Kosovo in the Balkans of Beach Volleyball

football

Express newspaper

28/05/2025 23:24

The Kosovo national beach volleyball team has traveled to Balıkesir, Turkey, where they will represent our country at the BVA Balkan Championship!

In the men’s competitions, Kosovo will be represented by Erion Bajrami and Ermal Maliqi, a duo that has shown continuous growth in the international arena and that comes to this championship with maximum ambition and dedication.

Under the leadership of coach Fatlum Hajrizi, the team has prepared seriously to challenge the best in the region.

In the women’s competition, the dynamic duo of Valmira Ramadani and Loresa Avdyli, who have become a symbol of Kosovo’s dignified representation in beach volleyball, takes to the sand.

Led by coach Edon Ibrahimi, they aim to show their potential and fighting spirit in Balıkesir.

The two winning pairs will represent Kosovo in this competition organized by BVA, as one of the most important zonal divisions in the CEV.

SCHEDULE | TICKETS | STREAMING | HOTELS

San Antonio, TX – May 28 – The 2025 Welcome to Texas Showdown is set for San Antonio on May 30-June 1 as teams from across Texas and beyond convene to compete at the Northside ISD Swim Center. The tournament will feature 85 teams competing in eleven divisions: 10U Mixed, 12U Mixed, 14U Girls, 14UM Silver, 14U Mixed, 16U Girls Gold, 18U/16U Girls Silver, 18U Girls Gold, 16U Boys, 18U/16U Boys Silver, and 18U Boys. To see a 2025 event schedule, click here. For more information on the tournament, click here.

Pool Information
Northside ISD Swim Center
8400 N Loop 1604 W
San Antonio, Texas 78249

Tickets & Streaming

Spectator ticket options include $15 per day or $25 for a weekend pass.

All-Access Pass from Game On Live Studio is $24.99 to watch everything, all weekend long.

 

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Montana State track and field started strong at the NCAA West First Rounds on Wednesday, with all four Bobcat men’s athletes in action finishing in the top-25 in their events at E.B. Cushing Stadium in College Station, Texas. 

Highlighting the day was Big Sky champion Harvey Cramb winning his heat of the 1,500 meters in comfortable fashion to advance to Friday’s national quarterfinal. 

Elsewhere, Colby Wilson ended his legendary career tying for 15th in the pole vault, Sam Ells finished one spot out of advancing to Friday’s regional final in the 1,500 meters, and Elijah Jackman placed 25th in the hammer throw. 

Following two thunderstorm delays, Jackman got Montana State’s day started in the men’s hammer throw by finishing well above his ranking entering the meet. 

The junior from Tigard, Oregon, fouled his first attempt before launching a mark of 204-1 on his second throw. 

Jackman stood in fourth through the first two of four progressively seeded flights, and finished his day in 25th having outpaced his original No. 36 seed among the 48 competitors on Wednesday. 

Jackman closes the book on a 2025 season in which he earned three All-Big Sky honors, securing silver medals at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships in the hammer and discus after earning silver in at the Big Sky Indoor Championships in the weight throw. 

Later on the track, Harvey Cramb and Sam Ells ran gritty races as part of back-to-back heats in the 1,500 meters. 

Cramb, a sophomore from Brisbane, Australia, executed his gameplan to perfection, never wavering from the top three spots in the pack and coasting down the home stretch to win his heat and secure a spot in Friday’s national quarterfinal. 

Cramb, who came in seeded eighth in the West region, is now among the 24 remaining competitors in that event who will be trying to punch one of 12 tickets to the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene. 

Friday’s race is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. CT. 

Ells, a junior from Kalispell, Montana, came tantalizingly close to joining Cramb in Friday’s regional final. 

The All-Big Sky cross country runner clocked the tenth-fastest time in prelims among the 48-man field (3:47.02), but finished as the first man out of qualifying as the tenth to cross the line in his heat. 

In the four heats, the top-five finishers from each race advanced, plus the next four fastest times. All four of the wild card spots came out of Ells’ heat, which was by far the fastest race among the four sections—thus, despite running a race three seconds faster than his teammate, Cramb, the junior ended his season on the outside looking in from College Station. 

Finally on Wednesday, a legendary career came to a close on the pole vault runway for five-time Big Sky champion Colby Wilson. 

The graduate student from Olympia, Washington, tied for 15th, coming up just one bar shy of booking what would have been his fourth NCAA Championships appearance. 

Wilson smoothly cleared the first and second bars on his opening attempts, gliding above the infield for clearances of 16-05.50 and 16-11.50. 

Yet, with the wind playing a major factor, the veteran found more trouble at the next bar of 17-05.50–three close misses put his fate in the hands of the field, with 14 clearing the bar to put Wilson just barely on the wrong side of qualification for Eugene. 

Wilson ends his career with an astonishing 34 career wins, including five Big Sky championship titles, both the indoor and outdoor Big Sky Championship meet records, school records in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault, the Big Sky Conference record indoors, and three NCAA Championship appearances with an All-American honor in 2022. 

FROM THE COACH 

“Elijah, Sam, Harvey, and Colby started our West Region Championships off on a great note by each competing and representing Montana State so well. Elijah started us off by competing really well in the hammer throw and finishing significantly higher than where he was ranked coming into the meet. Sam Ells fought in the 1,500 meters and just narrowly missed making it to the next round on Friday. Harvey Cramb executed his race in the 1,500 meters perfectly and moved to the next round on Friday where he is one race away from qualifying for the NCAA final round in Eugene. Bobcat legend Colby Wilson finished out his record-setting career and just narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA final round. Colby had an unprecedented career spanning so many years of elite performance. He leaves an incredible legacy.” 

UP NEXT 

Montana State’s women take to E.B. Cushing Stadium on Thursday for their first day of competition at the NCAA West First Rounds. 

Clara Fox, a sophomore from Bozeman, competes in the javelin at 2:30 p.m. CT. 

Shortly after, Hailey Coey looks to continue one of the all-time seasons by a Bobcat in the long jump at 4:30 p.m. CT. The junior from Billings is ranked ninth in the West Region and will be in an advantageous position to try to make it to Eugene as part of the final flight.  

For the first time in program history, multiple women’s pole vaulters will compete at the regional stage, with both Big Sky champion Tatum Richards (seeded 41st) and Megan Bell (seeded 48th) in action at 5:30 p.m. CT. in the national semifinals. 

At 6 p.m. CT. on Thursday, Big Sky Conference record-holder Sydney Brewster enters the shot put ring. The sophomore is ranked 13th in the West region, and will be joined in the event by fellow sophomore teammate Emma Brensdal, ranked 29th in the West.  

Also at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday, junior Millie Hubbell races in the prelims of the 100 meter hurdles. The two-time Big Sky silver medalist currently holds the second-fastest time in program history and is seeded 29th in the West region. 

At 8:20 p.m. CT, junior Giulia Gandolfi will race in the prelims of the 400 meter hurdles. The native of Faenza, Italy, is doubling this week in College Station, and hopes to run twice on Saturday—once in the 400 meter hurdle final and again as part of the 4×400 meter relay. 

In the final event on Thursday, school record-holder Peyton Garrison gets in the starting blocks for the 200 meters at 8:45 p.m. CT. Garrison, seeded 45th, will also run in the Bobcats’ 4×400 meter relay on Saturday evening. 

The NCAA West First Rounds will stream live on ESPN+ with coverage beginning at 5 p.m. MT/6 p.m. CT on Thursday, and beginning at 4 p.m. MT/5 p.m. CT on both Friday and Saturday.   

A full meet schedule is available here and start lists can be viewed here. A meet central webpage with links to live results, information, streaming, and more can be found here.   

#GoCatsGo 

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Gonzaga track opened their week at the NCAA West Preliminaries on Wednesday at E.B. Cushing Stadium, as Wil Smith kicked off Zag racing in the men’s 10,000-meter semifinal.
 
In each of the semifinal events, the Top 12 finishers advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., June 11-14. Last year, Smith fell short with a 21st place finish in the 10K before bouncing back two days later with a third-place finish in the 5K to punch a ticket to Eugene.
 
On Wednesday, Smith opened the lone semifinal with the lead pack, hoping to keep pace before making a late move. At the halfway point, New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel pulled ahead and quickened the pace, bringing 13 other racers with him. For Smith, he would drop in with the second pack before finishing 40th in 29:50.05 among a tough West Region field.
 
Smith will return to the oval on Friday in the 5,000-meter semifinal, hoping to repeat last year’s 5K effort after missing a 10K qualifying finish. His race will begin at 6:10 p.m. PST and will stream on ESPN+.
 
UP NEXT
The Gonzaga women will get their first crack at the West Prelims on Thursday, as all six qualifiers are set to compete. Willow Collins will race in her first of two events, first in the 1500m before the 5K on Saturday. Ellie Armbruster will make her postseason debut, becoming the first 800m competitor in GU history, while Rosina Machu, Logan Hofstee, Jessica Frydenlund, and Alexi Fogo race in the 10,000-meters to wrap the evening. All events will stream live on ESPN+, with live results at www.gozags.com.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas—CSUN Track & Field opened up the 2025 NCAA West First Round on Wednesday with the Matador men’s team represented in five total events. Despite a number of solid performances in each event, the quartet of Matadors did not advance to the next round.

Senior Chase Mars competed in both the 100m and 200m first round competitions on Wednesday. Mars would come the closest to advancing in the 200m, as he finished with a time of 20.94 to take 24th place overall. However, by virtue of finishing outside the top three in his heat (fifth place finish), Mars was denied the chance of advancing to the quarterfinals. In the 100m first round, Mars would take 28th place overall after charting a time of 10.49. Mars’ 100m and 200m regional appearances were the second each of his Matador career. Previously, Mars won the 200m Big West title in 2024 while he competed in last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships in the event.

In the long jump, junior Joey Nations entered as the No. 37 seed in the competition and would improve to 30th place overall in the competition. His second leap of the day would be his best, which marked at 7.23m (23-8.75), but would fall short of the top 12 that advanced to nationals. Nations’ west regional debut was the first of his Matador career. His 2025 season also included his first career Big West title in the long jump. 

Sophomore Tibyasa Matovu would take 34th place overall in the 400m first round. His time of 46.79 finished fourth in his heat, just missing the cut to the quarterfinals. His regional appearance in 2025 was the first as a collegiate competitor, capping a strong first season with CSUN. Matovu would break the CSUN school 400m outdoor record this season (46.01) while he was the runner up at the Big West Outdoor Championships earlier in May.

Returning to the NCAA West First Round for a fourth time in his career, senior Trey Knight would come up short of qualifying for the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships after fouling his three attempts. Despite the outcome on Wednesday, Knight capped a historic season with CSUN in 2025, which included a second consecutive Big West hammer throw championship as well as a school record toss of 77.91m (255-7) in March. Last season, Knight claimed All-America First Team honors in the hammer throw with a sixth-place finish at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

UP NEXT

CSUN’s Summer Mosley and Jasmine Haskell will represent the Matador women’s team on Thursday at the NCAA West First Round. Mosley will compete in the hammer throw beginning at 8:00 a.m. PT while Haskell looks to move on to the quarterfinals as she participates in the 400m at 5:25 p.m. on ESPN+.

On the men’s side, Jay Louison-Roe competes for the Matadors in the triple jump on Friday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. PT.

#GoMatadors

 

After five years of success leading the Grand Canyon women’s soccer program, head coach Chris Cissell agreed to a contract extension that keeps him in Phoenix for the foreseeable future. 

Cissell became the program’s sixth head coach on Dec. 23, 2019, and has taken the Lopes to new heights in his five seasons at GCU. In the past four seasons, Cissell led GCU to a WAC regular-season title, two WAC Tournament championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances. He has been named WAC Coach of the Year twice at GCU. 

“I feel very blessed and very fortunate to have the opportunity to coach and work here, and I am so thankful and grateful that President Brian Mueller, Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs and Deputy Athletic Director Nick Ojea have so much belief and confidence in me and share our vision of what our soccer family should look like,” Cissell said. “I love working at GCU and my wife, Heather, and I love living in Phoenix. I love the fact that we are a Christian, faith-based university that allows us to coach and lead in a way that is important to all of us.” 

The Lopes have a record of 52-22-11 (.677) over the past four seasons, with a 23-7-7 record in conference play. 

Cissell raised the standard for GCU women’s soccer, holding the best winning percentage (.641) of any Lopes coach and sitting just five victories from becoming the winningest coach in program history. 

“Coach Cissell has established a championship women’s soccer program at GCU built on a positive, family culture and winning tradition,” Boggs said. “He is a respected and coveted coach on the national scene and has continually shown his dedication to building a strong program at GCU. His excitement and passion for his sport and his program is infectious, and we are excited for him to continue leading our program into the future.” 

Cissell came to GCU after nine seasons at Kansas City, where he claimed 102 victories and won three additional WAC regular-season titles. 

A strong team culture has been built and carries over annually under the direction of Cissell, who instills a team-first, family-oriented feel on and off the pitch. 

With 26 years of collegiate coaching, Cissell made Phoenix home with goals to guide GCU to the next level. 

“We have built something really special here in the last five years, and I am so proud of what we accomplished and so excited and extremely confident in our future here at GCU,” Cissell said. “I am very excited that GCU has this confidence in me and wants me here for the foreseeable future as the leader of our awesome soccer family. I will continue to do my very best to make everyone proud, and we will continue to be a great program in all aspects.” 

With an impactful senior class departed after last season, Cissell replenished the roster with a talented freshman class and success in the transfer portal.