Sports
Empire 8 Announces 2025 Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Award Winners and All-Conference Selections
Women’s Outdoor Track and Field | 6/3/2025 2:45:00 PM
The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2025 Women’s Outdoor Track & Field All-Conference awards on Tuesday, June 3. The awards are voted on by the league’s head coaches. Current and former NCAA Outdoor Champions Penelope Greene of SUNY Geneseo and Rebecca Heuler of SUNY Brockport highlighted the individual award winners.
Greene was named the Empire 8 Indoor Track Athlete of the Year after winning 2025 NCAA Championships in both the 5,000- and 10,000-meter events in dominant fashion from the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, OH from May 22-24. Greene began the meet by winning the 10,000-meters by 33 seconds in a time of 33:46.70. She then rolled to a nearly 15 second win in the 5,000-meters, crossing the finish line in a time of 16:01.55. She ran the sixth-fastest 5,000-meter time in NCAA history. Greene did lose an individual race against Division III competition during the spring, as she took the 5,000- and 10,000-meter title at the E8 Championships and won the 1,500-meters at the All-Atlantic Region Championships. Greene also set all-time Empire 8 records in the 1,500- (4:22.23), 5,000- (16:01.55) and 10,000-meters (33:42.16).
Heuler, the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Champion in the javelin throw was named the 2025 Empire 8 Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year. Heuler earned 2025 First Team All-American honors in the javelin, placing sixth overall at the NCAA Championships with a toss of 40.78 meters. She also won the javelin at the 2025 E8 Championships and qualified for nationals with a season-best throw of 41.23 meters at the Brockport Multi-Outdoor meet in April.
Alexa Belanger of Houghton University was named the 2025 Empire 8 Outdoor Rookie of the Year. Belanger, who was also named the 2024-25 E8 Indoor Rookie of the Year, earned NCAA First Team All-American honors for the Highlanders, finishing eighth in the high jump at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She cleared a season-best 1.71 meters in the high jump to win E8 Championship and qualify for the NCAA Championships. Belanger was also the runner-up in the event at the All-Atlantic Region Championships. Belanger is Houghton’s third E8 Outdoor Track and Field Rookie of the Year in program history.
SUNY Geneseo head coach Chris Popovici and his staff of assistant coaches Dan Moore, Christian Johnson, Kieran Sheridan and Gwen Shepardson was named the 2025 Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. The Knights won their first Empire 8 Outdoor Track & Field Championship in dominant fashion and placed seventh at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Overall, Geneseo had 21 different student-athletes earn All-Conference honors, while Greene was national champion in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter events 400-meter dash, Greene, Gabriella McCarthy (10,000-meters) and Ann Brennan (3,000-meter steeplechase) earned First Team All-American honors. The Knights, who had 16 different student-athletes combine to earn 24 USTFCCCA All-Region accolades, shattered six E8 Outdoor Track and Field Championship records and 11 overall league marks in 2025.
The Empire 8 first, second and third team all-conference selections were determined at the championship meet on May 2-3 from Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium, hosted by SUNY Brockport.
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2025 Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Sportswoman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that “Competing with Honor and Integrity” is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
2025 Empire 8 Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Award Winners
Track Athlete of the Year: Penelope Greene, Sr., SUNY Geneseo
Field Athlete of the Year: Rebecca Heuler, Sr., SUNY Brockport
Rookie of the Year: Alexa Belanger, Fr., Houghton
Coaching Staff of the Year: SUNY Geneseo, led by head coach Chris Popovici
Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year
Brianna Dorr, So., Alfred (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa)
Monica Cammarota, Fr., SUNY Brockport (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna)
Janelle Eckl, Sr., SUNY Geneseo (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon)
Julia Weinschreider, Fr., Hartwick (Williamson, NY/Williamson)
Victoria Brewster, So., Houghton (Montour Falls, NY/Odessa-Montour)
Kelsey Fahy, So., Nazareth (Victor, NY/Victor)
Mercedez Cecelia-Storey, So., Russell Sage (Pine Hill, NY/Onteora)
Makenna Manson, Fr., St. John Fisher (Fort Covington, NY/Salmon River)
Riley King, So., Utica (Oswego, NY/Oswego)
2025 Empire 8 Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship All-Conference Selections
100-Meter Dash
First Team: Victoria Brewster, So., Houghton – :11.99
Second Team: Abigail Dorunda, Fr., St. John Fisher – :12.47
Third Team: Alaina Morley, Jr., Nazareth – :12.52
100-Meter Hurdles
First Team: Jillian Ambler, So., SUNY Geneseo – :14.51
Second Team: Ciarra Franz, Sr., St. John Fisher – :14.90
Third Team: Samantha Luba, Jr., Nazareth – :15.09
200-Meter Dash
First Team: Marissa Wise, Sr., SUNY Brockport – :24.84
Second Team: Brynn Mooney, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – :25.03
Third Team: Victoria Brewster, So., Houghton – :25.32
400-Meter Dash
First Team: Brynn Mooney, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – :55.21
Second Team: Marissa Wise, Sr., SUNY Brockport – :57.85
Third Team: Nicole Gretzinger, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – :58.42
400-Meter Hurdles
First Team: Alexis Rodriguez, Jr., SUNY Brockport – 1:02.84
Second Team: Ava Bagley, So., SUNY Geneseo – 1:04.64
Third Team: Elaina Flaitz, So., SUNY Geneseo – 1:05.62
800-Meter Run
First Team: Janelle Eckl, Sr., SUNY Geneseo – 2:12.27
Second Team: Dakota Limbert, Fr.., SUNY Geneseo – 2:15.80
Third Team: Caitlin Voloshen, Jr., St. John Fisher – 2:16.63
1,500-Meter Run
First Team: Sierra Doody, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 4:39.29
Second Team: Mia Vizcaino, Sr., SUNY Brockport – 4:40.72
Third Team: Kaitlyn Grossman, Sr., SUNY Geneseo – 4:44.28
3,000-Meter Steeplechase
First Team: Ann Brennan, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 10:52.11
Second Team: Jillian O’Rourke, So., SUNY Geneseo – 11:17.75
Third Team: Isabel Marzec, Sr., SUNY Geneseo – 11:20.89
5,000-Meter Run
First Team: Penelope Greene, Sr., SUNY Geneseo – 16:39.34
Second Team: Lilly Fowler-Conner, Sr., SUNY Geneseo – 16:48.44
Third Team: Gabby McCarthy, Sr., SUNY Geneseo – 17:30.24
10,000-Meter Run
First Team: Penelope Greene, Sr., SUNY Geneseo – 38:13.69
Second Team: Gabby McCarthy, Sr., SUNY Geneseo – 38:34.41
Third Team: Marlo Townsend, So., Utica – 39:31.75
4 x 100-Meter Relay
First Team: Sam Pynn, Sr., Brynn Mooney, Jr., Jillian Ambler, So., Kayla Huba, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – :47.38
Second Team: Alexis Rodriguez, Jr., Marissa Wise, Sr., Lily Rexford, Jr., Courtney Bostic, Jr., SUNY Brockport – :49.04
Third Team: Alexis Lasher, Jr., Alaina Morley, Jr., Jasmine Kendrick, So., Jordan Wagner, So., Nazareth – :49.05
4 x 400-Meter Relay
First Team: Janelle Eckl, Sr., Nicole Gretzinger, Jr., Ava Bagley, So., Brynn Mooney, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 3:55.50
Second Team: Abigail Dorunda, Fr., Sophia Leach, So., Emma Wright, Sr., Gracie Wright, Sr., St. John Fisher – 4:01.82
Third Team: Alexis Rodriguez, Jr., Monica Cammarota, Fr., Courtney Bostic, Jr., Marissa Wise, Sr., SUNY Brockport – 4:02.58
4 x 800-Meter Relay
First Team: Mia Vizcaino, Sr., Ethne Degan, Fr., Jaylah Cossin, Gr., Vanessa Ramos, Sr., SUNY Brockport – 9:23.28
Second Team: Maggie Bacon, So., Grace Caterina, Fr., Olivia Grinnell, Jr., Brianne Hurlbut, Fr., St. John Fisher– 9:32.33
Third Team: Ella Impaglia, Jr., Abigail Bowman, Fr., Ava Baker, So., Kelsey Fahy, So., Nazareth – 9:37.99
Pole Vault
First Team: Kiara Tornusciolo, Jr., Nazareth – 3.60 meters
Second Team: Isabel Morse, Jr., Nazareth – 3.50 meters
Third Team: Nicole Gretzinger, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 3.35 meters
Third Team: Kathryn Hillyard, Fr., St. John Fisher – 3.35 meters
High Jump
First Team: Alexa Belanger, Fr., Houghton – 1.71 meters
Second Team: Hannah Allison, So., Utica – 1.60 meters
Third Team: Kathryn Hillyard, Fr., St. John Fisher – 1.60 meters
Long Jump
First Team: Jillian Ambler, So., SUNY Geneseo – 5.90 meters
Second Team: Veronica Duell, Sr., St. John Fisher – 5.68 meters
Third Team: Sasha Schramm, Jr., SUNY Brockport – 5.63 meters
Triple Jump
First Team: Katie Jacques, Sr., Nazareth – 11.40 meters
Second Team: Nora Devitt, Sr., Utica – 11.02 meters
Third Team: Sydney LaSalle, Jr., Nazareth – 10.90 meters
Shot Put
First Team: Payton Mehalick, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 12.85 meters
Second Team: Zoe Connor, Gr., SUNY Geneseo – 12.77 meters
Third Team: Erin McGuiness, Jr., St. John Fisher – 12.45 meters
Discus Throw
First Team: Skyler Klimow, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 38.58 meters
Second Team: Erin McGuiness, Jr., St. John Fisher – 35.53 meters
Third Team: Ella Manelis, Fr., SUNY Geneseo – 34.92 meters
Hammer Throw
First Team: Zoe Connor, Sr., SUNY Geneseo – 51.48 meters
Second Team: Lea Richard, Gr., Nazareth – 50.48 meters
Third Team: Lainey Porter, Sr., SUNY Brockport – 47.87 meters
Javelin Throw
First Team: Rebecca Heuler, Sr., SUNY Brockport – 39.12 meters
Second Team: Skyler Klimow, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 37.51 meters
Third Team: Sierra Myers, Fr., St. John Fisher – 36.87 meters
Heptathlon
First Team: Stefania Grimaldi, So., Utica – 3,868 points
Second Team: Lauren Bendall, Gr., Nazareth – 3,810 points
Third Team: Victoria Rogoyski, Fr., St. John Fisher – 3,440 points
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit www.empire8.com.
EMPIRE 8 SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram
Sports
Samuel, Kosgei Named to Bowerman Preseason Watch List – New Mexico Lobos
Sports
Air Force Track & Field Announces 2026 Coaching Staff
Stoll, who will oversee the Falcons’ sprint, hurdle and relay squads, joins the Academy program following a successful athletic and coaching career at the NCAA DIII level. A three-time All-American and 11-time all-conference athlete at Heidelberg University, Stoll coached six All-Americans and 33 all-conference performers during stops at North Park University (assistant coach, 2023-25) and North Central College (graduate assistant, 2022-23).
In addition to Stoll, Air Force’s 2026 staff will include two Academy graduates and one former assistant coach. 1Lt Michelle Roca, a 2022 USAFA graduate and the program record-holder in the 400-meter hurdles, will assist with the Falcons’ hurdle squad, while serving at nearby Schriever SFB. 1Lt AJ Kedge (Class of 2023) will continue to serve as the program’s recruiting coordinator and assist with the distance squad. Currently stationed at Hanscom AFB, Kedge will be returning to USAFA this spring. Scott Irving, who oversaw the Falcons’ throwing program for 14 years (1999-2013) and was the coach behind Air Force’s two NCAA titles in the javelin, will rejoin the staff to assist the squad’s current lineup of javelin throwers.
The remainder of the Falcons’ track and field staff includes Cole (men’s middle distance, distance), head coach Scott Steffan (jumps, combined events), assistant coach Laura Bowerman (women’s middle distance, distance), and assistant coach Kyle Lillie (rotational throws), while former cross country coach Mark Stanforth will continue to assist with the distance program.
Sports
Former Maryland AD Dick Dull Passes Away
Back in athletics
Dull’s professional fortunes turned around in 1995 when he became athletic director at the University of Nebraska Kearney, a Division II school. In 1998 he took the same position at Moravian College, a Division III school in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He returned to Division I sports when he became athletic director at Cal State Northridge in May 1999.
Dull worked at Northridge until 2007, when he moved back east to take the athletic director’s job at Belmont Abbey College, a Division III school near Charlotte, North Carolina. He held the job through the summer of 2008.
Dull never returned to College Park to attend a Maryland basketball game after he resigned as athletic director. But he did see the team play in the NCAA Elite Eight at Stanford University in 2001. Then-Maryland Athletic Director Debbie Yow gave Dull tickets to the game. He said he enjoyed seeing old friends, such as broadcaster Johnny Holliday and former Sports Information Director Jack Zane. “You reach a point where you hold resentment and you hurt yourself,” he explained. “I’m a stronger person now because of it. I look at the horizon, and say ‘It can’t get any worse than that.’ ”
Dull tried to return to Maryland as an athletics administrator in 2008 when he interviewed for the position of executive director of the M Club. Nelligan, the long-time women’s gymnastics coach, served on the search committee. “Everybody loved his presentation,” says Nelligan. “And I thought he would have been a very strong candidate to unite that part of the department. But I also felt that he would always have to answer questions about Lenny. His legacy will always be tied to that.”
Dull was not selected. After giving his presentation, Dull stopped by Nelligan’s office and the two old friends talked for about an hour. Dull wanted to know how Nelligan was doing personally and asked for updates on mutual friends. A short time later, Dull sent a letter to Nelligan, thanking him for a tour of Comcast Center and making sure his buddy was OK with the fact that he didn’t get the job. “He’s had to live with this Bias thing for a long time,” Nelligan says. “He does deserve to live with some closure.”
In late 2009, during a phone conversation I had with Dull, he asked when I would write his book, saying that his story has never been told. In 2010, when I decided to write my book about the legacy of Bias–the first person I called was Dull.
When he said he would cooperate I felt invigorated about the project. He had not talked at length about how the death of Bias had impacted him. I trusted his perspective and wisdom and felt he would talk with intelligent, measured introspection about how the Bias death affected his life, and provide insight into how the athletic department dealt with the tragedy. “It’s about time the real story was told,” he told me.
But after we had several discussions on how to proceed, Dull surprised me with an email in May 2010, saying he would not participate, that he needed to continue to put “this saga behind [me].” I was disappointed, but I understood his decision. I knew from brief discussions I had with Dull during the late 1980s and into the 1990s how difficult the transition was for him after Bias died. Dull and I did have a lengthy, but incomplete discussion about the Bias death in 2003 for my first book about Maryland athletics, Tales from the Maryland Terrapins, and those comments are used in the book and in this story.
In August 2010, Dull accepted a position as a project manager in the athletic department at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, about 45 minutes from College Park. He helped raise funds for new athletic facilities at the school. The man who hired him, Hood athletic director Gib Romaine, was the defensive coordinator for Ross at Maryland and was later a fundraiser there.
In April 2011, Dull attended a reunion of former Maryland athletic department employees, some of whom had worked with him in the 1980s, at a Ledo Restaurant in College Park. It marked the first time I had seen Dull in about a quarter of a century. Typically, he mingled mostly in the background, quietly chatting with friends. And typically, he offered comfort when I asked him if he was okay with me moving forward with the book. He encouraged me to complete the project. We talked little else about it, preferring to focus instead on positive memories we both shared from our days at Maryland.
Costello also attended that reunion. This week he recalled fond memories of Dull. “I’m a very type “A’ person, but Dick was always very calm,” he said. As an example, Costello told of how the two approached a conflict differently during a track team practice when Costello was head coach. “We had signs all over the track saying it was closed during our practice,” said Costello. “A guy was jogging in lane 1 and I told him the track was closed. He kept going. I’m getting a little pissed. I said, listen buddy, it’s your last lap. Dick walked up to me and said, ‘calm down, it looks like he’s not going to be running much longer.” Soon after the runner left the track.
Dull enjoyed photography, often traveling long distances to attend Formula 1 auto races, documenting the trip with his camera. For a time Dull traveled alone annually to Reykjavik, Iceland. He told me once that the city was his favorite place to visit.
Costello recalled he never once saw Dull wear a pair of jeans. “Even when we went fishing, he’d wear Izod shirts,” he said, with a laugh. Dull worked as a proctor when he lived with other athletes in Ritchie Coliseum. And Costello recalled the time Dull turned him in to coach Kehoe for violating a team rule. “He wasn’t rowdy at all,” said Costello. “And he coached the way he lived. Very technical and smooth.”
The job at Hood College was Dull’s last. Shortly before his wife Sally passed away in 2016, Dull moved back to Charlotte to live near his stepson, Erik, and his family.
Sports
#SVLeague 🇯🇵: ONE TO WATCH FOR WOLFDOGS 🐺 In his first season with Wolfdogs Nagoya 🐺, Aymen Bouguerra 🇹🇳 adds flexibility to the Wolfdogs’ system, with impact at the net and from the back row 💥. One to keep an eye on as they face Tokyo Greatbears 🐻 this weekend. 🗓️ Jan 10 & 11 📺 LIVE on VBTV: https://bit.ly/3Bjc3Ui 🏐 #Volleyball
In his first season with Wolfdogs Nagoya 🐺, Aymen Bouguerra 🇹🇳 adds flexibility to the Wolfdogs’ system, with impact at the net and from the back row 💥. One to keep an eye on as they face Tokyo Greatbears 🐻 this weekend.
🗓️ Jan 10 & 11 | 5AM GMT
📺 LIVE on VBTV: https://bit.ly/3Bjc3Ui
🏐 #Volleyball | Volleyball World
Sports
Four Big 12 Track and Field Athletes Named to The Bowerman Preseason Watch List
BYU’s Jane Hedengren and James Corrigan, Oklahoma State’s Brian Musau and Texas Tech’s Jonathan Seremes were named to The Bowerman preseason watch list by the U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), ahead of the start of the indoor track and field season.
BYU’s Hedengren became the first freshman named to the men’s or women’s preseason watch list since LSU’s Mondo Duplantis in 2019. The Provo native debuts on the list after running 14:44.79 in the indoor 5,000m, breaking the women’s indoor collegiate record of 14:52.57 set by Alabama’s Doris Lemngole in 2024. Hedengren is the fourth BYU women to make the list.
Corrigan, a semifinalist last season, returns after winning the NCAA outdoor 3,000m steeplechase title. He also earned 2025 USTFCCCA Mountain Region Men’s Track Athlete of the Year.
Musau, a semifinalist from last year, returns to The Bowerman Watch list after winning the NCAA indoor 3,000m and 5,000m titles and the NCAA outdoor 5,000m title. He was also named the 2025 Outdoor USTFCCCA Midwest Region Athlete of the Year.
Texas Tech’s Seremes debuts on The Bowerman Watch list after winning the NCAA indoor triple jump title. He capped his season by representing France at the World Athletics Championships. Seremes becomes the eighth Red Raider man named to the list.
TCU’s Indya Mayberry received votes on the women’s side.
Sports
Six Gators Featured on MLV Rosters for the 2026 Season
Carli Snyder and Rhamat Alhassan, both of whom appeared in Florida’s 2017 national championship match, reunite on the Grand Rapids Rise. Former Gator teammates Anna Dixon and Elli McKissock join the Atlanta Vibe, while Marlie Monserez, who led the Vibe’s offense for the past two seasons, signed with the San Diego Mojo for the 2026 season. After making her professional debut with Indy Ignite last season, Isabel Martin will join the Dallas Pulse in its inaugural campaign.
Dixon, McKissock and the Atlanta Vibe host both of their opening-weekend matches, welcoming the Columbus Fury on Thursday before facing Snyder and Alhassan on Sunday, Jan. 10. Snyder and Alhassan will first return to their college state for the Rise’s 2026 debut against the Orlando Valkyries on Friday, Jan. 9.
Monserez makes her Mojo debut on Thursday in Omaha against the Supernovas before returning to her home state on Sunday, Jan. 11 to face the Orlando Valkyries.
Martin faces her former team on Saturday, Jan. 10 in the Pulse’s first-ever match.
MLV’s 2026 schedule can be found here.
Major League Volleyball, entering its third season, is the longest-running formal professional volleyball league for women in the United States. Designed to elevate the sport through world class competition, commercial innovation, and cultural relevance, MLV brings together elite athletes, visionary leadership and global ambition. With alignment to USA Volleyball and a commitment to Olympic development, MLV serves as the premier pathway from professional play to the world stage. For more information, visit ProVolleyball.com.
FOLLOW FLORIDA VOLLEYBALL
FloridaGators.com
Instagram | Facebook | X
-
Rec Sports6 days agoFive Youth Sports Trends We’re Watching in 2026
-
Sports2 weeks agoBadgers news: Wisconsin lands 2nd commitment from transfer portal
-
Sports3 weeks agoIs women’s volleyball the SEC’s next big sport? How Kentucky, Texas A&M broke through
-
Rec Sports3 weeks agoNBA, Global Basketball Community Unite for World Basketball Day Celebration
-
Sports2 weeks agoKentucky VB adds an All-American honorable mention, loses Brooke Bultema to portal
-
NIL3 weeks ago$2.1 million transfer portal QB predicted to join College Football Playoff team
-
Motorsports2 weeks agoBangShift.com IHRA Acquires Historic Memphis Motorsports Park In Millington Tennessee. Big Race Weekend’s Planned For 2026!
-
Motorsports3 weeks agoNASCAR, IndyCar, and F1 Share These Race Days in 2026
-
Motorsports2 weeks agoDr. Patrick Staropoli Lands Full-Time O’Reilly Ride with Big Machine Racing
-
Sports1 week agoH.S. INDOOR TRACK & FIELD: GLOW region athletes face off at Nazareth University | Sports





