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How President Russell M. Nelson helped save the Olmstead twins – Deseret News

Mother’s Day will forever be a holiday anchored in faith and gratitude for BYU women’s volleyball coach Heather Olmstead and her family. President Russell M. Nelson helped spare the life of coach Olmstead’s mother, Trudy Olmstead, during a challenging surgical procedure. The coach says opportunities for athletes to grow and share their faith abound at […]

Published

2 months ago

May 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Mother’s Day will forever be a holiday anchored in faith and gratitude for BYU women’s volleyball coach Heather Olmstead and her family.
President Russell M. Nelson helped spare the life of coach Olmstead’s mother, Trudy Olmstead, during a challenging surgical procedure.
The coach says opportunities for athletes to grow and share their faith abound at BYU.

Brigham Young University women’s volleyball coach Heather Olmstead doesn’t need a day like Mother’s Day to prompt a personal “put-life-in-its-proper-perspective” reset.

Olmstead’s family and faith already keep her anchored to those matters that eclipse professional priorities, such as winning conference games and titles in the hypercompetitive world of Division I college volleyball.

But make no mistake — Olmstead knows all about the elation that winning produces.

Winning, she’s quick to admit, is a lot of fun.

During her nine seasons at the helm of the Cougars’ celebrated volleyball program, the coach’s squads have walked away with victories in almost 90% of their matches.

No current NCAA DI women’s volleyball coach with more than three years tenure has a higher winning percentage than Olmstead — and no DI women’s coach has ever reached 200 wins faster.

But again — all the NCAA tournament wins, the conference titles, the national coaching awards and even a defining Final Four appearance are of distant importance to Olmstead.

For Olmstead, Mother’s Day simply serves as an unnecessary — yet still always joyful — reminder of a mother’s love. And the power of prayer. The promise of temples.

And the humble wisdom of a skilled surgeon/spiritual leader — President Russell M. Nelson — who continues to bless and guide her life.

Brigham Young University women’s volleyball head coach Heather Olmstead poses for a portrait while holding a photo of herself, her mother, Trudy Olmstead, and her twin sister, Nicole Hopkins, at Smith Fieldhouse on the campus of BYU in Provo on Friday, May 9, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News

Finding faith at a fearful moment

Forty-five years ago, raising a daughter to become a nationally renowned college volleyball coach was not on Trudy Olmstead’s wish list.

She simply wanted the unborn child that she would name Heather— along with her twin sibling, Nicole — to survive.

And, God willing, Trudy Olmstead wanted to survive herself.

Realizing both appeared improbable.

A team of doctors told her that a lump discovered on her right lung needed to be removed if she wanted to live. And to live, they added, Trudy would have to abort her unborn twins.

It was 1980 and Trudy Olmstead was 30 years old and relishing her life as a young Latter-day Saint wife and mother in a volleyball-loving Southern California family.

She and her husband, Rick, remember being thrilled to discover that their fourth child was on the way. They didn’t know yet that Trudy was expecting twins.

But a persistent cough tempered the Olmsteads’ excitement. Initially diagnosed as bronchitis, the cough continued. And Trudy was feeling unusually off.

A subsequent chest X-ray revealed a lump on her lung. A short time later, Trudy’s doctor discovered she was pregnant with twins.

“I was told this was life-threatening and was told I had three months to live,” recalled Trudy Olmstead, while sharing her experience with the Deseret News.

Life-saving treatments, her doctors insisted, could not be performed without aborting the fetuses.

Trudy Olmstead’s response: “Nope. We have to find an answer. There’s no way I’m going to abort two babies.”

Her decision to search for an option that did not include losing the babies was fortified by the words of her patriarchal blessing — a special Latter-day Saint blessing offering direction — which promised she would be “the mother of many” and would “live a long and useful life.”

“I was 30 years old and thought, ‘This is not what’s supposed to be happening,’” she said. “We wanted to seek out a (Latter-day Saint) doctor.”

Family photos from the life of Brigham Young University women’s volleyball head coach Heather Olmstead are displayed at Smith Fieldhouse on the campus of BYU in Provo on Friday, May 9, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News

A mother traces God’s hand

When Trudy revisits those frightening and uncertain days, 45 years ago, she remembers tracing the Lord’s hand clearly.

Shortly before her diagnoses, Trudy’s father, Dwayne Andersen, was preparing to begin his calling as the first president of the soon-to-be-dedicated Japan Tokyo Temple.

Prior to departing for Japan, Andersen and his wife, Peggy, had spent several days in the Salt Lake Temple preparing for their upcoming temple assignment.

One day in the Salt Lake Temple, the Andersens discovered that an old hometown friend, Dantzel White Nelson, was in the temple attending the wedding ceremony of one of her daughters.

Joining Dantzel Nelson that day was her husband, a noted surgeon named Dr. Russell M. Nelson.

Andersen introduced himself to Dr. Nelson, who, four years later, was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Today, now-President Russell M. Nelson is the church’s 17th president.

A short time after Andersen met Dr. Nelson in the temple, his daughter Trudy’s life-threatening illness was revealed.

Desperate for the life of his daughter and unborn grandchildren, Andersen reached out to Dr. Nelson. He described his daughter’s dire medical condition — and her doctors’ general consensus that she should abort the twins if she wanted to survive.

Dr. Nelson asked to see Trudy’s records, including her X-rays and all of her doctors’ notes. Immediately, Andersen flew to Salt Lake City to personally deliver them to the surgeon.

“My dad handed my records to Dr. Nelson,” said Trudy Olmstead. “Dr. Nelson put them to his chest and told my dad, ‘The Lord and I will talk about this tonight — I’ll call you in the morning.’”

After meeting with a team of his colleagues on an early Sunday morning, Dr. Nelson called Andersen with hopeful news.

“First, Dr. Nelson said, ‘Do not abort those babies — the Lord will decide what happens with them.’”

The surgeon added that Trudy Olmstead did not have cancer, but that the tumor was life-threatening and needed to be removed. Chemotherapy or radiation was not an option.

And Dr. Nelson agreed to perform the operation.

“That solved it for us,” recalled Trudy, remembering the calmness she immediately felt.

Trudy and Rick Olmstead were soon traveling with the Andersens from California to Utah for the surgery. But before going to the hospital, the Olmsteads received their endowments in the Provo Utah Temple and were sealed to their three children.

“And then we drove from the luncheon after the sealing to the LDS Hospital and I was admitted,” said Trudy Olmstead.

That memorable time spent with her loved ones in the Provo temple only added to the peace she had already felt knowing that the operation to remove the tumor would be performed by a technically skilled and prayerful surgeon.

“Everything was orchestrated,” she said, “in the most miraculous way.”

Miracles and an unforgettable measure of medical resourcefulness would be demanded during the challenging procedure.

In Sheri Dew’s book “Insights from a Prophet’s Life: Russell M. Nelson,” Dr. Nelson recalled the operation proving to be more complicated and extensive than he had anticipated:

“The tumor was so close to the heart that I did not have a clamp narrow enough to put a clamp on the artery and still have space for the cutting blade of the scissors.

“Therefore, the pulmonary artery had to be cut without being clamped. My only option was to put my finger in the artery to stop the blood and keep my finger there until I was able to suture the artery closed.

“All the time, I kept thinking, ‘I have three lives depending on my finger.’”

The operation, which required the removal of Trudy’s right lung, proved successful.

Trudy’s life had been spared.

Five months later, two baby girls joined the Olmstead family. They were named Heather and Nicole.

Years later, the twins met then-Elder Nelson for the first time.

Heather Olmstead remembered the surgeon-apostle pulling out a journal where he recorded the details of the operation that saved three lives — including her own.

Elder Nelson told the young women that their mother was an angel.

“That was powerful for me,” said Heather Olmstead, as recorded in the book. “To think that she was an angel here on earth really changed my relationship with my mother.

“Elder Nelson looked at me with those piercing blue eyes of his, and I believed him.”

Brigham Young University women’s volleyball head coach Heather Olmstead poses for a portrait at Smith Fieldhouse on the campus of BYU in Provo on Friday, May 9, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News

BYU: Opportunities to compete — and ‘gather Israel’

May is an “offseason” for women’s college volleyball players. But for DI coaches competing in the storied Big 12 Conference such as Heather Olmstead, there are no down periods.

There’s always another outside hitter or skilled setter that needs to be recruited. Staffs and schedules need to be solidified and finalized. Preparation, followed by more preparation.

And, of course, college coaching in 2025 means coaching in the ever-evolving, always uncertain world of NIL and the transfer portal.

Olmstead and her colleagues need to be perpetually “re-recruiting” their own athletes, even while keeping a close eye on the portal in case a prized player becomes available.

“So we’re just focusing on our relationships with our players — helping them to feel our love and BYU’s love for them,” Olmstead told the Deseret News.

Her upcoming squad is a young team, she added, “so we’re still trying to learn which players are going to lead this team and help us through the summer.”

Meanwhile, coaching at a school sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presents both challenges and opportunities.

BYU’s Honor Code, insists Olmstead, is a benefit.

“Whether it’s spiritually, athletically, or academically, our recruits know what they’re getting into when they come here,” she said. “So we want to lean into that Honor Code.”

A pragmatist, Olmstead is also choosing to focus on the opportunities offered by today’s college sports realities.

“It’s here to stay,” she said. “So adapting to the NIL and the transfer portal and the Honor Code are all things that are going to help us reach our goals.”

The coach counts the opportunities that BYU offers its athletes “to share the gospel of Jesus Christ” as defining. Wearing the school’s blue-and-white jersey — and what it represents — stretches beyond victories inside the lines.

“President Nelson,” she said, “has said there’s no greater work than the work that’s happening to gather Israel on both sides of the veil.”

BYU, added Olmstead, is a faith-based institution. “That gives us the opportunity to really praise God and just understand that we’re representing something bigger than ourselves — and our players do a really good job at that.”

There are inherent pressures of competing for BYU. Players are watched closely by the school’s global fanbase and others because of its unique aspects.

“We talk about that all the time: Doing the best you can with what you have and being honest and true and having integrity and playing with character.”

It’s easy to spot the same spiritual impulses that guided Trudy Olmstead at a difficult moment 45 years ago now at play in the life of her daughter.

During the good times — and the rough times — Heather Olmstead discovers strength through her faith. “Just by turning to the Lord and being able to be in the temple weekly and growing in my relationship with Jesus Christ.”

A ‘volleyball family’ not defined by volleyball

The Olmsteads, of course, are one the church’s first families of volleyball.

Rick Olmstead played volleyball at what’s now known as Brigham Young University-Hawaii. He later coached the sport, counting sport legend Karch Kiraly as one of his players.

Growing up in Southern California gave the Olmstead kids almost daily opportunities to hone their skills. Several played volleyball at the college level — including Heather (Utah State) and her older brother, Shawn, who’s now the men’s coach at BYU.

So are all Olmstead family gatherings and discussions centered around volleyball?

“We don’t talk about volleyball at all when we’re with family or celebrating,” said Heather Olmstead, laughing. “We’re just living our lives. We’re at baptisms. We’re at Thanksgiving and we’re at family gatherings. We’re at missionary homecomings for our nieces and nephews. … There’s no volleyball talk.”

And, no, Heather Olmstead never drops unsolicited coaching advice on her brother, Shawn — or vice versa.

Still, she’s quick to add she welcomes and appreciates coaching mentors — including her brother, her dad and family friend, Karch Kiraly.

Olmstead’s own unique faith and family history continues to inform her interactions with her players in a highly-competitive and always scrutinized college sports environment.

“How can we help them remember,” she asks, “that their individual worth comes from being a daughter of God?”

Cherishing each Mother’s Day

For many years, Mother’s Day was, well, work, for Trudy Olmstead. After all, the holiday falls on a Sunday. It may have been mom’s “special day” — but there were also seven active kids that needed to be scrubbed and dressed for church.

But time has deepened Trudy’s appreciation for the holiday.

“I cherish it,” she said. “I am so grateful as a mother to have my children and to have my grandchildren.

“Mother’s Day, to me, is like the celebration of life, because I was given life.”

And, yes, anytime the Olmsteads watch President Nelson provide people, worldwide, with their own reasons to hope and believe, their spirits are once again lifted.

“I say to myself, ‘The prophet had my heart in his hands,’” said Trudy Olmstead. “He did, literally, have my heart and lungs in his hands — but also figuratively. My heart is completely in awe and respect and love for him.”

And with each passing year of her own life, Coach Olmstead’s “awe and respect” for her mother — and the risks she made, without hesitation, for her and Nicole — only expand.

“Being able to be with my mom,” she said, “and to spend Mother’s Day with her, and show my gratitude and my love for her, has been special.”

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Oregon track & field legend Bill Dellinger dies at 91

What’s on the track at Hayward Field in 2025? Hayward Field will play host to a wide variety of track and field events in 2025. Bill Dellinger, one of the most influential figures in track and field, distance running and the University of Oregon’s history, died June 27 at the age of 91. Born in […]

Published

11 minutes ago

June 28, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Bill Dellinger, one of the most influential figures in track and field, distance running and the University of Oregon’s history, died June 27 at the age of 91.

Born in 1934 in Grants Pass but raised in Springfield, Dellinger attended UO and had a prolific running career.

At Springfield High, Dellinger won the first OSAA Boys Cross Country championship in 1949.

He was a three-time Olympian and competed in the 5,000 meters in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 games.

After he wrapped up his own running career, Dellinger worked as an assistant coach under Bill Bowerman at his alma mater until the latter’s retirement in 1973.

It was during that time Dellinger coached Oregon running legend Steve Prefontaine and developed a close relationship with the star distance runner.

Dellinger was promoted to head track and field coach at Oregon after Bowerman retired and served in that role until 1998, winning five NCAA championships.

“Coach Bill Dellinger was one of the greatest coaches ever,” Rudy Chapa, a six-time All-American at UO and member of the Ducks’ 1977 national title-winning cross country team, said in a GoDucks news release. “However, for those of us lucky enough to have been coached by him, what we treasured most was the genuine friendship he gave us long after our running days were over. He gave us so much more than guidance on the track; he gave us his heart.”

“Bill was deeply loved, and he will be profoundly missed by his athletes, the Eugene-Springfield community, and the entire world of track and field,” Chapa said.

Under Dellinger’s guidance, over nearly three decades as Oregon’s cross-country coach and 25 years as its track and field coach, his athletes broke 18 American records, won 12 NCAA titles and made 17 Olympic appearances.

Dellinger was the recipient of USA Track and Field’s Legend Coach Award in 2021 and was inducted in the USTFCCCA collegiate athlete Hall of Fame in 2024.

He is honored in the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, UO Athletics Hall of Fame, Track and Field Hall of Fame for Coaching, Distance Running Hall of Fame, Drake Relays Hall of Fame and Grants Pass Hall of Fame.

Oregon’s annual cross country meet, the Bill Dellinger Invitational, is named after the legendary coach.

Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.

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Late switch to rowing sends Henrik Neuspiel to Dartmouth College – OttawaSportsPages.ca

By Martin Cleary Henrik Neuspiel is a natural athlete. Pick a sport and he has likely given it a try and had success in his journey. Sport was a natural avenue to follow as his father Victor competed in three world championships in kayaking and his mother Margaret Nelson Neuspiel played for Canada’s women’s water […]

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40 minutes ago

June 28, 2025

Your Sports Nation

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is HSB25FTv2-1024x576.jpg

By Martin Cleary

Henrik Neuspiel is a natural athlete.

Pick a sport and he has likely given it a try and had success in his journey.

Sport was a natural avenue to follow as his father Victor competed in three world championships in kayaking and his mother Margaret Nelson Neuspiel played for Canada’s women’s water polo squad.

For the past dozen years, he has been recognized as a hockey player in the winter and a flatwater sprint kayaker in the summer. But he’s more than just a two-sport athlete.

During his three years of studying in the High Performance Athlete program at John McCrae Secondary School, he participated in varsity rugby and track and field. In his first two years of high school, he was the top novice (while attending Merivale High School) and junior shot put thrower at the National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association and Eastern Ontario levels. He competed at the 2023 OFSAA championships in boys’ junior shot put.

His performances in track and rugby earned him the school’s top athlete award in each sport in 2023.

As a Grade 9 student-athlete at Merivale, he was selected the junior athlete of the year for his overall efforts.

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Neuspiel also has been known to play on his high school basketball and volleyball teams and compete in cross-country running races in the fall and cross-country skiing events in the winter.

As for hockey, he climbed as high as a U16 AA-level defenceman and played Canada’s national winter sport for 12 years.

His summers were spent at the Rideau Canoe Club, starting in week-long, learn-to-paddle canoe programs before graduating to provincial, national and international championships, where he has won 54 medals, including 30 gold.

But during his last several hockey and kayaking seasons, the 6’5″ 18-year-old was trying to work a new sport into his repertoire – rowing.

For the past four years, he has attended the RBC Training Ground tryout sessions at the University of Ottawa. It’s an opportunity for young athletes to be tested in front of technical recruiters from a variety of Canadian sport governing bodies.

More than 2,000 athletes take part in this athletic showcase and the top 30 are declared RBC Olympians and awarded financial assistance packages with the goal of making a specific national team. While Neuspiel didn’t qualify for the top 30 each year, he attracted some interest from rowing.

Henrik Neuspiel at RBC Training Ground. *Photo: @henrik_neuspiel Instagram*

“I hadn’t grown out of kayaking. I love it. But rowing was a really good opportunity for me,” explained Neuspiel about switching sports late in his youth.

While rowing was now on his sports agenda, he didn’t act on it immediately. He wanted to savour the end of his junior kayaking career with some international flavour.

Neuspiel started to tinker with rowing last year by doing some ERG testing, where he was timed over 2,000 metres on a stationary rowing machine. His scores were eye popping and attention grabbing. His sports career is now devoted to rowing.

He has committed to attend Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire for the 2025-26 academic year and will race for The Big Green as a freshman.

Rowing Canada also has seen his potential as well as three other Ottawa Rowing Club teammates, who have been named to represent Canada at the Intercontinental Rowing Challenge on July 15-16 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Neuspiel will be joined by Max Froeschl, Jack Coulson and Samaya Khosla.

“I have been in contact with Zak Lewis (Ottawa Rowing Club head coach) for quite a while, after he reached out to me three to four years ago,” Neuspiel said. “He accommodated me. I didn’t want to jump in it right away.”

Neuspiel signed off on his youth kayaking career in 2024 by competing for Canada at the World Junior Sprint Canoe Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and the Canoe Sprint Olympic Hopes Regatta in Szeged, Hungary.

At the Olympic Hopes, he won a silver medal in the K2 500-metre final. At the world juniors, he helped Canada to a sixth-place showing in the boys’ K4 500-metre final, which was the country’s best result in that discipline in 10 years.

Henrik Neuspiel competed for Canoe-Kayak Canada in 2024. *Photo: henrikneuspiel.com*

While Neuspiel hasn’t started serious racing as a rower, he has taken part in regular ERG ranking sessions. He is considered the top male junior on the Canadian ERG rankings and has a personal-best time of six minutes and seven seconds for 2,000 metres.

At six feet, five inches, Neuspiel has an ideal frame for rowing, is fit from his years of kayaking with a double-bladed paddle and has a powerful engine to cut through the water now with one or two oars.

Rowing also allowed him the valuable tool to chase a university education at an Ivy League school. Ivy League schools offer grant-in-aid rather than full or partial scholarships to its student-athletes and rowing is one of those eligible varsity sports. Kayaking or canoeing isn’t a varsity sport in Canada or the United States.

“I saw more opportunities in rowing. Once I tested (on the ERG), I liked it,” explained Neuspiel, an honours high school student with a high 80s average. “It was a no-brainer not to get into it.”

Neuspiel made the maximum five visits to American universities to study the academics, the campuses and the rowing programs at Princeton, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth and Stanford.

“I was fortunate I could go fast on the ERG,” he added. “It gave me a lot of leverage. I had quite a good number of schools (recruit me). I was fortunate to have a choice.”

(From left) Max Froeschl, Jack Coulson, Samaya Khosla and Henrik Neuspiel of the Ottawa Rowing Club will be racing for the Canadian junior national team on July 15-16 in Michigan. *Photo provided*

He plans to study either chemical engineering or finance at Dartmouth, whose head coach is Wyatt Allen, an Olympic gold medallist at the 2004 Athens Summer Games and a bronze-medal winner at the 2008 Athens Games in the men’s eights.

“It will definitely be an uphill battle,” Neuspiel said about his freshman rowing season. “The program has 40 to 50 guys. I don’t expect to push the top boats immediately. I want to work hard under their guidance.

“In my first year, I will not be the fastest. In the second, third and fourth years, I want to enjoy the whole process and come out with success through hard work and improvement.”

Neuspiel is in the early days of developing into a rower. He was successful going forward as a kayaker. Now, he wants to do the same, but going backwards.

“Personally, I need to be more comfortable. I’ll start slow. Then, I’ll move up and up to a comfortable racing speed,” he outlined.

“Rowing was always what I wanted to end up doing. It was a little delayed.”

Read More of our 2025 High School Best Series as we tip our caps to top local student-athletes at: OttawaSportsPages.ca/Ottawa-High-School-Best-2025

Martin Cleary has written about amateur sports for 51 years. A past Canadian sportswriter of the year and Ottawa Sports Awards Lifetime Achievement in Sport Media honouree, Martin retired from full-time work at the Ottawa Citizen in 2012, but continued to write a bi-weekly “High Achievers” column for the Citizen/Sun.

When the pandemic struck, Martin created the High Achievers “Stay-Safe Edition” to provide some positive news during tough times, via his Twitter account at first and now here at OttawaSportsPages.ca.

Martin can be reached by e-mail at martincleary51@gmail.com and on Twitter @martincleary.

HELP SHINE A LIGHT ON LOCAL SPORT! You can offer valuable support for our not-for-profit organization to provide a voice for local sport with a tax-deductible charitable donation to the Ottawa Sports Pages Fund via OCF-FCO.ca/Ottawa-Sports-Pages-Fund today.

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2025 All-Area Boys’ Track and Field Athletes of the Year: Woodard steps up | Sports

TUSCOLA — Sawyer and Hunter Woodard have been going back and forth for a few years now. Rather, Sawyer has been catching up with — and even surpassing in some areas — his older brother, giving him more ammo to debate on who had the better high school career. Hunter graduated from Tuscola in 2018. […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 28, 2025

Your Sports Nation

TUSCOLA — Sawyer and Hunter Woodard have been going back and forth for a few years now.

Rather, Sawyer has been catching up with — and even surpassing in some areas — his older brother, giving him more ammo to debate on who had the better high school career.

Hunter graduated from Tuscola in 2018. He helped lead the Warriors’ football team to a Class 1A runner-up season and won a state shot put title as a senior before going on to have a successful college football career as an offensive lineman at Oklahoma State University.

Sawyer ended his time at Tuscola this past spring by leading the Warriors’ track and field team to a second consecutive 1A state runner-up trophy with the now Tuscola graduate producing a pair of third-place finishes in the discus and shot put. That came after helping the boys’ basketball team to a 29-win season and a fourth straight regional plaque as a senior.

“Seeing how good he was in track and football made me want to accomplish the same things in my sports and pushed me to be the best I could be,” Sawyer said of his brother.

It almost feels like a coin flip at first glance. Maybe you give the edge to Hunter because of the state championship, something Sawyer never accomplished. That said, Sawyer got another leg up on his brother last week, and they happened to be right next to each other when he heard the news.

Sawyer Woodard is The News-Gazette’s 2025 All-Area boys’ track and field Athlete of the Year, a title Hunter never held.

“When I got that text, I was with my brother, and I was surprised,” Sawyer said. “I told my brother, he high-fived me and we celebrated. It was just a really exciting moment. I’m never going to let him live this down.”

Hunter couldn’t help but put the sibling rivalry aside and smile.

“I’m extremely proud of him,” Hunter said. “I’ve watched how hard he’s worked and progressed over the last several years, and I know he deserves this award. There are a lot of deserving athletes in the area, but I’m glad to see Sawyer’s hard work has been recognized. He’s always been a great athlete and has developed himself well.”

Sawyer Woodard believed he had the potential to become one of the best throwers in the state when he walked in the door as a freshman, but it came across as more cockiness than confidence. Tuscola athletic director and boys’ track and field coach Ryan Hornaday has known Woodard from a young age, with his son, David, being good friends with him. He said he’s seen “incredible growth” in Woodard over the years.

“His physical attributes speak for themselves, but what the average person doesn’t see is his growth in maturity,” Hornaday said. “As a freshman, he thought he had a lot of stuff figured out, but he decided to listen to some people who knew some things as he came along, and the distances improved from pretty good to outstanding.”

Woodard laughed when he heard that story, but he couldn’t disagree. He swallowed his pride, got himself in better shape and became one of the best teammates and leaders you could ask for in high school sports.

That led him from believing to knowing he could be one of the state’s top throwers.

After the Warriors’ postseason basketball run, Woodard only had two chances to qualify for the indoor state meet. He was able to do that and went on to place sixth in the shot put. He knew he had more in the tank, and he knew discus was his primary event, so he set his sights on a pair of outdoor championships. While he ultimately finished third in both events, he was plenty pleased with his performance.

“I’m definitely not one of those super outgoing leaders, but I push people to be their best,” Woodard said. “Every team needs a leader, and I definitely felt responsible for taking that position this year. Last year, we all relied on Josiah (Hortin) and the distance runners. This year, I knew I had to step up and carry the team with the amount of points I could get, and that ultimately led to us getting second in state.”

Tuscola’s runner-up team finish a year ago was the highest state placement in program history, a foregone conclusion by most accounts with the dream team the Warriors had. Matching that result this year came as a bit of a surprise, and it couldn’t have happened without Woodard’s contributions.

“He’s a big piece of the puzzle to what we do, and he had a lot to do with us winning the sectional and coming home with a state trophy,” Hornaday said. “Not for a second did it cross any of our minds that he’d somehow have a letdown. He’s been so steady. He was always ready to compete with the best in the area, which prepared him to compete with the best in the state.”

Woodard’s state performance in late May at Eastern Illinois University’s O’Brien Field, which will be his next home after committing to EIU earlier that month, also solidified him as the next great Tuscola thrower.

The Warriors have had numerous state medalist throwers in their history, producing at least one seemingly every year. Aiden Weaver joined Woodard on the podium last year, and Chris Boyd was before them. Hunter Woodard carried the torch prior to that, and the list keeps going from Stephen Gibson in the mid 2010s to Jeff Hettinger in the early 1990s all the way back to Earl Parker in 1908 and so many more in between.

“We have a long line of throwers who have been state medalists, and Sawyer is the next big name on that long list,” Hornaday said. “We’ve had a conference track meet for 12-15 years, and the shot put record-holder is Hunter Woodard, and the discus record-holder is Sawyer Woodard. It’s pretty cool that we have both throwing records, but it’s especially unique that they’re brothers. Sawyer’s been great, and he’s right there in the thick of the long list of great throwers we’ve had at Tuscola.”

And get ready to learn the name Brayden Weaver, who finished 16th and 28th in the 1A shot put and discus, respectively, as a freshman. Woodard said Weaver is “going to be amazing.”

Until then, the spotlight will be on Woodard, and he couldn’t have asked for a better way to end his high school career.

“It feels awesome,” Woodard said. “I watched Hunter before being with Chris. I’ve been with great throwers for a while, and seeing what they did, I wanted to accomplish the exact same things. I’d say I have, and that feels great. I’m sure we’re going to have a lot more amazing throwers in the future.”

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Watch: Malta waterpolo women’s U-16 team beat Ukraine for their first win at European Championship finals

MALTA 13 UKRAINE 12 (3-5, 2-1, 4-5, 4-1) The Malta women’s U-16 national team bagged their first win at the European Championship finals when they edged Ukraine 13-12 in a thrilling encounter in Istanbul. It was a spirited performance from Aurelien Cousin’s girls, who had to come from behind to see off their opponents and […]

Published

3 hours ago

June 28, 2025

Your Sports Nation

MALTA 13

UKRAINE 12

(3-5, 2-1, 4-5, 4-1)

The Malta women’s U-16 national team bagged their first win at the European Championship finals when they edged Ukraine 13-12 in a thrilling encounter in Istanbul.

It was a spirited performance from Aurelien Cousin’s girls, who had to come from behind to see off their opponents and put themselves in a strong position to finish among the top 12 countries in the continental finals.

Malta is now sharing top spot in the group with Romania and will now await the result of Sunday’s clash between the Romanians and Ukraine as a win for the former will see Malta secure a place in the Top 12 phase of the competition.

But whatever happens on Sunday, the win over Ukraine is a major achievement for Cousin’s squad, which is formed by several young players.

One cannot not mention the performance of 11-year-old goalkeeper Mia Clarke Spiteri, the youngest player to be playing in this championship, and Elly Micheli, scorer of four goals.

The result somewhat atones for the tough 14-10 defeat in Friday’s opening group match, where the Maltese girls had also come close to upsetting their more-quoted opponents but came up just short in the final stages of the match.

“I could not be more prouder of the effort the girls today,” coach Aurelien Cousin told the Times of Malta.

“Yesterday, the girls were very disappointed as they felt that they could have achieved a better result against Romania. But in the afternoon we regrouped as a team and this morning, they were determined to go out for the win and try and leave everything they had in the pool to achieve their goal.

“As the match progressed, the players started to listen to my instructions more and more and the team spirit was amazing.

“I am very pleased with this result as it shows that all the work we have put in is finally paying off. Winning against Ukraine is a major achievement, as despite all their problems, they are still a much bigger country than us, who boast much more resources and players.

“Ending the group with one win and one defeat is an amazing result, and we now just wait for the result of Sunday’s match between Romania and Ukraine to see if we will progress to the Top 12 or not.

“Whatever happens, we will keep working hard to continue to make Malta proud.”

Ukraine were off to a strong start as they raced into a 5-3 lead by the end of the opening session, with Malta’s goals coming from a brace from Chloe Amato and another from Kaylon Cutajar.

The Maltese girls fought back in the second session, and goals from Micheli and Luisa Borgia enabled them to change ends 6-5 behind.

The third session turned out to be a hard-fought affair with the Ukrainians seemingly gaining a crucial two-goal lead before the final quarter – 11-9.

Amato stood out for Malta when netting a hat-trick with the other goal coming from Nevise Agius.

But the character of the Maltese girls came to the fore in the final session as Micheli scored a fine hat-trick to pull her team level at 12-all to throw the match wide open.

It was the Maltese girls who managed to hold control of their nerves with Agius firing home a brilliant goal to hand the team a fine victory.

MALTA: R. Babiker, L. Borgia 1, K. Portelli, C. Amato 5, H. Camilleri, M. Grech, K. Cutajar, E. Micheli 4, M. Tully, E. Cushing, N. Agius 2, M. Clarke Spiteri

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Harding Women’s Track and Field Earns Five Academic All-District Honors

Story Links SEARCY — Five members of the Harding women’s track and field team have been named to the Academic All-District Team by the Collegiate Sports Communicators (CSC), formerly CoSIDA, recognizing their achievements in both athletics and academics. Seniors Cadence Sansom and Kiera Blankinship, both All-Americans on the track, will now advance to […]

Published

4 hours ago

June 28, 2025

Your Sports Nation

SEARCY — Five members of the Harding women’s track and field team have been named to the Academic All-District Team by the Collegiate Sports Communicators (CSC), formerly CoSIDA, recognizing their achievements in both athletics and academics. Seniors Cadence Sansom and Kiera Blankinship, both All-Americans on the track, will now advance to the Academic All-America ballot.

To qualify for the Academic All-District team, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore academically, hold a minimum 3.50 cumulative grade point average, and be ranked in the top 50 regionally in at least one event.

Harding’s honorees include:

Josie Parks (Jr., D, Columbia, Tenn.) Parks, an exercise science major with a 3.87 GPA, was a standout in distance events. She was ranked seventh in the NCAA Division II Central Region and 40th nationally in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:52.71. This season, Parks claimed the 2025 Great American Conference (GAC) championship in the 1,500 meters (4:40.27) and finished third in the steeplechase (11:00.55).

Dinah Winders (Sr., D, Mansfield, Tenn.) Winders, an accounting major, achieved a perfect 4.00 GPA. She was ranked 31st regionally in the outdoor 1,500 meters with a time of 4:40.58. At the GAC Championships, Winders secured a second-place finish in the 1,500 meters (4:40.81) and placed fifth in the 5,000 meters with a personal-best time of 18:01.53.

Veagen Jones (Sr., MD, Edmond, Okla.) Jones, an exercise science major, earned a 3.50 GPA. She was ranked 30th regionally in the outdoor 800 meters, clocking a time of 2:14.21. Jones also placed fifth in the 800 meters at the GAC Championships with a time of 2:15.79.

Cadence Sansom (Sr., PV, Lago Vista, Texas) Sansom, a criminal justice major with a 3.85 GPA, distinguished herself in the pole vault. She was ranked sixth regionally and 11th nationally in the indoor pole vault (4.03m, 13-2.5). Sansom earned Second Team All-America honors in both the indoor pole vault, finishing 11th with a mark of 4.07m (13-4.25), and the outdoor pole vault, where she placed 10th with a jump of 3.92m (12-10.25). Sansom’s achievements will now be considered for Academic All-America.

Kiera Blankinship (Sr., HJ, Chickasha, Okla.) Blankinship, a marriage and family counseling major, was ranked seventh regionally and 21st nationally in the outdoor high jump (1.72m, 5-7.75). She earned Second Team All-America honors in the outdoor pole vault with a 10th-place finish at nationals, clearing 1.68m (5-6). Blankinship joins Sansom on the Academic All-America ballot.

The CSC Academic All-America program highlights student-athletes who excel academically and athletically, providing national recognition for their comprehensive success.

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Bonnies add Walter to track & field coaching staff

Matt Walter College Sports, Local Sports, Sports June 27, 2025 ST. BONAVENTURE – St. Bonaventure head cross country/track coach Bob Macfarlane has announced the addition of Matt Walter to the Bonnies coaching staff for the 2025-26 season. Walter will work exclusively with Bona’s growing track program. […]

Published

4 hours ago

June 28, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Bonnies add Walter to track & field coaching staff

Matt Walter

College Sports, Local Sports, Sports

June 27, 2025

ST. BONAVENTURE – St. Bonaventure head cross country/track coach Bob Macfarlane has announced the addition of Matt Walter to the Bonnies coaching staff for the 2025-26 season. Walter will work exclusively with Bona’s growing track program.

“We’re thrilled to have Matt join our staff. His experience and knowledge in developing sprinters and hurdlers will be a tremendous asset to our program,” Macfarlane said. “Matt’s addition strengthens our commitment to providing comprehensive training for all of our track athletes and we’re excited about the impact he’ll make.”

Walter was a collegiate track student-athlete at Lock Haven University where he was a two-time member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference All-Academic Team.

Following graduation, the Bradford, Pa. native returned to the area as athletic director for Johnsonburg (Pa.) Area School District, overseeing the operation of seven junior high programs and 12 high school teams. He also has over a decade of experience in the business sector working with area banks.

St. Bonaventure’s running programs continue to expand with nearly 80 student-athletes set to compete for the Bonnies in the coming academic year. Macfarlane and assistant coach Sarah Lonzi will continue to focus on the cross country/track programs while Walter’s focus will be on Bona’s sprinters and hurdlers as the program continues to expand in those events for both indoor and outdoor track.

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