Sports

David Rosas – The Daily Aztec

My college experience did not start on the first day as a freshman. It started when a random question popped into my head during the end of my sophomore year: Are you where you want to be? After critically thinking for about two seconds, the answer hit me: Nope. I had no […]

Published

2 weeks ago

May 7, 2025

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My college experience did not start on the first day as a freshman. It started when a random question popped into my head during the end of my sophomore year: Are you where you want to be?

After critically thinking for about two seconds, the answer hit me: Nope.

I had no clue what I was doing in college. I was taking classes and studying, and I felt like I was missing out on something. I did not know what this something was, but I wanted to find it.

At the time, I gave myself two options. I could do the easy thing and just call it quits, but that’s lame. I am the first member of my family to enter a four-year university, and I had the opportunity to be the first to graduate in a field that I am passionate about. Why should I give up on one upping my siblings?

I ended up choosing option two which was to throw myself at the door of anything related to my field. Sure, I dug myself into a deep hole by not being involved with my department or field, but it’s better to start later than never.

Before the start of the 2023 fall semester, the Daily Aztec heard a loud thump at their door. I had no clue what I was getting myself into, but I knew I was going to take any opportunity that popped up.

Being a sports nerd, I naturally gravitated towards the sports section. I remember being nervous because I did not feel qualified to cover games, but I wanted to get better as a writer and journalist.

I began to test the waters, and I did coverage for a variety of sports such as football, soccer, volleyball, lacrosse and water polo. Each week was a new experience, and I was doing my best to become better.

Volleyball unintentionally became my beat during the fall semester of my senior year, and it presented an awesome opportunity from my editors to do coverage for a professional beach volleyball league.

This opportunity became my most memorable experience and story with the DA. If you told me two years ago that I would be interviewing Olympic athletes, I’d think you’re crazy.

Besides the great experiences, I was surrounded by an amazing group of people. Before my time at the DA, I was an introvert that was very pessimistic. A good combo, I know. I definitely had imposter syndrome when I first came into the newsroom, but my fellow writers and editors quickly made me feel that I belong.

My peers changed the way I viewed myself. Without them, I would still be downplaying myself and seeing everything in a negative light.

While I had my fun during my time at the DA, I also had my shares of losing. I had to learn things the hard way or do things feeling like I had a hand tied to my back. Believe me, inconvenience is my good buddy.

Professor Melissa Mecija assigns you to cover the 2024 CSU facility strikes. No problem! I’ll just wake up, get ready, and walk out the door to three to four feet of water. Well, my car is flooded, but I can go another day. It’s not like the strike will only last one day, right?

Things happen… but we have this cool ability to figure it out. Yes, these times will be stressful, but I became better at handling it each time my buddy wanted to say hi.

By taking one little step, the course of my college career changed. I went from aimlessly going to school to doing meaningful work. It also took a bit of a hard realization, but we are going to forget about that part. If I ask myself the same question today, I can sit back and say without hesitation: I am where I want to be.

Looking back, I did not appreciate this experience enough, and I will miss my time at the DA. I am proud of what I was able to accomplish, and I can breathe easy knowing that I did my best.

Well, I rest my case. The good news is that you don’t have to hear from me anymore; the bad news is that you made it this far. Thank you to everyone that supported me throughout this journey. I enjoyed the ride, and I hope you all find your place in the world.

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Sports

Santa Ynez and Nipomo celebrate CIF-CS boys volleyball titles

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Two local high schools are celebrating CIF-Central Section boys volleyball championships. Santa Ynez outlasted Sanger West in five sets to win the CIF-CS Division 2 championship (Photo courtesy CIF-CS). Nipomo sweeps Roosevelt to win the CIF-CS Division 3 championship. (photo courtesy CIF-CS). (Video courtesy of Nipomo Facebook and CIF-CS). BE PART […]

Published

33 seconds ago

May 17, 2025

Your Sports Nation

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Two local high schools are celebrating CIF-Central Section boys volleyball championships.

Santa Ynez outlasted Sanger West in five sets to win the CIF-CS Division 2 championship (Photo courtesy CIF-CS).

Nipomo sweeps Roosevelt to win the CIF-CS Division 3 championship. (photo courtesy CIF-CS).

(Video courtesy of Nipomo Facebook and CIF-CS).

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Sports

12 Blue Jays Qualify for NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships

Story Links BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins women’s track and field team will send 12 student-athletes to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, as released by the association. Lorna Arcese, Sara Bartlett, Carter Brotherton, Cooper Brotherton, Adriana Catalano, Erika Ezumba, Annie Huang, Mirra Klimov, Emma Kothari, […]

Published

19 minutes ago

May 17, 2025

Your Sports Nation

BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins women’s track and field team will send 12 student-athletes to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, as released by the association.

Lorna Arcese, Sara Bartlett, Carter Brotherton, Cooper Brotherton, Adriana Catalano, Erika Ezumba, Annie Huang, Mirra Klimov, Emma Kothari, Lauren Phillips, Lianne Saussy and Harrinee Senthilkumar will make the trip to Geneva to compete across nine events beginning Thursday, May 22 and running through Saturday, May 24.

The action is set to begin on Thursday at 5:50 p.m. with a trio of Blue Jays in the 1500-meter, where Huang, the reigning Centennial Conference Champion will look to win gold, alongside teammate’s Kothari, the conference runner-up, and Senthilkumar. The top 12 in the event will advance to Saturday’s final to compete for a podium spot.

The Blue Jays will be busy on the track Thursday and Friday, with Co. Brotherton (3000S), Phillips (400), Klimov (100), Huang (800) and the 4×400 relay squad (Phillips, Huang, Arcese, Saussy) all competing in their respective preliminary races beginning at approximately 7:35 p.m. on Thursday and 3:15 p.m. on Friday. The top eight finishers in the 100, 400, 800 and 4×400 will advance to the finals, while the top 12 from the steeplechase will move on to Friday’s final.

Saturday’s festivities are set to begin at 11:00 a.m. with Ezumba in the hammer throw, where the reigning Centennial Conference champion and Field Athlete of the Year looks poised to compete for a podium spot. The final day will conclude when Ca. Brotherton and Catalano make a run at the 5000-meter podium.

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Florida Atlantic University Athletics

VIDEO: Meet Joshua Scholl Joshua Scholl Photo Gallery Why I Chose FAU:‘FAU is a great up-and-coming university. Our campus is located in beautiful Boca Raton, close to the beach and Miami. FAU’s dedicated faculty and great facilities provide me with the opportunity for an excellent education in sunny Florida. In addition, I enjoy the unique […]

Published

25 minutes ago

May 17, 2025

Your Sports Nation

VIDEO: Meet Joshua Scholl

Joshua Scholl Photo Gallery Why I Chose FAU:‘FAU is a great up-and-coming university. Our campus is located in beautiful Boca Raton, close to the beach and Miami. FAU’s dedicated faculty and great facilities provide me with the opportunity for an excellent education in sunny Florida. In addition, I enjoy the unique opportunity to participate in and represent one of America’s top tennis programs: FAU Men’s Tennis! Go Owls!’

As a Junior (’09-’10): Finished the season posting winning records in singles and doubles action…Tied for team-high honors with 26 total victories…Went 13-8 in singles but saw his most effectiveness in doubles where he posted a 5-1 mark with Ervin Garibovic and 7-4 record with Derek Madon…Scholl clinched the match point in FAU’s victory over New Orleans in the Sun Belt Conference Championships after playing a vital role in clinching the doubles point…He finished the year winning six of his final nine matches.

As a Sophomore (’08-’09): Compiled a 12-9 record at the number four singles position…One of six Owls to record double digit wins last season…Tied for team-high honors with 15 doubles’ victories teaming with Daniel Vardag. As a

Freshman (’07-’08): Saw action in six matches, all duals…was 3-2 at no. six…was 4-3 in double play, all at no. 3, but with three different partners…only two singles losses on the year was to members of nationally ranked teams.

High School: Home Schooled.

Tennis: Won National Doubles Title in New York in the 18s Division…held an ITF ranking in the top 800.

Personal: Biological science major…son of Udo and Karin Scholl…born June 27, 1988 in Engelskirchen, Germany…speaks three languages: German, Spanish and English.

FAU Career Singles
Year	Dual	Overall
2007-08	4-2	4-2
2008-09	13-9	14-10
2009-10	12-8	13-8
Total	29-19	31-20

FAU Career Doubles
Year	Dual	Overall
2007-08	4-3	4-3
2008-09	16-8	16-12
2009-10	13-7	13-7
Total	33-18	33-22

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Sports

Francis Howell Central sweeps Francis Howell North to claim district championship

By Joe Harris | Special to the Post-Dispatch ST. PETERS — Francis Howell Central senior Chase Williams couldn’t wait to take the court on Friday. The Spartans setter had plenty of motivation as he and his teammates took on district rival Francis Howell North in the boys volleyball Class 1 District 6 championship match at Fort […]

Published

33 minutes ago

May 17, 2025

Your Sports Nation

By Joe Harris | Special to the Post-Dispatch

ST. PETERS — Francis Howell Central senior Chase Williams couldn’t wait to take the court on Friday.

The Spartans setter had plenty of motivation as he and his teammates took on district rival Francis Howell North in the boys volleyball Class 1 District 6 championship match at Fort Zumwalt East.

“This is probably the most anticipated I’ve ever been for a volleyball game,” Williams said. “I was thinking about it all day. I went into it thinking, you know, if it’s 1-v-6, if it’s me versus them, I’m coming out on top. I’m not losing district finals my senior year.”

Williams was true to his word, running the Howell Central offense to near perfection in a 25-22, 25-12, 25-16 win.

Howell Central (30-3-2), the state runner-up last season, will play Pattonville (11-13-1) in sectionals.

Jason Campbell ripped 16 kills and Gavin Schlatter and Ethyn Durham each had seven for the Spartans. Williams finished with 30 assists, while Braden Harton led a lock-down back row defensive effort.

“We’ve been preparing all week,” Howell Central coach Steve Le said. “We had a good game plan coming in, and they executed pretty well.”

Samuel Fitzsimmons and Joshua Windsor each had nine kills and Luke Hollinger had 23 assists for Howell North (18-8).

“I think mentally clawing our way back so close (in the first set) and then losing it hurts mentally,” Howell North coach Robin Yuede said. “They’re a seasoned team. They’re a great team. If I got to lose to someone, it might as well be them.”

Howell Central won both regular season matches but needed a dramatic reverse sweep to pull out the second meeting. The Spartans saved the drama this time.

After taking the first two sets, Howell Central’s block set the tone early in the third set as the Spartans jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Campbell, Levi Brimm and Durham each had stuffs in the frame.

“I like getting blocks because I don’t get a whole lot of them,” Campbell said. “So, whenever I do, it really turns me up.”

Campbell’s sixth kill of the set brought up championship point and a Knights’ hitting error ended the 68-minute match.

“Our passing was on point today,” Williams said. “Just running the middle just slightly off the net, giving them space to swing away, working in our right side from time to time, and then really working in those back row options … really went well tonight on offense.”

Yuede said the future is bright for the Knights with a strong group returning.

“These guys just love the game, and so they work hard,” Yuede said. “You know, we’re not the tallest, we’re not the strongest, we don’t have, you know, an entire team that plays club ball, but these guys work hard every day.”

Spartans start strong

Kills by Durham and Campbell helped give the Spartans a 21-17 lead in a tightly-played first set. A Williams ace brought up set point and a Schlatter laser clinched the opener for Howell Central.

Campbell and Schlatter each had five kills and Josh Hadden put down three aces for the Spartans in the first set.

“We thought it would be a good game,” Campbell said. “They definitely showed out. But, I mean, we turned up, we played how we play.”

Adkerson is aces

Howell Central took control of the second set with an 11-0 run sparked by Trent Adkerson’s aggressive serves. When he wasn’t putting down his two aces, Adkerson flustered Howell North’s serve receive leading to several hitting errors as the Spartans jumped out to a 15-3 lead.

“He’s got a great deep float serve,” Le said of Adkerson. “He serves way back, so there’s that extra time and the extra movement that you get.”

Campbell put down five kills and a Harton ace helped Howell Central take a 2-0 lead.

Playoff picture

Howell Central will travel to Pattonville in sectionals on Tuesday, May 20. The Pirates, who were the No. 3 seed in District 5, upset top-seeded Ladue in the championship match on Thursday.

The Spartans swept the Pirates on March 29.

“If the kids do what they did today, we should be OK,” Le said. “I mean, they played with great energy, they had great serving, great blocking. I always tell the kids that with blocking, passing and serving, if you win two out of the three, usually you win the game.”

Francis Howell Central def. Francis Howell North 25-22, 25-12, 25-16

05/16/2025 - Boys Volleyball - FH North vs FH Central — Francis Howell Central players celebrate as the ball fall to give them a three set seep and the victory during the District 6 Championship match held on Friday May 16, 2025 at Fort Zumwalt East High School in St. Peters.

Rick Ulreich, Special to Post-Dispatch

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Mira Costa boys volleyball wins CIF-SS Division 1 championship over Huntington Beach

Mira Costa’s team celebrates their victory after the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer) Mira Costa’s Grayson Bradford (20) scores over the defense of Huntington Beach’s Colin Choi (10) during the CIF-SS Division […]

Published

52 minutes ago

May 17, 2025

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NORWALK — There were swings of momentum, both good and bad, but in the end, the Mira Costa boys volleyball team faced a sprint to 15 points in the fifth and deciding set of the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 championship match.

“After the fourth set, we said this is a fresh set to 15, as simple as that,” senior Thatcher Fahlbusch said. “We didn’t have to complicate that. We were all clear-minded and this is the result.”

The top-seeded Mustangs (34-3) won that sprint to cap a five-set thriller Friday at Cerritos College against second-seed Huntington Beach to win 25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 29-31, 15-11 and claim their first CIF-SS title since 2021.

“We had such a tough week with the passing of our friend (Loyola’s Braun Levi) and everyone came together and worked so hard,” senior setter Andrew Chapin said. “We did it. We won. We were supposed to win by more, but we did in the end and I’m just happy we were able to win.”

While the team celebrated, coach Greg Snyder took a seat on the bench to relax. It was that sort of match.

Mira Costa, who defeated Huntington Beach in two sets to win the Redondo Tournament back in February, didn’t have much trouble winning the first set. Huntington Beach responded scoring the first seven points of the second set and never relinquishing the lead.

In the third set, it was Mira Costa jumping out early with four consecutive points and never looking back, moving one set away from the championship glory.

Huntington Beach staved off elimination winning a wild fourth set (31-29), that saw Mira Cosa serve four times for championship point.

“I thought we were going the win because of the way we had been playing,” Snyder said. “I knew Huntington was good, but man they definitely showed up to play and gave us everything we could handle and more so. That’s a great team, they played great defense. I think we played pretty well, we could have served better, but other than that we played pretty strong.

“I don’t know what it is about this gym, we don’t like to serve here, but they played exceptional, they deserved to be here.”

Mira Costa probably could have had easier night, but the Mustang missed 21 serves in the match.

“That is disgusting,” Snyder said.

To the Mustangs’ credit, they found what they need in the fifth set. After a side-out battle early, the Mustangs took a 7-5 lead on a kill by Chapin and an attack error by the Oilers. The lead would get to five on a kill by Grayson Bradford to make it 12-7.

Later, Bradford would put the finishing touches on the night with a right-side attack for his 25th kill, clinching the championship.

Mateo Fuerbringer added 17 kills, Fahlbusch and Alex Heins had nine apiece and Wyatt Davis finished with six.

Mira Costa was making its second consecutive appearance. Last year, the Mustangs were swept by Loyola.

“I think for the most part, they handled the pressure,” Snyder said. “I think it did burn the guys from last year. I said it before this match, that I think somehow, the team that loses the final, comes back the next season with a hunger that really can’t be replicated or created in another way. What that means for next year? Maybe that happens for Huntington. Hopefully we’ll be good enough to battle back and get here again and that advantage will be ours again. That’s next season. I’m still worried about regionals and what’s left in front of us.”

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AVP Huntington Beach Open delivers exciting clashes and memorable victories

HUNTINGTON BEACH – The 2025 AVP Huntington Beach Open wrapped up last Sunday, treating beach volleyball fans to a weekend of high-stakes action under the California sun. The tournament, held at the iconic Huntington Beach Pier, has been a staple on the AVP calendar since 2000, and this year’s event carried the added significance of […]

Published

1 hour ago

May 17, 2025

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The men’s championship match featured a commanding performance by top-seeded duo Andy Benesh and Miles Partain. The pair defeated the second-seeded team of Chase Budinger and Miles Evans in straight sets, 21-14, 21-14. Known for their dynamic chemistry, Benesh and Partain controlled the court, demonstrating why they previously clinched the 2023 Huntington Beach title.

For Budinger, a former NBA player, and his partner Miles Evans, the loss highlighted their grit and determination throughout the tournament. They had advanced to the final after a grueling three-set semifinal victory over Billy Allen and Taylor Crabb, 24-26, 21-19, 15-13. This marked another strong showing for Allen and Crabb, with local hero Allen hailing from Fallbrook.

On the women’s side, fans were treated to a thrilling three-set showdown between first-seeded Taryn Brasher and Kristen Nuss, and third-seeded Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft. Brasher and Nuss, who finished third in 2023 and second in 2024, finally secured their first Huntington Beach Open title with a hard-fought 21-17, 21-23, 15-9 victory. The pair’s toughness on the sands solidified their status as one of the top teams to watch heading into the AVP League season.

Taryn Brasher (L) and Kristen Nuss won their first ever AVP Huntington Beach Open title. Valley News/Bryan Malloch photo

Cannon and Kraft, though falling short of the crown, impressed throughout the tournament, particularly in their semifinal victory against the second-seeded team of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson in another intense three-set match, 21-15, 19-21, 15-12.

For Fallbrook native Billy Allen, the Huntington Beach Open was a homecoming of sorts. Partnered with Taylor Crabb, Allen advanced to the semifinals, where they narrowly lost in three sets to eventual finalists Budinger and Evans. Allen, a veteran of the AVP circuit since 2004, has built a storied career that includes tournament wins in Seattle and a successful run as co-host of the podcast “Coach Your Brains Out.”

Allen’s connection to his California roots remains strong, even after relocating to Idaho with his family. The father of one continues to balance his roles as an athlete, coach, and writer, sharing his experiences in books like The Inner Knight.

With the Huntington Beach Open officially in the books, players now shift their focus to the AVP League, set to begin its second season on May 23 in Palm Beach, Florida. Two additional California stops are planned for this summer’s league schedule, including events in San Diego and Los Angeles.

The stakes remain high for athletes vying not only for league glory but also to further establish themselves on the international stage, as many of the weekend’s standout performers are also preparing for the 2024 Olympics.

The 2025 AVP Huntington Beach Open was a weekend packed with talent, thrilling matchups, and electric energy that only beach volleyball can bring. From the dominant performances of champions Benesh and Partain to the dramatic battles on the women’s side, this year’s tournament left an lasting mark on the sands of Huntington Beach.

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