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Hot Start Propels Gators Past Tigers in Opener

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Hot Start Propels Gators Past Tigers in Opener


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    Missouri

    4/11/2025 | 6:30 PM

    SEC Network+

    ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF + WJXL 1010AM

    Apr. 11 (Fri) / 6:30 PM

     Missouri

    GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida scored six runs in the first and never looked back to thump Missouri, 11-2, in game one at Condron Family Ballpark on Thursday night.
     
    Staying red hot at the dish, Luke Heyman (2-for-4) once again led the offensive charge. The UF catcher blasted a three-run homer en route to totaling a team-high four RBI, raising his SEC batting average to .396 in the process. Colby Shelton (2-for-3) produced his 19th multi-hit effort of the campaign while drilling his SEC-leading 16th double and driving in two runs. On the mound, the relief trio of Caden McDonald, Billy Barlow and Christian Rodriguez teamed up for four shutout frames of one-hit ball.
     
    UF starting pitcher Liam Peterson struck out two in the top of the first before Heyman gunned down Gehrig Goldbeck attempting to take third on a wild pitch for the final out.
     
    The Gators (22-14, 2-11 SEC) promptly erupted for a six-spot in the home half to jump out to a commanding lead over the Tigers (12-21, 0-13 SEC). Brendan Lawson singled home Bobby Boser, followed by a three-run shot to left off the bat of Heyman. Blake Cyr then mashed a 1-1 pitch into the left-field bullpen to make it back-to-back jacks while Hayden Yost scampered home on a wild pitch after advancing to third on an Ashton Wilson double.
     
    Peterson faced the minimum in the second by inducing a 1-6-3 double play, but ran into trouble in the third. Chris Patterson and Peyton Basler hit back-to-back doubles to put Missouri on the board and a bases-loaded walk of Cayden Nicoletto forced home Basler to cut the UF lead to 6-2. Peterson rebounded for consecutive strikeouts of Pierre Seals and Jackson Lovich to strand the bags loaded.
     
    In the fourth, Peterson worked another clean frame while fanning two more Tigers to increase his strikeout total to six. Florida found the scoring column again in the bottom of the inning, beginning with a bases-loaded, RBI single through the left side by Heyman. With two outs and the bases still juiced, Landon Stripling came through with a two-run, pinch-hit single through the ride side to push the UF advantage to 9-2.
     
    McDonald assumed pitching duties for the Gators in the sixth, retiring the side in order to keep the seven-run lead intact. McDonald and Barlow combined for a zero in the seventh, as the latter stranded the bases-loaded by inducing a lineout and groundout to second base.
     
    Florida struck again in the seventh to come within one run of the mercy rule at 11-2. Justin Nadeau and Boser set the table with singles while Shelton plated both runners with a two-run double off the right-field wall.
     
    Barlow remained on the hill for a scoreless eighth before handing the ball off to Rodriguez in the ninth. Rodriguez faced four batters, walking one and striking out three to cement the victory for the Orange & Blue.
     
    Peterson (5-2) registered the victory after five strong innings of two-run ball. The sophomore right-hander gave up five hits and four walks while fanning seven Tigers.
     
    Missouri starter Brady Kehlenbrink (0-3) was charged with the loss, forfeiting six earned runs over three innings. The southpaw finished with six hits allowed, two walks and four strikeouts.
     
    Boser (2-for-3), Shelton, Heyman and Wilson (2-for-5) recorded multi-hit games in the win.
     
    NOTABLES

    • The Gators have now won 16-straight home games against Missouri.
    • Florida’s six runs in the first marked the team’s most in the game’s opening frame this season.
      • It also represented Florida’s first time scoring five or more runs in a frame prior to the fourth inning.
    • Heyman and Cyr hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, marking Florida’s first set of consecutive homers since Boser and Shelton accomplished the feat vs. Vanderbilt on April 6 of last weekend.
      • It marked Heyman’s seventh homer of the campaign.
      • Cyr connected for his fifth home run of the year.
    • Heyman finished 2-for-4 with one homer, a team-high four RBI and two runs scored.
      • Heyman is now slashing .396/.463/.792 with a 1.255 OPS, five homers and 15 RBI in 13 SEC games.
      • Across UF’s last nine games overall, Heyman is 17-for-34 (.500) with four homers and three doubles.
    • Peterson earned his fifth win of the season, improving to 5-1 in six home starts.
      • In those six home starts, Peterson owns a 2.01 ERA, .200 batting average against and 47-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
    • Nine different Gators collected a hit.
    • The relief tandem of McDonald (1 1/3), Barlow (1 2/3) and Rodriguez (1.0) combined for four shutout, one-hit innings of relief.
    • Shelton has reached safely in 35 of 36 contests this season.
    • Shelton produced his team-high 19th multi-hit game.
    • Shelton hit his SEC-leading 16th double.
    • Boser has reached base safely in 16-straight games.
    • Florida improved to 32-8 all-time against Missouri including 20-1 at home.
      • The Gators are 27-7 overall and 16-0 in Gainesville in the series under O’Sullivan.
    • Friday night ‘s official attendance was 4,962.

    FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN
    On setting the tone in the first inning…
    “Yeah, I mean obviously a rough weekend last weekend. Offensively, we scored more runs in the first inning than we did the whole last weekend. So, moved some things around in the lineup obviously. Two main things, I just got to a point where I hate writing Lawson in the fifth spot. I just wanted to kind of move him up a couple spots to maybe get an extra at bat or so during the game and then obviously, you know, Justin has been struggling a little bit, so kind of flip-flopped him. But no, it was a game we needed to get to get off on the right foot for the weekend. So, pleased with how we swung the bats, especially early.”
     
    On the message to the team…
    “…I did the in-game [interview] and I told them, they asked me what the message is, and the message is I firmly believe that we’re going to get this thing turned around, I really do. You know, I feel a lot better now than I did maybe a week ago because I think we would all agree that maybe we found the guy at the end of game, and we won’t let some of these games get away in the last three innings or so. And like I said, we’ve got two really quality starters and hopefully we can develop a third. With the lineup changes, obviously tonight it seemed to click a little bit better.”
     
    On Heyman’s torrid stretch at the plate…
    “He’s been swinging the bat really well since the Ole Miss series, quite honestly, and he’s been catching really good. I think that’s probably one of the most underrated parts of his game, his receiving has gotten a lot better and he can throw and he’s really accurate, so he controls a running game really well.”

    UP NEXT
    The Gators and Tigers meet in game two on Friday, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+.
     

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    2025 NCAA volleyball live updates: Bracket, schedule, highlights

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    December 7, 2025

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    Updated Dec. 6, 2025, 9:04 p.m. ET



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    Emma Reaves Breaks Own School Record in Tri-Meet with URI, Stonehill

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    December 7, 2025

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    KINGSTON, R.I. — Sophomore thrower Emma Reaves (Westminster, Md.) placed first in the shot put, headlining the women’s track and field team’s first-place finish in the team’s tri-meet with the University of Rhode Island and Stonehill College, winning with 104 points.
     
    UNH’s men’s track and field team finished in third with 89 points, while URI won the meet with 96 points and Stonehill closed with 91 points.
     
    In addition to Reaves’ win, the following Wildcats placed:
     

    • Women’s Long Jump

      • Sophomore Sarah Moore (Lisbon, Maine), first place (5.75m)

      • Graduate student Autumn Agri (Stratham, N.H.), second place (5.35m)

      • Junior Audrey Thornton (Freedom, N.H.), third place (5.28m)

    • Men’s Long Jump

      • Freshman Rio Calle (Weare, N.H.), fourth place (7.01m)

    • Women’s Triple Jump

    • Men’s Triple Jump

      • Sophomore Ethan Palmer (Bowdoin, Maine), third place (14.60m)

    • Women’s Shot Put

      • Reaves, first place (14.38m)

      • Freshman Payton Goulding (Cumberland, R.I.), third place (11.86m)

      • Sophomore Ruby Prentiss (Falmouth, Maine), sixth place (11.13m)

    • Men’s Shot Put

    • Women’s Weight Throw

      • Reaves, first place (17.87m)

      • Goulding, third place (15.23m)

      • Junior Briana Danis (Hooksett, N.H.), fifth place (15.06m)

      • Prentiss, sixth place (14.31m)1.5

    • Men’s Weight Throw

      • Senior Liam McGovern (North Kingstown, R.I.), first place (19.79m)

      • Abaka-Amuah, second place (19.53m)

      • Senior Jack Washam (Nashua, N.H.), third place (17.73m)

    • Women’s High Jump

    • Men’s High Jump

      • Junior Gunnar Sokol (Berwick, Maine), seventh (1.90m)

      • Sophomore Samuel Grube (Dover, N.H.), ninth (1.90m)

    • Men’s Pole Vault

    • Men’s 1 Mile

    • Women’s 60m Hurdles

    • Women’s 600m Run

    • Men’s 600m Run

      • Sophomore James Gecek (High Bridge, N.J.), seventh (1:25.58)

    • Women’s 60m Dash

      • Nada, first (7.71)

      • Moore, second (7.72)

      • Thornton, third (7.88)

      • Sophomore Eva Roberts (Derry, N.H.), fifth (7.92)

    • Men’s 1000m Run

    • Women’s 300m Dash

      • Thornton, second (42.43)

      • Sophomore Brooke White (Barnet, Vt.), fifth (42.90)

      • Senior Liliana Chirichella (Troy, N.H.), seventh (43.66)

      • Roberts, ninth (45.25)

    • Women’s 3000m Run

      • Senior Claire Ronan (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.), first (10:09.32)

      • Senior Carolyn Day (Wolfeboro, N.H.), third (10:37.08)

    • Men’s 3000m Run

    • Women’s 4x400m Relay

      • New Hampshire “A” (Chirichella, Hickey, Dillon, Agri), second (4:08.42)

    • Men’s 4×400 Relay

      • New Hampshire “A” (Gecek, Daniel Anderson [Naugatuck, Conn.], Calle, Lesniak), fourth (3:28.38)



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

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    December 7, 2025

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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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    December 7, 2025

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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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    December 7, 2025

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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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