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Dominance in the Desert

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Dominance in the Desert


How tactical brilliance and raw power triumphed in America’s most grueling stage race

SILVER CITY, New Mexico (April 23-27, 2025) — The 38th Tour of the Gila unfolds across five challenging stages in southwestern New Mexico, where over 160 athletes in the UCI men’s and women’s races navigate a course that tests both physical ability and psychological perseverance.

Day 1: The Tyrone Individual Time Trial

The race begins with the Tyrone Individual Time Trial presented by Freeport McMoRan. Lauren Stephens (Aegis Cycling Foundation Mixed Team) claims the red New Mexico True leader jersey in the women’s competition, while Sidney Swierenga (TaG Cycling Race Team) dons the white Southwest Bone and Joint/Brian and Lynn Robinson Best Young Rider Jersey.

In the UCI men’s race, Eric Brunner of Competitive Edge Racing takes the top step and the red jersey, with Project Echelon Racing’s Jonas Walton earning the white jersey for best young rider.

Photo courtesy Tour of the Gila
Photo courtesy Tour of the Gila
Photo courtesy Tour of the Gila
Photo courtesy Tour of the Gilac

Day 2: The Mogollon Road Race

The Mogollon Road Race continues the Tour’s tradition of shattering pelotons on its final uncategorized climb. Before turning onto the challenging ascent, the UCI women’s field rides as a cohesive group. Lauren Stephens reaches the cattleguard at the mountaintop first, claiming the QOM lead while adding to her overall lead in the general classification.

Photo courtesy Tour of the Gila
Photo courtesy Tour of the Gila

Her teammate Emma Langley finishes just six seconds back, while Best Young Rider Sidney Swierenga follows 23 seconds later. The first sprint points of the race are also awarded, with Ellexi Snover (Fount Cycling Guild), Kenna Pfeiffer (Aegis Cycling Mixed Team), and Yareli Acecedo Mendoza (Pato Bike) claiming the top three positions in the women’s sprint classification.

Perhaps in anticipation of the ascent to the ghost town of Mogollon, the UCI men’s field rode a steady pace in a compact peloton for the most part today. A couple ambitious souls attempted to get a head-start on the finishing climb. In those final miles, though, José Muniz Vasquez (Olinka-Specialized), Kieran Haug (Project Echelon Racing), and Robinson Fabian López Rivera (GW Erco Shimano) rose to the top. We saw a fresh face breaking into a smile and posting up when Muñiz Vazquez reached the finish line before his competition in the UCI men’s field.

Second place stage finisher Haug earned the red New Mexico True leader jersey, while his teammate Jonas Walton held onto the Southwest Bone and Joint Institute/Brian and Lynn Robinson Best Young Rider jersey. The polka dotted Freeport McMoRan climber jersey went to Vasquez, and the green Gila Regional Medical Center sprinter jersey went to Conn McDunphy.

Photo courtesy Tour of the Gila

Day 3: The Inner Loop Road Race

Stage three takes cyclists through the remote terrain of the Gila National Forest. Riders ascend to elevations of 7,200 feet, descend 1,000 feet over just three miles, pedal rolling hills near Lake Roberts and alongside the Mimbres River, before finishing with a climb to the Chino Mine and a sprint into the historic military fort of Ft. Bayard.

Lauren Stephens secures her third consecutive stage win in the women’s race, while Fausto Esparza Martinez (Olinka – Specialized) claims his first Tour of the Gila victory in the men’s field.

Photo courtesy Tour of the Gila
Photo courtesy Tour of the Gila

Both Stephens and Kieran Haug maintain their red New Mexico True leader jerseys, as Sidney Swierenga and Jonas Walton hold onto their best young rider classifications. Robinson Fabian Lopez Rivera (GW Erco Shimano) and Emma Langley (Aegis Cycling Mixed Team) wear the polka dotted Freeport McMoRan climber jerseys heading into stage four.

Day 4: The Downtown Criterium

Saturday’s Downtown Criterium presented by the Town of Silver City offers spectators their best opportunity to witness the race up close. Amateur races begin at 8 a.m., with the UCI women starting at 1:30 p.m. and the UCI men launching their 40 laps at 3:10 p.m. Brad Sohner’s commentating adds excitement as fans line the 1.08-mile course through Silver City’s historic district.

Photo by Kevin Keller, Tour of the Gila
Photo by Kevin Keller, Tour of the Gila

A photo finish ends Lauren Stephens’ winning streak as Competitive Edge rider Galen Bolard crosses the line first in the women’s race, with Fount Cycling Guild’s Minori Minagawa taking third.

In the men’s UCI race, Above and Beyond Cancer’s Patrick Welch rides solo off the front for most of the criterium, only to be caught in the final dozen laps by Project Echelon Racing and Specialized – Olinka. Eric Brunner wins the bunch sprint, beating Brandon Rojas Vega (GW Erco Shimano) and José Muñiz Vazquez (Olinka-Specialized). Brunner now trails Keiran Haug by just 12 seconds in the general classification.

Photo by Kevin Keller, Tour of the Gila
Photo by Kevin Keller, Tour of the Gila
Photo by Kevin Keller, Tour of the Gila

Midday citizen fun races give everyone from three-year-olds up a chance to experience the thrill of competition, with registration available at The Hub Plaza between 9 a.m. and noon.

Day 5: The Gila Monster Road Race

The queen stage faces a last-minute adjustment due to a Red Flag Warning across southwest New Mexico. Race officials, organizers, and UCI men’s teams agree to shorten the men’s course by eliminating the portion leading to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument Visitor Center.

Tour of the Gila. Photo by Dejan Smaic courtesy of Tour of the Gila

In the women’s race, Aegis Cycling Mixed Team demonstrates both strength and teamwork with a podium sweep. Lauren Stephens secures the overall victory, with Sidney Swierenga (TaG Cycling) earning a second-place finish (+2:23) and the Southwest Bone and Joint/Brian and Lynn Robinson Best Young Rider jersey.

The men’s race begins aggressively, with Robinson Fabian Lopez Rivera (GW Erco Shimano) ultimately crossing the mountain-top finish line first. Team Skyline’s Adam Lewis takes second place, while overall leader Kieran Haug cements his victory with a third-place finish.

The queen stage concludes in front of the Buckhorn Saloon and Opera House in the historic gold mining village of Pinos Altos. Though the course is shortened, it still takes competitors alongside the Mimbres River, through a region where meticulous potters established a community around A.D. 200. These Mimbres people are known for their famous black-on-white pottery, which inspired the handcrafted trophy bowls awarded to winners in each category—from amateur to UCI professional.

As the 38th Tour of the Gila comes to a close, Lauren Stephens (Aegis Cycling Mixed Team) stands atop the women’s podium with a 2:23 lead over Sidney Swierenga, while Kieran Haug (Project Echelon Racing) claims the men’s overall victory by a 12-second margin over Eric Brunner (Competitive Edge Racing).

For full results, see: https://tourofthegila.com/

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ACU Heads to College Station for First Meet of the Indoor Season

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The ACU track and field team opens its indoor season by competing in the McFerrin 12-Degree Invitational on the campus of Texas A&M on Saturday. The meet will be a low-key meet designed to get in some competition before the Christmas break.

Joining ACU and host Texas A&M in the field will be Baylor, Sam Houston State, SMU, and UTSA.

This meet will be the first competition for several newcomers to the program. There are plans to have three 4×400 relays for the women and the men and some of the newcomers will only run on the relays this weekend.

ACU entries for the men include: 60 (Horatio Brooks); 300 (Gage Heighten); 1000 (Evan Martin); Mile (Benjamin Castro, Vincent Luffey); 3,000 (Mark Barajas, Carlos Cortez); 60 hurdles (Canaan Fairley, Miguel Hall); high jump (Canaan Fairley); long jump (Horatio Brooks); weight throw (Rhet Punt, Matthew Udemba).

There will also be a large relay pool to fill out the three 4×400 relays and this pool includes newcomers who will only be competing in the relays – Durrell Collins, Abraham Olufemi-Dada, Nickens Lemba – and two returnees also running solely on the relays this weekend – Ethan Krause and Ryan McMeen.

ACU entries for the women include: 60 (Lauren Foxworth, Darinasia Taylor, Kee’Lani Whitlock, Neriah Williams, Morgan Morris, Halle Gunter, Jaeden Thomas); 300 (Morgan Morris, Kaycian Johnson); 600 (Madelyn McFadden, Anna Vyn, Gracee Whiteaker, Jalyn Childers); 1000 (Emma Santoro); Mile (Lola Buentello); 60 hurdles (Hana Banks, Nele Huth, Natalie Poe, Skyla Riedel); high jump (Kaia Anderson, Kennadi Payne, Natalie Poe); long jump (Halle Gunter, Nele Huth, Skyla Riedel, Jaeden Thomas); shot put (Sterling Glenn, Ciara Tilley, Mariana Van Dyk); weight throw (Sterling Glenn, Mariana Van Dyk).

Because the McFerrin Invitational will not have a triple jump in the meet, two Wildcats took part in the OU Winter Field Fest. Arthur Jenkins recorded a 14.94m triple jump, while Mackenzie Flaugher went 11.70m.

The McFerrin 12-Degree Invitational will be held in the Murray Fasken Indoor Track on the Texas A&M campus. The field events will begin at 2 p.m. and the running events at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Coach Miles Smith: I’m excited to see our kids compete. They have been working hard. We have a lot of newcomers who are getting their first taste of collegiate competition, so it will be fun to watch them compete.  Our goal is to come out healthy and learn what we need to work on over the next few weeks before the bulk of our season kicks off in mid-January.

 



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Petitjean, Weber Set Personal Bests In Boston

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BOSTON – The Elon University women’s track and field team opened its indoor season with two members of its distance squad competing at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Opener on Saturday at the BU Track and Tennis Center.
 
Senior Sarah Petitjean led the Phoenix in the 3,000 meters, posting a personal-best time of 9:49.97 to place 52nd in a field of 95 runners.
 
In the 5,000 meters, junior Hannah Weber also set a personal record with a time of 16:29, improving her previous best by nearly three seconds.
 
ON DECK
Elon will be idle for the winter break before returning to competition on Jan. 17 at the Mondo College Invitational at the JDL Fast Track Complex.
 

— ELON —



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Mountaineers Set New 4×400-Meter Relay Meet Record at Indoor Season Opener

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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.  – The App State women’s track and field team opened the 2025-26 indoor season at the Visit Winston-Salem College Kick-Off on Saturday. A new meet record, set by the 4×400-meter relay quartet of junior Nicole Wells, seniors Damyja Alejandro-Ortiz and Daye Talley, and junior Jayla Adams, punctuated the day’s action. 

“This was a great season opener for all event groups to knock the rust off from months ago. The athletes are really motivated to be back from break and start the season.” said director of track & field/cross country Damion McLean. “Expectations are high this season, so we have to stay motivated on an elite level to be competitive.” 

 

Wells, Alejandro-Ortiz, Talley, and Adams stopped the clock at 3:45.76 for a new meet record in the women’s 4×400-meter relay. The previous meet record was 3:49.07, set in 2021 by Duke’s Jenna Crean, Lauren Hoffman, Megan McGinnis, and Kiara Ekeigwe. The Mountaineers were two seconds shy of the App State school record of 3:43.85, which was set at the 2023 Sun Belt Indoor Championships. Earlier in the afternoon, Adams and Talley finished third (24.39) and fifth (24.77), respectively, in the women’s seeded 200 meters. Adams remains third in the App State all-time list with her personal best of 24.22, which she set during the 2024 campaign. In the women’s unseeded 200 meters, sophomore Kaitlyn McLeod placed fifth with a time of 25.04.

 

In her collegiate indoor debut, freshman Alana Braxton posted a pair of first place finishes in the women’s triple jump (12.32m (40′ 5″)) and women’s long jump (5.87m (19′ 3.25″)). Fellow freshman Ashlynn Wimberly landed second with a leap of 12.14m (39′ 10″) and sophomore Jahaila Wright placed sixth with a leap of 11.60m (38′ 0.75″) in the women’s triple jump. With a leap of 5.31m (17′ 5.25″) freshman Kelly MacBride rounded out the top 10 in the women’s long jump.

 

Senior Ava Studney placed first in the women’s pole vault, recording a clearance of 3.95m (12′ 11.5″). 

 

Junior Kendall Johnson placed second with a time of 7.50 in the women’s 60 meters, coming within 0.08 of her personal best and program record of 7.42, which she set at last season’s SBC Indoor Championships. Wells rounded out the top 10 in the women’s 60 meters with a time of 7.73.

 

With a time of 2:18.09, senior Addison Ollendick-Smith placed fourth in the women’s 800 meters. Ollendick-Smith, who stands second all-time in the program record book, was seven seconds shy of her personal best of 2:11.13, which she set last season.

 

With a personal best toss of 14.70m (48′ 2.75″), junior Dianna Boykin placed eighth in the women’s weight throw. Sophomore Emily Edwards placed eighth with a toss of 12.17m (39′ 11.25″) in the women’s shot put and rounded out the top 10 in the women’s weight throw with a mark of 14.03m (46′ 0.5″).

 

Up Next

The Mountaineers will resume the indoor track and field season with the UNC Asheville Collegiate Opener at Tryon International on Jan. 10.

 



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No. 2 seed ASU volleyball advances to Sweet 16 in NCAA Tournament

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Updated Dec. 5, 2025, 11:15 p.m. MT



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Babcock sets record as Pitt women’s volleyball team rolls in 1st round of NCAA Tournament

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Olivia Babcock didn’t realize her performance during the first round of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament gave her the Pitt record for most kills in a season. Babcock knew she met the previous record holder, Wendy Hatlestad, during alumni weekend.

Babcock recorded 13 kills during the Panthers’ 25-10, 25-17, 25-13 win Friday night at Petersen Events Center in front of a crowd of 4,240. Babcock now has 558 kills, going past the single-season record of 555 Hatlestad set in 2003.

“I was talking to her two weeks ago,” Babcock said. “That’s crazy I just met her. But I think it says a lot about how much my team trusts me to take those big rips, and it gives me the opportunity to score and get as many kills as I do.”

Everyone had a good night hitting for the top-seeded Panthers, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 10th straight season.

The Panthers committed only four attack errors against UMBC (13-12) and finished with a hitting percentage of .551.

“It’s really good to start out and to remind ourselves to maintain high standards,” Babcock said. “Obviously, all of these teams have made it into the tournament because they’re an amazing team, and everyone’s going to bring their best volleyball. I think we just need to make sure that we’re playing our best, too, because, especially in these matches, we don’t wanna slip up and give away a set or a match.”

Pitt (27-4) hasn’t dropped a set in the first round since it beat VCU, 3-1, in 2017 at Penn State.

The Retrievers qualified for the tournament after winning the America East Conference for the fifth time in the past six seasons. Pitt setter Brooke Mosher, who finished with 34 assists, said the Panthers got themselves in system thanks to their good passing.

Blaire Bayless was second for the Panthers with nine kills, and Abby Emch contributed eight.

“That made it really easy for me to spread the ball around and get the middles involved,” Mosher said. “Then, I trusted my teammates to be able to put the ball away.”

Pitt lost the first point of the match after UMBC delivered on a kill by Jalynn Brown. The Panthers responded by scoring the next three points, capping the surge with an ace by Izzy Masten.

UMBC struggled to find holes in Pitt’s defense. The Retrievers hit .129 and were led by seven kills from Hannah Dobbs.

UMBC coach Kasey Crider was happy with how they played.

“We don’t have an Olivia Babcock slayer, so, bummer,” Crider said. “I’ve been to this tournament a few times as a head coach and assistant coach, and I’ve never walked away from the tournament thinking we were the best at the end until today. It still hurts, but there were no regrets.”

Pitt will take on Michigan in the second round Saturday. The Wolverines advanced by beating Xavier. The Panthers are 3-6 all-time against the Wolverines.

Pitt’s only meeting with Michigan in the NCAA Tournament came in 2018, when the Wolverines upset Pitt in five sets at Petersen Events Center.

Mosher, who previously played in the NCAA Tournament with Illinois, said she doesn’t feel any extra pressure playing as the No. 1 seed.

“I think just being in the tournament has its own weight in itself,” Mosher said. “Every game your season is on the line, which is the same no matter who you are.”

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.





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Kansas State volleyball vs Nebraska in NCAA Tournament channel, time

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Dec. 6, 2025, 6:03 a.m. CT



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