The legacy of the Lary family grew recently as Tuscaloosa native Joe Lary was honored by Marquis Who’s Who, a group that begun recognizing individuals for significant accomplishments in various fields in 1899, for his achievements in health science and athletics. 

The Lary family originally made its name on the diamond, as Joe’s uncles Frank, Al, and Gene all played Major League Baseball. Frank was a three time All Star pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, Al was a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, and Gene pitched for the Cleveland Indians.

Joe found his athletic prowess on the track, and begun competing in field events leading up to college. In 1964, Joe Lary arrived to the campus of the University of Alabama as a freshman, and twice earned a letter as a member of the UA track team. 

Lary got his inspiration to compete in track while watching a documentary on Hall of Fame halfback Jim Thorpe. Thorpe was the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States, as Thorpe competed in the Pentathlon and Decathlon at the Stockholm Olympic Games in 1912. 

Lary said that the times he recorded in the decathlon would’ve tied Thorpe’s time at the Stockholm Olympics, and Lary’s record time would’ve bested Thorpe’s Pentathlon time that year.

“I competed as a member of the USA Masters Track and Field team at a world championship event down in Florida,” Lary said. “I won three medals for the united states: silver medals in the shot putt and triple jump, but I also won the bronze medal in the hammer throw.”

Lary’s fondest athletic memories came from those medals won while competing for Team USA. However, the most rewarding moment of Lary’s career came from his research studies. 

“Epidemiology is the most rewarding thing I have done,” Lary said. “I was able to help prevent people from getting all types of serious birth defects. I loved that job.”

Lary is now retired and living in Tuscaloosa, where he is originally from.

 

LA JOLLA, Calif. — Heading into its third year as a member of the Big West, the UC San Diego men’s water polo team announced its upcoming 2025 season schedule Saturday.

The home slate at Canyonview Aquatic Center in La Jolla features the season-opening Triton Invitational as well as four non-conference games and a trifecta of Big West contests. In addition, the team will play in six tournaments on the road, culminating with the Big West Championship in late November, as well as four single match-ups away from home.

Season tickets are set to go on sale on Tuesday, July 29, at 10 a.m. Pacific.

The Tritons get things underway by hosting their annual Triton Invitational August 29-31. The three-day tournament features many top-ranked teams from around the nation.

Home action continues on September 14 when 2024 national semifinalist Stanford visits.

Canyonview will be rocking on September 24 as LMU is in town for the annual Battle of the Kings. The game happens during the first week that students are back on campus and the venue will be packed and loud. The Tritons are the current Battle champions, downing LMU in 2024.

UC San Diego hosts back-to-back matches on October 17 and 18, the first a Big West game against Long Beach State, the second a non-conference tilt against Princeton.

On October 25, Big West rival UC Davis comes in for a matinee match-up. The Tritons wrap up Big West action at home against UC Irvine on November 7 and finish their home schedule by hosting Biola on November 8, which will also be Senior Day.

Single games on the road include Concordia (September 18), Big West opponent UC Santa Barbara (October 11), the Big West’s Cal State Fullerton (October 30), and LMU (Nov. 9).

Tournaments on the road are the Inland Empire Classic (September 5), Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Invitational (September 12), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invitational at UCLA (September 19-21), California Baptist’s Lancer Joust (September 27), and the Gary Troyer in Claremont (Oct. 3).

The Big West Championship, hosted this season by UC Irvine, is scheduled for November 21-23 at Anteater Aquatics Complex. The winner earns the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA National Collegiate Championship, set for Dec. 5-7 at Stanford.

UC San Diego is coming off a season that saw the Tritons go 17-12 overall and 3-2 in Big West action. They opened with a 3-1 record in the Triton Invitational, losing only to eventual national champion UCLA. Big West victories came against UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, and Cal State Fullerton. At the Big West Championship, UC San Diego took down host UC Davis to advance to the title game, where the Tritons were topped by Long Beach State.

For the complete 2025 schedule, click here.

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About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world’s preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.

RHINE-RUHR, GERMANY– Evelyn Bliss represented Bucknell and the United States on the international stage at the 2025 FISU World University Games by winning silver in the women’s javelin. The rising junior led most of the event but was surpassed in the final round by the eventual winner, Esra Turkman.

RESULTS

Bliss entered third in the start list and her best throw of the evening arrived in the first flight. The Bucknell thrower uncorked a massive toss of 57.37m (188-2), which rocketed her into first place and positioned her there until the ante-penultimate throw. The throw ranked second-best in her career.

‘ray for Evie!

She represented Bucknell with the highest dignity on the world stage!

A true All-American!#rayBucknell | #FeelingBlissful | #TeamUSA | #FISU2025 pic.twitter.com/kanbqpRKcb

— Bucknell Track & XC (@Bucknell_TFXC) July 26, 2025

As the sixth and final round proceeded and the favorites and numerous challengers fell short, Bliss’ gold medal seemed safe. Until Turkman, representing Turkey and two and a half years older than Bliss, hurled a personal best toss of 59.90m (196-5) to seize the lead. Bliss, throwing last in the final flight, had the opportunity to return the favor but her throw grabbed too much air and finished at 51.57m (169-1). 

Bliss posted good results in the second and third rounds, tossing 56.94m (186-8) and 56.63 (185-7). She purposely stepped across the line to disqualify her fourth attempt. Her fifth chance flew 53.89m (176-8).

The weekend proved fruitful for Bliss. She reset her school record yesterday in the qualifying round, throwing 60.81m (199-5). The distance also ranks first among Americans in 2025 and tenth in USA history. 

“Awesome competition for Evelyn in Germany,” said Bucknell throws coach Ryan Protzman. “It was a well-earned medal today. She hit a big throw out of the gate and it held on until the last few throws of the competition. I thought it was impressive the way she reset after yesterday’s personal record in the qualifying round. It is easy to get caught up in that throw, but she quickly moved on, and focused on the final. To finish with the second-best throw of her life was a statement that she has really leveled up as a javelin thrower and competitor.”

Bliss’ summer continues next week with the 2025 Toyota USATF Outdoor National Championships in Eugene, Oregon on July 31-August 3. Hayward Field is Bliss’ second home, as the site serves as the base of the NCAA National Championships, Olympic Trials, and the U20 National Championships. All three events have seen some of Bliss’ best moments. Coach Protzman, a stabilizing figure, will be present to assist Bliss at the competition. 

The women’s javelin at the National Championships is on July 31 at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time / 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

 

• Despite financial issues with Grand Slam Track, Crittenden remains focused on achieving a new personal best and potentially a world record.
• Fellow Arizona hurdler Zach Extine, fresh off a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships, also aims to compete in the World Championships.
• Despite financial issues with Grand Slam Track, Crittenden remains focused on achieving a new personal best and potentially a world record.
• Fellow Arizona hurdler Zach Extine, fresh off a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships, also aims to compete in the World Championships.

One year removed from one of the most frantic years of Freddie Crittenden’s life the Valley resident and crown jewel of the Phoenix Track Club is hoping for a calmer, but equally fruitful summer with the United States Track and Field Outdoor Championships on the horizon.

He is one of many from the state who will be making the trip up to the Pacific Northwest to compete at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon from July 31 to Aug. 3 with a spot to the World Athletics Championships on the line. 

Crittenden, who is coached by former Sunnyslope athlete Tim O’Neil at the Phoenix Track Club, is one of the athletes with ties to Arizona who has the best chance at making Team USA for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September.

“I’m feeling really relaxed, calm, confident,” Crittenden said to The Arizona Republic after a recent workout session at Phoenix Brophy Preparatory College. “Training has been out of this world.”

His preparations have come after a year that saw him run of the fastest times ever in the history of track and field for the 110-meter hurdles, qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, sign a professional contract with Adidas, and welcome the birth of his child.

Crittenden holds a lifetime personal best of 12.93 seconds and a season best of 13.09. He is currently ranked No. 9 overall in the world and No. 8 in the United States. The top three from the USATF Championships will qualify for Tokyo.

Crittenden was one of the hurdlers selected for Olympian Michael Johnson’s start-up track and field league, Grand Slam Track. It was a clear indicator that those involved with the sport viewed Crittenden as one of the best in his event, a big boost for someone who just yearned to get noticed before. He was proud to be selected.

But Crittenden is one of the many athletes still waiting to be paid by Grand Slam Track for the three meets he participated in. The league is facing financial issues after a key investor backed out early on.

Still, Crittenden hasn’t let the off-the-track distractions get to him. He has big ambitions.

“I’m definitely looking to PBing (setting a personal best) at the very least,” Crittenden said. “I’m eyeballing the world record, honestly. A couple of practice sessions have indicated that we’re moving toward that direction. I feel like I’m seasoned, I’m experienced. I’ve been down this road before. I’m ready to make some stuff happen.”

The world record in the 110-meter hurdles is 12.80, set in 2012 by Aries Merritt. 

The U.S. is deep with talent in the 110-meter hurdles, with five of the top-10 ranked athletes in the event.

“It’s absolutely stacked,” O’Neil said. “I would say at the end of the year, it wouldn’t surprise me if over half of the top 15 in the world were Americans.”

But with Grant Holloway, the defending world champion, receiving a bye, that’s one more spot that opens up.

“We’re optimistic,” O’Neil said. “I think we said last year that we like our chances. And we’re only happier than where we were last year, so we like our chances. There’s a lot of great Americans – we’re one of them.”

Alongside Crittenden at his practice was his chiropractor, Evan Price, who was doing mobile work on the track with a fold-out table. Price, who runs a practice under his name in Scottsdale, has been working with Crittenden since 2023, which coincides with his rise in the sport.

Crittenden says that Price has been instrumental in his journey from being unsigned to a contract with Adidas. Price is a Scottsdale Chaparral alum, graduating in 1988.

“It makes me proud to be part of his team,” Price said. “Man, I’m all in. If I can shave off that millisecond, it can mean the difference. It’s not about pain relief with him, it’s about performance enhancement. It’s not many times I get to work on someone’s performance; I’m usually working with pain. Now, track is starting to become my thing.”

Crittenden wasn’t the only one getting in work at Brophy, preparing for the U.S. Championships. 

Zach Extine, a 2021 Gilbert Perry alum and soon-to-be senior at the University of Arizona who just finished second in the 110-hurdles at the NCAA Championships in June, was working out as well with his coach, Fred Harvey, out of state at the Junior Olympics.

Extine’s time of 13.13 is the second-fastest all-time from an Arizona prep (only behind Devon Allen) and is No. 2 in the NCAA this season. He had no expectations heading into the NCAA Championships – just make the final and “shock the world.”

He’s headed to Eugene with the same game plan. 

“It’s the first time I’m going to be on this stage and running with the best in the world,” Extine said. “I’ve been working my (butt) off this summer after NCAAs, keeping my foot on the gas. We’re trying to shock the world. I’m trying to make that final and see if we can make something happen.”

Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.