High School Sports
McFeely's Tip Sheet
McFeely’s Tip Sheet is a compilation of notes, quotes, rumors, gossip and commentary by Forum columnist Mike McFeely. If you have a tip, a note or a hot rumor feel free to send it along to mmcfeely@forumcomm.com. Not all will be printed because of, you know, legal reasons. But they might lead to something. All […]

McFeely’s Tip Sheet is a compilation of notes, quotes, rumors, gossip and commentary by Forum columnist Mike McFeely. If you have a tip, a note or a hot rumor feel free to send it along to mmcfeely@forumcomm.com. Not all will be printed because of, you know, legal reasons. But they might lead to something. All tip sources will remain anonymous.
The once-impressive sports coverage at Valley News Live is withering to almost nothing.
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Part of the reason might be the station’s general manager, who has a well-known disdain for sports.
Frankly, the Tip Sheet doesn’t know for sure because said GM, Ike Walker, didn’t return a couple of messages seeking comment.
But this we know: VNL currently has no sports staff after former sports director Devin Fry moved in May to a different role at the station and sports reporter Eric Moon recently departed.
Whatever sports news VNL has, and it often ain’t much, is read by a news anchor.
On Monday’s 10 p.m. newscast — which was mostly crime stories interspersed with weather — the only sports was news anchor Justin Betti spending 35 seconds reading a story about ESPN’s SportsCenter coming to Fargo to cover North Dakota State football.
There were whispers that Walker, who sources say has long loathed sports even when VNL had the NDSU football contract for 14 years until the COVID-forced spring season in 2021, would not rehire for Fry’s or Moon’s positions.
Indeed, VNL did not advertise for or hire a new sports director when Fry changed jobs within the company.
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But talk of the complete death of the sports department was premature. VNL’s corporate owner Gray Media is advertising for a sports reporter/anchor at the station.
However, from the job description it sounds like a hybrid position between sports and news, with only weekend sports anchoring duties.
“You will anchor weekend sportscasts and cover a combination of sports and news on your other days,” the job posting says, adding the person hired will “produce and anchor sportscasts on weekends, and as needed during the week.”
Kinda sounds like a part-time, half-hearted sports gig.
Even little KVRR-TV has two full-time sports reporters on staff. WDAY-TV, which currently holds the Bison and state high school tournament contracts, has four staffers dedicated to covering local sports.
It’s a far cry from the not-too-distant past when VNL — the combined signals of KVLY-TV and KXJB-TV — had five sports guys. And at various times had well-known names like Dan Hammer, Brian Shawn, Scott Peters, Beth Hoole and Rich Lodewyk.
Going back even farther, KXJB was at one time the home of the legendary Jim Adelson and Ed Schultz. KVLY and KXJB have a rich tradition of sports coverage in North Dakota, broadcasting the state high school tournaments for many years and eventually being the home of NDSU football when the Bison became a Football Championship Subdivision powerhouse. VNL also carried the Fargo Marathon at one point.
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In the glory days of local TV, there was fierce competition between the stations and personalities for Bison scoops, high school sports highlights, Dragons and Cobbers coverage, and the ratings that went with it. When KVLY and KXJB were separate entities and it was a three-way competition with WDAY … oh, baby, it was spicy.
In fairness, it’s the trend of many local news operations to cut back on sports in these much-changed media times (and newspapers, of course, have not been immune in this internet-driven world). It’s all about news and weather, which drive viewership more than sports results. And broadcast and cable TV viewership continues to decline. The New York Times reported that in May more Americans watched television on streaming than on cable and network TV combined, the first time that’s happened over a full month.
It’s not unheard of across the country for news anchors to deliver the sports. Even stations that maintain sports staffs have cut back severely on the time allotted for sports. What used to be 3- or 4-minute slots are now down to a minute or 90 seconds. Even WDAY has cut sports to 3 minutes on its 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts most nights, longer on Friday and Saturday nights during the school year.
In TV, live sports are hot. Sports highlights and scores are not. VNL is the ultimate local example.

NDSU Athletics photo
Hot take of the day
Something that probably won’t happen, but if it does I’ll look like a genius:
— NDSU will announce this week it is opting out of the House settlement, unlike many other Football Championship Subdivision-level schools.
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A little birdie said …
NDSU is loathe to opt in on the House settlement because it values walk-ons both for athletic success across its programs and overall university enrollment. That’s the reason South Dakota State has announced it will opt out, as well. … Minnesota State University Moorhead honchos are extremely enthusiastic that new men’s basketball coach Jason Kemp will eventually take the Dragons to even higher heights than achieved by predecessors Chad Walthall and Tim Bergstraser.

David Samson/The Forum
Former NDSU head coach Matt Entz, now the top dog at Fresno State, was listed as the top “under-the-radar” recruiter in college football by The Athletic, citing the Bison’s Grey Zabel going in the first round of the NFL Draft while Dillon Radunz and Cody Mauch went in the second round. All three players were either two-star or unranked recruits, the publication said. … NDSU was listed as the second-best non-Power 4 talent producer, boasting seven NFL draft picks in the last five years. The pool included all Group of Five and FCS programs. Tulane was tops with eight NFL picks since 2021. Boise State also had seven draft choices. South Dakota State was tied for fifth with five picks. … ESPN reported Texas State of the Sun Belt Conference was the “heavy favorite” to receive and accept an invite from the rebuilt Pac-12 as the college realignment wheel begins spinning again. The domino effect of Texas State leaving the Belt would be Louisiana Tech moving from Conference USA to the Sun Belt and Tarleton State receiving an invitation to leave FCS and move to CUSA. … ESPN’s publicity machine posted on social media that the retiring Lee Corso made 430 mascot headgear picks on the popular “College GameDay” program and only three teams had multiple picks from Corso and no losses in those games: USC (17-0), Virginia Tech (4-0) and NDSU (3-0). … Grand Valley State won the Division II Learfield Directors’ Cup based on success in NCAA championships. It was GVSU’s 17th Learfield Cup. Emory (Georgia) won the Division II award and Cumberlands (Kentucky) took home the NAIA crown. … The NCAA Football Oversight Committee is recommending that the Division I Council reject Sacramento State’s waiver request to transition from FCS to FBS as an independent, according to Yahoo Sports. It’s a major roadblock for the Hornets, who’ve made no secret about wanting to move up. Without a conference invitation, schools moving from FCS to FBS need a waiver to compete as an independent.
High School Sports
Village Administrator highlights water system upgrades
At the Village of Garden City Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday, June 26, Village Administrator Ralph Suozzi updated the board and public on several major infrastructure projects. He began by reporting that Superintendent of Water & Sewer Stanley Carey had given him a tour of the Well No. 9 AOP treatment facility, located near […]


At the Village of Garden City Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday, June 26, Village Administrator Ralph Suozzi updated the board and public on several major infrastructure projects.
He began by reporting that Superintendent of Water & Sewer Stanley Carey had given him a tour of the Well No. 9 AOP treatment facility, located near Edgemere Park and Wilson Street. Well No. 9 is the last of Garden City’s well sites to receive an Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) system, which removes harmful chemicals such as 1,4-dioxane—a volatile organic compound (VOC)—and PFAS from the municipal water supply.
“During construction nothing looks good, but if you want to go up to see it now it is a fantastic facility. The landscaping there is very well-done to provide screening for the neighbors. The in-ground storage tank was repaired as per the documents produced by H2M Architects + Engineers last year. And the new generator arrived yesterday. The village’s water system is at full capacity now and all of our wells have AOP reactors, removing 1,4 dioxane and PFAS from the village’s water per both the federal and New York State regulations,” he said.
Trustee Vinny Muldoon praised the completed project, calling it “incredible.”
“The technology in these water filtration systems and buildings are off the charts!” he said. Suozzi agreed and called the systems installed at village wells “very complex, like laboratories.
Suozzi also followed up on a previous question from Trustee Rich Catalano regarding the emergency water service line replacement on Fairmount Boulevard. He confirmed that all the lines have been replaced and are functioning properly.
“Mr. Carey reached out to National Grid and our village liaison with the Long Island Rail Road, Nick Fasano, and they’re scheduled to meet up there next week with the sets of crews, to try and figure out if the protections are working. We still haven’t identified the source and the cause – identifying which utility it is – but they’re gathering to work together there,” Suozzi told the trustees.
Suozzi also commended the Department of Public Works for their work on new lighting at the Garden City Public Library and their assistance at the St. Paul’s Cottages, where historic records were recently relocated. Historian Patricia Siler had requested help with moving furniture and bookcases for her ongoing cataloging and organization efforts.
“On the lighting the crew did a great job of not only protecting the GCPL site, so patrons weren’t in any danger. We thank them for their efforts and attention,” he said.
Turning back to water department operations, Suozzi emphasized that the municipal water system is a 24/7 operation. Even wells that aren’t actively pumping must be visually inspected to meet Health Department standards.
Suozzi highlighted recent upgrades at the Water Works building, including restroom and shower renovations.
“When the men come in from a dirty job where there may be water main breaks, then they can clean up there. These men take real pride in the work they do, and the facility we are improving – the Water Works is like their second home and they take care of the property, not just the building” he said.
He also discussed new LED lighting and the recently rebuilt SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system, which he described as the “brains” of the village’s water operations. “You can see every well and pump online and how they are running, including the levels of tanks with pumping….The new SCADA system was rebuilt recently by the village, but the room itself was noted as a project need. This has been such an excellent job of upgrading our water facilities by Superintendent Carey, so I want to say thank you to him and let the people know it’s a very successful operation,” Suozzi said.
Antennas for the new monitoring system have been installed at Village Hall, on Clinton Road, and at a third location to provide village-wide coverage. Once fully implemented, residents will be able to log in and view daily water usage.
“It will help a lot with people that don’t know how much water they use and are surprised to see the water bills. This info is captured online for 90 days so the customer (resident) would be able to see their water usage over time, and it will help reduce questions on high bills. I think this covers about 95% of the village,” he explained.
During the meeting, Superintendent of Building Giuseppe Giovanniello gave a short report, stating that Assistant Project Manager Richard Barbieri returned to the Building Department on June 18. The pair have started compiling an inventory of all municipal facilities.
“We were at a few buildings today, and we’re going to continue on in assessing all the Village of Garden City-owned/operated buildings,” the superintendent noted.
Barbieri’s contract was approved by the board on June 5. He will provide planned services and other tasks as needed at a rate of $95 per hour. The contract runs from June 1, 2025, to May 31, 2026.
In closing remarks, Trustee Muldoon stressed the long-term importance of infrastructure investment.
“It was prioritized by our village to invest in our infrastructure, as water is one of the most critical things we all need to live. We’ve done an amazing job – among all our infrastructure – on investing our water and upgrading the system to make sure it is where it needs to be. We need to continue addressing that with our village infrastructure, every year moving forward. The core of your house is its infrastructure, and the Board needs to focus on that. With Giuseppe and Mr. Barbieri doing a close look at buildings/facilities, we really need to zone in for an endless amount of years. We have an old, old classic village we live in and we need to invest in our infrastructure,” Muldoon said.
High School Sports
Wheeling Park Boys Win Class AAAA SSAC Cup
PARKERSBURG — The WVSSAC has announced the Class AAAA winners of The Health Plan Champions Cup, recognizing the top-performing high schools for excellence in both athletics and academics. Morgantown High School earned the girls’ title, while Wheeling Park High School claimed the boys’ championship. The Health Plan Champions Cup honors the leading boys’ and girls’ […]


PARKERSBURG — The WVSSAC has announced the Class AAAA winners of The Health Plan Champions Cup, recognizing the top-performing high schools for excellence in both athletics and academics. Morgantown High School earned the girls’ title, while Wheeling Park High School claimed the boys’ championship.
The Health Plan Champions Cup honors the leading boys’ and girls’ athletic programs in each of the WVSSAC’s four classifications. Standings are based on performances across a variety of sports, with points awarded for success in state championship events. Teams are also awarded points based on the previous year’s graduation rate.
Class AAAA Boys
Wheeling Park’s balance helped it claim the title on the boys side. The Patriots scored points in more sports than any other school in Class AAAA, en route to 853 points.
Wheeling Park was a state semifinalist in soccer and finished fifth in cross country to go with sixth-place finishes in wrestling and golf. The Patriots were also eighth in swimming, advanced to the regional finals in tennis and baseball, and advanced to the quarterfinals in football.
“We’re incredibly proud of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff across all our boys’ sports programs,” said WPHS Principal Meredith Dailer. “This award is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and sportsmanship they demonstrate every day.”
Hurricane finished as runner-up with 788.5 points. The Redskins claimed state titles in tennis and baseball, and had runner-up finishes in golf, soccer and track throughout the year. Hurricane also finished seventh in cross country and advanced to the second round of the football playoffs.
Morgantown took third with 769.5 points, highlighted by a runner-up finish in baseball, an appearance in the semifinals in basketball, and a fourth-place finish in cross country. University claimed state titles in cross country, wrestling, and track and finished fourth with 687 points. George Washington rounded out the top five with 680.5 points.
Class AAAA Girls
Morgantown finished with 880 points by recording points in eight of the nine sanctioned sports in the academic year, highlighted by a championship in track and field. The Mohigans finished runner-up in volleyball, basketball, and tennis. MHS earned a third-place finish in cross country, was a state semifinalist in soccer, took fifth in swimming, and advanced to the regional final in softball.
“What a great accomplishment for our student-athletes to be recognized with this overall championship,” said MHS Principal Paul Mihalko. “We are very proud of all of the hard work and dedication of all of these Mohigans!”
University finished second with 678 points. The Hawks were champions in cross country, third in softball, fourth in track and field, and seventh in cheerleading. UHS also tallied points with regional final appearances in volleyball and basketball.
Cabell Midland’s championship in softball secured a third-place finish with 584 points. Washington High School was champions in soccer and finished in fourth with 568 points.
High School Sports
WATCH
The news of the day for the Ohio State football program is that it finally got its quarterback for the 2026 recruiting class. Four-star prospect Luke Fahey announced his verbal commitment to the program on Thursday, ending an almost year-long search for a signal-caller in the class. Not only do we like to bring you […]


The news of the day for the Ohio State football program is that it finally got its quarterback for the 2026 recruiting class. Four-star prospect Luke Fahey announced his verbal commitment to the program on Thursday, ending an almost year-long search for a signal-caller in the class.
Not only do we like to bring you the recruiting news, including commitment announcements for the Ohio State football team, but we like to scour the internet to find some highlights to share with you so you have an idea of what the Buckeyes are getting. Of course, there’s no way to tell whether what we see in high school will ultimately translate to the college game, but you can pick out some skills and traits by looking at the video.
Our go-to source for most of the highlights comes from our friends at Hudl, and that’s where we went for Fahey’s highlights as well.
Fahey seems to have a quick, easy release while being decisive in his reads. We’ll see how he develops even further under the tutelage of Ryan Day and staff.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
High School Sports
UTSA Basketball Staff Update
Kicking off July and entering the heart of the offseason, UTSA men’s basketball head coach Austin Claunch announced Thursday that the Roadrunners have finalized their coaching staff for the coming 2025-26 season. The Roadrunners add UTSA alum David President as assistant coach, Quentin Thomas as assistant coach and director of operations and Jordan Brooks as an assistant coach. The trio joins assistant coaches Nick […]


Kicking off July and entering the heart of the offseason, UTSA men’s basketball head coach Austin Claunch announced Thursday that the Roadrunners have finalized their coaching staff for the coming 2025-26 season. The Roadrunners add UTSA alum David President as assistant coach, Quentin Thomas as assistant coach and director of operations and Jordan Brooks as an assistant coach. The trio joins assistant coaches Nick Bowman and Joey Brooks, who return from last year’s staff.
“We’re really excited and fortunate to welcome these outstanding coaches we’ve brought on board. They all bring different skills to the table that will help us continue to transform this program,” Claunch said. “In David President, you’ve got the pride, investment and engagement that come with being an alum who led an NCAA tournament team, on top of being a well-connected and highly successful high school coach who has won a lot of games and knows how to bring the best out of talented players. With Quentin Thomas, you’ve got a coach who uses his passion to develop young men and has played at the highest level himself, bringing the experience and mindset of winning a national championship. Finally, Jordan Brooks is one of the most well-respected young coaches and talent evaluators on the East Coast. He has competed against our teams and has earned my respect with how he contributes to winning wherever he’s been. These men will be difference-makers in the meeting room, in our culture and in player development.”
Former Roadrunners guard David President returns to San Antonio to serve his alma mater as an assistant coach after eight seasons as the head coach at Houston-area Shadow Creek High School, where he was the seven-time District 22-6A Coach of the Year and accumulated a 220-39 record and an 84.9 percent win rate while leading the Sharks. Under his leadership, SCHS was a seven-time district champion and three-time UIL 6A regional finalist. During his time in Pearland, he coached nine NCAA Division I players and 13 more who reached the collegiate ranks at the NCAA Division II, Division III or NAIA levels. Prior to SCHS, President coached two seasons at Belton High School, leading the program to its first playoff appearance in 20 years. In his first head coaching position, he also cut his teeth as an administrator as the athletic director and basketball head coach at Waelder High School, racking up a 54-11 record, two Coach of the Year titles, a pair of district crowns and appearances in the regional finals and semifinals across his two years leading the team and department.
“I’m incredibly honored and grateful to return to my alma mater to be a part of coach Claunch’s vision for the Roadrunners men’s basketball program,” President said. “This university shaped who I am, and it’s a dream come true to pour back into the program that gave me so much. I’m ready to help build something special with our student-athletes and represent the Roadrunner spirit with pride.”
While coaching at the high school level, he guided the development of several players who went on to NCAA Division I success, including Houston Chronicle All-Greater Houston Player of the Year Ramon Walker Jr. (who earned four conference championships and a National Championship Game appearance at Houston), two-time district MVP and Guy V. Lewis Award Finalist PJ Henry (who went on to three NCAA tournament appearances between Hartford and Texas Southern), Guy V. Lewis Finalist Cameron Amboree (Oral Roberts/Southern), two-time Guy V. Lewis Finalist and SCHS all-time leading scorer Michael Collins (Louisiana) and Guy V. Lewis Finalist Bryce Jackson (Houston).
Before starting his high school coaching career as a three-year assistant at Marble Falls High School, President got his start at the collegiate level with a two-year stint as assistant coach at Austin’s St. Edward’s University while shortly after concluding his playing career at UTSA. President helped the Hilltoppers to a two-year 40-18 record, 2008 Heartland Conference title and NCAA Division II Regional appearance with the most wins in school history – followed by a 2009 Heartland tournament runner-up finish.
President was a four-year starter playing for the Roadrunners from 2001-05, scoring 597 points with 359 rebounds, 339 assists and 155 steals in 109 career games. President led UTSA in assists and steals for three of his four seasons and had the 26th-most career rebounds. A two-year captain, President helped the Roadrunners to the 2003-04 Southland Conference regular season championship and UTSA’s subsequent NCAA Tournament appearance against Stanford.
Also joining the Roadrunners ahead of the 2025-26 season as assistant coach and director of basketball operations out of Northern California, Quentin Thomas played four seasons for Roy Williams at North Carolina from 2004-08, earned three Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) titles, was a captain on the Tar Heels’ 2008 Final Four team and was part of North Carolina’s 2005 NCAA National Championship. Thomas was in action during the second-most winning four-year stretch in UNC history with 123 victories across his four years at Chapel Hill, playing in 129 games for the Tar Heels.
“I’m grateful for this opportunity that God has given me and I’m excited for this next chapter in my life,” Thomas said. “I’m looking forward to building and connecting with the players and coaching staff throughout the season and helping add as much value as I can, both on and off the court.”
Thomas arrives in San Antonio fresh off serving as an assistant coach at College of Alameda for NBA Hall of Famer Gary Payton, helping the Cougars spark a dramatic nine-game improvement over the prior campaign. Thomas aided the development of Isaiah Hill, the Bay Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and an All-BVC first-teamer. Prior to Alameda, Thomas was a skill development coach at Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High School (2023-24) and an assistant coach at Silverado High School in Henderson, Nevada. In his prep role, Thomas worked with UC Davis’ Cyril Franklin and UC Merced leading scorer Cameron Brown. Developing players since the end of his playing days, Thomas founded String Along Basketball in 2010 to help Bay Area youth on and off the court and has continued as a skill development coach since then, also serving as a management youth mentor at Feets Basketball Academy since 2020.
The third and final addition to the 2025-26 Roadrunners staff is Jordan Brooks, coming to UTSA following a single season as an assistant coach at Morehead State in Kentucky, where he focused heavily on recruiting and community engagement, while being deeply involved in player development. Brooks joins the Roadrunners after recently attending the invitation-only 2025 Jay Bilas Coaches Leadership Program.
“I’m incredibly grateful and excited for the opportunity to join the UTSA men’s basketball program,” Brooks said. “I have tremendous respect for coach Claunch and his vision for building something special here. San Antonio is a city full of pride and energy, and I’m looking forward to bringing that same passion to our team every day. I’m committed to helping our student-athletes grow both on and off the court. I can’t wait to get to work.”
His work with the Eagles followed two seasons in Norfolk, Virginia at Old Dominion in the same role – earning the No. 5 spot on 247Sports’ 2024 National Recruiter of the Year rankings, helping ODU achieve its best record in four seasons and working closely with all-Sun Belt performer Chaunce Jenkins. ODU’s 2024 recruiting class ranked No. 24 nationally with the two highest-ranked players in the program’s history. Brooks was also the director of recruiting at Xavier (2021-22), helping the Musketeers to a 23-13 record and the 2022 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Championship after reeling in the 15th-ranked national recruiting class and notching the program’s second-highest Big East ranking. While serving in Cincinnati, Brooks helped develop Colby Jones, who was drafted by the Sacramento Kings and is now with the Washington Wizards. He also previously served as recruiting coordinator at Southeastern Louisiana (2019-21), where he coached All-Southland Conference performers Gus Okafor and Keon Clergeot. While serving as recruiting coordinator/assistant coach at Howard (2017-19), Brooks recruited MEAC Rookie of the Year and later MEAC Player of the Year RJ Cole, who also went on to earn First Team All-Big East honors at UConn. His efforts with the Bison propelled him to a spot on the 2019 Under Armour NABC 30-Under-30 Coaches Team, helping guide Howard to a massive turnaround and the program’s first winning season in four years. He also helped the program receive its first postseason bid in more than 20 years, making the College Basketball Invitational (CBI).
Before Howard, Brooks coached and recruited at the 14U, 15U and 16U levels (2012-17), helping to develop several NCAA Division I student-athletes from top programs around Washington, D.C., including DC Assault, Team Takeover, Team Durant, and Team St8ment. In that five-year stretch, Brooks had the opportunity to work with several players who went on to excel at the highest levels of college basketball, including standouts such as Hunter Dickinson (Kansas), Armando Bacot (North Carolina), Casey Morsell (NC State), Jamir Young (Maryland), Jay Heath (Georgetown), Justin Moore (Villanova) and Mekhi Long (Old Dominion). Brooks played college basketball at Hampton (2007-11).
High School Sports
Oakwood swimming reaches new heights
Oakwood’s Victor Talankin is pictured competing in the 100 Butterfly at a March 11 league meet at Santa Catalina. Photo: Courtesy of Jaime Tompkins It is the ninth year for the swimming program at Oakwood and the Hawks have just completed a remarkable season. Highlights include increased participation for both boys and girls, school and […]



It is the ninth year for the swimming program at Oakwood and the Hawks have just completed a remarkable season. Highlights include increased participation for both boys and girls, school and league records and the first-ever CIF State qualification, with Lucas Tompkins competing for Oakwood in the CIF State Finals in the 100 breaststroke.
In that event in Clovis on May 16-17, Tompkins swam a 55.79 in the Friday prelims to qualify for the finals. On Saturday, he swam 56.17 to finish in 16th place among all swimmers in the state of California.
“The atmosphere at States was electric,” Tompkins said, “Behind the block was the loudest and most energized I’ve experienced and it was exciting to race at this really fast state meet, one of the fastest in the US. I was really happy with my swims at the meet and proud to represent Oakwood as our first CIF State swimming participant.
“I hope to return next year and continue to move up and hope some Oakwood teammates will be there, too. Our Oakwood swim team and school were really supportive in cheering me on as well.”
There were many accomplishments and records by the 10-person Oakwood team this year. The squad included six boys and four girls.
Tompkins, a junior, was joined by returnees in sophomores Porter Banks and Max Weltchek, along with three newcomers. The new swimmers were sophomores Davit Gasparyan and Victor Salankin, along with freshman Shayan Bahrainy.

The girls crew featured newcomers Allison Li, Avi Martinez, Ria Deshpande and Sthanika Rahool, all four of whom are freshmen.
“Oakwood swimmers are students first and foremost and have maintained high academic standing in the classroom and great effort in the pool,” said Jaime Tompkins, co-coach with Van Weltchek. “(We) are proud of the swimmers’ accomplishments in the pool, in the classroom, and as just kind and awesome people. We’ve had a blast coaching this team and are excited for all to return next year.”
In the Pacific Coast Athletic League championships at Salinas on May 2, both boys and girls teams notched their highest placements ever. The meet was contested in two different ways, with both league races (PCAL) and division races (the three PCAL Divisions: Gabilan, Mission and Cypress).
The boys finished 14th out of all 20 PCAL teams, tallying 136 points. That mark placed them ahead of schools such as Pacific Grove, Monterey and Watsonville. In the PCAL Mission Division standings, Oakwood finished in fifth place.
The Oakwood girls finished 16th among all PCAL teams with 96 points. Their total slotted them ahead of big schools such as Watsonville and Hollister. In the PCAL Mission Division standings, Oakwood finished in fifth place.
Individual stars were Tompkins and Martinez. Tompkins was the fifth-highest scorer among all boys and Martinez was sixth-highest among all girls, along with being the highest scoring freshman girl.
Martinez shined in the 100 freestyle, with a division win in 58.23, and in the 100 backstroke, with a division win in 1:05.24. In the 100 freestyle, those swims were both a PCAL Mission Division record and an Oakwood school record.
“One of my favorite swimming accomplishments this year was the chance to swim at PCALs and earning a second place overall in the 100 backstroke and first in our division,” Martinez said. “Getting to compete with other fast swimmers really pushed me to do my best in the race and hopefully next year I can shoot for first place.”
In division results, Li finished seventh in the 100 backstroke in 1:29.71 and eighth in the 100 freestyle in 1:14.37. Deshpande came in eighth in the 100 backstroke in 1:32.73 and 10th in the 50 freestyle in 37.28. The four girls competed as a team in both the 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay and finished second in both races.
“My favorite accomplishment was shaving over 20 seconds off my 100 freestyle time,” Li said. “But this year was also my first time doing relays which were a lot of fun and is now the event I look forward to.”
Tompkins also won two events. He captured the 100 breaststroke in 56.94 for both the PCAL title and the Division title. In the 200 IM, he finished second in the PCAL and first in the PCAL Mission Division with a time of 1:59.27. Each was both a PCAL record and a Division record.
“Our Oakwood team had 10 swimmers this season and we all supported each other and had our best season yet,” Tompkins said, “Our team did great at the PCALs champs meet with our best placing and most points scored yet which was nice, including a really close relay race where we ended up in second even though we are one of the smaller teams.”
In division finishes, Salankin took third in the 200 freestyle in 1:58.20 and fourth in the 100 butterfly in 1:05.41. Weltcheck got third in the 200 IM in 2:18.03 and fourth in the 100 backstroke in 1:04.79. Banks nabbed 10th place in the 50 freestyle in 26.73. Gasparyan, Bahrainy and Rahool also competed well.
The boys’ quartet of Tompkins, Weltchek, Banks and Salankin placed second in the division in both the 200 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay. In both cases, they demolished the old school record.
“(My favorite memory) was beating the four free relay record with Porter, Victor and Lucas,” Weltchek said.
Tompkins competed in the 200 medley and 100 breaststroke events at the CCS Finals Meet at Independence High in San Jose. He raced in both in the prelims on May 8 and moved on to the finals in his best event, the 100 breaststroke, where he clocked 56.61. In that event in the May 10 finals, he swam 56.47, sixth best in CCS.
“For CCS I was qualified in two events: the 200 yard Individual Medley and the 100 breaststroke,” Tompkins said. “In prelims I had a new personal best time and qualified for the ‘A’ final as the sixth seed overall. In finals I maintained that position and went a new personal best time.
“Being in the ‘A’ final was quite an experience with the announcers announcing each finalist individually behind the blocks and racing some really fast swimmers.”
That result and time qualified Tompkins for the CIF State meet, where he accomplished a historical first for Oakwood.
“The entire Oakwood swim team has been fantastic ambassadors for the sport of swimming while having a historic year and having a blast doing it,” co-coach Jaime Tompkins said. “The team gelled and supported each other all season long and they are excited to see what the future holds for these swimming Hawks.”
High School Sports
Spokane Steelheads 12U baseball team heads to Cooperstown for national tournament
SPOKANE, Wash. — A Spokane youth baseball team is heading to one of the biggest stages in the country this weekend. The Spokane Steelheads 12U team raised enough money to travel to Cooperstown, New York, where they’ll represent Washington state at the Dreams Park Tournament. The Steelheads are the only team from Washington competing in […]


SPOKANE, Wash. — A Spokane youth baseball team is heading to one of the biggest stages in the country this weekend.
The Spokane Steelheads 12U team raised enough money to travel to Cooperstown, New York, where they’ll represent Washington state at the Dreams Park Tournament. The Steelheads are the only team from Washington competing in the event for that specific tournament week.
Steelheads head coach Nick Holmes said the group worked hard to fund the trip, organizing car washes, raffles and other events, while also receiving support from local businesses and families throughout the community.
This team has been together for several years, making this trip to Cooperstown even more special.
“The whole reason we started coaching was to teach the kids about baseball and develop the love of the game that we all had when we were playing,” Holmes said. “We’ve kept pretty much the same team together for around seven years. It’s the same kids — they grew up together, they play together, they’re all friends. They go to school together, have sleepovers, parties, birthdays. It’s crazy, all the stuff that they do. They’re really building these lifelong friendships, and that’s the important thing to me.”
For players like outfielder Brooks Vining, the tournament is about more than just baseball.
“These guys are my brothers. Like, these are my best friends at this point,” Vining said. “Baseball is so much fun because it’s the hardest sport and it’s really mental.”
Third baseman and pitcher Jeyss Morton, one of the newer additions to the team, said it didn’t take long to feel like part of the family.
“I’ve only known them for a couple of months now, and they already seem like family,” Morton said. “It’s super cool. They’re always excited, never down. And in a game when you get down or something, they’re always there for you.”
Utility player Dane Lewis said the group is excited for both the baseball and the cross-country adventure.
“It’s just going to be a blast,” Lewis said. “We’re traveling super far, and it’s going to be a great experience.”
The Steelheads will head to Cooperstown on Saturday and starting Sunday they will compete in skills competitions and a home run derby before playing games all week, joining more than 100 other youth baseball teams from across the country. The team also gets a ticket to go and check out the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
The team is also continuing to raise funds for its 11U squad to make its own Cooperstown trip. More information about how to support the Steelheads is available here.
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