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Jack Daniels, Legendary Coach and Innovative Scientist, Dies

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3 months ago

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Jack Daniels, widely acknowledged as one of the most influential and successful running coaches and exercise scientists in the United States, died on September 12 at age 92. According to an email from his wife, Nancy, “He died happy after watching the Green Bay Packers win last night. He tested the Packers team when he was a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, and has loved the team ever since.”

During a career that spanned more than six decades, Daniels worked directly with dozens of elite American distance runners, authored several books and more than 50 articles on running, and produced ground-breaking innovations and research. But his most cherished experiences involved helping more “normal” athletes find success and enjoyment in the sport.

Daniels fell into distance running, and eventually began coaching, in a roundabout way. A strong collegiate swimmer in the early 1950s, he became a two-time Olympic medalist in modern pentathlon despite initially struggling in the event’s running component. It was through working to improve his own running that Daniels developed a passion for human performance and coaching others to success.

Born in Detroit, Daniels was still an infant when his parents moved the family to the Bay area of northern California. There Daniels had an active childhood and, after failing at baseball tryouts, became an accomplished competitive swimmer at Sequoia Union High School in Redwood City before entering the Colorado School of Mines in 1951. A year later he transferred to the University of Montana in Missoula, where he was a standout on the swimming and rifle teams and also went through the ROTC program.

Daniels graduated from Montana in 1955 with a double major in physical education and mathematics and then served a year in the U.S. Army in Korea. Despite labeling himself “such a terrible runner,” Daniels won a military triathlon consisting of pistol shooting, swimming, and running. He immediately committed himself to improving his running in pursuit of a spot on the U.S. Olympic team in modern pentathlon, an event consisting of fencing, 200-meter freestyle swimming, show jumping, and pistol shooting incorporated into a 3200-meter cross-country run. In November 1956, Daniels competed for the U.S. in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and brought home a silver medal in the modern pentathlon men’s team event. Four years later he was a member of the bronze medal-winning U.S. team at the 1960 Rome Olympics.

Unfailingly intrigued by human physiology and sports performance, Daniels was relentless in his pursuit of a better understanding of the human body and its adaptation to physical activity and training. He spent most of 1959 in Sweden, continuing pentathlon training while enrolled in Stockholm’s Royal Gymnastic Central Institute, where he studied anatomy and psychology. In the 1960s, Daniels completed two advanced degrees in physical education and exercise physiology, an M.Ed. from the University of Oklahoma (1965) and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin (1969).

Daniels took on a string of research and coaching assignments during the ensuing decades. He served as head cross-country coach at Oklahoma City University from 1961 to 1965, and then began work on his Ph.D. Summers were spent conducting altitude research with elite U.S. athletes and for the space program with the Federal Aviation Agency. This led to an assignment with the 1968 U.S. Olympic team, consulting on issues of competition at high altitude prior to the Mexico City Games. Daniels became acquainted with Kansas University track and cross-country coach Bob Timmons during the mid 1960s and undertook performance testing and conferred with Timmons on the training of top U.S. miler Jim Ryun.

After coaching the Peruvian national team for a year, Daniels served as men’s distance coach at the University of Texas from 1969 to 1972. His next move was to Hawaii, where he coached one year before returning to Texas to help start and direct the Longhorn women’s track and field and cross-country programs.

Nike hired Daniels as an exercise physiologist in 1980. He spent his first three years with the company in Exeter, New Hampshire, before relocating to the Eugene, Oregon lab affiliated with the shoe company’s Athletics West elite program. There he was responsible for conducting a range of tests on the athletes while pursuing research into topics such as differences in male and female running economy, effects of head- and tailwinds while running at varying speeds, and the aerobic demands of road, track, and treadmill running at sea level and high altitude.

Among the athletes Daniels consulted with during his stint at AW was Joan Benoit (Samuelson), who arrived at his lab in late April 1984 unable to put weight on her foot following arthroscopic surgery a few days earlier. The first women’s U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials was two weeks away, and Benoit was in a panic. Daniels, ever-calm and innovative, suspended an exercise bike from the ceiling and instructed Benoit to pedal with her arms. The activity provided some aerobic and mental benefit while allowing Benoit to stay off her foot. She went on to win the Trials race and, on August 5, 1984, triumphed at the inaugural women’s Olympic Marathon in Los Angeles.

Although he enjoyed his work with Athletics West, Daniels missed coaching on the collegiate level, and in 1986 left Nike to take a position at the State University of New York at Cortland. Daniels had great success at Cortland over the following 17 years, heading up the men’s and women’s cross-country programs while teaching physical education. His women’s team won seven NCAA Division III national titles while the men qualified for nationals eight times and finished as high as sixth.

It was while at Cortland that Daniels wrote his best-known book, Daniels’ Running Formula, the fourth edition of which was published in 2021. The book manages to present a good bit of Daniels’ scientific approach to training without getting bogged down in it, and all the formulas and numbers are nicely contrasted by plenty of simple and effective instruction. Key to Daniels’ approach is being sure runners train at intensities appropriate for their current fitness, and that they run no farther or faster in training than necessary to optimize results. Scores if not hundreds of high school and college coaches have adopted Daniels’ method with considerable success.

Daniels was 72 when hired in March 2005 to direct the Center for High Altitude Training at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. There his responsibilities included coaching emerging elite athletes in middle-distance and distance events as well as working with Team Altius, a community-based running club. NAU closed the facility in early 2009 due to budget concerns, and the following year Daniels took a position at Division II Brevard College in North Carolina. When asked why he’d take such a low-profile position, Daniels gave a response that perfectly summed up his life’s work:

“Simply put, I love to coach both young ladies and young men, and to be able to continue doing that makes life real enjoyable for me,” he told Runner’s World in 2011. “I truly get as much enjoyment out of watching a young runner improve his or her performance as I get from seeing one of my runners make it to the Olympics.”

Daniels left Brevard in 2012 and returned to Flagstaff, but the following year accepted the head men’s and women’s cross-country coaching position at Wells College in Aurora, New York, an NCAA Division III school with an enrollment of only 600.

Daniels’ influence on U.S. distance running is hard to overstate, from coaching individuals elites such as Olympic marathoner Magdalena Lewy Boulet to mentoring other coaches such as Flagstaff’s Mike Smith to educating untold numbers of recreational runners.



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Wisconsin Badgers volleyball transfer portal tracker 2025-26

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26 minutes ago

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December 24, 2025

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The University of Wisconsin volleyball program saw significant transfer portal action as soon as the Badgers’ season ended.

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Contact Jim Polzin at jpolzin@madison.com.



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Aggie volleyball adds a pair of Midwest transfers

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43 minutes ago

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December 24, 2025

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Just two days after winning a national championship, Jamie Morrison and Aggie volleyball announced the signing of two Division One transfers.

Texas A&M added graduate transfer and All-American Natalie Ring from Marquette and Ohio State’s Kaia Castle.

Volleyball is one of six revenue-sharing sports at Texas A&M, and following the national title match, Morrison acknowledged the university’s financial commitment to recruiting.

“Our administration’s really stepped up and said, hey, we really want you to be competitive on the national landscape. And I couldn’t be more grateful for that,” Morrison said.

Ring led the Golden Eagles to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and landed on the All-America third team. She was also named a unanimous All-Big East selection. She had a career-high 29 kills in a close loss to No. 2 Louisville in the NCAA Tournament.

The Madison, Wisconsin native ranked No. 16 in the nation with 4.60 kills per set.

“We are excited to add Natalie to our Aggie family here in Aggieland,” Morrison said. “She brings a wealth of experience as a well-rounded outside hitter and is a relentless competitor who consistently raised her level against the best competition. The 12th Man is going to love her fire, spirit and the way she plays the game.”

Castle is a redshirt sophomore and averaged 1.94 kills per set as a middle blocker.

“We value speed at the middle blocker position and it’s rare to see someone with Kaia’s length who can move the way she does,” Morrison said. “Beyond the physical tools, she is an incredible human. I truly enjoyed every part of the recruiting process with Kaia and can’t wait to have her here in Aggieland.”

Castle recorded 91 blocks this year for the Buckeyes and broke the program’s single-match block record with 15 against Troy.

The Aggies were quick to get to work on building for next season and remaining at the top of the college volleyball landscape.

“We’re going to sit down, and we’re going to enjoy this as much as we possibly can,” Morrison said. “And then we’re going to get to work and go do it again.”

Copyright 2025 KBTX. All rights reserved.



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17 LOHS athletes sign letters of intent to play sports in college

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58 minutes ago

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December 24, 2025

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Seventeen Lake Orion High School student-athletes signed national letters of intent on Dec. 17 to their sports careers at the collegiate level. Photo by Joseph Goral

Seventeen Lake Orion High School student-athletes signed national letters of intent on Dec. 17 to their sports careers at the collegiate level. Photo by Joseph Goral

ORION TWP. — Seventeen senior athletes signed letters of intent at Lake Orion High School on Dec. 17 to play sports at the collegiate level.

The athletes represent eight sports – swimming, lacrosse, soccer, football, baseball, cross country, dance and track and field.

“Congratulations to all of you on joining a small group of high school athletes around the country that get the opportunity to pursue their athletic careers while pursuing their educa­tion,” LOHS Athletic Director Chris Bell said.

Several coaches joined Bell to in­troduce the athletes honored last week

Swimming

Briana Hernandez will swim for Wayne State University where she plans to study biochemistry or chemi­cal biology. Hernandez scored a team-leading 218 points this season, finished first 11 times, was a key member of LOHS’s state team, and is fourth all time in school history for the 50-meter freestyle event.

Samantha O’Kronley (left) and Leo Cassell sign letters of intent on Dec. 17 to play college sports. Photos by Joseph Goral

Samantha O’Kronley (left) and Leo Cassell sign letters of intent on Dec. 17 to play college sports. Photos by Joseph Goral

Maddox LaMothe will continue his swimming career at St. Olaf College in Minnesota and study music education. LaMoth will be a sprint freestyle and breast stroke specialist at St. Olaf Col­lege. He has scored 149 points, finished first 12 times and is a league champion in the 100-meter breast stroke event at LOHS.

Lacrosse

JC McClung will play lacrosse at Saginaw Valley State University. McClung has been a varsity starter at Lake Orion since her sophomore year, scored 27 points during her junior year, and will be a captain during her senior season.

Brielle Coventry will play la­crosse at Lewis University in Illinois where she will study aviation admin­istration. Coventry has also been a varsity player since her sophomore year, has scored 75 goals, and was named to the all-state third team in 2025 and to the all-OAA Red team.

Curtis Meech will continue his lacrosse career at Lake Erie College, and began playing lacrosse for Lake Orion Community schools 10 years ago. Head lacrosse coach Chris Wood said Meech is a vocal leader and a reliable, lead-by-example defender.

Maddox LaMothe (left) and Brooke Armstrong sign letters of intent to play college sports.

Maddox LaMothe (left) and Brooke Armstrong sign letters of intent to play college sports.

Quentin Rohlfing will play la­crosse for Kalamazoo College. In his three years playing LOHS lacrosse, Wood said Rohlfing es­tablished himself as a relentless competitor, a quick learner in the mid-field, and said Rohlfing is a hard-working individual.

Soccer

Brooke Armstrong will play soccer at Michigan Technological University where she will study biochemistry. Armstrong earned district and league honors during the spring and is a fierce competitor that LOHS is thankful to have on their team, head varsity coach Amanda Hutchinson said.

Lilly Brodoski will play soccer for Calvin University where she will study politics, philosophy and eco­nomics. She has been on LOHS’s soccer team since her freshman year, earned league honors her sopho­more and junior years, along with the OAA Sportsmanship Award, and is a versatile player who can contribute in many positions on the field, Hutchinson said.

Seniors JC McClung (left) and Brielle Coventry are introduced on Dec. 17.

Seniors JC McClung (left) and Brielle Coventry are introduced on Dec. 17.

Football

Leo Cassell will play football at Alma College and study biology. A defensive and offensive lineman, Bell called Cassell a smart player who knows the game, and said he works hard, is unselfish, and was willing to play what­ever role his team needed.

Brody Thompson will play football for Northwood University where he will pursue a business degree. Thompson predominantly played quarterback for the Dragons, is a threat running and throwing the football and won a leader­ship award last season, Bell said.

Alex Hensley will also play football at Northwood University. A starting in­side linebacker, Bell described Hensley as an old-fashioned, Orion-tough physi­cal football player. Hensley was also a captain last season, led the Dragons in tackles for the last two seasons and was selected to the all-league team and all-region first team this season.

Quentin Rohlfing (right) and Curtis Meech are introduced by boys varsity lacrosse head coach Chris Wood before a crowd at Lake Orion High School on Dec. 17.

Quentin Rohlfing (right) and Curtis Meech are introduced by boys varsity lacrosse head coach Chris Wood before a crowd at Lake Orion High School on Dec. 17.

Ryan Rocheleau will play football for Western Michigan University. Bell called Rocheleau the best tight end in Lake Orion History. Rocheleau caught 30 passes for more than 500 yards and five touchdowns, was selected to the all-league first team and all-region first team and was a team captain.

Baseball

Ozzie Schons will play baseball at Alpena Community College where he will study mathematics. Head varsity baseball coach Andy Schramek said Schons chose Alpena Community Col­lege for its culture.

Riley Bendle will play baseball at Kellogg Community College and pursue a career as a doctor. Schramek said Kellogg Community College will give Bendle the chance to develop as a player for two years before transferring to a university.

Dance

Samantha O’Kronley will dance at Alma College where she plans to study sports medicine. O’Kronley has been in Lake Orion’s dance program since seventh grade, and was described as always dependable and hardworking by a teammate.

Lilly Brodoski signs a letter of intent to play soccer for Calvin University.

Lilly Brodoski signs a letter of intent to play soccer for Calvin University.

Cross country and track and field

Max Houvener will be running cross country and competing in track and field at Oakland University. Hou­vener qualified for the state finals in the 3,200-meter relay his freshman year, and finished no lower than 10th in any race over the last two years, except for at the state finals, varsity coach Andrew McDonald said.

Mikaela Redman will be compet­ing in track and field at Northwood University. McDonald called Redman a very versatile athlete, and a leader in the school’s track-and-field program for the last four years.

Mikaela Redman signs a letter of intent on Dec. 17 to compete in track and field at Northwood University.

Mikaela Redman signs a letter of intent on Dec. 17 to compete in track and field at Northwood University.



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USU Volleyball head coach Rob Neilson hired by BYU | Sports

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59 minutes ago

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December 24, 2025

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Utah State women’s volleyball head coach Rob Neilson has been hired by BYU, ending his six-year tenure with the Aggies. BYU announced the hiring on social media Tuesday afternoon.

Neilson is an alum of BYU, having played for the Cougars’ men’s volleyball team from 2003-06 as a setter. He also spent 10 years as an assistant coach for the men’s team at BYU, even serving as its interim coach in 2011.

Utah State hired Neilson in 2020, following a 2019 season where the Aggies had gone a program-worst 2-28. USU went 5-10 in Neilson’s first season but then went on to win Mountain West titles in three straight seasons from 2021-24.

This season the Aggies not only won both the Mountain West regular season and conference tournament titles, they went undefeated in conference play and in the conference tournament, capping off what was ultimately a 22-game winning streak with a first-round upset victory in the NCAA Tournament against Tennessee.

Neilson ends his tenure at Utah State with an overall record of 112-59, winning three regular season Mountain West championships, two conference tournaments and winning MW Coach of the Year three times. He also took USU to four NCAA Tournaments with a record of 1-3 in those games.

In a statement, Utah State Director of Athletics Cam Walker expressed thanks to Neilson for his tenure.

“I am grateful for Rob’s leadership of our volleyball program, including multiple conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances,” Walker said. “The profile of Utah State volleyball has been elevated and we expect that standard to continue under new leadership. We will be efficient and aggressive in our pursuit of the next leader of Utah State volleyball and will begin an immediate national search.”



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Florida Volleyball Signs Setter Bri Denney

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December 24, 2025

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida volleyball announced the addition of setter Bri Denney to the Gators’ 2026 roster.

After earning her BBA in business management from Baylor, Denney will join the program as a graduate transfer in spring 2026 and pursue her master’s in business entrepreneurship.

“In our search for a setter, Bri jumped off the page as the perfect fit for us,” said Florida Head Coach Ryan Theis. “She is a great teammate, great student with starting and coming off the bench experience in high level power 4 volleyball.  We are excited to get her in the gym in January.”

“I chose the University of Florida because of the program’s history of national success, outstanding facilities and resources and the opportunity to compete in the SEC,” Denney said. “The coaching staff is exceptional and I’m excited to continue to grow as a student athlete and a person under their leadership. Campus is beautiful and I have the opportunity to be near my brother. It truly felt like the perfect fit. Grateful for this next chapter, go Gators!”

Denney is the fifth newcomer to join the Gators for the 2026 campaign. Florida previously signed incoming freshman opposite/outside hitter Nadi’ya Shelby and announced the addition of three transfers last week: outside hitter Kamryn “Kami” Chaney, middle blocker Brianna “Bri” Holladay and outside hitter Selena Leban.

 

Bri Denney

  • Position: Setter

  • Class: Graduate Student

  • Height: 6-0

  • Hometown: San Marcos, California

  • Previous Teams: Baylor

  • High School: Santa Fe Christian School

At Baylor
Honors:

  • 2023 Academic All-Big 12 First Team

2025 (Redshirt Junior): Played 50 sets across 15 matches with five starts … Opened the season with a career-high 31 assists in a 3-1 win over South Alabama (8/29) … Followed up with 29 assists in a 5-set win over No. 10 SMU (8/30) … Tallied 20 assists win a 3-1 road win at LSU (8/31) … Returned from injury to distribute 15 assists at No. 8 Arizona State (10/8) … Had 16 assists against No. 12 Purdue in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
2024 (Redshirt Sophomore): Traveled with the Bears and played in the Foreign Tour matches in Austria, Hungary, Italy and Slovenia in June 2024 … Came into the match against No. 22 TCU to set (10/6).
 
2023 (Sophomore): Saw action in three matches on the season … Played in two sets against No. 7 Minnesota in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge … Played against No. 19 Ohio State … Saw action in one set against Stephen F. Austin … Did not see action for the rest of the season due to injury, redshirted.
 
2022 (Freshman): Her first season with the Bears … Dealt with injury for the first part of the season … Saw action in three sets across two matches.
 
High School: Bri grew up in San Diego, CA where she played volleyball since the age of 10 at Southern California’s top two clubs; Wave and Coast. She played on their 1s teams every year with the exception of 11s & 14s, when she played on the 2s. Her teams always played in the highest divisions at the USA National Championships, placing 1st in the National division on her 13-1s team and 5th in the Open division on her 15-1s team. Bri has been trained by top club coaches and was privileged to train closely in her high school years with Fiapo Guilherme Tenius, (7x Olympic medalist coach for Brazil, US & Canada). She graduated from Santa Fe Christian School in 2022. In high school, she was First Team All-League, won second place in Division I, named Varsity Invitational Classic All-Tournament Team, and was Team Captain… In 2019 she and her team finished third in the Coastal League and second in DI postseason;  in 2021, they finished second in the league and sixth in DI Postseason … Bri was named National Honors Society, Principal’s Honor Roll, California Scholarship Federation Gold Seal Bearer and an Academic Letterwinner. In addition, she was a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes while dedicating a lot of her time to volunteering.
 
Personal: First name is Brianna but goes by “Bri” … Daughter of Monica and Robb Denney … Father, Robb, played rugby at the national level for the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club (OMBAC) on their Super League Team. She has one older brother, Colin, who played baseball at Biola University his freshman year, as a catcher, then graduated from Liberty University after transferring and is now an Investment Advisor in Tampa, FL.
 
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910Preps Fayetteville’s high school volleyball all-stars 2025

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8 hours ago

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December 24, 2025

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Dec. 23, 2025, 4:03 a.m. ET

Gray’s Creek’s Taylor Baggett’s senior season was one for the record books.

The Bears’ outside hitter and defensive specialist capped her high school career with a dominant final season that helped Gray’s Creek get to put together a ground-breaking year as the first high school volleyball team in school and county history to make it to an NCHSAA Final Four.



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