IRVINE, Calif. – Add one more awesome honor to the resume of recent Concordia University Irvine alum Dylan Fox.

The three-time All-American and three-time PacWest Champion in the long jump was named the PacWest Men’s Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second time in his incredible Concordia career.

The Irvine, Calif. native sported a 3.91 GPA in business administration. He was also voted the Men’s Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the PacWest sports communicators in 2023.

A graduate of nearby Irvine High School, Fox finished 11th, 10th, and then 8th in the long jump on the national stage at the NCAA DII Championships the past three years. He is Concordia’s first three-time All-American on the men’s track and field side in the NCAA DII era, capturing Second Team honors the past two seasons before capping it off with First Team All-American honors in May.

Fox was also honored last month as Concordia’s Male Athlete of the Year during the 2025 Senior Legacy Award Banquet.

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This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund.

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A dunk on a hot summer day, a workout in the lap lanes, a rehabilitation session after an injury, a swim lesson — a public pool can bring a lot to a community. But in the Santa Ynez Valley, residents have had no public swimming access for about five years. 

The Santa Ynez Valley Community Aquatics Foundation is hoping to change that by building a two-pool complex at Santa Ynez High School. The complex will include a 33-meter-by-25-yard competition pool where swim and polo teams can train and compete (the current pool at Santa Ynez High School is not regulated for high school sports and cannot host meets) and the public can swim laps. It will also feature a 25-yard warm-water pool for swim lessons, rehabilitation therapy, and aqua fitness. 

Earlier this month, the foundation announced it had received a $450,000 grant from the City of Solvang to put toward the construction of the complex. Lisa Palmer, the foundation’s board president and campaign chair, called the donation a critical step forward and a call to action in a press release.

“We hope it inspires matching contributions and additional support from across the County,” she said.

Palmer told the Independent that discussions surrounding building an aquatic complex started well before valley residents lost public swim access in 2020. In 2017, the foundation purchased the 2016 Olympic Trials pool. That pool was a Myrtha pool — a stainless-steel pre-engineered pool that can be taken apart and put back together. The pool was shipped from Omaha, Nebraska, to the valley, and its pieces are currently in storage. 

Solvang’s $450,000 grant adds to the approximately $3.5 million the foundation has raised. In a press release, the foundation said it has about $10 million more to go, with the goal of finishing fundraising by the end of 2026.

A little more than 40 miles away, Carpinteria is planning to simultaneously fundraise and start on updates for its public pool after a report from aquatics engineering firm Counsilman-Hunsaker last month found that it needs just less than $1 million of repairs. 

“The Carpinteria community pool is more than just a place to swim — it’s a vital space for health, recreation, and connection. Keeping the facility updated and well-maintained ensures that we continue to meet the needs of families, seniors, and youth alike,” said Jeanette Gant, director of Carpinteria’s Parks and Recreation and Community Services. 

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Currently, the Carpinteria Community Pool is open year-round. It’s home to swim and water polo teams for both youth and adults as well as aqua-aerobics, lap and recreational swim sessions, and swim lessons. Carpinteria High School’s swim and water polo teams also use the facility for competitions. 

Recommended repairs include replacing the pool’s cantilevered gutters as well as its depth markings and warning signs. Because addressing the gutters will require replacement of part of the deck, the city plans to replace the whole deck simultaneously, ensuring consistency. 

The pool’s filter system is in need of repairs; the city has maintained it for 36 years, and it is reaching its end-of-life stage as is the pool’s heater is also nearing the end of its life. Further, Counsilman-Hunsaker found that the pool’s bathhouse is not currently ADA compliant and recommended updating it — Carpinteria’s Parks and Recreation Department says a renovation, which would give the current conditions a facelift along with the required structural changes to reach compliance, will cost about $160,000. 

Carpinteria brought its strategic goals to the city’s council last weekend. The plan, says Gant, is to fundraise and begin the project (including creating designs and getting permits) simultaneously, as the renovation process will be lengthy. 

“We’re excited to begin ramping up fundraising efforts and invite the public to join us in shaping the future of these essential services,” Gant said. 

Finally, in Santa Barbara’s Eastside, plans to replace the Ortega Park swimming pools are in the design stage. Currently, Ortega Park’s pool is open in the summer for children younger than 14 and offers swim lessons. The current proposal is to build a lap pool that can be open year-round, as well as a wading pool for children and two waterslides. The City of Santa Barbara’s Parks and Recreation Department said that it aims to submit plans to Building and Development in a couple of months. The current goal is to have the project “shovel ready,” or ready to be built, to make it more competitive for grant funding. The plans to replace the pool are part of a wider park revitalization project, which is estimated to cost approximately $30 million.

EUGENE, Ore. – Ole Miss track & field will have four freshmen representatives at the 2025 U.S. U20 Championships, held at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field from June 19-20.
 
Rebels in competition will be SEC silver medalist pole vaulter Lily Beattie and fellow freshman teammate Katie McFarland in the women’s pole vault, freshman jumper Indya Dotson in the women’s long jump, and recently crowned Second-Team All-American Jordan Urrutia in both the men’s 100 and 200-meter dashes.
 
Just last week Urrutia ran the second leg on Ole Miss’ 15th-place national 4×100-meter relay squad. He enters with a wind-aided season-best of 10.33 (+4.0) in the 100, as well as a wind-legal PR of 20.82 (+0.9) from the SEC Outdoor Championships that currently ties him for 10th in Ole Miss history.
 
Beattie’s silver medal performance at the conference meet marked the best finish ever by a Rebel woman in the event, and her runner-up height of 4.26m/13-11.75 ranks her third in Ole Miss history outdoors. McFarland had a productive first season with the Rebels as well, with her PR 4.07m/13-04.25 from her outdoor debut at the Ole Miss Classic ranking ninth on the all-time Rebel lists.
 
Dotson redshirted the 2025 outdoor campaign, but indoors notched strong debut bests of 5.85m/19-02.50 in the long jump and 11.75m/38-06.75 in the triple jump.
 
Competition begins with Urrutia in the men’s 100-meter dash on Thursday evening, with the meet running through Friday night as well.
 
COMPETITION SCHEDULE (All Times Pacific / Central)
 
Thursday, June 19
4:21/6:21 PM: Men’s 100-Meter Dash (First Round) – Jordan Urrutia
5:30/7:30 PM: Women’s Pole Vault (Final) – Lily Beattie, Katie McFarland
6:16/8:16 PM: Men’s 100-Meter Dash (Final)
 
Friday, June 20
3:00/5:00 PM: Women’s Long Jump (Final) – Indya Dotson
4:20/6:20 PM: Men’s 200-Meter Dash (First Round) – Jordan Urrutia
5:50/7:50 PM: Men’s 200-Meter Dash (Final)
 

Water Polo Australia is pleased to confirm the Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

A 15-strong team has been selected to represent Australia at the event, which will take place from 11-24 July.

The Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks team features five World Championships debutants, eight Paris Olympians, as well as captain and two-time Olympian Nathan Power.

Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks Head Coach Tim Hamill said: “We’re proud to announce and select our team for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.

“Singapore will be the first opportunity for our team to return to the world stage since the Paris Olympic Games last year.

“We played a great test series against New Zealand at home earlier this year, and have just returned from a tour of the United States where we were able to win the test series against them – but nothing compares to the international stage.

“We’ll be heading to Thailand for a training camp with Serbia in the lead up to the World Championships. We’ve been refining and updating our principles and systems, both offensively and defensively, so Singapore will be a great opportunity to implement these.

“We’re also excited for the five athletes that will make their World Championships debut – representing our country and the Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks is always a proud moment and I know it’s something that our team does not take lightly,” he said.

The 2025 World Aquatics Championships will be held in Singapore from 11-24 July, with the Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks set to play their first game on Saturday 12 July against Hungary. The Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks and Ord Minnett Aussie Stingers games will be LIVE and FREE on 9Now.

Water Polo Australia would like to congratulate the following athletes on their selection:

Laurence Barker (NSW)
Marcus Berehulak (QLD/NSW)
Matthew Byrnes (NSW)
Tristan Glanznig (NSW)
Andrej Grgurevic (NSW)
Angus Lambie (NSW)
Milos Maksimovic (NSW)
Drew McJannett (NSW)
Jacob Mercep (NSW)
Sam Nangle (NSW)
Charlie Negus (NSW)
Luke Pavillard (WA)
Nic Porter (QLD)
Nathan Power (NSW)
Tim Putt (WA/NSW)

WALTHAM, Mass. – The Bentley football, men’s track and field and men’s lacrosse squads each earned the Northeast 10 Team Academic Excellence Award for the 2024-25 season.

The Team Academic Excellence Award is given to the program which has highest team GPA in each sport the NE10 sponsors.

Bentley’s three team awards are tied for the second most in the conference.

Football posted a 3.152 GPA to win the award for the third straight season and ninth overall.

Men’s lacrosse won the award for the fifth consecutive time and 11^th overall. Their GPA was 3.446.

Men’s track and field secured the award for the 12^th time since 2010 when the award was first presented with a 3.500 team GPA.