With the indoor season underway, the SIUE men’s and women’s track and field program is heading into competition with excitement and ambition. 

One of the newer faces on the roster, graduate student Norman Mukwada, joined SIUE after competing at Florida A&M University. Mukwada is a sprinter who mainly competes in the 200- and 400-meter sprints. Mukwada said his transition into the team has been good, in part due to the hospitality.

“It’s a different environment and new people, but we work together, and I really love my teammates,” Mukwada said. “We support each other so we can achieve what we want to achieve. It’s about togetherness.”

Freshman Olivia Hansen is an international addition to the team. Competing in hurdles and sprints, Hansen will take on her first Division I season after previously competing through private club programs in Sweden. 

“Here, I finally have a team to compete for,” Hansen said. “That gives me a higher purpose, and I want to do everything to benefit the team.”

Hansen said that, for her first season, she has set big goals for herself. She hopes to break 58 seconds in the 400 and reach the mid-8-second range in the 60-meter hurdles.

“I do track because I enjoy it,” Hansen said. “My results don’t define me as a person. If I work hard, I’ll get good results, but I want to find joy in what I’m doing.”

Returning Cougars like senior Konrad Sacha are reacclimating themselves to the indoor season. Sacha said indoor is more technical due to the tighter turns and shared lane racing in events like the 400-meter sprint. 

Last season, Sacha ran several events, including the 60-, 200- and 400-meter sprints, as well as the 4×400 meter relay. Sacha’s 400-meter time at the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championships was 49.2 seconds. 

Sophomore sprinter Darrelle Rice has been focusing on both her mental and physical health leading into this season. Rice is coming off a strong indoor season with personal bests of 8.13 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles and 26.4 seconds in the 200-meter sprint.

“I’ve dealt with injury, but I refuse to let it define me,” Rice said. “I plan to come back strong.”

Men’s and women’s track and field head coach Marcus Evans said he believes his opening meet will serve as a benchmark for the team, no matter how experienced.

Evans said that the key to the beginning of the season is confidence and support. Despite track being a mainly individual sport, he said his teams pride themselves on being there for each other. Evans said he wants his teams to be the loudest

With training through a period with final exams, Evans said student-athletes are encouraged to communicate needs as they balance the student-athlete schedule.

“The student side is always going to come before the athlete side,” Evans said. “There’s no competition more important than graduating.”

Evans said the program is looking to be on podiums and be national qualifiers.

“We’ve gone from near the bottom of the standings to one of the best finishes in school history last year,” Evans said. “We want to keep pushing forward. Anything can happen at a conference championship.”

For now, the Cougars are focused on their first meets of the season, competing hard, learning where they stand and returning ready to grow.

SIUE’s next meet is the Alexis Jarrett Invitational on Jan. 6 at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.

Creighton volleyball has advanced to the Elite Eight for the second season in a row. No. 3 seed Creighton defeated No. 2 seed Arizona State, 3-1, on Thursday.

Creighton won with set scores of 26-24, 19-25, 25-13 and 25-18. Senior outside hitter Ava Martin led the team in scoring with 23 kills, followed by Kiara Reinhardt with 15 and Jaya Johnson with 12.

With the match tied at 1-1 and following a decisive set two loss, head coach Brian Rosen said his team fought back.

“They showed incredible poise,” Rosen said. “We’ve struggled at times this season to allow one point to be one point. And I thought all match tonight, they were able to move on quickly to the next one.”

ASU’s outside hitters were really good at hitting their fastball, he added.

“We were so good defensively on everything else,” Rosen said.

He added solid serving from Creighton kept the Sun Devils off balance.

The Catholic school in Omaha has rattled off 23 consecutive wins this season following its loss to undefeated, in-state rival Nebraska in mid-September. Now, Creighton is 28-5. Thursday’s match marked Arizona State’s first loss since Halloween. The Sun Devils finished the season 28-4, including a Big 12 conference title.

In Rosen’s first season leading the program, the Bluejays will make their third Elite Eight appearance ever. The school has never made the Final Four.

Rosen’s team will look to change that Saturday. Creighton will play No. 1 seed Kentucky, who toppled unseeded Cal Poly, 3-0, on Thursday afternoon. Kentucky is the host school for this regional.

One week into the season and Penn State is already making a name for itself, earning two weekly honors.

Sophomore Tayissa Buchanan was named the Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week, whereas Collin Burkhart was named the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week.

Strong opening week for Collin💪He’s been named the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week after his win in the weight throw this weekend! #WeAre | #PSUTF pic.twitter.com/cTxzr9Dt1w

— Penn State Track & Field/Cross Country (@PennStateTFXC) December 10, 2025

Tay’s had herself a week! She’s been named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week for her 2:02.67 to win the 800-meter in Boston this weekend and move into second in school history! #WeAre | #PSUTF pic.twitter.com/X7ZHTqYxSL

— Penn State Track & Field/Cross Country (@PennStateTFXC) December 10, 2025

Buchanan ran the second-fastest 800 meter in school history at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Boston, winning the race with a four-second personal best of 2:02.67.

Burkhart also won his respective event last weekend, earning the victory in the men’s weight throw at the Bison Opener, throwing 20.38 meters.

MORE TRACK AND FIELD COVERAGE

Penn State is back on the map ahead of the 2025-26 indoor track season.

LEXINGTON — After defeating Cal Poly 3-0 in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament on Thursday, No. 1 Kentucky will take on No. 3 Creighton in the Elite Eight on Saturday night.

UK takes a 25-match win streak into the Elite 8, its fourth regional final under coach Craig Skinner.

Here’s everything you need to know to keep up with the match from home:

No. 1 seed Kentucky versus No. 3 Creighton will be broadcast live on ESPN2 Saturday from Historic Memorial Coliseum.

Authenticated subscribers can access ESPN2 via TV-connected devices or by going to WatchESPN.com or the WatchESPN app.

Those without cable can access ESPN2 via streaming services, with Fubo offering a free trial.

Buy Kentucky volleyball tickets here

After defeating Cal Poly, UK will play Creighton OR Arizona State in the Lexington Regional Final this weekend. Here’s a look at the tournament schedule:

• First and second rounds: Dec. 4-6
• Regionals: Dec. 11-14
• Semifinals: Dec. 18 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri
• Championship: Dec. 21 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – During commencement exercises today at the University of Miami, 32 Hurricanes student-athletes are set to earn their undergraduate or graduate degrees.

“I am extremely proud to see this group of Hurricanes earns their degrees from the University of Miami,” Vice President/Director of Athletics Dan Radakovich said. “Graduation is a milestone moment for our student-athletes, and I am excited to see where their life’s journey takes them from here.”

Eleven of the University’s athletic programs were represented at today’s commencement, led by the football team with 15 graduates, including ACC Defensive Player of the Year Rueben Bain and ACC Jacobs Blocking Trophy winner Francis Mauigoa. The list also includes two 2025 NCAA individual champions — Devoux Deysel, who won the men’s javelin title and Chiara Pellacani, who captured the 1-meter diving crown.

Three former baseball student-athletes earned degrees, including John Siegler, who lettered under legendary coach Ron Fraser from 1963-65.

Fall 2025 Student-Athlete Graduates

Men’s Basketball
Yussif Basa-Ama*

Women’s Basketball
Sophia Zulich*

Men’s Diving
Max Flory*

Football
Rueben Bain, Markel Bell, Wesley Bissainthe, David Blay, Charles Brantley, Andrew Cohen*, Anez Cooper, CJ Daniels*, Carter Davis, Francis Mauigoa, Matthew McCoy, Akheem Mesidor*, Ahmad Moten, Jack Nickel, Ryan Rodriguez*

Soccer
Tori Grambo*, Nanaka Inaba, Emma Pidding

Women’s Swimming & Diving
Chiara Pellacani

Men’s Tennis
Martin Katz

Men’s Track & Field
Devoux Deysel*, Solomon Strader*

Women’s Track & Field
Jemima Mills*, Deisiane Teixeira*

Volleyball
Paula Guersching, Dalia Wilson

Former Student-Athletes
Carson Fischer* (baseball), John Siegler (baseball), Greg Veliz (baseball)

*Denotes Master’s degree

The Kentucky Wildcats look to take another step toward the NCAA Women’s Volleyball final four on Thursday afternoon, as they get set to host the upstart Cal Poly Mustangs.

The Wildcats came into the tournament as one of the favorites to win it all. They finished with the best record in the SEC during the regular season for the ninth year in a row, defeating Auburn, Tennessee and Texas to win the SEC Conference Tournament.

Kentucky has continued to be a strong team in the national tournament. After defeating Wofford in straight sets, the team outlasted UCLA in the second round, winning in four sets. The Wildcats are trying to get back to the regional final for the second year in a row, seeking their first final four appearance since winning it all four years ago.

Cal Poly is trying to write a Cinderella story. Unranked heading into the national tournament, the Mustangs knocked off fifth-seeded BYU in the opening round, before eliminating the No. 4 team in the region, USC, in a five-set thriller last weekend. The Mustangs are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007, and the seventh time in program history.

NCAA WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT

Third Round

Cal Poly Mustangs vs. Kentucky Wildcats

When: Thursday, December 11

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

Where: Historic Memorial Coliseum (Lexington, Ky.)

Channel: ESPN2