KINGSTON — Canada’s under-19 girls’ volleyball team collected the bronze medal with an exciting victory over the Dominican Republic on Saturday at the Pan American Cup.

Canada won the best-of-five match 3-2, taking the tiebreaker 15-10 at Queen’s University Athletic and Recreation Centre.

The United States beat Mexico in the gold-medal final.

Canada led in attack points 58-50, blocking 10-4, while Dominican Republic had one more ace (11-10). Canada also made more errors 35-24.

Opposite Sydney Bell (16) and outside hitter Sol Henson (14) led in points for Canada. Ambar Hernández (16) and Julie Millaray Arias (13) were top scorers for the Dominican Republic.

“It was a great team effort for us,” said Canada’s head coach Gina Schmidt. “The Dominican team served tougher than they did in the previous match we played against them. We were in system a lot in our first match, and they added some service pressure today, which got us out of our rhythm with our offence.

“Once we kind of settled that down and put on more pressure from service from our side, we were able to work our way back into the match. I loved the way our team reacted in that fifth set. Everyone found a way to contribute, so that’s important as we head into the next tournament.”

Most teams, including Canada, at the Pan Am Cup were using the tournament to prepare for the FIVB Girls’ U19 2025 World Championship, which will be held in Serbia and Croatia in early July.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2025.

The Canadian Press

KINGSTON – Canada’s under-19 girls’ volleyball team collected the bronze medal with an exciting victory over the Dominican Republic on Saturday at the Pan American Cup.

Canada won the best-of-five match 3-2, taking the tiebreaker 15-10 at Queen’s University Athletic and Recreation Centre.

The United States beat Mexico in the gold-medal final.

Canada led in attack points 58-50, blocking 10-4, while Dominican Republic had one more ace (11-10). Canada also made more errors 35-24.

Opposite Sydney Bell (16) and outside hitter Sol Henson (14) led in points for Canada. Ambar Hernández (16) and Julie Millaray Arias (13) were top scorers for the Dominican Republic.

“It was a great team effort for us,” said Canada’s head coach Gina Schmidt. “The Dominican team served tougher than they did in the previous match we played against them. We were in system a lot in our first match, and they added some service pressure today, which got us out of our rhythm with our offence.

“Once we kind of settled that down and put on more pressure from service from our side, we were able to work our way back into the match. I loved the way our team reacted in that fifth set. Everyone found a way to contribute, so that’s important as we head into the next tournament.”

Most teams, including Canada, at the Pan Am Cup were using the tournament to prepare for the FIVB Girls’ U19 2025 World Championship, which will be held in Serbia and Croatia in early July.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2025.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

photo by: Journal-World Sports Staff

The Journal-World All-Area Teams.

Coach of the Year: MaryJo Swann, Eudora

Eudora’s girls track and field team placed second overall in the 4A state meet with three state champions in four events.

Player of the Year: Hanna Keltner, Eudora

Hanna Keltner

Keltner finished her Eudora career as a state champion in the 3200-meter run and the 1600-meter run. She took third in the 800-meter run at the state meet and set school records in those three events. Keltner will go on to run track and cross-country at Kansas State as one of the most prolific athletes in Eudora history.

Izzy Brunkow, Eudora

Izzy Brunkow

Brunkow won the 4A state championship in pole vault as a sophomore, setting a school record for pole vault during the season. Throughout the 2025 season, Brunkow consistently won pole vault events and was one of the team’s better sprinters.

George Hagan, Eudora

George Hagan

Hagan placed third in the triple jump at the 4A state meet, an event in which he set a school record for in the 2025 season. Hagan broke the school record three times, with his best coming in the state meet with a jump of 44 feet, 10.25 inches.

Adalyn Hemphill, Eudora

Adalyn Hemphill

Hemphill concluded her Eudora career as a state champion in the triple jump and a third-place finisher in the long jump. Hemphill is the school’s record holder in the two jumping events, and she was also the team’s highest scorer in 2025 with over 190 points.

Riley Howell, Lawrence

Riley Howell

Howell bounced back from injuries to finish his Lawrence career strong in the 100-meter sprint. He placed third with a 10.78-second time.

Irelyn Kennedy, Baldwin

Irelyn Kennedy

Kennedy placed second in the 3200-meter run and the 1600-meter run, while helping set a new school record in the 4×800-meter relay and the 4×1600-meter relay in her junior year.

Tucker McGuire, Tonganoxie

Tucker McGuire

McGuire concluded his Tonganoxie career as a state champion in the discus throw, as he managed a 172-foot, 6-inch throw in the state meet, which was two feet farther than any other 4A throw.

Kami Moore, Baldwin

Kami Moore

Moore was the runner-up in the 800-meter run and was a part of Baldwin’s 4×400, 4×800 and 4×1600-meter relay teams.

Sadie Reynolds, Free State

Sadie Reynolds

Reynolds finished her sophomore campaign as a regional and state champion in the discus, an event in which she set a school record earlier in the season.

Adalyn Schooler, Tonganoxie

Adalyn Schooler

Despite being just a sophomore Schooler won a state title in the discus throw with a throw of 130 feet, five inches. Schooler also qualified for the state meet in high jump.

Sienna Wesley, Lawrence

Sienna Wesley

Wesley, a sophomore, was the 6A runner-up in the long jump with an 18-foot, 0.25-inch jump. Wesley was also a dominant sprinter for the Lions throughout the track and field season.

Juliana Yaluk-Shults, Veritas Christian

Juliana Yaluk-Shults

As a freshman, Yaluk-Shults led Veritas in scoring for the season. She placed in every meet she competed in and showcased her versatility by competing in seven different events throughout the season. She broke the school record in the 200-meter dash–twice–and placed first in the 200 and second in the 100 at the KASC State Track Meet.

Honorable Mention: Hudson Andrew (Free State); Cayman Barnes (Free State); Austin Drewry (Free State); Tyler Dye (Lawrence); Alex Gonzalez (Eudora); Parker Jones (Free State); Grant Lichauer (Free State); Brenden O’Connor (Baldwin); Elias Salmeron-Dominguez (Veritas Christian). Reece Schmidt (Tonganoxie); Nate Steinlage (Eudora).

It is rare for an uncapped player to get picked in an overseas T20 league, especially when they have not played in their own country’s equivalent tournament. But Salonee Dangore did the improbable when she signed with Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) for the 2025 Women’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

A legspin-bowling allrounder, the 27-year-old Dangore is one of four overseas players at TKR alongside Lizelle Lee, Shikha Pandey and Jess Jonassen. For the last two WPL seasons, Dangore was a net bowler at Delhi Capitals, the franchise Pandey and Jonassen play for. It would not be a surprise if these two put in a word after watching her at close quarters.

Dangore’s cricketing journey is as improbable as her CPL selection. Growing up, she was a national-level athlete and had no interest in cricket. Until 2015, she did not even know of legspin’s existence.

“When I was in school, I used to run very fast,” she tells ESPNcricinfo. “So our sports teacher asked me to pursue athletics. I would do 100m, 200m, long jump and triple jump. During my Under-14 and Under-17 days, I represented Madhya Pradesh at the national level in all those events.”

She was around 17 when Jose Chacko, a Sports and Youth Welfare officer, advised her mother to make her switch to cricket for better opportunities. Dangore enrolled at an academy run by the former Ranji Trophy player Sunil Lahore in Indore. Since she had only watched boys in her residential colony bowl with long run-ups, she wanted to be a fast bowler. Lahore watched her bowl a couple of deliveries and told her to take up legspin.

After spending about two years at the academy, Dangore joined the Ramesh Bhatia Cricket Foundation (RBCF). As a track-and-field athlete, her fielding was top-notch, but she struggled to turn her legbreaks. That sounds incredible, because currently she can pitch it on middle and leg stump and consistently hit off.

“I was inspired by Shane Warne and the way he turned the ball,” she says. “But my arm would rotate in the other direction and most of my deliveries would end up as googlies. So I would watch his videos in slow motion to figure out how he did it.

“Apart from that, my coaches – Sanjay Choubey sir and Himanshu Vairagi sir – at the RBCF helped in correcting my arm alignment. It took a lot of effort but eventually I was able to turn the ball.”

Dangore made her debut for Madhya Pradesh in 2017-18. Two seasons later, she was their highest wicket-taker (14 in eight games, at an average of 11.50) and third-highest run-scorer (130 at 32.50) in the One-Day Trophy, before Covid-19 ended the tournament prematurely.

The turning point of her career came in 2022, when the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) called up former India legspinner Narendra Hirwani for a camp. “He changed my mindset completely,” Dangore says. “He said, ‘You will do what you think you can. So you should think you are the best legspinner in the world.’ That advice is still fresh in my mind and gives me a lot of confidence when I am bowling.”

Shortly after that camp, the RBCF also invited Hirwani to their academy. Since then, Dangore has had multiple sessions with him.

“Sir also advised me to bowl slightly faster,” she says. “So right now I am working on increasing my pace while maintaining the turn. Apart from that, I am working on my slider and googly.”

When it comes to batting, Dangore’s focus is on power-hitting and strike rotation, so that she can “contribute in every situation”.

The stints with Capitals have also helped her immensely. “In my first year with them, there were only two net bowlers, [VJ] Joshitha and me,” she says. “I used to bowl in the same set as Jess Jonassen and would ask her about my bowling, tactics, and what to bowl when. Whatever feedback I got, I worked on that.”

Dangore also realised she needed to shoulder more responsibility for her domestic side to stand out. In search of better opportunities, she moved to Chhattisgarh before the 2024-25 season.

She picked up only two wickets in six games in the T20 Trophy, but emerged as Chhattisgarh’s leading wicket-taker in the one-dayers with 15 scalps from six matches at an average of 12.00. With the bat, she was their second-highest run-getter with most of her 144 runs coming at No. 6.

That, in December 2024, remains Dangore’s last competitive tournament. Since then, she has had another stint with Capitals and is eager to show off her learnings. But with the CPL allowing teams to field only three overseas players in their XI, will she get enough game time?

“I am not thinking about that because it’s not in my control,” she says. “Whenever I get a chance, I want to give my best. Moreover, the pitches there [in Guyana] should help spinners.”

Dangore cites Shreyanka Patil’s example. Patil too was uncapped when Guyana Amazon Warriors picked her in 2023, though unlike Dangore she had had a full WPL season behind her. She finished the CPL as the highest wicket-taker with nine wickets from five games.

“I want to create a similar impact,” Dangore says. “Whenever the team needs me – be it with the ball or the bat – I want to win matches. I hope this stint opens up more doors for me.”

Larry Eder

Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America’s first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: “I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself.” Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, ” I’m no Angel.”