Sports
Milford, Massachusetts high school student detained by ICE was “targeted,” girlfriend says
Marcelo Gomes, a Massachusetts high school student who was suddenly detained on his way to volleyball practice over the weekend, was still being held by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Monday.
Gomes, an 18-year-old junior at Milford High School, was one of four volleyball players on their way to practice Saturday morning when three unmarked vehicles pulled up behind them. One of the students in the car told WBZ-TV that’s when an ICE agent knocked on the window.
Gomes family photo
“They asked him what his documentation was,” said the student, who did not want to be identified because he is also undocumented. The agent questioned everyone in the car and Gomes was taken into custody, separating him from his friends and family. The student who spoke to WBZ said he was not detained because he is underage.
“He’s been here 13 years”
“He’s been here for 13 years. This is all he knows. Milford and Massachusetts is all he knows,” said Gomes’s cousin Ana Julia Araujo.
“It’s kind of heart-breaking. Marcelo is such a kind person and he’s the last person that this should be happening to, I guess. His siblings are so young and they’re asking questions like, whether they’re ever going to see him again,” Araujo said.
She said he was supposed to play the drums at Milford High School’s graduation Sunday. Instead, the community held a rally for him at town hall. That brought Araujo hope.
“It makes me really happy, because I don’t think the community would come together like this for any other person. It shows how special he is,” she said.
Held at ICE detention center in Burlington
Araujo said Gomes was able to call his parents and that he’s currently being held at an ICE detention center in Burlington.
There has been no comment from ICE about the Gomes case. U.S. Attorney Leah Foley will have a news conference with the agency Monday at 11:30 a.m. in Boston to discuss the immigration enforcement surge in Massachusetts.
Milford Police Chief Robert Dusino said his department didn’t learn about Gomes’s detention until after it happened.
“We want an open dialogue with the federal government about who’s getting detained, why they’re getting detained. We don’t want people just coming into town and being detained or arrested solely because they’re here illegally,” he told reporters.
“He was targeted”
“Marcelo was a good kid. He was excited for his future. He did absolutely nothing wrong. He was innocently going to a practice and he was targeted,” said Gomes’s girlfriend, Julianys Rentas, who graduated from Milford High School on Sunday.
She said many students are living in fear of ICE.
“There’s no patterns, so no one knows who’s next,” Rentas said.
Cherie Peterson, who taught English to Gomes, said students “deserve to feel safe.”
“I can’t image how scared he is. He doesn’t know how to navigate this system. I wouldn’t know how to navigate this system,” she said.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said she wants ICE to provide “immediate information about why he was arrested, where he is and how his due process is being protected.”
Sports
Louisell Named AVCA All-American – James Madison University Athletics
Louisell’s selection marks the fourth for a JMU player in program history and first since Sophie Davis was also named an honorable mention selection following the 2023 season.
The outside hitter and 2025 Sun Belt Player of the Year joins Davis (2023), M’Kaela White (2018), and Janey Goodman (2016) as players to be honored by the AVCA. Louisell was the only Sun Belt player to be named an All-American.
Louisell finished the 2025 season with 605 kills, the most for a JMU player in the Division I era (1986-present). The outside hitter also set a record with her average of 4.80 kills per set, with her kill and kills per set marks both ranking among the nation’s best.
The native of Grand Rapids, Mich., had double-digit kills in all 31 matches, including 12 with 20 or more kills and two with 30 or more.
Against Georgia State on Oct. 4, Louisell finished with 37 kills, breaking the program single-match record which had stood for over 40 years. Three weeks later against Georgia Southern, she broke her own record, finishing with 38 kills and 20 digs in a five-set win over the Eagles.
She remains the only player in the sport with at least 35 kills and 20 digs in the same match this season.
Sports
No. 3 Volleyball Faces No. 1 Pittsburgh in Final Four – Texas A&M Athletics
The Aggies punched their first ticket to the national semifinals following a pair of five set victories at the Lincoln Regional. They faced No. 2 seed Louisville in the Sweet 16, reverse sweeping the Cardinals to secure the program’s third Elite Eight berth. They followed that up the next day handing the undefeated No. 1 overall seed Nebraska Cornhuskers their first loss of the season and first home loss since 2022 to go further than any team in Texas A&M history had gone.
In the opening contest of the regional the Aggies embodied their team saying, ‘grit’, as they came back from a two-set deficit to defeat Louisville. Ifenna Cos-Okpalla set the tone for the weekend, blocking a program postseason record 12 swings in the match. Offensively, three Aggies hit double-digit kills paced by Logan Lednicky’s 20 and followed by Kyndal Stowers and Emily Hellmuth who added 17 and 12, respectively.
Following that up two days later, the Maroon & White took down the top-ranked Cornhuskers marking the second time in program history they had defeated the nation’s best and first time in 30 years. In what was an instant classic, Texas A&M secured the victory thanks to a complete team performance which included team postseason records in kills (75), blocks (17) and aces (9).
The Matchup
Thursday’s matchup versus Pittsburgh will be the seventh all-time meeting between the programs. The Panthers hold an advantage in the series at 4-2, but that margin shrink by one when they face off on a neutral court to 3-2. Pittsburgh claimed the most recent matchup between the teams, winning in three sets in 2022.
Texas A&M holds the slight advantage in games played on a neutral court this year at 4-1 compared to the Panthers’ 3-1. When playing away from in totality the Aggies boast a 16-3 record, while Pittsburgh is 13-4.
Looking at the stat sheet, the Maroon & White lead Pittsburgh in three of the seven team statistical categories including kills per set, assists per set and digs per set, while the Panthers leads in hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, aces per set and blocks per set.
Tracks and Trends
Logan Lednicky has recorded double-digit kills in her last 21 matches and passed Hollann Hans for the rally-scoring kills record and ranks third overall in career kills at Texas A&M.
Ifenna Cos-Okpalla has logged five or more blocks in her last five games and is six blocks away from tying the program record for career blocks of 562. She is also one block from the single season record.
The Aggies have recorded 10 or more blocks as a team in five-consecutive games.
Streaming & Stats
Fans can watch the match on the ESPN and follow stats on 12thman.com.
Follow the Aggies
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter by following @AggieVolleyball.
Sports
No. 3 Volleyball earns three AVCA All-America honors
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 3 Texas Volleyball saw three athletes earn All-America honors on Wednesday, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced.
Junior outside hitter Torrey Stafford was named a First Team All-American for the second-straight season, first with Texas. Stafford led the Longhorns this season in kills (516), service aces (33) and points (580.5). After 30 matches, Stafford averaged 4.69 kills per set and hit for .360. On top of her offense, the AVCA National Player of the Year semifinalist added 52 blocks and a team-leading 11 solo blocks.
Her 516 kills in her first year as a Longhorn is the sixth-most in a single season in UT history, while her 4.69 kills per set ranks eighth. Stafford later climbed to No. 5 on the Individual Match Records list with 32 kills.
Freshman Cari Spears was named a Third Team All-American after starting all 30 matches as a rightside. The Frisco, Texas native was named the SEC Freshman of the Week five times, was a two-time SEC player of the Week and AVCA Player of the Week once. It was the first time in two years a freshman earned the weekly honor. Spears ended the year with the second-most kills on the team (358) and combined for 3.25 kills per set and hit .295.
Senior libero Emma Halter earned Honorable Mention in her final year as a Longhorn. Halter ended the season with 396 digs, 167 assists and 24 service aces. In four years, Halter totaled 1,307 digs – the eighth-most in Texas history for an individual’s career. She also broke the Texas record in digs in a three-set match against Florida A&M with 25.
Wednesday’s honors gave the Longhorns their 62nd All-American and 115th honor.
Sports
Four Members of Pack Volleyball Earn Academic All-District Honors
The award recognizes student-athletes for their performance in the classroom in addition to on the court. To qualify, one must have a grade point average of 3.5 and be at least a sophomore both academically and athletically.
Lily Cropper, Sydney Daniels, and Elaisa Villar earn the honor for the first time in their career while Courtney Bryant earns it for the second year in a row.
Bryant is the first student-athlete to earn the honor consecutively since Brie Merriweather did so in 2012 and 2013.
Cropper, Villar and Byrant appeared in all al 30 matches for the Wolfpack this season, while stuffing the stat sheet for their respective positions.
Daniels also appeared in all 30 matches for the Pack as a defensive specialist and wore the libero jersey for eight of those matches.
Sports
Catherine Burke Brings Depth at Middle Blocker for Demon Deacons Volleyball
Burke will join the Demon Deacons’ roster for the 2026-27 school year with one final season of eligibility remaining.
Catherine Burke | 6-3 | Middle Blocker | Glenview, Ill. | Penn State
Competing as a middle blocker, Burke comes to DEACTOWN from Penn State, where she spent the last three years. In 2024, she was a member of the Nittany Lions’ national championship roster while also landing a spot on the Academic All-Big Ten Team. An Illinois native, Burke ranked as the No. 86 recruit overall and No. 4 in the state by PrepDig.com as a four-year standout at Loyola Academy. Within club volleyball, she played multiple years with both Wildcat Juniors and Adversity VBC.
Personal
Catherine is the daughter of Jim and Erin Burke, as her father, Jim, played lacrosse at Colby College. She has one older brother, Jack, who played hockey at Navy, one older sister Annabelle, who played lacrosse at Michigan, and three younger sisters: Emma, Nora, and Lily.
From Coach Hulsmeyer
“I’m very excited about the addition of Catherine to our program. She has consistently performed at the highest level against the best players in the country. It is all those players like her who work behind the scenes that create championships as it did for Penn State. A special thanks to Tina Readling on our staff, who was able to see the contributions Catherine made and what she brings to Wake Forest as a graduate student.”
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
Sports
Baylor’s Ezekiel one of three finalists for The Bowerman
GRAPEVINE, Texas – Baylor’s first-ever finalist for college track & field’s most prestigious honor, reigning NCAA outdoor 400-meter hurdles champion Nathaniel Ezekiel will join the two other male finalists and three female semifinalists for The Bowerman Presentation on Thursday at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center.
Hosted by ESPN broadcaster and former University of Indiana runner Larra Overton, The Bowerman Presentation will be streamed live by RunnerSpace beginning at 6:30 p.m. with the red-carpet entrance to the Grapevine Ballroom. The Bowerman is given annually to the top collegiate track and field men’s and women’s athlete of the year.
A nine-time All-American and six-time Big 12 champion, Ezekiel capped off his collegiate career by winning the NCAA outdoor 400-meter hurdles title with a school-record time of 47.49. He also broke the school indoor mark in the 400 meters (44.74), winning the silver medal at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Ezekiel, who represented his native Nigeria at the 2024 Olympics in the 400 hurdles, turned pro this summer and finished fourth at the World Track and Field Championships with a Nigerian-record time of 47.11.
The other male finalists are Ja’Kobe Tharp from Auburn, who won NCAA championships in the indoor 60-meter hurdles and outdoor 110-meter hurdles; and Arkansas sprinter Jordan Anthony, who swept NCAA titles in the indoor 60 meters and outdoor 100 meters.
On the women’s side, the finalists are distance runner Pamela Kosgei from New Mexico, 3,000-meter steeplechaser Doris Lemngole from Alabama and 400-meter hurdler Savannah Sutherland from Michigan. Five of the six schools have finalists for the first time in their programs’ history.
Last year’s winners were University of Texas decathlete Leo Neugebauer and record-setting distance runner Parker Valby from Florida.
The RunnerSpace live stream is available at: https://the-bowerman-presentation.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=14920&do=videos&video_id=436664
For the latest news on the Baylor track and field team all year long, follow its official Facebook, X and Instagram accounts: @BaylorTrack.
– BaylorBears.com-
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