Lakeside High School senior Mia Williams, a key member of the Lady Rams’ backfield, signed to continue her soccer-playing career on April 30 at Lakeside Athletic Complex by signing with National Park College.

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The Summit High School girls soccer team concluded the spring season with a loss to Golden High School in Breckenridge on Saturday, May 3.

Originally scheduled to take place earlier in the season, Summit hosted the Golden Demons on a sunny, warm spring day in Breckenridge. The Tigers attempted to conclude the season with a win, but they were not able to net a goal against the Demons. Golden defeated Summit, 4-0.

Summit ends the spring season with a record of 6-7-1 overall and 3-3 in league play. The record matches the same amount of wins the team saw in head coach Makenzie Meade’s first season as head coach last spring. The program has not surpassed six wins on a season in at least the past 16 years.

Junior Jaime Yim Nadler led the team in goals throughout the season with a total of five with senior Olivia Lyman netting three of her own. Senior Ella Kirschner and junior Penelope Weitake led the stat sheet in assists with two each.

In terms of goaltending, junior Rowan Connelly recorded a total of 101 saves and had five shut-outs.

Summit finished the season ranked third overall in the 4A Western Slope league. Eagle Valley won the league title with a record of 4-1-1 and Battle Mountain took second. Both Eagle Valley and Battle Mountain were one of the 32 teams to make the 2025 Class 4A soccer state playoffs.

Summit will graduate eight players from its varsity roster including Lyman, Kirschner, Delilah Staberg, Sammi Olson, Sadie Slahetka, Ariana Vasquez, Shaylah Nelson and Avery Eytel. The Tigers are expected to have 18 players return next year including a group of eight juniors.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Twenty-nine Free State athletes signed their letters of intent to play sports in college on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in the Free State gymnasium.

Twenty-nine Free State Firebirds signed their college letters of intent at the Free State gymnasium on Wednesday.

Four Firebirds signed with Division I programs, five signed with Division II teams, 10 with junior colleges and 10 with NAIA schools. The football team had the most representatives with seven, and the baseball team was second with six.

Cayman Cook, Wesley Cupps, Blaine Larkin, Isaiah Wiedeman, Cole Wright and Andrew Zimmerschied were the six baseball players who signed with colleges. Cook, a four-year player for the Firebirds, signed with Barton Community College. Cupps, who also competed with the bowling team, signed with Ohio University, and Larkin signed with Central Missouri. Larkin wrestled and played football for the Firebirds as well.

Wiedeman will attend Ottawa University and play baseball. Wright, who played football and wrestled in addition to baseball, will attend Fort Scott Community College for baseball. Zimmerschied was the sixth baseball player to sign, and he will play at Benedictine College.

Korbin Dowdell signed with Seward County Community College to play basketball, a program whose head coach coached Dowdell as a freshman at Free State.

Kira Shepard will dance with Baker University after competing with the Free state dance team and spirit squad. Shepard also played volleyball for three years with the Firebirds.

Crow Bengoa led off the football signees, and he will play for Dodge City Community College. He will graduate as the school’s all-time leader in tackles after leading the Firebirds in tackles his junior and senior years. Yusef Iskandrani, a goalkeeper for the Free State boys soccer team and placekicker and punter for the football team, signed with Butler Community College. Hiram Kahungura signed with Baker University for football after having also spent time wrestling and competing in track and field.

Landon Leipold signed with University of Nebraska-Kearney, where he will be joined by fellow Free State football senior Noah Rupp. Parker Moore, a linebacker for the Firebirds, signed with the University of Wyoming, and Noah Simpson signed with Butler Community College.

Aiden Graff-Hannah signed with Crowder College in Missouri to compete in golf. Graff-Hannah played a key role in the Firebirds’ 2022 state tournament appearance.

Jeremiah Jones, a four-year soccer player, will play for Baker University. Jones also spent time wrestling and on the track and field teams while at Free State. He was a team captain for the Firebirds this season.

The girls soccer team had two signees. Amelia Wiles signed with Baker University after starting for the Firebirds through her four-year career. Taylor Woods, the other Firebird soccer player, signed with Wayne State College. She has been the team’s go-to goal scorer the last four seasons.

With the softball team, Delaney Bruhns signed with Neosho County Community College after playing a big role in the team’s back-to-back regional championships. Kendall Feurt also signed with Highland Community College’s softball team. Feurt was also a competitive powerlifter through high school.

Jocelyn Wilson, a swimmer with the Firebirds, signed with South Dakota State. She helped the Firebirds win state championships in 2022 and 2023.

Kinley VanPelt signed with the Kansas tennis team after being ranked the No. 21 tennis player in the 2025 recruiting class. She won a 6A state championship, regional championship and Sunflower League championship her sophomore year and was 33-0 while competing with Free State.

Three track and field runners signed. Austin Drewry signed with Baker University after running in mostly distance races with Free State. Josiah Smith signed with Ottawa University after running primarily the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Cayman Barnes signed with Drury University to compete in triathlon. Free State announced that she is likely the first Firebird to earn a scholarship in triathlon.

Two boys wrestlers signed with colleges. Grayson Hagen, who leaves Free State with the school’s all-time career wins record, signed with Doane University. He finished his career as a state runner-up and four-time state qualifier. Gabe Swoyer will wrestle for Barton County Community College after qualifying for the state tournament twice with the Firebirds. Swoyer also played with the football team and finished with 100 career wins.

Daijah Preston signed with Avila University to compete with the girls wrestling team after helping build the school’s wrestling program for four seasons and earning seven school records.

Rick Burton

With the 30th anniversary of Major League Soccer (MLS) fast approaching, it’s obvious MLS has come a long way from its modest beginning in 1996. Once considered an underdog in the American sports landscape, the league has grown into a global player. MLS now draws international stars, record-breaking crowds and major media deals.

It’s also become home to a number of former Syracuse student athletes, with Kamal Miller, Deandre Kerr, Alex Bono and Miles Robinson all suiting up for MLS teams. But behind the headlines and highlight reels is a deeper story.

“There’s a long history of failed soccer leagues in North America,” says Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics Professor Rick Burton, who has spent years studying the evolution of MLS. “Many investors, owners and even players lost a lot of money before MLS finally found its footing. That context is important—it shows just how remarkable the league’s success really is.”

This success has taken 30 years to grow. The league started in 1996, with professional soccer returning to the states for the first since 1984, when the North American Soccer League ceased operations.

“What amazed us was just how much MLS had evolved,” Burton says. “When the Apple deal was announced and Inter Miami signed Lionel Messi, the numbers—attendance, rising team values, internationality of players—really stood out.”

Burton, along with Norm O’Reilly, a professor at the University of New England, have studied the rise of soccer’s popularity in the United States, specifically MLS, one of the most diverse leagues on the planet, O’Reilly says. “It’s been that way for years, and that diversity is a huge part of its appeal both domestically and internationally,” he says.

That success is the focus of a new book, “The Rise of Major League Soccer,” co-authored by Burton and O’Reilly and released this week. It offers a comprehensive and research-driven look at how MLS has grown into one of the world’s most dynamic sports leagues, drawing on a wide range of sources, including exclusive demographic data provided by MLS itself.

Both Burton and O’Reilly have also explored how the league has strategically positioned itself for long-term success. Soccer-specific stadiums, a global media partnership with Apple and the arrival of global icons like David Beckham and Lionel Messi have all played a role in reshaping how MLS is perceived.

With the U.S. set to host the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025 and the FIFA World Cup in 2026, the timing for MLS couldn’t be better. “MLS is no longer just a league with potential,” says Burton. “It’s a case study in how vision, strategy and persistence can build something truly global.”

“There are key takeaways, learnings and best practices that sport business professionals can apply in their own work,” says Burton. “We wanted this to be both a compelling story and a useful resource.”