Sports

LCCP’s fast rise to dominance

Published

5 months ago

July 4, 2025

Your Sports Nation

LCCP’s fast rise to dominance

Published 1:13 pm Friday, July 4, 2025

: Lake Charles College Prep has emerged as one of the state’s most dominant track and field programs in the last decade, building off the 400 meters and relays while developing other events to complement the Trailblazers’ strength, winning indoor and outdoor state championships. (American Press)

In less than a decade, the Lake Charles College Prep boys track and field has become a powerhouse program with three state championships and a trio of runners-up.

The 2025 season was the Trailblazers’ most successful yet. A year after runner-up finishes at the state indoor and outdoor meets in Baton Rouge, they won the Class 3A outdoor state championship and the Division II indoor title in February. They are the first area school to win an indoor and outdoor state championship in the same season since the St. Louis Catholic girls team accomplished the feat in 2022.

“The kids naturally work hard,” said head coach Jackie Rhine. “Some of the programs you have to pull it out of kids to work hard. At Prep, almost every sport across the board, the kids understand what the standard is, and it’s going to be hard work on the track and off the track.”

Rhine attributes the success in his three seasons to building the team around the 400-meter run and relays. In the last three seasons, LCCP has won 14 relay state medals, including three consecutive golds in the 4×400 and back-to-back indoor 4x800s. Careion Franklin won three medals in the 400, including an indoor state runner-up in 2024.

“I believe everyone runs the 400, and when you have a program like that, it normally gives you success,” Rhine said. “I knew I had sprinters.

“Let’s build a 4×800 and let’s build some 800-meter runners and let’s see how that goes. And it meshed well. We had the sprinters, we had the distance runners and that was the recipe for a state championship.”

Rhine said track and field benefits all sports at the school.

“With the help of the football coaches, he (football head coach Erick Franklin) almost made it mandatory that his skilled position guys go run track,” Rhine said.

While LCCP has plenty of sprinters, distance runners and jumpers, he said the team will be even more formidable once it develops some throwers.

“That’s my next goal to build our throws, you know, to have a complete program, 360,” Rhine said. “We need to get out throwing our throws above the par and that’s our next project. So we’ll have field … we have jumpers, triple jumpers, high jumpers, we’ll have sprinters and we’ll have distance runners and we’ll have throwers and then we’ll be tough to compete with for a long time to come.”

Things started slowly for LCCP. The school opened in 2014 and started a junior varsity team in 2016. In its first varsity meet, the Barbe Buc Relays in 2017, the Trailblazers scored a single point. By the end of the 2018 season, led by head Charles Jackson, they qualified for the regional meet in four events.

Former Westlake High School and McNeese State standout Terance Cahee took over the program in 2019. LCCP qualified for the state meet for the first time and scored two points with a fifth-place finish in the 4×100 with three future Division I athletes in Dillon Simon, Trevonte Citizen and Solomon Lewis plus Caleb Robinson.

The COVID-19 pandemic derailed the 2020 season, but 2021 proved to be their breakthrough year. Under Cahee, who coaches safties at McNeese, the Trailblazers won the first team state championship in school history. They tied Madison Prep Academy with 60 points for the Class 3A title.

2021 also brought the team’s first individual state champion. Marcus Francis won the outdoor discus title. He was also the runner-up in the outdoor and indoor (Division II) shot put and was the program’s first Cagle Award winner along with Thaddeus Campbell. Campbell helped lead the Trailblazers to gold in the indoor 4×200 and 4×400 that season, plus the outdoor 4×200 and a silver in the 4×100. He was the outdoor 300 hurdles and triple jump runner-up.

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Badgers news: Wisconsin upsets Texas, to play Kentucky in Final Four

Published

35 minutes ago

December 16, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The Wisconsin Badgers wore black for a reason on Sunday: they went to a Texas Funeral.

The No. 3 Badgers upset the No. 1 Texas Longhorns 3-1 on Sunday, sending them to the Final Four against the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats in an impressive win.

Wisconsin, facing the team that swept them earlier in the season, came ready to play. Falling behind 10-7 in the first set, the Badgers went on a four-point run before the two sides engaged in a back-and-forth battle, with neither side leading by more than two before Wisconsin had a monster end to the set.

Leading 18-17, the Badgers had an impressive 6-0 run thanks to a trio of Texas attack errors, a Mimi Colyer kill, a Kristen Simon service ace, and a Carter Booth kill. The Longhorns tried to mount a comeback, scoring five straight points, but Colyer got the set-winning kill, and Wisconsin started up 1-0.

The Badgers got off to a good start in the second half, starting off with a 10-6 lead. After the Longhorns went on a 4-1 run to cut the lead to one, the Badgers controlled the remainder of the set, starting with a 3-0 run of their own. From there, Wisconsin led by at least three for the rest of the set, with Carter Booth and Mimi Colyer having a flurry of kills, and they ultimately took the second set 25-21 to go up 2-0.

But, the work wasn’t done just there. The Longhorns were still a big threat, and they showed that in the third set, taking an early 8-6 lead after going on a 4-1 run. Wisconsin fought back with a 4-1 run of their own moments later, retaking the lead 12-11, with Colyer recording four straight kills.

However, a five-point Texas run right after proved to be the difference in the set, as the Longhorns took a 16-12 lead and never relinquished it, despite Wisconsin fighting to cut the deficit to one at 20-19. Texas closed out the set on a 5-1 run, taking the third set and we had a ballgame.

Things did not look good at the start of the fourth set, as the Longhorns started the set on a 4-0 run, picking up where they left off in the third set. That’s when the tables turned. Wisconsin completely flipped the script on a 13-4 run to take a five-point lead, with reserve Trinity Shadd-Ceres having two clutch back-to-back kills.

Moments later, that lead was extended to 18-11, thanks to a Colyer kill and two more attack errors from Texas. The Longhorns had a four-point run, but the deficit was too much to overcome, as the Badgers closed the set on a 6-3 run to win the fourth set 25-19 and take the match.

Colyer had another impressive game, following her 27-kill performance against Stanford with a 23-kill performance on Sunday. Una Vajagic came up huge in the end, getting 15 kills while hitting .458, while Booth had 11 kills of her own.

Elsewhere, Charlie Fuerbringer followed her 61-assist game on Friday with 57 assists on Sunday, while Alicia Andrew had a team-high five blocks. Wisconsin had 25 attack errors and 10 service errors, but they were still too much for Texas to handle.

Now, they’re heading back to the Final Four, with the Kentucky Wildcats up next on Thursday.

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Huskies Place Six on Academic All-MAC Team

Published

51 minutes ago

December 16, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Women’s Volleyball | December 15

CLEVELAND, Ohio—Six members of the Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball team have earned spots on the Mid-American Conference (MAC) All-Academic team following the 2025 season.

The Huskies volleyball team has had six or more honorees on the Academic All-MAC in each of the last ten seasons.

The Academic All-MAC honor is awarded to a student-athlete who has excelled in both athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests in that sport.

A total of 78 athletes from around the conference were honored.

Athlete, Year, Major, GPA
Kylie Schulze, Junior, Marketing, 3.81
Rylea Alvin, Sophomore, Psychology, 3.746
Emma McCartney, Sophomore, Biomedical Engineering, 3,709
Ava Grevengoed, Sophomore, Kinesiology, 3.515
Ella Strausberger, Sophomore, Marketing, 3.442
Alexa Hayes, Senior, Criminology, 3.389

Stay up-to-date with Huskie volleyball all-year long! Follow us on Twitter/X at @NIUVolleyball, on Facebook at NIU Volleyball, and on Instagram at @NIUVolley.

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Javin Richards Named America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week

Published

2 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Your Sports Nation

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State track and field senior Javin Richards has been named the America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, Dec. 14. The award is voted on by a state-wide media panel.

With their sponsorship of the student-athlete of the week, America First Credit Union donates funds directly to support student-athlete scholarships.

Richards broke the Utah State record in the indoor heptathlon, taking second place at the BYU December Invitational last week. His overall score of 5,536 points bested John Strang’s performance from 2009 and improved on his previous best of 5,330 points that had ranked second all-time. The Perry, Ohio, native set personal bests in the 60 meters, long jump, shot put and 1,000 meters en route to his record-setting performance. Richards currently ranks ninth in the country in the event.

Fans can follow the Utah State track and field programs on X at USUTF_XC, on Facebook at USUTrack and on Instagram at USUTF_XC. Aggies fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on X at USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.

Nominees from other sports for USU Student-Athlete of the Week included:
MEN’S BASKETBALL – Senior forward Garry Clark (St. Louis, Missouri) helped Utah State to an 83-78 neutral-site victory over Illinois State at the Delta Center on Saturday. Against the Redbirds, Clark scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds, including seven offensive boards, to go along with two assists and two steals in 25 minutes off the bench. Clark shot 7-of-8 from the floor, 0-of-1 from 3-point range, and 4-of-4 at the free throw line in the win.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL – Junior guard Aaliyah Gayles (Las Vegas, Nevada) led Utah State with 18 points and a career-high nine rebounds in its 80-73 home win against Idaho. Gayles went a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line, including 4-of-4 in the fourth quarter, as she scored eight points in the final frame to help clinch the win. Gayles also added two steals and one assist in the victory.

WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD – Freshman Adia Ross (Tokyo, Japan) broke the Utah State record in the women’s 60 meters with a time of 7.48 at the BYU December Invitational last week. In her first-ever indoor 60-meter competition, she bested the previous school record of 7.49, which was set in 1987 by Lola Ogunde, to place fourth in the event finals.

2025-26 America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week Winners

Sept. 1 – Miles Davis, Football

Sept. 8 – John Miller, Football

Sept. 15 – Bryson Barnes, Football

Sept. 22 – Bryson Barnes, Football

Sept. 29 – Loryn Helgesen, Volleyball

Oct. 6 – Kaylie Kofe, Volleyball

Oct. 13 – Tess Werts, Soccer

Oct. 20 – Loryn Helgesen, Volleyball

Oct. 27 – Loryn Helgesen, Volleyball

Nov. 3 – Mara Štiglic, Volleyball

Nov. 10 – Rine Yonaha, Soccer

Nov. 17 – Garry Clark, Men’s Basketball

Nov. 24 – MJ Collins, Men’s Basketball

Dec. 1 – Andrea Simovski, Volleyball

Dec. 8 – Loryn Helgesen, Volleyball

Dec. 15 – Javin Richards, Track and Field

– USU –

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Georgia Freshmen and Signees Shine at SPAR European Cross Country Championships

Published

3 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Your Sports Nation

LAGOA, Portugal – Georgia cross country freshmen Kristers Kudlis and Anastasia Nilsson competed alongside Bulldog signees Bertold Kalász and Alex Lennon at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships early Sunday morning.

Nilsson was the first Georgia athlete to compete, racing in the Women’s U20 competition (4450m). She crossed the finish line at 15:56 to place 33rd overall, scoring third for Sweden and helping the team to a third-place team finish with 44 points.

Meanwhile in the Men’s U20 race (4450m), Georgia had three representatives, all of which finished within the top-30.

Signee Lennon led the group with a 15th place finish at 13:37. His performance served as the second-best scoring effort for Great Britain and Northern Ireland that helped the team to a second-place finish with 45 points.

Fellow signee Kalász also delivered an impressive effort with a 13:38 to place 17th overall. Kalász was the first finisher across the line for team Hungary in the competition.

Kudlis finished 29th place crossing the finish line at 13:54, which was first for team Latvia.

News and updates from Georgia’s track and field and cross country teams are always located on X/Instagram at @UGATrack.

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Nebraska Women’s Volleyball Upset Eliminates Highest-Spending Team

Published

3 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The NCAA women’s volleyball tournament will go on without the sport’s highest-spending team, after undefeated Nebraska, the event’s top overall seed, was stunned by Texas A&M in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

Nebraska was 33-0 heading into the game and is also the sport’s financial powerhouse. The university spent $5.91 million on its women’s volleyball team in the 2023-24 season, the most of any program in the country, according to Sportico’s College Sports Finances Database. Nebraska is the only public FBS school to spend more on women’s volleyball than women’s basketball, and first-year head coach Dani Busboom Kelly earned a base salary of $700,000 this season.

The team also brought in $2.57 million in ticketing revenue, which is the third-highest for any women’s sports team at a public FBS school, trailing only Iowa’s and UConn’s women’s basketball teams. The Aggies, for contrast, made just $288,000 from ticket sales.

Women’s volleyball has taken off in recent years, with top college programs spending more and multiple pro leagues raising millions to get off the ground. Average viewership for the 2025 college regular season on ESPN was up 36% year-over-year. Nebraska, which drew 92,003 fans to a game at Memorial Stadium in 2023, has been a big part of the sport’s success.

Texas A&M is no slouch when it comes to volleyball spending, though, ranking in the top 10 in budget each of the past four years and seventh at $3.75 million in the most recent season for which data is available. On the other side of the bracket, Wisconsin is the No. 3 highest-spending program in the nation at $4.68 million and will face Kentucky, whose $3.21 million in expenses ranked 11th. The fourth semifinalist, Pittsburgh, is public but does not provide its financial details via open records requests.

The semifinals and final will be played on Thursday, Dec. 18 and Sunday, Dec. 21, respectively, at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, less than a four-hour drive from Lincoln, Neb.

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Wildcats of the Week: December 8-14

Published

3 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jakobi Heady of B-CU Men’s Basketball has been named Wildcat of the Week for the week of December 8-14, 2025.

Jakobi Heady was a standout again for the Wildcats in the teeth of the nonconference season, leading the way offensively with 15 points on 5-9 shooting with a rebound, an assist, and a steal at SEC opponent Missouri. .

Each week, The Bethune-Cookman Office of Athletic Communications recognizes one male and one female student-athlete through the Wildcats of the Week award.

This award recognizes student-athletes who have excelled in competition, in the classroom, and in the community over the past week, exemplifying the Championship Culture of Wildcat Athletics.

2025-26 Wildcats of the Week

December 8-14

W: N/A (No Women’s Competition This Week

M: Jakobi Heady, Men’s Basketball

December 1-7

W: Daimoni Dorsey, Women’s Basketball

M: Sha’Nard Walker, Track & Field

November 24-30

W: Chanelle McDonald, Women’s Basketball

M: Jakobi Heady, Men’s Basketball

November 17-23

W: Jordan Brooks, Women’s Basketball

M: Timmy McClain, Football

November 10-16

W: Shayla Henry, Volleyball

M: Javon Ross, Football

November 3-9

W: Madison Molock, Tennis

M: Arterio Morris, Men’s Basketball

October 27-November 2

W: Amya Jennings, Volleyball

M: Andrew Kiplagat, Cross Country

October 20-26

W: Sthefany Carvalho, Volleyball

M: Jaylen Lewis, Football

October 13-19

W: Melissa Gonzalez, Volleyball

M: N/A (No Men’s Competition this Week)

October 6-12

W: Valencia Butler, Cross Country

M: Andrew Kiplagat, Cross Country

September 29-October 5

W: Amya Jennings, Volleyball

M: Ali Scott Jr., Football

September 22-28

W: Sierra Herndon, Volleyball

M: Javon Ross, Football

September 15-21

W: Zahara El-Zein

M: Maleek Huggins, Football

September 8-14

W: Nola Hemphill, Volleyball

M: Cam’Ron Ransom, Football

September 1-7

W: Reese Wilson, Women’s Golf

M: Stephen Sparrow Jr., Football

August 25 – 31

W: Kaleigh Williams, Volleyball

M: Andrew Kiplagat, Cross Country

For all the latest Bethune-Cookman Athletics news, follow us on Facebook (Bethune-Cookman Athletics), X (@BCUAthletics), Instagram (@BCU_Athletics) and BCUAthletics.com.

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