Top Flight Full Listing

NEW ORLEANS – Four Sun Belt Conference beach volleyball pairs have been honored as 2025 Top Flight award winners by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

 

UNCW had two pairs recognized, including senior Gracie Sistrunk and junior Lyvia Trimp in flight two, while juniors Gabby LaPata and Sarah Thompson received recognition in flight one.

 

Georgia State and Mercer each had one pair earn the distinction in flight four, as Panthers’ sophomore Michaela Jefferson and freshman Danica Singleton were honored along with the Bears’ senior tandem of Kathryn Corbett and Nicole O’Mara.

 

An All-Sun Belt First Team pair, LaPata and Thompson went 22-9 on the season with all their results coming as UNCW’s No. 1 pairing. The duo produced a 12-match winning streak spanning Feb. 28 through March 22. Individually, the honor is the second for LaPata, who also accomplished the feat in the first flight in 2024 alongside Sadie Sharkey.

 

The 2025 Sun Belt Pair of the Year, Sistrunk and Trimp closed the season with an incredible 30-1 overall record at the No. 2 spot in the lineup and closed the season with a 25-match winning streak, including a 5-0 mark during the Seahawks’ run to the Sun Belt Championship final. Sistrunk and Trimp compiled an 18-0 mark against conference foes.

 

An All-Sun Belt Second Team pairing, Jefferson and Singleton compiled a 24-11 overall record, including a 15-5 mark as the No. 4 pair, including a 4-0 record during the Panthers’ third straight Sun Belt tournament title.

 

Also an All-Sun Belt Second Team duo, Corbett and O’Mara produced a team-leading 29-7 overall record as Mercer’s No. 4 pairing which included 24 wins in straight sets. The tandem produced three different win streaks of at least five matches, including a season-long 11-straight victories between Feb. 21 and March 7.

 

Now in its seventh year, the Top Flight program recognizes beach pairs who compete in at least 15 matches together at a specific flight and win at least 75 percent of their matches. This year, 88 pairs representing 45 schools—from all three NCAA divisions, NAIA and Two-Year Colleges—earned Top Flight status.

 

2025 AVCA Top Flights

Flight 1: Gabby LaPata/Sarah Thompson, UNCW

Flight 2: Gracie Sistrunk/Lyvia Trimp, UNCW

Flight 4: Danica Singleton/Michaela Jefferson, Georgia State

Flight 4: Kathryn Corbett/Nicole O’Mara, Mercer

By Rory Carroll

LONG BEACH, California (Reuters) – The Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 are set to showcase Long Beach, the vibrant coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County with a rich sports and cultural history, that will host 11 events.

Beach volleyball, water polo, sailing and sport climbing are among the popular competitions that will take place in “the LBC,” and Los Angeles Mayor Rex Richardson said the city is ready for its moment in the global spotlight.

“Long Beach is a great American city, and many folks may not know about it,” Richardson told Reuters.

“It’s an opportunity to really come out of the shadows a bit. We’re a top 40 city in the United States by population. We’re larger than Miami. We’re larger than St. Louis and New Orleans.

“We are home to the largest port in the United States at the combined sea ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and we have a great, iconic coastline with the Queen Mary and the beautiful nine miles of California coast.”

Long Beach is likely familiar to music lovers around the world due to its frequent mention in the songs of hip-hop legend and Team USA hype man Snoop Dogg as well as 90s ska-punk pioneers Sublime.

The city has also punched above its weight when it comes to producing sports stars.

Tennis icon Billie Jean King, three-time Olympic beach volleyball champion Misty May-Treanor and 2012 Olympic gold medalist and NBA star Russell Westbrook all hail from the city.

Long Beach’s Woodrow Wilson High School has had an alumni represented in every Summer Games the U.S. has participated in since 1952, and is believed to have produced more Olympians than any other high school in the country.

Long Beach State University meanwhile has consistently churned out Olympic volleyball, swimming and water polo standouts.

THE LBC

The 2028 Games will mark the third time Long Beach has played a part in an Olympics.

Marine Stadium was originally built to stage rowing events at the 1932 Games and will do so again nearly a century later with rowing and canoe sprint taking place at the first-ever manmade rowing course.

Sailing will be held off Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Belmont Shore as the city’s waterfront once again hosts the event after also doing so in 1984, the last time LA hosted the Games.

Hosting large-scale events is nothing new to the city, Richardson said.

The Long Beach Grand Prix, the city’s beloved “200-mile-per-hour beach party,” drew over 200,000 attendees for its 50th anniversary last month in the shadow of the Long Beach Convention Center and Long Beach Arena, which will both be utilized in 2028.

The 60th edition of the popular Congressional Cup regatta was held off Veteran Memorial Pier last weekend in Long Beach’s signature sea breeze.

“These are iconic, historic, world-class venues, and we can’t wait to put them on display for the entire world,” Richardson said while overlooking the vast expanse of soft white sand that will comprise the beach volleyball courts.

Olympic organizers LA28 have clustered venues together across the sprawling Los Angeles region and Richardson said fans will have options when it comes to how they move between the six Olympic venues in Long Beach.

“You can Circuit,” he said, referring to the city’s free electric vehicle service.

“Or walk or scooter or bike across all the venues on our nine miles of coastline.

“And while they’re there, they’ll see the investments that we made into our beach, into our coastline, some of the best beach concessions in America where you can have a hot dog or you can have a tomahawk steak and a martini.

“That’s the experience that we’ve put together and developed here in Long Beach, and we can’t wait to show it to the world.”

(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Long Beach; Editing by Michael Perry)

For their fourth national championship run, the Bears aimed to travel early to Gulf Shores, Alabama, to acclimate to the unique environment that awaited them.

Cal has been a ranked contender in the bracket since 2022, but for head coach Megan Owusu, their preparedness is a part of the team’s culture.

“The last four years that we’ve gone it’s just been a total honor to be here,” said Owusu. “We’re very aware that only 16 teams get to earn the right to be at NCAAs in Gulf Shores.”

Though they have never made it past the quarterfinals, the Bears were strong contenders this year, entering the championships ranked No. 10. Owusu led the team to an impressive 27-10 regular season record, their best since 2023 – the year the Bears lost in the NCAA quarterfinals to UCLA.

Their first match was against No. 7 Texas, with whom they had a split record after a 3-2 loss at the East Meets West tournament and a 3-2 comeback win the next weekend at East vs. West.

This year, the Longhorns cut Cal’s NCAA championship dreams short.

On court three, Ella Sears and Alex Young-Gomez lost by only a slim 22-20 margin in the first set, but fell soundly in the second, losing 21-9 and granting Longhorns a 1-0 lead.

However, duo Jenna Colligan and Ella Dreibholz were able to even out the score on court five, winning 21-18 and 21-19.

With multiple matches being played at once, both teams were on their toes as the high-pressure environment grew even more intense.

Gauging lineups is a crucial part of Owusu’s job, especially in preparation for a championship tournament.

“We have all five courts going at once and so we evaluate the matchups with the team that we’re competing against and see where we can be most effective as coaches,” Owusu said. “But we trust all of our athletes to have the tools and the problem-solving abilities to not have a coach and also be able to respond when they do have a coach on their court.”

With the game tied one set to one, all eyes were on the final three courts still playing.

Next to finish was sophomore Emma Donley and Portia Sherman on court one, a pair that has been nothing but reliable throughout the season.

This weekend brought them their 28th pair win, and the record for most pair wins in program history.

They brought home a solid match win for the blue and gold, defeating Chloe Charles and Eva Liisa Kuivonen 21-17 and 21-15.

Once again, Texas fought back on court four, and Noa Sonneville and Macey Butler defeated Marilu Pally and Maile Somera in three hard-fought sets (21-18, 19-21, 17-15) to mark the first three-set match of the whole game.

Earlier this season in the East vs. West tournament, Sonneville and Butler had beaten Pally and Dreibholz in two quick sets (21-13, 21-14), but the lineup change wasn’t enough to keep Texas at bay.

This brought the game to a tie, leaving the game in the hands of Gia Fisher and Sierra Caffo. Both captains played throughout the season.

The match again went to three sets, where two out of the three were win-by-two. Cal was knocked out in a nailbiter third set, which Texas ultimately won 17-15.

The Longhorns came into the NCAA championship with a 28-9 record, nearly identical to Cal’s. But 2025 marked Texas’ first-ever appearance in the tournament. The Longhorns’ win over an established Cal team may have been a surprise, but it was ultimately evidence of a well-deserved spot in the bracket.

“I’m very proud of our team this year,” Owusu said, reflecting on the 2025 season. “Our captains established a great culture, and while it didn’t end the way we wanted, I’m super appreciative of the journey and the success that we did have throughout the season.”

As the team continues to grow — and prepares to break ground on a new facility — there is only gratitude for competition at NCAAs this year, and the day-to-day experiences between the players and coaches.

“I have a ton of respect for Texas, their program and their coaching staff,” Owusu said. “We split with them this season, so we were excited for a great battle and that’s exactly what it was.”

SAUK RAPIDS — The Litchfield track and field team saw its boys take fourth and its girls fifth at the 32nd Annual Mega Meet on Saturday.

Sauk Rapids was the winner for the boys’ competition at 196, followed by Sartell’s 184.5, Albany’s 68 and the Dragons’ 67.5. For the girls, St. Cloud Cathedral won with a 153, which beat Sartell’s 120 and Sauk Rapids’ 114. Litchfield’s girls came in at 101.

Litchfield’s girls had three event winners. Elise Carlson won the 300-meter hurdles in 49.40 seconds. Chloe Kowalczyk was victorious in the discus throw at 123 feet, 1 inch. The Dragons’ 4×100 relay team also won in 51.41. Relay members included Samantha Turck, Josy Turck, Eden Harless and Josie Bjorkman.

Litchfield’s boys had no event winners, but saw its highest placing come from Izrael Jimenez in the shot put. He took second place with a throw of 43-7.

The Dragons compete in the Glencoe-Silver Lake Invitational at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Glencoe.

Easton, Ma. – The Le Moyne College men’s and women’s track & field teams concluded the final day of the 2025 Northeast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Sunday.
 
Senior Jack Gibson (Ilion, N.Y./Central Valley Academy) had the most individual success of the day after recording a 3^rd place finish in the men’s 3000m steeplechase event, clocking in with a time of 9:09.99. Sophomore Mike Purvis (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) also competed in the steeplechase event, placing 5^th overall after running a time of 9:44.83. Redshirt-junior Matthew Frisa (Spencerport, N.Y./Spencerport) competed in the 400m hurdles, placing 6^th overall in the finals after earning a time of 57.20.
 
The quartet of senior Brandon Scott (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee), redshirt-junior Connor Scott (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee), junior Jordan Johnson (Plainfield, N.J./Timothy Christian School), and sophomore Christopher Moser (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) all competed in the men’s 4x100m relay, placing 8^th overall after running a time of 43.17.
 
Sophomore Skylar Gravell (Malone, N.Y./Franklin Academy), Christopher Moser, Brandon Scott, and freshman Christopher Zajdel (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) earned themselves a 4^th place finish in the 4x400m relay after clocking in with a time of 3:17.14. Junior Cyril Anderson (Manchester, N.H./Manchester) placed 9^th overall in the javelin throw after earning a distance of 148-feet, 0-inches.
 
On the women’s side, junior Lilly Capria (North Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) and freshman Jacey Locci (Stillwater, N.Y./Stillwater) both tied for 4^th place in the high jump event, earning marks of 5-feet, 1.75-inches.
 
Freshman Jasmin Gonzalez-Rivera (Utica, N.Y./Thomas R. Proctor/Monmouth) earned a 6^th place finish in the 400m hurdles, running a time of 1:07.08. Sophomore Mackenzie Ples (Lowville, N.Y./Lowville) placed 7^th overall in the 3000m steeplechase event after running a time of 11:54.77.
 
The quartet of freshman Sara Edmonson (Leonardsville, N.Y./Mount Markham), senior Delaney Manahan (Marcellus, N.Y./Marcellus), sophomore Amanda Lowenguth (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas), and sophomore Rosalie Vincent (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Grimes) competed in the 4x100m relay, placing 8^th overall after running a time of 51.45..
 
Rosalie Vincent, Jacey Locci, Amanda Lowenguth, and Jasmin Gonzalex-Rivera placed 8^th overall in the 4x400m relay after running a time of 4:08.50.

Some of the Dolphins will have an opportunity to compete in the ECAC/IC4A Championships scheduled to run from May 16th-May 18th.