EUGENE, Ore. — Buoyed by top performances in the hammer throw, high jump and 400 meters, the Georgia women’s track and field squad distanced itself from the opposition and cruised to its first outdoor national championship Saturday.

Georgia lapped the field with 73 points ahead of runner-up USC (47) and third-place Texas A&M (43). Fourth-year Bulldogs coach Caryl Smith Gilbert won national titles at USC in 2018 and 2021.

Olympic gold medalist Aaliyah Butler and Dejanea Oakley took the first two spots in the 400 meters with Butler posting a 49.26 and Oakley a 49.65. Butler’s time was the fifth-best all time for a collegian, and Oakley’s was eighth.

The Bulldogs expanded their lead when Elena Kulichenko won the high jump after tying for the title last year. The Odessa, Russia, native won with a jump of 6 feet, 5 inches.

Michelle Smith, a freshman, finished third in the 400-meter hurdles at 55.20 to clinch the team title. Skylynn Townsend took sixth in the triple jump at 44-4¼.

Georgia ended the night by finishing first in the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 3:23.62 as Butler took the lead in the final leg.

The Bulldogs entered competition Saturday in the lead with 26 points after Stephanie Ratcliffe won the hammer throw Thursday with a nation-leading distance of 234 feet, 2 inches.

Washington and USC shared the lead earlier Saturday night after Washington’s Sophie O’Sullivan won the 1,500 meters and USC’s Samirah Moody won the 100, but Georgia got 18 points from Butler and Oakley and never looked back.

Georgia also got points in the javelin with a second-place finish from freshman Manuela Rotundo and a fourth-place finish from Lianna Davidson. Senior Keslie Murrell-Ross finished sixth in the shot put.

EUGENE, Ore. — FIU track and field’s Michaelle Valentin, competing in discus, earned the fifth All-American honor of her career as the Panthers wrapped up their week at the 2025 NCAA Championships, hosted by Oregon. 

Valentin closed her illustrious FIU career in style with her first-ever First Team honor, placing 8th-nationally in the women’s discus final. She is the first Panther to earn First Team All-America honors since Rhema Otabor finished fourth in the javelin in 2022. 

Valentin’s throw of 59.67 meters was the second-best in her flight and seventh-best in the opening round, qualifying her for the finals. The Haitian-national caps her FIU tenure with three outdoor All-American awards in Discus, adding the First Team accolades in 2025 to Second Team recognition in both 2023 and 2024. She was also an Outdoor Second Team honoree in the Hammer in 2024 and Indoor Second Team member in the weight throw this season. 

Arndis Oskarsdottir also competed for the Panthers at the NCAA Championships, participating in the women’s javelin final on Thursday. The freshman placed 19th with a throw of 49.96 meters, earning honorable mention All-America status. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIUTrackXC on Twitter, @FIUTrackXC on Instagram and @FIUTrackXC on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.

The spring sports season has come to an end for El Camino College. Here are the results of the Warriors’ teams.

Softball

The Warriors women’s softball team was the brightest spot out of all Warriors sports, finishing with an overall record of 39-9. At home, they protected their field with a record of 19-4.

They made it past the 3C2A SoCal Regionals before losing their last game in the 3C2A State Championships to the Palomar College Vikings 4-1, finishing in fourth place in the tournament.

Softball coach Jessica Rapoza earned her 300th win with the Warriors.

Pitcher Lexi Ramirez had a breakout year, earning numerous accolades.

Ramirez was named the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association Cal-JC Pitcher of the Year and received the 2025 NFCA Cal-JC Rawlings Gold Glove Award.

Ramirez became the first Warriors player to ever be named the NFCA Pitcher of the Year and the second player to earn a Gold Glove award.

She also was part of the 2025 National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Team, was named the South Coast Conference Co-Pitcher of the year, and was selected to the All-SCC First Team.

Sophomores Ramirez, Cheyenne Navarro and freshman Savanna Kastigar were all named to the 2025 National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Team.

Baseball

The Warriors men’s baseball team finished with a record of 32-14 overall and a dominant 17-4 record at home.

They made it to the 3C2A SoCal Super Regionals before losing to the Glendale College Vaqueros 17-6.

Cameron O’Neil, Dylan Mares, Lucas Bonham and Slater Nunez were all named to the All-SCC First Team.

Matt Hammond and Tyler Tellenbach earned spots on the All-SCC Second Team.

Golf

The Warriors golf team finished their last game coming in ninth place in the OEC Conference Finals.

Freshman Aden Henry finished his season Monday, May 5, in the 3C2A Southern California Regionals hosted by Cypress College at the Los Serranos Country Club in Chino Hills.

Henry shot an 8-over 152 in 36 holes as he matched his career best round of 73 in round two. He came up just three strokes shy of qualifying for the 3C2A State Championships as an individual.

Tennis

The Warriors men’s tennis team and the women’s tennis team both made runs in the playoffs.

Women’s tennis made it all the way to the 3C2A State Championships but came up short.

The Warriors trio of Jhanine Estigoy, Robyn Wong and Karen Canela saw their seasons come to an end Thursday, April 24 on day one of the 3C2A State Championships.

In singles action, Estigoy fell 6-1, 6-3 to Victoria Silva of Solano College in the round of 128.

Wong went up against Maria Etrata of Porterville College and took an early lead as she won the opening set 6-4. But Etrata would take the next two sets 6-4, 6-2 to advance and bring Wong’s season to an end.

In doubles action, Estigoy and Canela came very close to advancing to the round of 64 as they played a tight contest against Cierra Ramirez and Josefina Aguilar of Reedley College.

Men’s Volleyball

The Warriors men’s volleyball team finished with a record of 5-17, losing their last game to Long Beach City College 3-0. The team has won five games or less for the past three seasons.

Badminton

The Warriors women’s badminton team ended their spring season with a record of 3-6-1. Their last season game ended in a draw 9-9 against San Diego City College.

Doubles duo Anya Gore and Montila Winyaworapon won the 3C2A State Championships consolation title Saturday, May 10, at City College of San Francisco.

Women’s Beach volleyball

The Warriors women’s beach volleyball team finished with a record of 11-11, shutting out College of the Desert in their last game 5-0.

Scheala Nielsen and Erica Griffiths lost in the 16th round of the 3C2A Pairs State Championships to duo pairs Shai Daniels and Viola Barrios of Ventura College.

Track & Field

Warriors track and field had great showings this spring with records being broken.

Freshman Tilliana Wakefield-Carl broke a 13-year-old college record Friday, April 4 at the Moorpark Open at Moorpark College.

Wakefield-Carl took first place at the competition with a mark of 3.68 meters (12 feet, 0.75 inches), breaking the ECC record set by Katrina Wilbanks (3.66m; 12 feet) in 2012.

Wakefield-Carl also joined Wilbanks as the only women in ECC history to complete a pole vault attempt of 12 feet or higher. She completed the feat on her first try at that height.

Gunner Perez and Laighton Scott both competed in the 3C2A State Championships Saturday, May 17, at the College of San Mateo.

Perez competed in the second half of the decathlon and finished in 11th place overall with 5144 total points. His best performance came in the 110 high hurdles where he placed third overall with a time of 15.58.

Scott participated in the discus final and logged a throw of 42.89 meters (140 feet, 8 inches). His throw was good enough to finish ninth overall in the competition.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Junior Griffin Lake took home his third and fourth medal at the USA Shooting Rifle National Championship, earning two more today at the event being held in Anniston, Alabama.
 
Lake rolled through his opening two air rifle qualifying relays with the top mark in the field, scoring 1260.1 (629.8-630.3). The Emmaus, Pennsylvania, native scored 250.4 in the junior final to take first place and 251.5 in the open final to finish as the runner-up.
 
Lake swept both the open and junior smallbore events earlier in the week to add two national titles to his resume. With his four medals this week, Lake has now taken home seven top-three finishes at national and international competitions this summer. He claimed both air and smallbore titles at the USA Shooting Junior Olympics and claimed a third-place finish and two more finals appearances at the ISSF World Cup.
 
Maximus Duncan also qualified for the open final after a score of 1245.2 (621.6-623.6). He finished in seventh place with a final score of 143.1.
 
On the women’s side, Ashlyn Blake qualified for the junior final after a qualifying score of 1251.3 (628.2-623.1). She took eighth place in the final with a 121.7 mark. Camryn Camp hit marks of 1243.9 (620.5-623.4) during qualifying to finish in 17th place.
 
Incoming freshman Jack Ogoreuc finished in 12^th place in the open division with a score of 1239.2 (619.1-620.1) to qualify for the junior final where he finished in seventh place. He hit the top mark in the U18 division. 
 

Calling all coffee connoisseurs – there’s a new coffee truck set up just outside of LSU’s campus on West Chimes Street that should be added to the rotation of your daily caffeine fixes.

Cherrybomb Coffee Co. is bringing its flavors to Baton Rouge “for the long haul” with a new look out of a 1973 Airstream trailer that has never been anywhere else other than its newfound concrete slab home. While new to most, some LSU students may have seen a similar looking trailer parked outside of their sorority once or twice before. 

25-year-old Noah McLain was born and raised in Covington, Louisiana, and first started Cherrybomb Coffee when he was a 19-year-old freshman at Southeastern Louisiana University.

“I decided I wanted to roast my own coffee beans, so I started roasting coffee beans in my parents’ garage in 2019,” McLain said.

Every step taken on this journey is a stepping stone toward the bigger end goal, McLain said. After he got the hang of roasting coffee beans, he built his own coffee cart and started hauling it around Southern Louisiana to get the word out about his coffee.

In 2021, McLain upgraded from just a cart to his company’s first trailer, iconically named Clementine. The coffee cart and trailer combo gave Cherrybomb Coffee a boost in exposure – from private events like weddings and baby showers to small pop-ups for LSU Greek Life, word about Cherrybomb Coffee quickly made its way around.

Cherrybomb Coffee also saw its first location open up in Mandeville, Louisiana, in 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic simmered down. McLain spent the entirety of the pandemic roasting coffee beans and shipping orders around the country, but he was ready to get the ball back rolling. He signed the lease and kept his business moving forward all while managing the demands of being a college student.

“I would skip class to go work sometimes,” McLain said.

McLain graduated in 2022 and it’s been all cherry red for him since. In addition to the Mandeville location, Cherrybomb Coffee expanded to Madisonville, Louisiana, to open its headquarters location in 2023.

Around the time the first location opened up, people from Baton Rouge started to call. McLain said he was doing multiple catering events and sometimes even hitting two to three sororities a day. The company’s rise in popularity around town led to his desire to open a location in Baton Rouge.

“We got really popular on campus,” McLain said. “The university has hired us to serve coffee here for special events. Baton Rouge in general, we’re constantly out here … I’ve been looking for a spot here for about a year and a half.”

After a long and hard search, McLain found a concrete slab available for rent that he just couldn’t pass up. He got married a little over two months ago and signed the lease while on his honeymoon, marking the beginning of his newest coffee trailer journey.

While the menu features some of the shop’s popular specialties and traditional classics, there’s also two new drinks available that are LSU-themed and unique to the Baton Rouge location: Mike’s Matcha and Bengal Brew. The trailer also offers CounterSpace baked goods and breakfast sandwiches.

Cherrybomb Coffee is open for business and here to stay throughout the school year at 136 W. Chimes Street. During the summer, the trailer is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hours are subject to change once classes begin and football season returns.

By Andy Hutchison

WESTPORT – Westport is home to water polo enthusiasts, including Staples High sophomore standout Virginia Ferrari and her Staples co-op club teammates and captains Stella Savone and Olivia Kulga, also of Westport. The rest of the lineup comprises student-athletes from surrounding/ nearby communities.

Water polo continues in the school club offseason for Ferrari. She is in her fourth year playing club water polo and in her second as part of the Olympic Development Program (ODP) North East zone team.

The ODP is a training program designed to identify and develop athletes for the U.S. National Teams. It serves as the primary pathway for athletes that want to represent the country in water polo, meaning Ferrari has aspirations to advance in her career.

The country is divided into 13 regions and the athletes compete to be selected for a spot in the team of their zone. The program starts at the beginning of the fall season with ODP Zone camps, followed by regional championships and, potentially, national championships. 

“I enjoy playing with the development team very much. Playing with them gives me the opportunity to learn new plays and challenge myself even more. Also playing with different people every year is very exciting and fun,” Ferrari said.

Whether she is on the pool representing the Staples co-op club squad or competing for ODP Ferrari enjoys water polo because “it is a team sport and even if it is very tiring and I need to sacrifice the time with my friends and most of my weekends, I really enjoy spending my time in the water,” she said.

Ferrari is a utility player. In practice she asks the coaches to help her master different positions so the coaches and the team can rely on her ability to perform across the pool. “For this, I practice to my very best everywhere and try to be prepared when I have a game,” she said.

“I love playing on the Staples Water polo co-op team, because first, I’m very proud to represent Staples and second, because it is an opportunity to make new friendships with kids from other schools in the area. But mostly because of the team spirit. Ever since I have joined the Staples team, the electricity and enthusiasm that the team brings to every game or practice is amazing,” Ferrari said.

Global experience to bring back to the local team

Ferrari was part of the Staples swim team her freshman year but unfortunately, due to an injury could not join the team at the beginning of her sophomore year. Ferrari plans to be part of the swim team again in the fall of 2025.

During the Staples offseason Ferrari practices water polo at Greenwich Aquatics which is the most competitive level you can play water polo in the state, she said. “I travel a lot with them also because most of the tournaments are in California.”

During the last spring break Ferrari also played in Italy with a team from Sicily. “It was an incredible experience for me because in addition to learning different plays, I also met amazing players that made me feel immediately part of the team and I’m looking forward to the next opportunity to play with them,” she said.

Ferrari said she would like to convince others to join the Staples club water polo team because even it requires a lot of effort and stamina, it is a lot of fun. The more experienced players combine efforts with coaches to help the newer player develop.

“Together with the Staples coaches we have taught kids from all different grades how to learn to play the sport just by taking it step by step but definitely you need to have a strong background in swimming,” Ferrari said.

The Staples co-op is led by coaches Danillo Sierra and Kade Ramirez. Sierra notes that the sport has grown tremendously in Westport and the area.

“Water polo has taken a turn in the last three years at Staples High School and Fairfield County. Since 2004 when water polo started as a club program at Staples it has been a challenge increasing the popularity and level of the sport. Two seasons ago, things changed when Staples opened the door to athletes from other schools that wanted to take part in their program and train, play, and travel against other schools — mostly private and club teams — all over the county and New England region,” Sierra said.

The level of play and popularity has increased leading to the formation of the Northeast Water Polo Club, a local program that has been targeting and helping young athletes to learn more about water polo and helping their transition to high school and college, Sierra said.

“Our main goal is to keep growing and make sure all athletes can have an easy transition from middle to high school and create more opportunities for scholarships so they can play water polo at a collegiate level,” Sierra added.

Ferrari certainly has enjoyed her water polo playing experience and is hopeful of continuing at the next level.

“One thing I’m sure about is that I would like to go to a college that has a high level of water polo but that also has very good academics. It won’t be easy since there are not many colleges with women’s teams but I will definitely work hard to achieve this goal,” she said.

Many water polo student-athletes from the Staples program have gone on to play the sport at schools including Connecticut College, the University of Connecticut, Fordham, Boston College, Brown University and the University of Southern California.

“We would like to invite more young athletes to join our water polo program so we can share with them the passion we feel from the sport,” Sierra said.

Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories in Fairfield County, since the 1990s.