Chris Duerr joined the Muddy River Sports staff in August 2025 as sports director, following a distinguished 30-year career as the sports director at KHQA-TV. A native of Sacramento, Calif., and a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Duerr developed a strong fanbase with his tireless work ethic, personable delivery and weekly interactions through social media, including his “Duerrisms” column. He received the IHSA Distinguished Media Service Award in 2018. Duerr was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2019 and the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2021.

It’s been another banner season for the Ferris State football team, and the university is ready to celebrate it, along with the success of its volleyball program.

Ferris State President Bill Pink declared Monday “Bulldog Spirit Day,” with the university in Big Rapids hosting a “high-energy event” at the David L. Eisler Center, 805 Campus Drive, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The community is invited to join university employees and students in the celebration.

The Bulldogs’ football team won its fourth Division II national championship in five seasons last month, defeating Harding, 42-21, in McKinney, Texas. The national title was the exclamation point on 16-0 season in which the Bulldogs averaged a whopping 52.8 points per game and set a program record for victories in a season.

HOUGHTON — Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball coach Cindy Pindral announced six incoming freshmen to the team for the 2026 season. They are outside hitter Reagan Lesley, middle blocker Laney Knaack, setter Ella Maxwell, outside hitter Kayla Heinonen, defensive specialist Natalie Leach, and outside hitter Mia Hahn. They have all committed to continuing their education and playing careers at Michigan Tech in the fall.

“This is a very exciting and dynamic signing class that will bring a lot of energy and skill to our roster,” Pindral said. “Each of these student-athletes have earned high accolades during their prep careers, and I have no doubt that they will each leave a positive mark on our program.”

Reagan Lesley

Reagan is a 5-foot-10 outside hitter from Clinton Township, Michigan. She was a four-year starter on varsity and two-time captain for Chippewa Valley High School, where she led the Big Reds to three consecutive conference championships. She was the 2024 MVP/Player of the Year for her conference. Reagan was a three-year All-Conference First Team selection, a two-time First Team All-County, and a four-year All-State Academic Student.

In her senior season, Reagan was named All-Region and broke Chippewa Valley’s 29-year-old kills record with over 1,400 kills and led her team to its first district championship since 2014. She played club for both Michigan Elite and Unified.

Reagan will be pursuing a degree in business.

Laney Knaack

Laney is a 6-0 middle blocker from Waunakee, Wisconsin. She has been the starting middle for Waunakee High School varsity, as well as for Sting United and Madtown 18-1s national club teams. During her senior season, Waunakee was ranked fourth in the state in Division 1, went 41-9-0 overall, and made it to the Wisconsin State semifinals. Waunakee also won its conference in her junior and senior years.

In her senior season, Laney earned Honorable Mention All-State Badger-Large Conference, Second Team All-Conference, ranked second in the conference in hitting percentage, and fourth in blocks.

Laney will be pursuing a degree in business.

Ella Maxwell

Ella is a 5-8 left-handed setter from North Aurora, Illinois. She was a three-year starter for West Aurora High School and the captain of the team in her senior year. She received Upstate Eight Conference Player of the Year honors in 2025 and was a three-time All-Academic Varsity Scholar. Ella led her team to a Conference Championship in 2024 and a runner-up finish in 2025, which marked the first time the school advanced past the first round of regionals in 2019. Ella hit the 1,000-career assist mark in her senior season with 600 assists as her season total.

She also played for Club Fusion Volleyball Club for six years and was a JVA-Watchlist member in her junior year. Additionally, Ella was a State Qualifier in track and field for the 4×400 relay in 2023 and 2024. She earned All-Conference and All-Academic honors in track and field in 2023 and 2024.

Ella will be pursuing a degree in business at Tech.

Kayla Heinonen

Kayla is a 5-8 outside hitter from Delano, Minnesota. She was a four-year varsity player for Delano High School and attended the Minnesota State Tournament in two of the four years. She was voted All-Conference and won the team’s Leadership Award in each of the last three seasons.

In her senior season, Heinonen held Delano’s highest hitting percentage and earned an All-Tournament team spot at the AAA Showcase Tournament. She plays for Crossfire Volleyball Club at the Elite level. Kayla also had three state appearances for Delano track and field.

She will be pursuing a degree in either business or kinesiology/integrative physiology.

Natalie Leach

Natalie is a 5-5 defensive specialist from Burlington, Wisconsin, where she was a three-year letter winner for Burlington High School and played club for VC United. Natalie helped lead her team to Conference Championships in the 2023 and 2025 seasons and was a State Qualifier in WIAA Division 1 in her 2023 season.

She was named team captain in her senior season and led the Demons with 4.2 digs per set, and earned First Team All-County and Honorable Mention All-State recognition. Natalie was named to the WVCA All-Academic Team in all three eligible seasons and named First Team Best and Brightest by AVCA for her senior season.

She plans to major in engineering.

Mia Hahn

Mia is a 5-11 outside hitter from Fairbanks, Alaska, where she was a two-year letter winner for Lathrop High School. Mia was named MVP and First Team Middle Alaska Conference All-Conference while helping her team to a 4A State Tournament Quarterfinal appearance in the 2025 season. She led the conference in kills and earned multiple All-Tournament awards, including Best Attacker at the Whaler Invitation in Barrow, Alaska.

Mia competes with Alaska Elevate Volleyball Club and was recently selected as one of the top 12 players in the state of Alaska to represent the Alaska U.S. Team at the 2026 Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse, Yukon, where she will compete against Canadian provincial teams and international programs, including Norway and Finland. Prior to Lathrop, Mia competed for Kaiserslautern High School (Germany) and earned All-Euros Tournament Team honors as a sophomore.

She plans to major in business while at Tech.

Lynchburg, Va. – Following a month-long hiatus over winter break, the University of Lynchburg indoor track & field teams return to the oval on Friday, Jan. 9 to host the Burg Open at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex.

Field events will begin at 10:00 a.m. with the women’s weight throw, while running events begin at 11:00 a.m. with the women’s 60-meter hurdle prelims. The 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles will feature prelims and finals, while every other event will move straight to finals.

Meet History

The 2025-2026 season marks Lynchburg’s third year holding the event, though Friday signifies the first home meet for Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Mario Wilson.

At last season’s competition, first-year athletes claimed victories in 10 of the 15 individual track events. In the meet’s debut in 2024, Lynchburg created a memorable men’s 3,000m event that saw 13 Hornets claim personal bests in one race.

The Burg Open is the Hornets’ second of four meets at the indoor facility this season, as Lynchburg plans to compete at the Brant Tolsma Invitational and Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational. Lynchburg traveled across town to Liberty to open the season on Thursday, Dec. 4 and Friday, Dec. 5 at the Liberty Kickoff. 

Early-Season Success

In the team’s opening meets, several Hornets inched closer to posting program-record marks to begin the season. Rylee Turner clocked 26.00 in the 200-meter dash to trail Aniya Seward’s school record by four hundredths of a second, while thrower Kenzie Swicegood moved within two feet of the women’s weight throw record with a 55′ 1″ (16.79m) toss.

On the men’s side, Micah Leech collected 4,999 points in the men’s heptathlon to post a personal best and improve his second-place standing on the all-time list.

Lynchburg will compete each weekend until the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday, Feb. 28 and Sunday, March 1.

Live Results

To access live splits, meet information and performance lists from the 2026 Burg Open, click here.

The meet will be live-streamed on the Lynchburg Hornets Sports Network.

Visit Lynchburg athletics’ home online, LynchburgSports.com, anytime for up-to-the-minute news on all Hornets sports and coverage from the Lynchburg Hornets Sports Network.

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–LYN–

From the sand to the big screen! Grab the popcorn Cal Poly beach volleyball is coming to a movie theater near you.
 
On Monday, January 12 the documentary “Kicking Up Sand” will premiere at the Fremont Theater in downtown San Luis Obispo.

The documentary, produced by Cal Poly supporter Jon Hastings, is a behind the scenes look at the Mustangs’ 2025 season following them from preseason through the NCAA Championship.

There will be a red carpet at Fremont Theater with players and coaches starting at 5 p.m.

Then at 6:30 p.m. there will be a Q&A session with the coaches and players. That will be followed by the premiere of the documentary at 7 p.m.
 
You can purchase tickets at the Fremont Theater or on their website: https://www.fremontslo.com/events/kicking-up-sand-cal-poly-beach-volleyball-film-premiere/
 
Last season, the Mustangs finished with a 31-8 record, a run to the Final Four, and a final ranking of fourth in the country.