kills from Elijah Braun and three kills from Will Robertson. Dominic Laswell had two blocks.

After the set, Long asked his players in the huddle if everything was good.

“The responses I got back were pretty encouraging,” Long said. “They were ready to kick the dust off.”

North Allegheny roared to life in the second set, taking a 7-6 lead and not relenting in a 25-15 win.

Braun had three kills and a block, Garen White chipped in two kills and a block and Robertson had two kills.

What really opened it up for the Tigers was their service game, specifically the final two serves from senior Matthew LaMay, who closed the set with two aces.

“The biggest thing was losing that bad in the first set to a team we’re supposed to beat. It was a wake-up call for us and shocked us into working a lot harder and reaching levels we hadn’t reached yet this year,” said LaMay, who finished with five aces.

Robertson led the team with 17 kills, Brendan Moore added 10 and Jackson Failla dished out 25 assists.

Libero Emmett Morris led the team with 17 digs, and Elliott Swierczynski had 16 assists.

North Allegheny knew there would be added pressure this year being the top team.

“It’s something were familiar with having to play the teams we did in our section,” Long said. “We constantly preach first to five and 21-21 situations. We don’t fear those situations. We relish them.”

The Tigers won sets three and four by scores of 25-20 and 25-18.

“We were hoping this was going to be our day, but it wasn’t. It was their day,” Poirier said. “We face each other more than any other teams during the year. We know each other well. We hope to see them in states.”

Nelikil led the Seneca with 36 assists, DeGraaf had 11 digs and eight kills and libero Mario Ardolino had 12 digs.

Hoover finished the day with 17 kills and six total blocks for the Raiders.

“He’s a big-time player,” Poirier said. “He’s as good offensively as he is defensively, and he had 130 blocks last year, which is unheard of. He will carry it on to the next level at Division II, and I wish him the best.”

For North Allegheny’s LaMay, who had been to the championship match the last two years and came away with losses, this win was very fulfilling.

“It’s unbelievably satisfying,” LaMay said. “To come here again and come away with the win is a big deal for me and my fellow seniors.”

Tags: North Allegheny, Seneca Valley