USTFCCCA Release

NEW ORLEANS – The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced their regional outdoor season honors for the 2025 season on Friday (June 20).

Director of track, field and cross country Petros Kyprianou was named the Midwest Region’s Women’s Coach of the Year in his third season leading the Illinois track and field programs.

“I am honored to receive this award, but I could not do it alone,” said Kyprianou. “I want to thank everyone on my staff as they are some of the best in the country and make my job easier. My athletes are also world class in responding to our coaching, but more importantly they are amazing people outside of athletics. We are just scratching the surface here at Illinois and we will continue improve and compete at the national level. Why not Illinois?”

This honor comes on the heels of the program’s first top-5 finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 29 years, they placed fifth with 29.5 points. It’s only the second time this century that the team has finished inside the top-10 joining the 2002 team that took 10th. Fifth is now the program’s third-highest finish as the 1995 and 1996 teams each finished in fourth.

He led 10 women to qualify to the NCAA Outdoor Championships across six events with six of them walking away as All-Americans:  Sophia Beckmon (long Jump), Tacoria Humphrey (long jump),  Mia Morello (pole vault), Abria Smith (shot put), Melissa Wullschleger (heptathlon) and Rose Yeboah (high jump). Those six All-American’s are also the most the program has seen since the 1996 team had 10.

Kyprianou coached Humphrey and Smith to Big Ten Champion status, five school records and 41 top-10 program marks throughout the outdoor season. Additionally, he’s the first coach in program history to be tabbed at the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Women’s Coach of the Year.

Members coaches voted on these honors after the 2025 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Eugene, Ore., and considered performances throughout the season. Only USTFCCCA member schools are eligible for awards.

Jackson Cryst has likely always been the big man on campus.

The 6-foot-10 outsider hitter took the Sage Hill boys’ volleyball program to new heights during an unbelievable two-year stint that was no tall tale.

While much remains ahead for Cryst, who is joining reigning national champion Long Beach State to continue playing volleyball, his high school career closed three weeks ago with the highest of highs.

Sage Hill, largely because of Cryst, went down in history as one of the inaugural boys’ volleyball state champions, as the Lightning beat San Francisco International 25-19, 25-16, 25-23 for the CIF State Division III title.

Sage Hill outside hitter Jackson Cryst is a two-time CIF Southern Section divisional player of the year honoree.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Cryst had 23 kills, three service aces and 1½ total blocks in the state final, the last game in an extended winning streak that spanned more than six weeks.

The season-saving streak began on April 17 with a five-set win over Portola that got the Lightning back to the .500 mark after an 0-5 start. Sage Hill (22-11) grabbed an at-large bid into the Southern Section’s Division 4 bracket, then made good on that chance by edging Santa Barbara in five sets for its second consecutive CIF title.

After winning back-to-back CIF titles and earning divisional player of the year honors in his two seasons at Sage Hill, Cryst is the Daily Pilot Boys’ Volleyball Dream Team Player of the Year.

Cryst insisted that winning championships was not a byproduct of “the Jackson show,” saying that he learned about how to lead a team and make others around him better. Junior Connor Gapp, who split his playing time between setter and opposite, and junior outside hitter Ryan Manesh became key contributors.

Sage Hill’s Jackson Cryst (20) puts a kill away during a CIF State Southern California Regional Division III match against Taft.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

“I think that was a really surprising challenge that I wasn’t ready for, that I’m not just going to be able to jump my way and hit my way out of everything,” Cryst said. “That helps in crunch-time matches, but volleyball is the ultimate team sport. I can’t hit a ball without someone setting it, and you can’t set it without someone passing it, so I think it was really incredible to actually be able to understand that. Now, if I can apply that to a higher-level team, then it makes the game so much more fun to play, and then also we’re just so much more effective at winning volleyball matches.”

Arriving at Sage Hill as a junior transfer from Long Beach Millikan, Cryst had an immediate impact on the fortunes of the Lightning. Sage Hill needed all of Cryst’s eye-popping 54-kill performance to come out on top in a five-set Division 5 final against San Marino for the program’s first CIF championship in 2024.

Sage Hill outside hitter Jackson Cryst has committed to the Long Beach State men’s volleyball program.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

“Jackson is a great leader,” Manesh said. “It’s truly a blessing to be on the same team as him because the amount of volleyball knowledge that he spreads and preaches to us, it’s so helpful to our game. … I remember our five-set match against [Simi Valley] Royal, he was talking to us about what Karch Kiraly, the greatest volleyball player of all time, told him. …

“Before the fifth set, he said Karch Kiraly told him, ‘Nobody wants the easy 3-0 experiences. The best champions, they live for the five-set matches,’ and that helped push us to the win against Royal. Just inspirational words like that, the knowledge that he has, the skills. He’s 6-foot-10, but his ball control is insane.”

As a two-sport athlete, Cryst also played in the post for the boys’ basketball team. Sage Hill advanced to the Division 3AA quarterfinals in his junior year, and this past season, they were the runner-up in the same division.

Sage Hill’s Jackson Cryst (12) drives to the basket against Knight’s Carson Claypool (4) and Da’Vian Brooks (5) in the CIF Southern Section Division 3AA boys’ basketball final.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

So much of that was challenging. First came frustration with transfer sit-out periods. Then as a senior, the physicality and the time commitment of a senior basketball season that extended into the early part of March with regional playoff qualification was eating away at a volleyball season already underway.

Cryst credited D’Cean Bryant, Sage Hill’s boys’ basketball coach, with helping him to understand the life lessons involved while navigating those situations.

“I think that he was really right there with me through all that, and not in a way where he’s just trying to make me feel better, but in a way where he’s telling me what I need,” Cryst said of Bryant. “This last year, too, where I’m committed to college for volleyball, and I’m in basketball season, going well into volleyball, and I’m frustrated. I’m voicing to him that I’m extremely frustrated. ‘I’m a volleyball player. Why am I doing this? I’m getting double- and triple-teamed in games, getting beat up.’”

Sage Hill outside hitter Jackson Cryst helped the Lightning win the inaugural CIF State Division III boys’ volleyball title.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Bryant’s message was one of honoring your commitments and being where your feet are.

“He was like, ‘I don’t know when this is going to serve you, but it’s going to because at a certain point in your life, you’re going to have to do something that you don’t want to do. How are you going to respond to that? Are you just going to show up and not be there, not really do it, or are you going to be all-in to whatever you’re doing?’ It’s a character thing, and I think that did really serve me well,” Cryst said.

Sage Hill boys’ volleyball coach Jordan Hoppe, left, with outside hitter Jackson Cryst.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Jordan Hoppe, who took over as the Sage Hill boys’ volleyball coach this year, called Cryst a “student of the game” and also referred to some of the athleticism he displays on the court as incomprehensible. He said he has seen Cryst do the splits.

“The athletic ability, being 6-10, is something you only see in a few athletes to ever live — I think Wilt Chamberlain being number one,” Hoppe said. “I think it’s a good comparison because I think Wilt was one of the most athletic 7-footers to ever play basketball. I think Jackson is not only arguably the best player in the country, but he’s arguably one of the most athletic players in the country, even at 6-10, which is even more remarkable.”

Huntington Beach coach Craig Pazanti, left, has a word with an official during the CIF Southern Section Division 1 boys’ volleyball final against Mira Costa on May 16 at Cerritos College.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

COACH OF THE YEAR

Craig Pazanti

Huntington Beach

Huntington Beach (36-5) enjoyed a season to be proud of, even if it fell short of the ultimate goal. The Oilers spent the season looking up to Mira Costa as the nation’s top team, but they earned multiple bites at the apple in the postseason, meeting the Mustangs in the Division 1 section final and the Division I regional final. Huntington Beach went undefeated in the Sunset League, securing its first league title since 2016. The Oilers advanced to their first CIF final since 2021.

Corona del Mar’s Ben Brown (24) spikes the ball against Huntington Beach in a Sunset League match on April 2.

(James Carbone)

FIRST TEAM

Ben Brown

OH | Corona del Mar | Jr.

What can Brown do for you? For the Sea Kings, the answer was a lot. Brown, who transferred from Elmhurst York in Illinois, paid immediate dividends for CdM (24-7), which came one match shy of reaching the Division 1 final. The All-CIF Division 1 and Sunset League first-team selection compiled 451 kills, 144 digs and 42 aces.

Newport Harbor’s Henry Clemo (13) hits against two blockers from Corona del Mar in the Battle of the Bay on March 12.

(James Carbone)

Henry Clemo

OPP | Newport Harbor | Jr.

Clemo packed a punch from the right pin and the service line, rarely holding back on a swing. A fiery competitor, the junior opposite provided infectious passion that helped elevate Newport Harbor (27-12), which was one of three Sunset League teams to qualify for the Division 1 playoffs. Clemo was a first-team all-league honoree.

Huntington Beach’s Kai Gan (7) sets the ball against Corona del Mar in a Sunset League match on April 2.

(James Carbone)

Kai Gan

S | Huntington Beach | Sr.

After sharing the setting duties with Jake Pazanti as a junior, Gan handled the role in all rotations as a senior. Gan, a Harvard commit, shared the Sunset League MVP award with Logan Hutnick, his top option and an emerging star for the Oilers at outside hitter. The All-CIF selection churned out 1,454 assists to go with 175 digs, 54 blocks, 39 kills and 29 aces.

Huntington Beach’s Nick Ganier (32) spikes the ball against Newport Harbor in a Sunset League match on April 11.

(James Carbone)

Nick Ganier Jr.

MB | Huntington Beach | Sr.

Ganier Jr. had the effect of opening up the entire offense, as teams could not lock in solely on Logan Hutnick and Ben Arguello on the pins. When opponents made that choice, they paid a price for doing so. Ganier Jr., a first-team all-league selection, supplied 212 kills on a .403 hitting percentage and contributed to 68 blocks.

Corona del Mar boys’ volleyball players, including Brogan Glenn (5), celebrate a point against Huntington Beach on April 2.

(James Carbone)

Brogan Glenn

L | Corona del Mar | Sr.

A three-year starter for the Sea Kings, Glenn’s passing contributions were vital with his team breaking in a new setter in Drake Foley. Glenn, a UCLA-bound libero who earned All-CIF and Sunset League first-team honors, provided 263 digs, 22 kills and 16 aces.

Huntington Beach’s Logan Hutnick (11) makes a dig against Mira Costa in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 final on May 16 at Cerritos College.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Logan Hutnick

OH | Huntington Beach | So.

Huntington Beach fell one set short of its first section title in a decade, but Hutnick will surely be at the forefront of the revenge tour. Hutnick finished with 560 kills on a .318 hitting percentage, adding 204 digs, 72 total blocks and 30 aces. The All-CIF honoree had 22 kills, 13 digs and 2½ blocks in the Division 1 final.

SECOND TEAM

Position, Name, School, Year

OPP Ben Arguello, Huntington Beach, Jr.

L Aiden Atencio, Huntington Beach, Sr.

MB Jack Berry, Newport Harbor, Sr.

L Nathan Jackson, Edison, Sr.

OPP Connor McNally, Edison, Sr.

OH Kai Patchell, Laguna Beach, Sr.

OH Hudson Reynolds, Pacifica Christian, Sr.

OPP An Nguyen, Ocean View, Sr.

OH JP Wardy, Newport Harbor, Jr.

S Charlie Von Der Ahe, Newport Harbor, Jr.

MB Billy Watkins, Fountain Valley, Jr.

NEW ORLEANS — Vera Sjöberg, a Boston University track & field team alumna, was named the USTFCCCA Northeast Track Athlete of the Year for the outdoor season on Friday afternoon.

Sjöberg finished as national runner-up in the 5000m with a time of 15:34.77 at the NCAA Championships, the best finish by a Patriot League or BU woman ever. That also earned her First Team All-America honors in the event. Her performance in the 5K gave BU eight points and tied the Terriers for 34th place, the best finish of any Northeast school. 

She also qualified for the 1500m final and finished 11^th, snagging a Second Team All-America nod. She was one of two athletes to compete in both the 1500m and 5000m and was the first Patriot League or BU woman to compete in multiple events at the NCAA Championships.

On the conference level, the Stockholm, Sweden native won the 1500m, 5000m and was part of the winning 4x800m squad, setting meet records of 4:14.37 and 16:11.40 in the 1500m & 5000m, respectfully. For her efforts, she was named Patriot League Track Athlete of the Meet.

Sjöberg, who graduated from BU in just three years with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in women, gender and sexuality, also set school records in the 1500m (4:07.39) and 5000m (15:27.51) this season. 

After four unforgettable seasons together, this was our final year of CYO volleyball—and the SFDS Blue and Gold made it count. With grit, heart, and hustle, our girls showed up one last time and took St. Stan’s by storm, winning the 2025 CYO Championship in just two games. The victory was made even sweeter as we defeated the previously undefeated St. Margaret’s—a team many thought couldn’t be beaten.

This wasn’t just a victory on paper. It was the product of years of practice, hustle, laughter, team bonding, and heart. With only one set lost all season, these girls played with fire in their souls and joy in their hearts. The team went strong all season, and when it came time to take things to the next level in the playoffs, they stepped up—every single one of them.

With a roster of 19 players, each girl knew she was a vital part of something bigger than herself. Whether playing every set or cheering from the sidelines, every teammate mattered—and it showed.

We want to give a special shoutout to a few standout players who consistently brought their A-game:

Maeve Murphy took things to the next level with her powerhouse serves and fierce back-row spikes—a true game-changer.

Niamh Mullen amazed us all with her unwavering focus and the ability to pull off plays no one saw coming.

Sadie Corvi had a killer instinct on the court. Always one step ahead, she could read the opposing team like a book and place the ball with precision.

Taryn Martin was our set master, placing the ball perfectly every time, giving our hitters the setup they needed to crush it.

Jane Bender was a model of consistency and heart. She never gave less than 100% and made magic happen in the clutch moments.

Reese Dennis played with unmatched intensity. No matter where she was on the court, she played all out, all the time—always in it for the kill.

And when it came time to turn it up in the playoffs, we knew we had secret weapons ready to shine:

Joey Pompeo was a game-changer. The moment she stepped on the court, the other team knew they had a serious force to deal with. Whether she was blocking at the net or spiking with power, Joey made her presence known.

Lily Warnock, our go-to setter in the clutch, is always steady, always smart.

Taylor Grosseto, a strong outside hitter, her left-hand line shots that were lethal and perfectly timed.

Ella Gatto, an intimidating front-row presence whose service aces and aggressive play made her a force to be reckoned with.

There are so many girls worth mentioning—each one brought their own spark to this team. They showed up to every practice, every game, with a spirit of teamwork, sportsmanship, and fun. Because in the end, it wasn’t just about winning (though that was pretty great)—it was about the bond they built, the laughs they shared, and the memories that will last far beyond the last whistle.

We also want to recognize the following girls who brought unmatched team spirit to every game. Their energy, positivity, and love for the team were felt on and off the court:

Angelina Rasmussen, Olivia Coursey, Miley Furano, Joyce Geraci, Lilana Giammona, Kinley Hearn, Amelia O’Sullivan, Annalise O’Sullivan, and Mackenzie Rivera

This season wasn’t just about the wins. It was about showing up, lifting each other up, and having fun together. You girls made magic—and memories—that will last a lifetime. Congratulations, champions! 

Good luck in High School 

Love, Coach Chrystie 

Zagreb, Croatia – June 20 – The USA Men’s Junior National Team came through with an exciting 18-16 win over Hungary in semifinal action at the World Aquatics U20 World Championship earlier today. Ryder Dodd starred again with six goals to lead the way while Landon Akerstrom and Peter Castillo scored three each. Team USA will now face off against Spain in the gold medal match on Saturday at 2:30pm et/11:30am pt. All matches are scheduled to stream live on the World Aquatics YouTube. Live statistics will be available for every match from MicroPlus Timing Services.

Hungary began the game with two quick goals from Csongor Lugosi and the captain Oliver Leinweber before Bode Brinkema floated in Team USA’s first score. Martin Toth pushed the lead back to two and then Benjamin Liechty cut the deficit right back to one. From there, Leinweber and Adam Peocz scored for Hungary but Castillo and William Schneider answered to close the quarter for the United States trailing 5-4. In the second period, the Hungarian side opened with three goals from Botond Balogh, Vince Varga, and Leinweber before Gavin Appledorn found the back of the net for the Americans. Zsombor Porge tacked on one more but Akerstrom (2) and Dodd quickly brought Team USA within one. Mor Benedek and Akerstrom traded scores to close the half with Hungary holding a 10-9 lead.

Brinkema won the opening sprint to start the second half which allowed Liechty to find Castillo for a game-tying goal. One minute later, Dodd rang the register from six meters to give Team USA its first lead of the day. Varga would have an answer for Hungary and then the captains would weigh in. Dodd converted a penalty shot to regain the lead before Leinweber hit from six meters twice in the final few minutes to give the Hungarians a 13-12 edge after three. The United States would step up its game in the final frame to close things out. Dodd (2), Castillo, and Ryan Ohl came out firing to put the Americans ahead by three before Hungary could respond. They would turn to their captain Leinweber for another pair of goals to cut the deficit down to one with 2:38 remaining. On the ensuing possession, Liechty found Brinkema for a beautiful cross cage goal from long distance. Hungary would bring the ball up the pool needing a score and they earned an exclusion but Marton Zeman was denied by Charles Mills who quickly flipped the ball out of harm’s way to Castillo. Castillo found Dodd with no Hungarian goalkeeper to beat and Dodd skipped home the dagger from half tank. Varga would score a meaningless goal late for Hungary to set the final score at 18-16 for Team USA.

Team USA went 6/16 on power plays and 3/3 on penalties in regulation while Hungary went 4/7 on power plays and 4/4 on penalties. 

Scoring – Stats

USA 18 (4, 5, 3, 6) R. Dodd 6, L. Akerstrom 3, P. Castillo 3, B. Brinkema 2, G. Appledorn 1, B. Liecthy 1, R. Ohl 1, W. Schneider 1

HUN 16 (5, 5, 3, 3) O. Leinweber 7, V. Varga 3, B. Balogh 1, M. Benedek 1, C. Lugosi 1, A. Peocz 1, Z. Porge 1, M. Toth 1

Saves – USA – C. Mills 4 – HUN – G. Szabo 4, D. Szitas 3

6×5 – USA – 6/16 – HUN – 4/7

Penalties – USA – 3/3 – HUN – 4/4