Rec Sports
Golf: Youth movement highlights state golf for area – Brainerd Dispatch
BRAINERD — Brady Oseland enjoyed a memorable opening round at his first-ever state tournament last year.
The then eighth-grader fired a 76 at Bunker Hills Golf Club during the Class 3A State Tournament opening round. The Brainerd Warrior fired a second-round 84 to place 58th with a 160.
He is back after placing fifth in the Section 8-3A Tournament with a two-day 145 (71-74).
“He’s had the confidence all season long,” Warriors head coach Tim Johnson said. “He looks comfortable. He knows the course. Just talking with him, he’s in a good spot and feels rested. They’ve been practicing and playing a lot of rounds now that school is out.
“He played well for the first 13 holes last year. He knows what it feels like. The nerves on hole one won’t be as apparent. He’ll take what he learned from last year.”
Oseland is ranked No. 50 individually in Class 3A, but it was his teammate Aydan Dobis, who won the Section 8-3A individual title with a two-day 137 (70-67).
This will be the freshman’s first state appearance.
Dobis peppered his scorecard on both days of the section tournament with red circles. He posted two eagles and three birdies on Day One. Then tallied eight birdies during the final round.
“I knew he had this potential, but I’d be lying if I said this is where I knew he would end up,” Johnson said of Dobis. “I figured he’d be in our top six once he fully transitioned from the hockey season. It’s great to see. It’s good to see his hard work and time and effort pay off. Seven-under is an atypical round for some kids. To be in that position, he handled it well. It was like he was just having fun and playing backyard golf a little bit with his buddies. He was throwing darts and I know he made some putts to achieve those scores. When everything goes right, it’s a very fun game.”
Johnson believes both freshmen have the proper mindsets and maturity levels to attack Bunker Hills.
“Aydan and Brady are both great putters,” Johnson added. “They are the future of the Warriors. We’re excited to be in this position. They are two great players who love the game. They’re growing up very quickly.”
Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch
Genevieve Birkeland is no stranger to state tournaments.
She has played the Ridges at Sand Creek, site of the Class 2A state tournament, 15 times in competition and numerous other times for practice.
The Pequot Lakes senior will conclude her high school career when she and the Pequot Lakes Patriots compete June 10-11.
This will be Birkeland’s fifth state appearance. She’s gone to state every year since joining Pequot’s varsity as an eighth grader. She’s earned All-State honors the last three years, including a fifth-place finish last year.
Birkeland is ranked No. 3 individually and the Patriots are ranked No. 11 according to Iwanamaker.com. Pequot won the Section 6-2A title for the fifth-straight time.
Bill Johnson / Picture Day Pro!
“We have some good expectations for Genevieve,” Pequot Lakes head coach Savannah Nelson said. “She’s kind of peaking at the right time of the season. I’m excited to see what she can do at Ridges, which she knows very well. I think we have a good game plan going into it. I think we can definitely get on the podium and even do better than that.”
This will be Alexa Pietig’s third state appearance. She finished 44th as a sophomore with a 27-hole 134 (93-41). Addison Headley is making her second state appearance. She placed 74th as a freshman with a 155 (106-49). Teammate Claire Oseland finished with the same score and place with rounds of 107-48.
First-time state competitors are Mia Trumpold and Maria Neva.
“Coming off of last year, we lost three seniors, so those were big shoes to fill,” Nelson said. “Starting at the beginning of the year, we didn’t really know what to expect because they are so young. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by everyone’s progress. All the girls have been consistent with each other. There is never a huge gap between the scores and that helps because coming into the state tournament, a lot of it comes down to what your fourth, fifth and sixth players can shoot.”
The top four-ranked teams advanced, including No. 1-ranked Detroit Lakes. No. 2 Holy Family Catholic advanced along with No. 3 Minnewaska, No. 4 Hill-Murray, No. 7 Lake City, No. 8 Totino-Grace and No. 24 Rock Ridge.
Little Falls’ Imagine Hines is ranked No. 46 individually in Class 2A. Last year, she placed 57th as an eighth grader with a 27-hole 139 (93-46). A few spots back was Pierz’s Whitney LeBlanc. The then-freshman fired a 60th-place 142 (87-55). This will be their second state appearance.
“Whitney has been playing pretty well,” Pierz head coach Jessica LeBlanc said. “Two weeks ago, she set a new school record for 18 holes with a 78, May 22 in Milaca. She is comfortable. She’s only a sophomore, so it’s another year to just do the best she can.”
This will be Staples-Motley’s Walker Johnson’s first state appearance.
“I think there are a lot of similarities between Ridges at Sand Creek and Blackberry Hills, where we play our section tournament,” S-M head coach Glen Hasselberg said. “There are similar types of holes and she seemed to handle that quite well at the section. She’s a strong player. She should pop up and put up a good score. It isn’t a surprise to me that she finished fifth and advanced.”
S-M’s Carter White will attempt to finish his career with another state title. The Cardinal senior was the individual state champion as a sophomore and finished third last year with a 27-hole 108 (72-36). He was three shots out of first place.
Bill Johnson / Picture Day Pro!
White placed third in the Section 6-2A Tournament with another rain-shortened 109 (72-37). White is the second-ranked Class 2A individual.
“I think he’d like to improve on the 27-hole debacle last year, where he just ran out of holes,” Hasselberg said. “We always have the philosophy that you can’t win the tournament on Day One, but you can lose it. If you have to rely on Day Two to make up ground, it might be too late.”
Making his state debut will be Pequot Lakes’ Michael Oseland, who tied White for third with a 109 (73-36) at the section meet.
Pine River-Backus will compete in the Class 1A State Tournament at Pebble Creek Golf Club in Becker. No. 12-ranked Lyric Aulie is making her third state appearance. Last year, as an eighth grader, she placed 36th with a 36-hole 180 (94-86). She finished second in the Section 7-1A Tournament with a two-day 175. Teammate Lily Barchus was sixth individually with a 215 to advance to her first state appearance.
“Lyric has grown so much with just her overall game,” PRB head girls’ coach Mark Gonnion said. “She moves the ball along quite well in respect to her swing. She’s been very consistent with her swing. She is refined. She’s had a lot of meets where she’s battled it out for medalist.”
Gonnion believes if Aulie and Barchus can remain focused, they will be fine.
Bill Johnson / Picture Day Pro!
“Lily is going to have that first-year nervousness, but she is such a competitor,” Gonnion said. “She’s one of those kids who does everything you ask her to do. For her to get out there and play confidently. Lyric was named an All-State player and both girls are Academic All-State players. Our team was Academic All-State and these two girls were a pivotal part of that.”
Also at Becker will be Isaiah Aulie, making his third straight state appearance. The Pine River-Backus junior finished 28th last year with rounds of 81-80 for his two-day 161. Isaiah Aulie was sixth in the Section 7-1A meet with a 169 (81-88).
Brainerd: Aydan Dobis, Brady Oseland
Pequot Lakes: Michael Oseland
Staples-Moltey: Carter White
Pine River-Backus: Isaiah Aulie
Little Falls: Imagine Hines
Pequot Lakes: Genevieve Birkeland, Alexa Pietig, Claire Oseland, Mia Trumpold, Addison Headley, Maria Neva
Staples-Motley: Walker Johnson
Pine River-Backus: Lyric Aulie, Lily Barchus
Dec. 29, 2025Updated Dec. 30, 2025, 9:37 a.m. ET
- Quarterback Fernando Mendoza led Indiana University to an undefeated season and won the 2025 Heisman Trophy.
- Mendoza, once an overlooked high school recruit, credits his success to his Cuban-American heritage and work ethic.
- Mendoza is the first Cuban-American to win the Heisman and is projected to be a top NFL draft pick.
MIAMI ― Fernando Mendoza sat in the front seat of the rental car on the six-hour drive from Miami to Gainesville, dialing one college coach after another.
He had just finished a week-long visit to some of college football’s most elite programs in the Southeastern Conference – Alabama, Clemson, South Carolina, LSU – and Mendoza, then a high school junior quarterback, needed to convince them to put him on their roster.
One after another, he called and asked the coaches if he could play for them. One after another, their answer was an unequivocal “no.”
He ended each call with the corresponding cheer from that team – “Go Tigers!”, “Roll Tide!” – characteristically upbeat, despite the rejections.
After checking into a Gainesville hotel with his speed and conditioning coach, Antonio Robinson, Mendoza confided something that had been weighing on him. His mother had recently confessed she’d long been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, an incurable disease of the nervous system. He had to win, he told him, for her.
“Bro, you’re good. You’re going to play on Sundays,” Robinson told Mendoza at the time, meaning playing in the NFL. “We don’t know how you’re going to get there, but you’re going to play.”
Today, Mendoza, 22, sits atop of the college football universe.
As Indiana University’s starting quarterback, he led the Hoosiers this year to an historic undefeated season and secured the top ranking in the College Football Playoffs, which began Dec. 19. Indiana plays the dynastic University of Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 for a chance to advance and play for the national title – which would be another first for Indiana, traditionally a basketball-first school.
On Dec. 13, Mendoza was also awarded the Heisman Trophy, college football’s highest honor, becoming both the first Hoosier and first Cuban-American to ever win the award – and only the third Latino winner after Jim Plunkett in 1970 and Alabama’s Bryce Young in 2021.
Several mock drafts, including USA TODAY’s, forecast Mendoza – ranked 2,149th in the nation coming out of high school – as the No. 1 selection in next year’s NFL draft.
How did a lanky, six-foot-five kid from Miami – the grandson of Cuban immigrants and overlooked by most football schools – rise to such improbable heights in college football?
Mendoza’s coming of age in Miami would be marked by a cultural changing of the guard, when tackle football was becoming increasingly popular among Cuban-Americans, who have traditionally focused on baseball.
His Cuban heritage sparked a work ethic that often eclipsed others around him. And even as obstacles piled up, Mendoza found a way to work around, over or straight through them.
In recent interviews, Mendoza has credited his Cuban-American culture and upbringing for much of his success.
“It’s a huge point of pride,” he told NBC Sports, adding how his grandparents emigrated from Cuba to start lives over in the U.S. “I’m extremely grateful for all the hardship they’ve been through.”
First quarter: The shift to focus on football
Baseball-Reference.com counts more than 400 Cuban-born players who have played in the major leagues, dating back to 1871, when Havana-born Esteban “Steve” Bellán laced up for the Troy Haymakers. Total Cuban-born players to ever play in the NFL: four.
“Porque en Cuba…” “Because in Cuba” was a common line of reasoning and refrain of many parents to urge kids in 1980s Miami to spend hours on end at the batting cages. Boys spent their Saturdays at Tamiami Park or Academia Carlos “Patato” Pascual, learning fundamentals like rundowns or how to lay down a bunt at the hands of retired Cuban ball players, dreaming of one day playing in the majors themselves.
Florida, of course, has long been a perennial powerhouse for recruiting high school football talent.
It’s one of the nation’s top destinations for elite college football since the 1990s, during which a team from the state appeared in every national title game until 2002. Florida’s juggernaut status continued well into the 2000s. According to the recruiting database ESPN 300, Florida produced the most prospects of any state in the country in the class of 2023. Lamar Jackson, Michael Irvin and Joey and Nick Bosa are counted among South Florida’s high-end recruits.
But the past two decades has seen a noticeable shift in Cubans and Cuban-Americans in South Florida becoming focused on football, said Carlos Gobel, 47, a high school football coach who has coached youth sports for more than 20 years in South Florida.
Would-be pitchers made the switch to quarterbacks. Spurred on by the past successes of the Miami Dolphins’ perfect 1972 season and their Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino, Gen Xers took to playing football in high school.
By the time these Cuban families in South Florida became parents themselves, they placed their kids into rec leagues, starting as young as 4 years old, Gobel said. Youth leagues today, like Miami Xtreme or Florida Youth Football League, actively try to recruit the best young talent and parents are hiring specialized coaches to train their youth earlier and earlier, he said.
He added: “Everyone loves football down here. Fernando came in right at its peak.”
Second quarter: ‘He’s just built different’
Mendoza was destined to play organized sports.
His father, Fernando Mendoza IV, played football at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami (alongside Mario Cristobal, current head coach at the University of Miami), and later as an undergraduate student at Brown University. His mother, Elsa Mendoza, was a standout tennis player at the University of Miami.
He joined the South Miami Grey Ghosts, part of a local youth league, while in grade school but started as a fourth string quarterback, according to an essay his mother published in The Players’ Tribune, an online platform. Mendoza had to work his way into a starting position.
By the time he reached 8th grade, Mendoza’s sights were firmly set on playing quarterback in college. That year, his father hired Robinson to improve Fernando’s speed and agility.
In one of their early meetings, at Florida Christian School’s West Campus, Robinson had him and other student athletes do 15 100-meter dashes, back-to-back-to-back, with just 30-second breathers between runs.
It’s the type of grueling conditioning, especially in Miami’s punishing sun, that makes most youth puke or beg for a break, Robinson said.
Mendoza caught his breath then asked: “We got anything else?”
Robinson, a former NFL receiver who won a Super Bowl ring with the Green Bay Packers in 2011, put him through more workouts.
“He’s just built different,” Robinson said. “I remember telling my son, ‘This kid’s going to play in the NFL.’”
Robinson worked with Mendoza the next four years, meeting with him several times a week, having him pull weights in a dead run or running backwards up hills at parks, watching his acceleration and agility improve.
In 10th grade, Mendoza began playing football at Columbus High School, his father’s alma mater, located in the heart of Westchester.
Calle Ocho (or, Eighth Street) remains the beating heart of the Cuban diaspora in Miami but Westchester (pronounced “Weh-che-te” in the truncated lingo of Cuban-Americans) is its gravitational center, home to La Carreta, Rio Cristal, Sergio’s and other establishments and eateries that, over the years, have transformed the sleepy Miami suburb into North Cuba.
At Columbus, Cuban-American parents aspire to raise their boys in the teachings and values of the Catholic Marist Brothers families once followed in Cuba.
Mendoza came to play under Coach Dave Dunn, who has coached high school and collegiate athletes for three-and-a-half decades. At their first meeting, Mendoza showed up with a notebook and a pen, eager to soak up everything his coach had to offer, Dunn said.
Over the next three years, Dunn and Mendoza lunched together each day in Dunn’s office, meticulously going over practice film, discussing his mistakes or strategizing plays for the upcoming game.
“He’s always trying to learn, always working his tail off to get better,” Dunn said. “And I think that’s ingrained in him from his grandparents and obviously his parents, as well.”
Halftime: A transformative trip to Cuba
All four of Mendoza’s grandparents fled Cuba’s dictatorship and emigrated to the U.S. to seek a better life.
His paternal grandmother, Marta Menocal Mendoza, arrived in the U.S. via Operation Pedro Pan, a clandestine exodus of more than 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban youth from the communist island.
His maternal grandfather, Alberto Espino, arrived in Miami as a teen in 1960 from Santiago de Cuba. In 2019, Mendoza and his younger brother, Alberto, joined their grandparents on a missionary trip to Santiago de Cuba on the easternmost part of the Caribbean island.
They climbed along the Sierra Maestra mountain range, home to Fidel Castro’s 1950s uprising, visited the chapel of La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, Cuba’s patron saint, and distributed goods they brought from the U.S. to cousins and locals in Santiago.
Mendoza was struck by how his impoverished family members survived while having next to nothing. It was a transformative trip, as he later expressed in an essay in an application to the prestigious Miami Herald’s Silver Knight Award in high school. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson are among its past winners.
“I had arrived in Cuba with no expectations but left with a sense of place in this world,” Mendoza wrote, “Whatever I accomplish or fulfill in my lifetime, I will always represent my cousins, family, and community back in Santiago.”
At Columbus High, a Catholic, all-boys school, Mendoza was as focused on the classroom as he was on offensive schemes, said Sylvie Galvez-Cuesta, his guidance counselor. He loaded up on the most challenging math and science classes, was director of the campus ministry and helped launch a student-led podcast.
In 2022, after escorting the 15 Silver Knight nominees to the Miami Herald offices for interviews, Galvez-Cuesta took the students to lunch at a restaurant in South Miami.
Midway through the meal, Mendoza tapped his water glass with a fork, stood and gave an impromptu speech thanking the faculty on behalf of the students. The counselors there were in tears.
“That’s Fernando in a nutshell,” Galvez-Cuesta said. “That will always stay in my heart: how heartfelt this young man was at 18 years old.”
Third quarter: Pre-dawn workouts, broken fingers
Jose Leon began at Columbus High School as a freshman wide receiver, as Mendoza entered his junior year as the team’s starting quarterback. Prodded by his dad, Leon sent Mendoza an Instagram message, offering to work out with him.
As a freshman, Leon thought the chances of the school’s varsity quarterback replying were slim. To his surprise, Mendoza responded immediately, suggesting they meet early to catch passes.
For the next five months, the two met at 5 a.m., three days a week, at the Columbus practice field, before the 5:45 a.m. practice with the rest of the team, to have Leon run routes and catch passes from Mendoza.
Leon broke three fingers fielding passes from Mendoza’s increasingly powerful arm. But the pre-dawn sessions forged a bond between the two.
Leon would later visit the Mendoza Coral Gables home to play Madden NFL video football games with Mendoza and his younger brother, Alberto, shoot hoops in the backyard or have breakfast with them at La Carreta, a Cuban culinary landmark, where they munched on Cuban toast and croquetas.
Often, right after meals, Mendoza would dart back home to study or meet with his parents, Leon said.
“He was locked in,” said Leon, now on the football squad at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. “I can’t recall a time I’ve ever seen him at a party.”
Fourth quarter: A life-altering diagnosis
In 2020, his junior year, Mendoza took the reins of the Columbus High School football team.
As the coronavirus continued spreading across the U.S., he led the team to an undefeated season, but statewide competitions were cancelled due to the outbreak. Instead, the team won a tri-county championship that included Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Following closely in his footsteps was his younger brother, Alberto Mendoza, who later led the Explorers to back-to-back state championships and broke the school record for most passing yards (2,611) and passing touchdowns (35) in a season. He’s currently backup quarterback at Indiana behind Mendoza, foreshadowing a Manning family-like takeover of the sport in the coming years – with a mojo criollo twist.
“If you ask anyone around campus, [Alberto] is the best quarterback to ever play at Columbus,” said Andres Fernandez, their high school quarterback coach. “He is absolutely special.”
At Indiana, the brothers share a house together and Alberto closely follows Mendoza’s game day preparation and decision-making. The brothers each threw for a touchdown in a win over Kennesaw State on Sept. 6, marking the first time brothers on the same team have thrown a TD pass in one game since Brandon Allen and Austin Allen did it for Arkansas in 2015.
“Being able to play with each other, not a lot of people get to share a locker room or a meeting room, let alone a house with their brother in college.” Fernando Mendoza said in an interview with IndyStar, part of the USA TODAY Network. “I’ve learned a lot of tricks from Alberto.”
Their bond started at an early age, when their mother had them share a room, even though their house had a spare room, to get them to grow closer, Mendoza told IndyStar.
Then, midway through high school, the Mendoza brothers received one of the most crushing news of their lives: Mom had multiple sclerosis.
Elsa Mendoza had known for years that she carried the disease but kept it from her sons, hoping not to cause them undue worry. After contracting COVID, however, she became so weak that she could no longer hide it from them.
“It was during football season, and I realized I wasn’t going to be able to travel,” she wrote in her Players’ Tribune essay. “And the thought of you wondering if I supported you any less, because suddenly I wasn’t at your games? I hated that. So that’s when I knew we had to sit you and your brother down … No amount of years could have prepared me for how hard of a conversation it ended up being.”
Elsa Mendoza described how her firstborn son kept her company early in life, while his dad worked long hours on his path to becoming a doctor. “Maybe this is silly to say about a newborn,” she wrote, “but to me you were more like my buddy.”
Mendoza took the news as best as could be expected, Elsa Mendoza wrote, filling her with confidence and helping to raise awareness about MS.
“[You’ve] made it so much easier,” she said. “And you’ve done that in the sweetest, strongest, most Fernando way possible — by making me feel the exact opposite of embarrassed. You’ve made me feel seen.”
Two-minute warning: No offers, then California-bound
Generally unnoticed because his breakout year was during COVID, Mendoza didn’t receive any calls from elite football teams.
After his road trip through the Southeast with Robinson netted no scholarships, Dunn, his coach, reached out to more than 50 contacts he knew in college football programs, asking if anyone needed a quarterback. Not a single one was interested.
“I called everybody I knew and nobody would bite,” Dunn said. “It was very frustrating.”
In recent years, college football has become increasingly competitive.
Out of the 1 million high school football players, only 7.5% will make it to the college level. Just 3% will play on a Division I team, according to an NCAA analysis.
The introduction in 2018 of the NCAA transfer portal – which made Mendoza’s arrival to Indiana possible – and the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals, which allows student athletes to profit from sales and marketing, has only ramped up competition.
Colleges no longer have a lockdown on the sprawling sports business, even as 13 programs are worth over $1 billion and counting. It used to be that recruits would sit down with coaches and map out the next four years. But the ability to change schools and make money on side deals forces some coaches to piece together rosters year by year. Players have the power to go with the highest bidder.
In South Florida, this trend trickled down the competition, driving high school parents to specialize and train their student athletes earlier and earlier, Gobel said.
“[Football] has always been big down here but I’ve seen the shift happen where it’s become obsessive,” he said. “Whatever the NFL used to do is what college programs are doing now, and whatever college programs used to do high school programs are doing now.”
As Mendoza entered his senior year, processing his mom’s MS diagnosis and having no offers from top schools weighed on the young athlete, though his outward appearance remained unflinchingly positive, said Robinson, his speed and conditioning coach.
“Fernando overcame a lot,” he said. “And he’s still doing it. He’s beating the odds.”
Mendoza graduated Columbus High with a 4.86 cumulative GPA and 12 advance-placement courses. But he was only a 2-star football prospect, ranked 2,149th nationally and 140th among quarterbacks by 247Sports, which ranks high school athletes.
His best offer came from Yale University, which Mendoza was ready to accept. But a week before the signing deadline, the University of California, Berkeley, offered him a scholarship and a spot on their football roster. Now, he had a chance to play for a competitive football school and study at one of the country’s top business schools. He snatched the opportunity.
At Berkeley, Mendoza showed flashes of an elite college quarterback. He twice led the Golden Bears to victories against Stanford in the “Big Game,” in 2023 and again last year, throwing for a combined 593 yards and six touchdowns.
They lost to his hometown University of Miami in October 2024, in a thrilling 39-38 comeback win for UM. The University of Miami was selected into the College Football Playoffs and won their first-round matchup earlier this month against Texas A&M. (Many in Westchester are hoping Mendoza and Indiana will face-off with the Canes for this season’s College Playoff National Championship on Jan. 19 at Miami’s Hard Rock stadium, for an epic hometown showdown.)
Even as he excelled on the field, Mendoza also poured himself into academics, taking finance and business courses at UC Berkeley’s renown Haas School of Business.
Stephen Etter, a lecturer at Haas who mentored Mendoza, would meet with him in the business school’s courtyard three times a week between classes and practices. They’d go over assignments and map out how to pursue his degree, while also discussing how to look beyond social media and other distractions. Often, Mendoza would bring up his Cuban upbringing.
“Whenever I worked with Fernando, 90% of the time, he’d say, ‘That’s my heritage. That’s what my grandparents and parents taught me,’” Etter said.
He added: “He was a young man beyond his years.”
Final score: ‘For the love and sacrifice of my parents and grandparents’
Last year, Mendoza chose to transfer to Indiana University to play under head coach Curt Cignetti – and with younger brother Alberto. Still two classes shy of graduating from the Haas School of Business, Mendoza appealed to the dean, requesting to make up the courses remotely.
The school’s leaders designed a video-conferencing option so that Mendoza could finish his classes and get his degree – the first time such an option was offered to a transferring student, Etter said.
“To Fernando, that degree was very, very important,” he said.
Fernando’s feats on the field at Indiana have now taken on historic, almost mythic, contours: Leading college football’s losingest team to an undefeated season and a first seed in the College Football Playoffs.
Along the way, his heroics have been enshrined in SportsCenter highlights:
o Sept. 27: A game-winning 49-yard touchdown toss to receiver Elijah Sarrat with 1:35 left in the fourth quarter against Iowa.
o Nov. 8: A game-winning touchdown pass to Omar Cooper, Jr., in the back of the endzone with 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter to beat Penn State.
o Dec. 7: A back shoulder, go-ahead touchdown throw to Sarratt in the third quarter to upset Ohio State.
At the Heisman ceremony in New York City a week later, Mendoza again paid tribute to his Cuban upbringing by switching to Spanish midway through his acceptance speech to honor his grandparents, who were in attendance.
“Por el amor y sacrificio de mis padres y abuelos, los quiero mucho,” he said. For the love and sacrifice of my parents and grandparents, I love you very much. With all my heart, I thank you.
Later that evening, Mendoza joined a viewing party for more than 50 friends and family at the Elsie Rooftop, a cocktail bar located 25 floors above downtown Manhattan. He went around the cavernous room, hugging friends, taking selfies and letting each person hold or snap a photo with the 45-pound trophy.
“It was like he wanted everybody to be part of it,” said Galvez-Cuesta, who attended. “It was magical.”
As Mendoza worked his way through the crowd, Abba’s hit song, “Fernando,” blared over the venue’s speakers. The freshly-minted Heisman winner smiled and kept hugging and thanking until each person was acknowledged.
The party lapsed into a long, loud, carthatic sing-along.
“There was something in the air that night The stars were bright, Fernando They were shining there for you and me For liberty, Fernando …”
Contributing: Zach Osterman, Indianapolis Star
Follow Jervis on X: @MrRJervis.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Assistant Chief Mark Wilbanks with the City of Knoxville Fire Department said that Middlebrook Pike is currently closed.
Wilbanks said that a contractor struck a gas line near Vanosdale Road in West Knoxville Monday.
KUB is on the way to the location and KFD is monitoring the situation, but no evacuations are expected at this time.
Copyright 2025 WVLT. All rights reserved.
Kendall Young Library will be migrating to a new digital newsletter in January.
This newsletter will be sent weekly (Saturday mornings) by Wowbrary on behalf of Kendall Young Library.
This will include a listing of new books and materials, along with the upcoming events for the week. The newsletter will include options to personalize or opt out.
For more information, contact the library at 515-832-9100.
It’s been a really good year to be a sports fan in Philadelphia. The Phillies saw the playoffs (again), the Union had the best record in soccer, the Sixers drafted a superstar, the Flyers are finally playing well, and the Birds won the big one (again).
Loyal sports fans know the truth. Philadelphia is the best sports city in the world. Full stop. Less known: Part of what makes Philadelphia’s sports scene so spectacular is our teams’ commitment to using their station in life to do good and give back.
Below are just some of Philadelphia’s champions both on and off the field. Whether they’re supporting local youth, standing up for mental healthcare, or spreading their wealth, our athletes, their bosses, and at least one mascot leave a lasting positive mark on Philadelphia. Here’s some of what they did in 2025.
Lane Johnson, Eagles: Mental Health Warrior
The Birds two-time Super Bowl champion, five-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowl O-lineman has been open for over a decade about his struggles with anxiety and depression. This season Johnson began using his voice in The Citizen to spread awareness about caring for mental health, especially in the world of sports, where an estimated 50 to 60 percent of athletes deal with some form of mental distress.
Each week, Johnson spotlights mental health champions and programs in the cities the Birds are playing that week. So far, he’s covered the friends who have helped him along his journey, youth-focused, and his personal mentors.
His motivation? We’ll let Lane take it from here:
It’s really important to me to keep talking about mental health. Other athletes coming forward helped me feel less alone, I want everyone else out there to feel less alone. To see that we’re all more alike than we are different. To understand that there are only so many things in life we can control — and that’s where we should use our energy.
Johnson is also an outspoken advocate — from his actions to his custom cleats on “My Cause My Cleats” day, for the Travis Manion Foundation, a local organization that supports veterans and the families of fallen soldiers.
Jalen Hurts, Eagles: Citizen of the Year
It was a no-brainer to name Jalen Hurts The Citizen’s 2025 Citizen of the Year. The Eagles quarterback gives back to Philadelphia in profound ways — and we’re not just talking about his MVP-deserving Super Bowl performance this February.
For the 2024-25 football season, Hurts through his foundation donated $5,000 for every touchdown he made to keep Philadelphia schools cool during the hot summer months. Through the “Keep It Cool” initiative, he was able to send $170,000 to Philly schools to purchase and to install air conditioners in schools around the district. That’s 34 touchdowns if you’re keeping count.
For this year’s My Cause, My Cleats, Hurts chose to champion the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania for the second year in a row. For help designing the cleat, Hurts visited patients at the hospital to get their suggestions. Cue wholesome content. Those very same cleats are now up for auction with all proceeds going to CHOP. The bid is currently at $5,000, with three months left of the auction. Put your bid in here.
A natural at giving a rousing sideline pep talk, the speech Hurts gave at our 2025 Citizen of the Year Awards was a thoughtful call to action for each Philadelphian to help each other out. Get inspired by watching it here.
Kyle Schwarber, Phillies: Designated Do-Gooder
Every Phillies fan’s holiday wish came early when the Phillies announced they’ve settled on a 5-year contract with three-time All-Star Kyle Schwarber. The $150 million deal includes a rare philanthropic clause which has Schwarber donating $150,000 per year — $750,000 — in total from his salary directly to Phillies charities.
Looks like all those times Phillies’ fans chanted “Pay the man!” at Citizens Bank Park this year worked out in everyone’s favor.
Schwarber has a storied history of supporting public safety personnel. This summer, he, through Schwarber’s Neighborhood Heroes, hosted his annual block party at Yards Brewing Co. to benefit first responders and military families. Since 2017, Schwarb’s org has donated more than $770,000 in grants to public safety nonprofits.
The Philadelphia Sports Writers Association recognized Schwarber with their 2025 Ed Snider Humanitarian of the Year Award. Also this year: The Schwarbomber became the second Phillies player to ever reach 50+ home runs in a single season.
A.J. Brown, Eagles: The Giving Receiver
Our star wide receiver’s nickname “Always Open” might not mean to, but it applies to A.J. Brown’s willingness to help local kids.
A.J. Brown launched his foundation in 2024 “to create pathways for youth to build resilience, confidence, and a brighter future. Through programs and support focused on empowerment and opportunity, they help young people believe in themselves, push through challenges, and see success as something within reach.”
How’s he done it? By donating 100 bicycles and helmets to kids in Southwest Philadelphia. Paying for groceries trips for families in New Jersey. Visiting Boys Latin to give students backpacks, school supplies and back-to-school cuts.
Like Lane Johnson, Brown has been open about his own mental health struggles and advocated for mental health awareness. Proceeds from his “Check On Your Teammates” clothing collection go toward mental health research. This May, Mayor Cherelle Parker bestowed the first ever ‘Making a Better Philly Changemaker Award’ on our #11.
Aaron Nola, Phillies: ALS Advocate
Back when this Phillies ace was a rookie, he met up with reps from the ALS Association during a team visit. The brief meeting deeply impacted Nola, whose uncle, Alan Andries, was diagnosed with ALS in 2015.
Since then, the veteran pitcher has been an advocate for people with ALS, raising $250,000 for ALS research with Strike Out ALS bowling tournaments nationwide. In 2025, the MLB’s charitable arm, Players Trust, recognized Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola as 2025’s Philanthropist of the Year for his work with ALS and his work supporting veterans with the nonprofit Team Red, White and Blue, who benefited from his $1,000-per-strikeout promise last year, to the tune of nearly $200,000.
“We’re human beings longer than we are baseball players,” he said upon receiving the honor.
Garnet Hathaway, Flyers: Hath’s Heroes
Forward Garnet Hathaway and his wife Lindsay started their nonprofit Hath’s Heroes in 2019 to benefit first responders. Last year, they teamed up with Flyers Charities on the campaign Hits for Hath’s Heroes, which raised $30,000 for Families Behind the Badge Children’s Foundation, a nonprofit that helps connect first responders with mental health resources.
This year, he partnered with Dogfish Head brewery to create a limited edition IPA, Engine 19, whose sales will go to his namesake charity. Of course, the beer is Flyers orange.
Tyrese Maxey, Sixers: Here with the Assist
Everyone’s favorite point guard founded his namesake foundation in 2021 to support young people and their families through education, athletics and community initiatives. This year, Maxey hosted a night of giving dinner, celebrity golf tournament and basketball skills camp for 7-to-12-year-olds. No word on whether part of those skills involved using a can opener.
Maxey is also the team’s top contributor to Assists for Safe Communities, a collaboration between the Sixers and Penn Medicine, that donates $76 to grassroots violence prevention programs in Philly for every assist the team gets on the court. (He leads the team in assists.) The initiative raised $144,476 last year, contributing to: Design FC, Free All Minds Academy, Level Up Philly, Open Door Abuse Awareness Prevention, Ordinarie Heroes, and The Apologues.
Jeffrey Lurie, Eagles: A Champion for the Autism Community
This year, the Eagles owner donated $50 million — “largest single donation to U.S. academic medical centers focused on autism research across the lifespan,” according to Penn — to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine to develop the Lurie Autism Institute for research into and development of innovative treatments for autism spectrum disorder.
The center expands on Lurie’s commitment to supporting individuals affected by autism. He’s overseen the Eagles’ Autism Foundation since 2018 — and since donated more than $40 million to autism research and support. Under his leadership, the Birds became the NFL’s first team to have a sensory experience room in its stadium. No coincidence Eagles mascot Swoop regularly wears headphones.
John Middleton, Phillies: Art Collector Turned Art Sharer
The Philadelphia Phillies owner isn’t just a collector of All-Star-worthy baseball players. For the past 50 years, the scion of a family cigar fortune has collected fine 19th and 20th century American art — and, in the process, earned status as one of the world’s top 200 art collectors.
Until now, the Middleton Family Collection has been very private. That changes April of next year, when both the Philadelphia Art Museum and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art will display a groundbreakingly expansive — 1,000 works! — exhibition entitled Nation of Artists. Will Jasper Johns’ Flag, which Middleton is rumored to have purchased for $28.6 million, be there? Only one way to find out: Check out the self-funded exhibition — which opens a few days after the Phils season starts.
Honorable Mention: Gritty, Flyers — Calendar Model … For Good
Less an athlete and more a Philly’s very own deity, the delightfully weird goggly-eyed orange fuzzball with a cult following posed for his very own calendar to be there with you every step of the way in 2026. Each month features a photo of Gritty at Philadelphia landmarks — wearing costumes to boot — alongside handwritten notes from the legend himself.
All proceeds from calendar sales go to Flyers charities, dedicated to two main causes: eliminating financial barriers to hockey, a notoriously expensive sport, and aiding local families affected by cancer.
MORE SPORTS COVERAGE FROM THE CITIZEN
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (WVLT) – The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating the death of a two-year-old boy.
On Dec. 16, officers responded to a report of an unconscious child at a home in Oak Ridge, according to a city spokesperson.
The child, identified as Gabriel Adam Mitchell, was taken to Methodist Medical Center and later pronounced dead, officials said.
The investigation remains ongoing, officials said, adding that ORPD is waiting for autopsy results to determine a cause of death.
Additional information was not released.
Copyright 2025 WVLT. All rights reserved.
(WLUK) – Although the snow diminished early Monday morning across our area, Winter Storm Diego is making the morning commute a little tricky.
FOX 11’s Savannah Wood is in the FOX 11 Storm Chaser to check out road conditions amid Winter Storm Diego.
Very strong winds are expected to pickup, with blowing and drifting snow becoming a major concern.
The FOX 11 Storm Chaser is out in Winter Storm Diego, December 29, 2025. (WLUK)
Most of our area’s main roads are partially covered in snow, while some roads, especially to the north, are completely snow covered.
The FOX 11 Storm Chaser is out in Winter Storm Diego, December 29, 2025. (WLUK)
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Here’s the latest forecast from FOX 11. Watch Good Day Wisconsin and FOX 11 News at Five, Nine and Ten for continuing coverage.
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