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Mira Costa boys volleyball advances to CIF-SS final with sweep over Corona del Mar

MANHATTAN BEACH — The Mira Costa boys volleyball team had more than just a game and thoughts of a return to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship match on its minds Friday night. The top-seeded Mustangs swept fourth-seeded Corona del Mar 25-13, 25-21, 25-20 to close out Pool A play unbeaten through three matches. […]

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MANHATTAN BEACH — The Mira Costa boys volleyball team had more than just a game and thoughts of a return to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship match on its minds Friday night.

The top-seeded Mustangs swept fourth-seeded Corona del Mar 25-13, 25-21, 25-20 to close out Pool A play unbeaten through three matches.

Mira Costa (32-2) did so in memory of Loyola senior tennis star Braun Levi, who was killed Sunday while on foot when he was struck by a suspected drunk driver.

Before the match, the entire Mira Costa team warmed up in T-shirts with the message “Live Like Braun” on the back that was placed underneath a depiction of the sun that had the Loyola logo at the center.

The reserves donned the shirts throughout the match.

“It was tough because in practice we were a little down, but I think it really motivated us,” Mustangs sophomore Mateo Fuerbringer said. “Braun was a really good kid and everyone’s friend. It really motivated us to come out and play hard and win.

“He always had a smile on his face wherever he was. No matter what the situation was, he always smiled.”

Mira Costa will face second-seeded Huntington Beach, the Pool B winner, in next Friday’s championship match scheduled for 7 p.m. at Cerritos College. Last year, the Mustangs were swept by Loyola in the CIF-SS Division 1 championship match.

Mira Costa is seeking its first CIF-SS title since 2021, and coach Greg Snyder is hoping recent history is on his team’s side as it starts “smelling the finish line.”

The Mustangs avenged a 2019 loss in the finals with a championship in 2021. No champion was crowned in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Oh, it definitely sticks,” Snyder said of last year’s result. “I think whoever loses the CIF finals has a clear advantage in the next one. They just get hungrier.”

Mira Costa got a team-high 10 kills from Karson Knapp to go with nine kills and three service aces from Fuerbringer. Middle blocker Alex Heins chipped in eight kills and three blocks.

The Mustangs overwhelmed the Sea Kings (25-6) from the outset, racing out to a 12-2 advantage in the opening set. The Mustangs had a balanced attack, scoring from both pins and the middle.

The Sea Kings did not settle into a rhythm until they erased an early deficit in the second set.

“‘We’ve been here before,’” CdM coach Katey Thompson said she told her team. “‘We’ve lost in this gym before, that shouldn’t shake us at all.’ So, in that second set we needed to come out and play CdM Sea Kings volleyball. We came out with a little bit more pressure on them, switched our lineup, moved things around, and it gave us a good start in that second set.”

CdM immediately bounced back from a 3-0 hole to start the set and took its first lead of the contest after Hunter Hanneman’s block capped a string of four consecutive points to pull ahead 4-3.

It was the Sea Kings’ third consecutive block of the spurt.

Mira Costa trailed by as many as four but regrouped thanks to a strong serve from Fuerbringer, who had two of his three aces in the set.

Trailing 13-10, Fuerbringer’s pair of serves were part of a 6-1 run to take back control.

CdM tied the set on a pair of occasions, including the last instance at 17-17, but never jumped back in front.

“I feel like we’re kind of finding our grove right now,” Snyder said. “A lot of times we play, like, two good sets and one not quite as sharp. So, every time I see three good sets I’m absolutely fired up and realize the guys are doing in the right direction. It couldn’t be at a better time.”

Snyder and Heins added that part of the major points of emphasis were to take away Sea Kings outside hitter and No. 1 option Ben Brown, who had just one kill in the opening set before finishing with nine and an ace.

In the third set, Mira Costa setter Andrew Chapin continued to spread the wealth.

Leading 14-11, Chapin faked out the CdM block as he sold a swing attempt well before passing off to middle blocker Wyatt Davis in the same motion for the easy kill.

“It makes life a lot easier,” Fuerbringer said of Chapin. “We get 1-on-1s all the time and we have a bunch of great hitters.”

The Sea Kings pulled within 18-17 on Brown’s ace but never made another run to extend the contest.

The match was moved up a day to accommodate the players attending the celebration of life Saturday for Levi.

Snyder said the school put in the request to move up the date with the CIF-SS. Thompson said CdM was notified of the approved change Tuesday night.

Heins said the Mustangs began to grieve together Monday.

“We all just went through a tough time. The best way to come back from that is just try to get things back to normal, just play,” Heins said. “We all love this game, (Levi) loved this game. Just kind of support his memory by playing this game.”



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MacQuiddy Betters Own School 1500m Record In Portland

Steve Pretre Garrett MacQuiddy will attempt to break his third school record next Sunday in Ontario, where he will race in the outdoor mile. T&F6/15/2025 9:28 PM | By: Cal Athletics Golden Bear Graduate Set To Continue Racing This Summer PORTLAND, Ore. – Just four days after an […]

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MacQuiddy Betters Own School 1500m Record In Portland


Steve Pretre

Garrett MacQuiddy will attempt to break his third school record next Sunday in Ontario, where he will race in the outdoor mile.


Golden Bear Graduate Set To Continue Racing This Summer

PORTLAND, Ore. – Just four days after an appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, California track & field’s Garrett MacQuiddy found himself back at a starting line, hoping to put on a career performance at the Portland Track Festival, held at Lewis & Clark’s Griswold Stadium, after missing out on the final two hours south at Hayward Field. Despite the conclusion of the collegiate season, MacQuiddy, a graduate, still has time to race in a collegiate uniform – and have his times count toward the school record books – until the Toyota USA Track & Field Championships on July 31-August 3.
 
In the end, it was a wildly successful effort for the Saratoga native, who posted a time of 3:37.94 on Sunday to take seventh place in the 62-man field and better his own school record by over half a second. MacQuiddy last broke the record in April at the Bryan Clay Invitational with a time of 3:38.50, becoming the first Cal man in history to go sub-3:39 and surpassing the 10-year-old mark set by alumnus Thomas Joyce.
 
MacQuiddy’s next race will be at the Bob Vigars Classic in London, Ont., on June 22, where he will attempt to break Cal’s 16-year-old outdoor mile record of 3:56.18.
 
Two Golden Bears joined MacQuiddy in Portland, but competed unattached. Rising sophomore Sam Franco shaved seven seconds off his 1500m PR to win the men’s open section with a time of 3:47.64, while rising junior Addie Johnson posted a season-best 4:32.49 in the women’s high performance race.
 
 
STAY POSTED

For complete coverage of Cal track & field, follow the Bears on X/Twitter (@CalTFXC), Instagram (@caltfxc) and Facebook (@Cal Cross Country/Track and Field).
 





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Iowa State caps off the 2025 Track and Field season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships – Iowa State Daily

Iowa State concluded its track and field with 11 Cyclone entries in the four-day NCAA Outdoor Championship in Eugene, Oregon. According to Iowa State University Athletics, the 11 entries were split between seven men competing in six events and three women competing in individual events alongside the 4×400 meter relay. Iowa State headed to nationals […]

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Iowa State concluded its track and field with 11 Cyclone entries in the four-day NCAA Outdoor Championship in Eugene, Oregon.

According to Iowa State University Athletics, the 11 entries were split between seven men competing in six events and three women competing in individual events alongside the 4×400 meter relay. Iowa State headed to nationals with five qualifiers ranked in the top 10 seed positions.

Day one

According to the NCAA, on the first day, freshman Joash Ruto cemented first place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase semifinals with a PR time of 8:22.94, earning his way to the national finals on day three. Following Ruto was junior Quinton Orr, who placed 20th with a time of 8:44.02.

Senior Dugion Blackman was up next in the 800-meter semifinals, placing 17th with a time of 1:48.15.

In shot put, senior Cam Jones finished his career at Iowa State, as he placed 18th overall with a throw of 18.62 meters. Jones now totals six career All-American honors while at Iowa State.

Continuing the day, sophomore Mikey McClain placed 21st in the 200 meter semifinals with a sprint of 20.79 seconds.

To finish off the first day of events, junior Rodgers Kiplimo placed fourth overall in the 10,000 meter final with a time of 29:10.89.

Day Two

On day two of the NCAA Championships, three events took place for the Cyclones. With junior Rachel Joseph setting the tone for Iowa State early on, as she placed fifth in the 400 meter semifinals with a sprint of 50.77, which earned her a trip to the finals on day four.

Following Joseph was junior Makayla Clark in the 800 meter semifinals, where Clark placed 23rd overall with a time of 2:28.86.

The women’s 4×400 meter relay finished the Cyclones events on day two, with sophomore Brooklyn Sandvig, freshman Karynne David, Clark and Joseph placing 17th overall with a time of 3:32.58.

Day three

On the third day of the NCAA National Championship, to close off the men’s events, Ruto started the day competing in the 3000 meter steeplechase final. Ruto placed fourth overall with a time of 8:20.47

Finishing the men’s events, Bera competed in the 5000 meter final, where he placed 11th overall with a time of 13:30.52.

Iowa State finished the NCAA Outdoor Championship, with the men securing 30th place with a 10-point finish

Day four

On the final day of the NCAA Championships, Joseph competed in the 400 meter finals, where she secured sixth place overall with a time of 51.36.

According to Iowa State University Athletics, Joseph became the first multi-time outdoor 400 meter All-American in Iowa State women’s history. Alongside becoming the fourth woman to earn First Team honors since 1984.

Junior Maelle Porcher closed out the championship, as she competed in the 5000 meter and placed 12th with a time of 15:41.76.



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Best finish for men’s track and field at the NCAA Championships in decades – The Minnesota Daily

The NCAA Championships ended in Eugene, Oregon at Hayward Field on Saturday, along with the track and field season.  The Gophers men finished seventh, their highest finish since 1948. The Gopher women did not have enough athletes in attendance to place as a team, but they saw good performances from redshirt sophomore Ali Weimer and […]

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The NCAA Championships ended in Eugene, Oregon at Hayward Field on Saturday, along with the track and field season. 

The Gophers men finished seventh, their highest finish since 1948. The Gopher women did not have enough athletes in attendance to place as a team, but they saw good performances from redshirt sophomore Ali Weimer and graduate student Dyandra Gray.

Weimer became the first female Gopher runner to run the 10K in under 33 minutes. Her performance at the NCAA Championships broke her own school record that she set back in February. 

Earlier in the season, after Weimer set her first school record, she mentioned how special it was to her.

“The school record is kind of life-changing in its own way just because we’ve had so many great women come through our program,” Weimer said. “To be able to compete with those names and represent yourself in a way too.”

Gray placed 22nd in the 400 meter hurdles to end her career with the Gophers, but earned her first-ever All-American finish in her career. She is only the third from the Gophers women’s track and field team to do so in the 400 meter hurdles.

The men’s track and field team earned the most points from Greek hammer throwers graduate student Kostas Zaltos and sophomore Angelos Mantzouranis.

The two hammer throwers once again had a 1-2 finish. Zaltos took first, with his first and last NCAA gold medal. 

In an interview with KSTP before the championships, Zaltos said that he was not too worried about the competition at the NCAA Championships.

“The results are talking by themselves,” Zaltos said. “We are already doing the best.”

After Zaltos claimed the gold medal, he reaffirmed what he already knew to be true.

“Today I had the best series of my career,” Zaltos said. “I’ll take that. I am excited for the future. (Angelos and I) are the best duo of all-time in NCAA history. We are very excited about that.”

Zaltos threw a lifetime best at his final meet with the Gophers at 78.08 meters. 

Mantzouranis said in an interview after his performance that he felt like it was not his day, after throwing 77.96 meters and winning silver, only 0.65 meters shorter than his personal best.

Other notable performances came from sophomore Charles Godfred, who placed fourth in the long jump, and the 4×100-meter relay team, which earned seventh place, as well as first-team All-American honors.

The Big Ten champion relay team was able to finish a program-best seventh, even with an injury to senior Devin Augustine in the last stretch of the race, which forced him to slow down.



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Ichika Kajimoto untouched in 3k knockout sprints in Setúbal

Japan’s Ichika Kajimoto successfully bided her time in winning the women’s 3k knockout sprint event on the last day of the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup stop in Setúbal, Portugal. Kajimoto paced herself to perfection, winning the 1500m and 1000m rounds, before out-sprinting the likes of open water veterans Caroline Jouisse and Lea […]

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Japan’s Ichika Kajimoto successfully bided her time in winning the women’s 3k knockout sprint event on the last day of the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup stop in Setúbal, Portugal.

Kajimoto paced herself to perfection, winning the 1500m and 1000m rounds, before out-sprinting the likes of open water veterans Caroline Jouisse and Lea Boy. Kajimoto swam 6:41.60 to win the last 500m ahead of France’s Jouisse (6:43.50) and Germany’s Boy (6:44.40).

“I’m happy and it was an exciting race”

By Ichika Kajimoto

Kajimoto was the national champion in the 400m, 800m, and 1500m freestyle earlier this year at the Japan National Championships and has never won a medal at a global event. Kajimoto has competed at the World Juniors in 2022 as well as the World Aquatics Championships in Doha 2024, but this is just her third appearance at the World Cup.

Boy, the winner from Ibiza, tried to control the pace in the final, replicating her strategy from the last World Cup, but Kajimoto was not having it, perfecting her line and each turn. Although the conditions were a bit more wavy than the men’s race, Kajimoto’s smooth and controlled stroke played to her advantage.

“Yeah, it’s a nice new format,” Boy said. “We like to swim it this way and not only 10k round for round, for round. It’s a little bit more special.

“The course here is a little bit different to the other site. We don’t have very (many) waves this time, so it was very nice. And the sun was out, so the water was cold, but with the sun it’s okay.”

The temperature of the water was up to 20 degrees Celsius during the women’s race as opposed to the 18.5 it was for the men. Even with a later start time than usual of 2:00 p.m. the water was a bit chilly, favouring the swimmers with more short-hand speed.

Boy and Kajimoto shared the podium in Ibiza in April, with the German winning and the Japanese in third.

Jouisse, the bronze medallist from the 10k yesterday, upgraded to silver today, her first of such colour individually at the World Cup.


Image Source: Caroline Jouisse, left, and Lea Boy, right, joined gold medallist Ichika Kajimoto, centre, on the podium (World Aquatics)

“I’m really happy about the ten kilometres and I always want to perform in the ten kilometre because that’s the Olympic event,” Jouisse said. “So, that’s my main focus. The three kilometre is new, so I’m discovering it every time and I try a new strategy every time. So, it didn’t work out in Ibiza, it worked out in the national and it worked out today as well. So, I’m kind of glad because every time I did something different.”

Rising American star Brinkleigh Hansen (6:47.00) just missed the podium in fourth, and she will be making her senior international debut this summer at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore at age 15. Since 2001, the United States has always had a breakout high school girl on the Worlds team the year after the Olympics, and Hansen appears to be the next one after she was world junior champion last year in the 5k at age 14.

Monaco’s Lisa Pou (6:49.10) also competed in the final in fifth, ahead of China’s Tian Muran (6:51.90) and Great Britain’s Ella Dyson (6:52.80).

Japan’s Airi Ebina (6:53.90), Spain’s Angela Martinez Guillen (6:54.00 and Portugal’s Mafalda Rosa (7:05.20) also competed in the final.


Image Source: The Women’s 3km Knockout Sprint concluded the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup in Setúbal (World Aquatics)

The attention now shifts to the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on July 15 with the women’s 10K.

“Training, training, training,” Boy said of what is next before the World Championships. “We stay at home and go six days before the first race to Singapore, and now it’s just time for training.”

The final World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup race will be in Golfo Aranci, Italy, on October 10 & 11.

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Texas A&M track and field wins the Outdoor National Championship

Texas A&M returned for the 17th time to the iconic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, for the annual NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships from June 11-14. Heading into the final competition of the season, both the men’s and women’s teams were ranked No. 2 by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Association […]

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Texas A&M returned for the 17th time to the iconic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, for the annual NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships from June 11-14.

Heading into the final competition of the season, both the men’s and women’s teams were ranked No. 2 by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Association Poll. Combined, the teams competed with 22 athletes across 24 events at the championships and walked away with three gold, three silver and two bronze medals.

In a thrilling final men’s 4x400m relay to close out the men’s side of the competition, senior Hossam Hatib, senior Cutler Zamzow, senior Kimar Farquharson and anchor runner redshirt senior Auhmad Robinson sealed the deal for the Aggies with a season-best 3:00.73 mark for the silver medal. The men tallied up 41 points to tie for the NCAA Outdoor Championship with University of Southern California, the win they’ve been searching for since tying for the championship with the University of Florida twelve years ago.

The women’s final rankings also came down to the women’s 4x400m relay, behind seniors Kennedy Wade, Camryn Dickson, Jasmine Montgomery and Jaydan Wood who snatched the final five points for A&M with a season-best 3:27.11 time and a fourth place finish. The team earned first team All-America honors, and helped the entire women’s team to a 43-point total and a third overall final rank in the national championship.

The first Aggie to earn points for the men was junior Alexsandr Solovev, the nation’s top collegiate pole vaulter. Solovev struck gold in the men’s pole vault final, clearing a school record and personal-best 5.78 meters on his third and final attempt at the staggering height. With a new collegiate-leading mark, Solovev added 10 points to the team tally and a first team All-America honor to his resume. 

Senior Sam Whitmarsh completed his collegiate career on a high, earning the second gold for the Aggies in the men’s 800m final. Whitmarsh finished in 1:45.86 seconds, earning his second first team All-America honor of his career.

Junior Winny Bii was crowned with her gold medal in the women’s triple jump, leaping 13.96 meters to earn first team All-America honors. Bii had a very consistent season, earning silver at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships, fourth at NCAA Indoor Championships, and gold at the SEC Indoor Championships to cap her junior season.

The 400m hurdle duo of seniors Ja’Qualon Scott and Bryce McCray earned 11 valuable points in their event final. Scott crossed the finish line in a personal-best 48.29 seconds, earning a silver medal and a first team All-America honors. McCray finished sixth overall with a personal-best 49.52 mark, earning three points for the team and first team All-America honors.

Junior Jaiya Covington finished in the national runner-up spot in the women’s 100m hurdles, grabbing a silver medal with a 12.93 mark and a first team All-America honor.

The bronze medal count was added to by the women’s 4x100m relay team consisting of sophomore Jasmine Harmon, Dickson, senior Bria Bullard and Montgomery. The team ended their season on a high with a season-best 42.89 mark and first team All-America honors.

Freshman Sofia Yakushina — the current NCAA No. 1 in women’s heptathlon — landed on the national podium with a bronze medal to complete her freshman season. Yakushina started strong in the 100m hurdles, placing fourth overall in 13.53 seconds. She finished eighth overall with a 1.69-meter jump in high jump, 19th overall with an 11.46-meter throw in shot put and fourth overall with a 24.02 mark in the 200m to finish the first day of competition ranked eighth overall with 3,492 points. 

Yakushina fought back on the final day winning her first event, leaping a personal-best 6.47 meters for 997 points in the long jump. She finished ninth overall in both the javelin throw and 800m with a throw of 40.38 meters and a time of 2:14.93 seconds to secure her podium finish. The freshman walked away from her first NCAA Outdoor National Championship with some new hardware, a first team All-America honor and a 6,058 point performance.

The final first team All-America honor for the men’s team was awarded to Robinson, who finished seventh overall in the men’s 400m final in 46.07 seconds. 

A school record was broken again over the week by freshman Debora Cherono in the women’s 3000m steeplechase. The newly minted first team All-American ended her first collegiate season with a personal-best 9:32.10 in the final, taking down her previous school record from the semifinals a mere two days before.

The last women’s first team All-America honor was awarded to Montgomery in the 200m final, finishing in fifth overall in 22.61 seconds..

As the sun set on Hayward Field, it marked the end of the 2024-25 NCAA D1 Track and Field season, and a remarkable result for Texas A&M. Cross country will hit the ground running in the fall and track and field will return in January 2026.



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Treasure State track and field athletes exit NCAA Nationals with honors

EUGENE, OR — Eight athletes represented Montana at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Eugene, Oregon with seven for Montana State University and three from the Treasure State. After back-to-back seasons exiting Eugene in the semifinals and with Second-Team All-American honors, MSU’s Rob McManus made his first finals appearance in his third […]

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Eight athletes represented Montana at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Eugene, Oregon with seven for Montana State University and three from the Treasure State.

After back-to-back seasons exiting Eugene in the semifinals and with Second-Team All-American honors, MSU’s Rob McManus made his first finals appearance in his third trip to nationals for the men’s 3000m steeplechase.

McManus joins former Bobcat and Bozeman native Duncan Hamilton as First Team All-Americans in the steeplechase. The senior finished in eighth place with a time of 8:25.83.

Harvey Cramb competed in the men’s 1500m. The Australian sophomore finished in 12th in semifinal heat, 17th overall with a time of 3:44.57 and earned Honorable Mention All-American honors.

Montana State women made program debuts in two events.

Junior Hailey Coey became the first-ever Bobcat to compete in the long jump at nationals. The Billings West product took 20th place with a leap of 6 meters (19 feet, 8.25 inches) and earned Honorable Mention All-American honors.

MSU also sent its first-ever relay team to Eugene to compete in the 4x400m relay. The team of junior Peyton Garrison, junior Caroline Hawkes, freshman and Corvallis native Olivia Lewis, and Italian junior Giulia Gandolfi finished in seventh in their semifinal heat, 21st overall with a time of 3:36.70.

Each of the four Bobcats earned Honorable Mention All-American honors.

Seeley-Swan alum Klaire Kovatch made her nationals debut for Colorado State University in women’s discus. The redshirt junior did not record a mark with fouls on all three attempts, but Kovatch exits her time in Eugene with Honorable Mention All-American honors.



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