MSU gymnastics' journey to NCAA Championships 'means everything'
EAST LANSING — Inside Michigan State’s gymnastics program, there is a sense that this is still just the beginning. And yet what the Spartans just accomplished was every bit a final frontier. Reaching this week’s NCAA Championships for the first time in 37 years had been in the making for a year or three or […]
EAST LANSING — Inside Michigan State’s gymnastics program, there is a sense that this is still just the beginning. And yet what the Spartans just accomplished was every bit a final frontier.
Reaching this week’s NCAA Championships for the first time in 37 years had been in the making for a year or three or five or several more, depending on how you look at the Spartans’ journey over the last decade.
It’s also a reminder that the rise of a program isn’t always linear or without frustration. Because, a year ago, after coming up just short of advancing beyond the NCAA regional finals for the third straight year, after tightening up for the first time under the weight of expectations, they had to reexamine their approach.
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Couch: Michigan State’s gymnastics program rises from the ashes
‘The elephant in the room’
When the Spartans left the regional final a year ago after a disappointing fourth-pace finish in Gainesville, Florida, MSU’s coaches knew an introspection was needed. For the first time in a big meet, they didn’t perform to their level.
“They didn’t realize how close they were until they got in it,” Rowe said. “They tightened up. They tightened up on every event where they were used to just being relaxed and confident.”
They also had a new behemoth to deal with in the Big Ten in UCLA, which features three-time Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles. The Bruins beat MSU narrowly in Los Angeles and then put up a record-breaking score at the Big Ten Championships, leaving the Spartans second in the conference both times.
Before a late-season meet in Alabama, MSU met as a team — gymnasts and coaches — and let it all out, everything they were feeling as they neared the postseason. They had been winning and performing well enough, but not as well they thought they could, especially on the balance beam, often a “make or break” event, as Jones described it, the event that had been their downfall at the regional a year earlier.
The whole season had been about dealing with “the elephant in the room,” Jones said, reaching the national championships.
“How do you eat an elephant one bite at a time?” Jones said, taking the metaphor in a different direction than even Tom Izzo does — he calls it “The white elephant in the room.” “It’s not focusing every single week, every single day on being at the national championships, but taking it one bite at a time, one person at a time, one day at a time, one routine at a time in here (at practice at Jenison Field House), one skill at a time, to really get to be able to eventually tear that elephant down.”
MSU began to do so at the Big Ten meet, scoring a 198.50, highlighted by perfection from senior Gabi Stephen on the beam — a 10.0. Her 10.0 vault in the NCAA regional semifinals helped to catapult the Spartans into the regional final.
“We know what we’re capable of,” Stephen said. “It’s just about putting it all together. And I think that’s what we’ve been doing as we’ve been getting into postseason, people are noticing it. We’re hitting the 198 marks, and just like being a lot more consistent with our gymnastics and aggressive and having a lot of fun.”
They hit 198 again in the regional final in State College — and performed so decisively that it didn’t come down to a pressure-packed performance on the beam.
“We knew that Arkansas and Kentucky (the other two teams along with LSU) did not have a full lineup of 10.0-start value vaults, and we do,” Jones said. “So we knew that was an event that we could pull away on, but we had to land. That’s the risk versus reward. We’re doing these harder vaults. It could be great, but if any of them are a little short, they could be on their butt. It could be bad. But we are ranked in the top four in the country on vault for a reason — because they continue to deliver in that event, and they did, breaking the vault record, and then going to bars and pulling away.”
“We really have worked on our landings and those little details that make the difference from who goes to nationals and who doesn’t,” MSU senior Skyla Schulte said. “We were just fearless out there, and we told each other, ‘No fear. No risk, no reward.’ That mentality really got us to that next step that maybe we were holding back on in the years past.”
‘Goosebumps’
MSU’s gymnasts weren’t the only ones feeling pressure this season. The coaches — Rowe, Jones and assistant Devin Wright — badly wanted this particular group to be the one that got over the hump at the Sweet 16 level.
They had done everything else — winning four Big Ten titles, three in the regular season and the 2024 championship meet — since 2022, when they first came within a whisker of reaching the eight-team NCAA Championships. They, with the help of several notable gymnasts from recent years — the likes of Lea Mitchell through Baleigh Garcia and others — had done so much to elevate the program. And for Harkness, Stephen, Schulte the other seniors, this was the last chance to take the last step together.
“They were so instrumental. They believed in us,” Jones, MSU’s recruiting coordinator, said of this senior group. “They trusted us. They bought into the vision. They they were all in for what we were selling, because the program hadn’t done anything at that point. It was just a vision. It was what we wanted to do, but we knew that they would have the talent to help us do it.
“Some of them, it was a little easier to get them — Skyla, she wasn’t going anywhere else because her parents bleed green, and you always say, you luck out with that one. There were some of them that fell into place. Those kids committing to us helped other kids follow suit to be able to be where we are now. Then we get like a Nikki Smith, a Sage Kellerman.”
Smith, Kellerman and fellow junior Olivia Zsarmani each earned regular season All-American honors. All three joined Schulte, Stephen and Harkness on All-Big Ten teams. Schulte and Stephen earned first-team all-conference honors for the fourth straight season.
“To see them compete so fearlessly (at the NCAA regional final), you stand back and it just gives you goosebumps,” Jones continued, “just watching them continue to do exactly what you knew that they were capable of.”
While this national championships appearance is a culmination, it also, they hope, is a new standard. They’re excited about the 2025 and 2026 recruited classes. The six freshmen slated to join the program next season are, before they’re done, expecting to compete in the new arena being built on campus to house gymnastics, volleyball and wrestling.
“We had renderings and everything,” Rowe said of the new facility, “but didn’t know what was going on behind the scenes, that was moving at lightning speed.
“Even back in 2018, (an) architectural firm was here, they were talking about renovating (Jenison Field House) and asking what we want. They said, ‘Do you think you can win a Big Ten championship with the facility you have now?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, we definitely can. But that’s not the question. I can’t recruit with this facility.’ ”
The packed house for their meet against Michigan at Breslin Center this January, Rowe believes, helped prove that MSU gymnastics had the community’s backing and deserved a new space for practice and meets on par with the teams they’re trying to beat.
Five-star recruits that wouldn’t return their calls years ago are calling back now. The prospect of a new building helps. But the winning does more.
“I think now going to the national championships, it’ll be different, too,” Jones said. “I think of like Arkansas, who beat us out last year to go to nationals, we lost some kids to them because they had just been at the national championships. And that’s where kids want to go.
“We also have kids that aren’t afraid to work, because they’re not all five-star recruits. They’re not all Skyla Schulte. Gabi Stephen was a three-star recruit, and now she’s here … scoring 10s in her senior year. Just a very overlooked athlete that turned out to be a gem.”
Jones, formerly Curler, knows what it’s like to be at the NCAA Championships — she went as individual in 2010 when she was a gymnast at MSU,
Same for Stephen, Schulte, Smith and Harkness, who’ve all made it as individuals. This is different.
“I’m just excited to have the whole team there,” Stephen said, “the energy, the size of the stadium, the arena, just every single experience, I know it’s going to be super duper special.”
The Spartans believe they have the goods to contend in Fort Worth, too. After all, they just nearly beat the defending champ in LSU and the pressure is now less.
“Getting here is the hard part,” Jones said. “Now whatever we do is kind of the cherry on top. We know that we can compete at the final day of the championships. We know that we could be on four on the floor. We are that talented. It just is going to come to the team that puts it together on that day.”
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.
ViewLift unveils two new AI products to transform streaming intelligence and operations
ViewLift has launched two new AI-powered solutions designed to enhance business intelligence and customer support operations for media companies, sports organisations, and content owners distributing their content worldwide. ViewLift Data Insights Pro is ViewLift’s new conversational AI analytics tool that delivers personalised, real-time insights via text to content owners’ executives. Designed to function as a […]
ViewLift has launched two new AI-powered solutions designed to enhance business intelligence and customer support operations for media companies, sports organisations, and content owners distributing their content worldwide.
ViewLift Data Insights Pro is ViewLift’s new conversational AI analytics tool that delivers personalised, real-time insights via text to content owners’ executives. Designed to function as a virtual data analyst, ViewLift Data Insights Pro provides summaries of the past day’s key metrics, and interprets texted follow-up questions from executives, providing actionable business intelligence on streaming trends, viewer behaviour, content performance, and monetisation metrics. It acts as an always on 24/7/365 business, saving time and enabling quick decision-making.
“ViewLift Data Insights Pro reflects our commitment to democratising data and making it instantly actionable for our partners,” said Rick Allen, CEO of ViewLift. “Whether you’re tracking live event viewership, revenue, or other key metrics, this tool delivers clarity in minutes, not days.”
Also new is ViewLift FanAssist AI an AI-powered automated support platform enhancing customer support and reducing customer service response time. ViewLift FanAssist AI integrates with each client’s customer inquiries ticketing system, resolving questions across multiple languages and channels. It intelligently categorises tickets, suggests optimal responses using a 3+3+1 AI decision engine, and executes automated tasks to help customers solve their problems across a range of questions and issues. It utilises AI to detect the problem; craft a response from the internal knowledge management system and AI LLM; and respond to the customer within minutes. Additionally, ViewLift FanAssist AI enables rapid scaling for large events, eliminating the need for human intervention, making it cost-effective and always available, and providing responses in the language initially used by the inquiring customer.
ViewLift FanAssist AI is already successful in the field: a top sports streaming platform successfully reduced its customer support ticket volume by nearly 90% during high-traffic live events. With millions of concurrent users tuning in for marquee football matchups, ViewLift FanAssist AI handled complex multilingual inquiries in real-time, freeing up support teams and ensuring uninterrupted fan engagement.
To optimise viewer engagement further, ViewLift has integrated Google Vertex AI into its platform to power an advanced recommendations engine. By combining machine learning models trained on rich behavioural and content metadata, ViewLift’s advanced recommendations engine empowers its clients with personalised content suggestions across all devices.
Vertex AI-powered real-time personalisation helps clients increase viewer retention, extend watch times, and grow revenue, providing a dynamic, tailored streaming experience that adapts to each viewer’s unique interests and keeps audiences coming back for more.
Athletic Socks Market Potential: Investment Trends and Challenges Athletic Socks Market Outlook & Investment Analysis The global Athletic Socks market is set to experience steady growth from 2024 to 2030, driven by rising awareness around fitness, increasing participation in sports, and the growing popularity of athleisure wear. Consumers are demanding performance-oriented socks that offer breathability, […]
Athletic Socks Market Potential: Investment Trends and Challenges
Athletic Socks Market Outlook & Investment Analysis
The global Athletic Socks market is set to experience steady growth from 2024 to 2030, driven by rising awareness around fitness, increasing participation in sports, and the growing popularity of athleisure wear. Consumers are demanding performance-oriented socks that offer breathability, moisture-wicking capabilities, arch support, and compression features. Major brands are capitalizing on this trend by launching innovative products made from sustainable and high-tech materials. The market is gaining traction across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, especially among millennials and Gen Z consumers focused on both performance and fashion.
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Q1: What factors are driving the growth of the Athletic Socks market?
The Athletic Socks market is being driven by increasing health consciousness, a surge in gym memberships, and the global rise in outdoor activities such as running, hiking, and team sports. The integration of smart textiles, antimicrobial fabrics, and ergonomic designs enhances product appeal. The growing trend of athleisure has blurred the lines between sportswear and casual fashion, further expanding the consumer base. E-commerce platforms have significantly increased product accessibility and consumer reach, while endorsements by fitness influencers and athletes have elevated brand visibility and market demand globally.
Q2: What investment opportunities and challenges exist in this market?
Investment opportunities lie in product innovation, sustainability-focused collections, and collaborations with fitness brands or sports personalities. Brands that can differentiate through advanced materials or custom-fit options are likely to capture premium market segments. However, challenges include intense competition, price sensitivity in emerging markets, and fluctuating raw material costs. Supply chain disruptions and the need to maintain consistent quality across regions may also hinder scaling. Strategic investments in R&D, eco-friendly production, and omnichannel retail can help investors build resilience and tap into the growing demand for high-performance socks.
Q3: Who are the key players and how is the competitive landscape evolving?
Leading players include Nike, Adidas, Puma, Under Armour, and ASICS, all of which focus on high-performance, durable, and stylish athletic socks. These companies leverage advanced textile technologies and branding strategies to maintain market leadership. Emerging players and DTC (direct-to-consumer) brands like Bombas and Stance are disrupting traditional retail models by offering unique designs and sustainability-driven products. The market is moderately fragmented, with private label brands gaining ground. Companies that combine innovation, comfort, and responsible sourcing will gain long-term traction in this highly competitive landscape.
Who are the largest Global manufacturers in the Athletic Socks Market?
Nike
Adidas
PUMA
New Balance
Skechers
ASICS Corporation
VF Corporation (VFC)
Anta
Under Armour
Wolverine Worldwide
Hanesbrands
p Ning
Lululemon Athletica
Xtep
361°
By the year 2030, the scale for growth in the market research industry is reported to be above 120 billion which further indicates its projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR), of more than 5.8% from 2023 to 2030. There have also been disruptions in the industry due to advancements in machine learning, artificial intelligence and data analytics There is predictive analysis and real-time information about consumers which such technologies provide to the companies enabling them to make better and precise decisions. In addition, new innovative techniques such as mobile surveys, social listening, and online panels, which emphasize speed, precision, and customization, are also transforming this particular sector.
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What are the factors driving the growth of the Global Athletic Socks Market?
Growing demand for below applications around the world has had a direct impact on the growth of the Global Athletic Socks Market
By Product Type
Ankle Socks
Crew Socks
Compression Socks
Thermal Socks
Low-Cut Socks
By Material
Cotton
Nylon
Polyester
Wool
Bamboo Fiber
By Gender
Men
Women
Unisex
By End-User Activity
Running
Training and Fitness
Hiking
Basketball
Cycbrng
By Price Range
Budget-Friendly
Mid-Range
Premium
Luxury
Which regions are leading the Global Athletic Socks Market?
US (United States, US and Mexico)
Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia, Turkey, etc.)
Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam)
South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia, etc.)
Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)
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Detailed TOC of Global Global Athletic Socks Market Research Report, 2026-2033
1. Introduction of the Global Athletic Socks Market
Overview of the Market
Scope of Report
Assumptions
2. Executive Summary
3. Research Methodology of Verified Market Research
Data Minin
Validation
Primary Interview
List of Data Sources
4. Global Athletic Socks Market Outlook
Overview
Market Dynamics
Drivers
Restraints
Opportunities
Porters Five Force Model
Value Chain Analysis
5. Global Athletic Socks Market, By Product
6. Global Athletic Socks Market, By Application
7. Global Athletic Socks Market, By Geography
North America
Europe
Asia Pacific
Rest of the World
8. Global Athletic Socks Market Competitive Landscape
Verified Market Reports is a leading Research and Consulting firm servicing over 5000+ US clients. We provide advanced analytical research solutions while offering information-enriched research studies. We also offer insights into strategic and growth analyses and data necessary to achieve corporate goals and critical revenue decisions.
Our 250 Analysts and SMEs offer a high level of expertise in data collection and governance using industrial techniques to collect and analyze data on more than 25,000 high-impact and niche markets. Our analysts are trained to combine modern data collection techniques, superior research methodology, expertise, and years of collective experience to produce informative and accurate research.
Virginia women’s track & field wins ACC Championships – The Cavalier Daily
The last time the Virginia women’s track and field team won ACC Outdoor Championships was 1987 — at least until this past weekend. The Cavaliers traveled down to Winston-Salem, N.C. for the meet hosted by Wake Forest, ready to fight for a title. The team boasted a bevy of strong performances from typical standouts like […]
The last time the Virginia women’s track and field team won ACC Outdoor Championships was 1987 — at least until this past weekend.
The Cavaliers traveled down to Winston-Salem, N.C. for the meet hosted by Wake Forest, ready to fight for a title. The team boasted a bevy of strong performances from typical standouts like senior Margot Appleton and junior Celia Rifaterra but also included some of the newer faces like freshman Maya Rollins and recent transfer junior Christiana Ellina. Their combined efforts led to a first place finish for the team and a shiny new trophy coming back with them to Charlottesville.
Appleton entered the women’s 1500 meters as the fastest collegiate runner in the NCAA event this season, and, even with that heavy weight on her shoulders, she did not disappoint.
It was a textbook Appleton race. She got out solidly in the middle of the pack, staying there for the first 1100 meters. As the bell rang to note the last lap, Appleton began moving into Lane 2 to give herself some space to kick. In the first curve, Appleton had angled herself into first place side by side with Clemson sophomore Silvia Jelego with the rest of the runners right on their heels.
In the last 200 meters, the race became a battle between those two, seeing if Jelego could outkick Appleton who had begun to pull away. Appleton’s gait and technique stayed consistent and controlled, but as Jelego opened up her stride, she was clearly fighting exhaustion. Appleton maintained her kick and crossed the line into first place with a time of 4:11.28, winning this ACC event for the third year in a row.
After the race, the announcers asked her about the added stress on her as the top 1500 meter run in the NCAA right now.
“I think it’s good pressure to have,” Appleton said, “I knew I had to win that for my team, and it was even extra pressure but it was helpful and I’m glad I could get those points up.”
The Cavaliers took the win in another distance race as senior Jenny Schilling sped through the women’s 10k, nearly eight seconds ahead of the second place finisher from Notre Dame, senior Emily Covert.
On the field side of things, Rifaterra also won gold in the women’s high jump while also setting a new personal best of 1.86 meters, up from 1.84. Senior Carly Tarentino placed just behind her in second, tying with Pittsburgh junior Eva Baldursdottir.
New to Virginia this season, Ellina proved her talent in javelin, assuming yet another first place finish for the Cavaliers. She threw 52.44 meters — well over a meter ahead of the runner up.
Though only a freshman, Rollins clocked a solid silver in the women’s 100 meter hurdles. She even beat out one of the favorites for the race, Duke senior Birgen Nelson, by six thousandths of a second.
The women finished the meet with 93 points, winning the 2025 ACC Outdoor Championships by four points.
The men, however, did not fare as well, ending up in 13th place out of the 17 teams present. Junior Gary Martin ended up not racing in the men’s 1500 finals despite qualifying a couple days earlier. The announcers mentioned that someone had spotted Martin using an ice pack earlier in the meet, and eventually, it was revealed that he had tweaked his hamstring, and he was still intending to race at NCAA East Regionals.
However, there was still one exciting race for the Virginia men. Senior Alex Sherman took down the Virginia men’s 400 meter hurdles record, dropping 0.3 seconds from his personal best, finishing in 49.98 seconds and taking third in the event.
Overall, the ACC Championships were a good showing for the women’s team and prove that they most certainly have some up-and-coming stars for the rest of the season and for the year to come. Meanwhile, the men’s team will have some challenges to overcome heading into the rest of the postseason if they hope to continue raising the standard for their program finish at NCAA Championships.
Before that though, Virginia will head to Jacksonville, Fla. for NCAA East Regionals, startingMay 28 and running through May 31. The women will hope to continue setting a higher standard for the overall team, having gained some confidence from this past weekend, and the men will find their footing for the remainder of the post-season, especially with Martin back on the track.
Seneca Valley tops Penn-Trafford, gets another shot at WPIAL boys volleyball title
By: Josh Rizzo Tuesday, May 20, 2025 | 9:11 PM Josh Rizzo | For TribLive Seneca Valley’s Mason Chapman high fives a teammate following the game-winning point in the fifth set against Penn-Trafford. Josh Rizzo | For TribLive Penn-Trafford middle hitter Nick Laskey pushes a shot past Seneca Valley’s Jordan Hoover during the second set of […]
Seneca Valley’s Mason Chapman high fives a teammate following the game-winning point in the fifth set against Penn-Trafford.
Josh Rizzo | For TribLive
Penn-Trafford middle hitter Nick Laskey pushes a shot past Seneca Valley’s Jordan Hoover during the second set of a WPIAL Class 3A semifinal Tuesday night at Fox Chapel.
Josh Rizzo | For TribLive
Billy Spena (left) and Ethan McDonald celebrate after Penn-Trafford forced a fifth set in a WPIAL Class 3A semifinal Tuesday night at Fox Chapel.
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Jordan Hoover desperately wants to be part of the Seneca Valley boys volleyball team that kicks down the door and wins a WPIAL Class 3A championship.
The 6-foot-5 senior middle hitter and his teammates needed a strong fifth set to make sure they didn’t fall over the front stoop on their way in Tuesday night at Fox Chapel. Seneca Valley held off a ferocious effort from sixth-seeded Penn-Trafford, picking up a 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 25-20, 20-25, 15-3) win to reach the WPIAL title game for the fourth time in the past 10 years.
The Raiders lost to Fox Chapel in 2015 and had a pair off losses to North Allegheny in 2021 and 2022.
“It would mean a lot,” Hoover said. “My older brother, Grant, came through the program, and he was on one of the teams that lost to NA. Just to be able to be the one to finally win and get a WPIAL banner up would be a big deal for me.”
The second-seeded Raiders (13-4) couldn’t get out of their own way. Seneca Valley had 23 errors during the first two sets.
The Raiders’ serving was erratic through the match.
“We struggled all night,” Seneca Valley coach Brett Poirier said. “This was probably the worst match we played all year. I can’t believe it came in the semis. When you struggle, you need little breaks and little things to go through. In the fifth set, I said we have to block better, pass better and do everything better.”
The Raiders made sure the fifth set was a formality. Penn-Trafford gave away the first point on an attack error. Mario Adolino followed with a service ace that dipped inside the line.
After a service error from Penn-Trafford, Malachi DeGraaf and Hoover had kills to stake the Raiders out to a 5-1 lead in the final set.
Penn-Trafford (12-7) wouldn’t get any closer.
Warriors coach Jim Schall said he was happy with the Warriors’ effort. Penn-Trafford still has a chance to reach the PIAA playoffs with a win in the third-place match.
“I’m really proud of the guys,” Schall said. “We were a third-place team in our section, I thought we were pretty good. I’m proud of the guys for the way they fought hard through the match. Unfortunately, we needed to get through that stretch in the fifth set still in the ballgame.”
Schall’s greatest challenge was to find a way to handle Seneca Valley’s middle blockers, 6-foot-9 Brandon Suski and Hoover. Once Penn-Trafford dropped a closely contested first set, Schall believed the Warriors would have a chance to make Seneca Valley sweat.
Owen Gisi and Nick Laskey hit well for the Warriors.
“For the most part, we handled their middle guys OK,” Schall said. “(Hoover) has a fantastic fifth game hitting and blocking. We did well enough to take their big guy (Suski) out. They had to put another guy in. We had to serve well.”
Hoover finished with 15 kills for the Raiders, and DeGraaf had 12. Seneca Valley now needs to find the combination necessary to earn a long-coveted championship.
“I just wanted our team to stay up and have the energy,” Hoover said. “When we get down on ourselves, that’s when we play worse. Even when we are playing badly, we have to keep the energy up.”
New beach volleyball courts approved for Marden Park
The new courts are anticipated to open July 1 and be paid for primarily by Guelph adult sports league business Perpetual Motion GUELPH/ERAMOSA – Guelph/Eramosa residents will soon have a new place to play beach volleyball this summer. Approved at a Guelph/Eramosa council meeting Tuesday afternoon, staff have issued a tender to Bomar Landscaping Inc. for $205,169, not […]
The new courts are anticipated to open July 1 and be paid for primarily by Guelph adult sports league business Perpetual Motion
GUELPH/ERAMOSA – Guelph/Eramosa residents will soon have a new place to play beach volleyball this summer.
Approved at a Guelph/Eramosa council meeting Tuesday afternoon, staff have issued a tender to Bomar Landscaping Inc. for $205,169, not including HST, to construct six beach volleyball courts at Marden Park.
Council previously approved an agreement with Perpetual Motion that would see the company fronting the money to build the courts in exchange for exclusive use of the facility from Sunday to Thursday between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. and one Saturday tournament.
Previously anticipated to cost $195,000, parks and facilities manager Jeff Myer said the township has already received the total initial funds in escrow and Perpetual Motion has confirmed they’re willing to proceed with the project at the current price.
The municipality is responsible for roto-tilling the courts annually and topping up the sand about every five years, which is anticipated to cost $4,500 annually and is expected to be covered by facility rentals.
According to Myer, the plan is to break ground in the next two weeks, with the opening planned for July 1.
When asked if he had any concerns, Myer had one answer: “I want to break ground.”
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
Breakout underclassmen highlight bright future for UAA track and field
Hurdler Liv Heite earned All-West region honors in her sophomore season with UAA’s track and field team. Photographed on May 14, 2025. (Marc Lester / ADN) The 2025 NCAA Division II national outdoor track and field championships will be taking place in Pueblo, Colorado, later this week with many of the top athletes at that […]
Hurdler Liv Heite earned All-West region honors in her sophomore season with UAA’s track and field team. Photographed on May 14, 2025. (Marc Lester / ADN)
The 2025 NCAA Division II national outdoor track and field championships will be taking place in Pueblo, Colorado, later this week with many of the top athletes at that level duking it out for medals and All American honors.
Even though they won’t be joining fellow standout underclassman Joshua Caleb to represent the University of Alaska Anchorage, sophomore hurdler Liv Heite and freshman jumper Mya Campbell are proud of the incredibly strong 2025 outdoor seasons they each produced.
“These young women are here every day, putting in the work and now the expectation and the tone is going to be set when the new underclassmen come in,” UAA associate head coach Ray Shadowens said. “It’s really fun when you have good athletes, and it’s even more fun when they’re young.”
Heite earned All-Region and All-GNAC honors in her second year with the program. Her most notable accomplishments include breaking the program record and posting the fourth-fastest time in GNAC history in the women’s 100 hurdles with a mark of 13.81 in the conference championship prelims.
She also ran the third-fastest time in program history in the 400 hurdles in a time of 1:01.22 in the conference championship finals. During the indoor season, she ran a school-record time of 8.64 in the 60 hurdles.
“I’m really satisfied and happy with everything I accomplished, especially the school records I broke and a lot of (personal records) I ran,” Heite said. “It was a really great season with the team in general. I really enjoyed the whole team this year. We had good team culture.”
Breaking a school record was one of her goals heading into the season and she was able to accomplish that feat in two events with the 60- and 100-meter hurdles.
“She has just skyrocketed in her talent,” Shadowens said. “We definitely got lucky getting her.”
Another goal was qualifying for nationals and even though she made the provisional mark, Heite just missed out of the top 22 mark to qualify for this year’s event, coming in at 31st in the 100-meter hurdles.
“I still have two more years here and I’m going to work towards that for the next two years and hopefully it will work out one of those times,” she said. “I’m confident that I can make it next year or the year after.”
Campbell followed a strong indoor season in which she earned All-GNAC honors with a third-place finish in the long jump with a personal-best mark of 18-6.
“I feel like my freshman season went well, better than I had expected,” Campbell said. “My favorite highlight was indoor GNAC because I hadn’t expected to place. I was just hoping to reach my goal of jumping at least 18 feet, but I ended up finishing with an 18′6.”
UAA’s Mya Campbell competes in the long jump during the 2025 track and field season. (Photo by Andressa Cholodovskis)
At the Pee Wee Halsell Invitational in late April, she posted the second-best mark in school history in the long jump with an 18-10.75. The following day at the Ralph Vernacchia Open, she bested herself with a first-place mark of 18-11.25. While she didn’t best herself a third time at the GNAC championships, Campbell still earned All-GNAC honors by coming in second with a mark of 18-7.75.
“The success gives me a lot of confidence,” she said. “At the beginning of the year, I was scared I wouldn’t be able to even jump what I had at the end of high school, let alone get further. But now I think I can improve my distances and times more.”
Campbell exceeded her coaches expectations for her first year and has them really excited about how she can develop over the remainder of her career.
Shadowens praised her for always being “very even keel” and receptive to instruction as well as selfless when needed as she also anchored their 4×400 relay team.
“Her emotions usually just stay in a straight line and her biggest thing is that she came in with a really open mind,” he said.
Disparate journeys to becoming Seawolves
Identifying top-notch talent in Alaska can be difficult when recruiting due to the limited resources available to some potential recruits.
“You never know what kind of competition it is or what the weather is going to be like,” Shadowens said.
Campbell proved to be an exception given that she grew up in the Mat-Su, where she attended Redington High School and participated in multiple sports in addition to track and field.
UAA’s Mya Campbell competes in a relay during the 2025 track and field season. (Photo by Andressa Cholodovskis)
She believes her immediate success with the program is a testament to the talent Alaska has.
“It shows that we don’t have to be from some big town or place that has access to a track year-round to perform on the same level as everybody else,” Campbell said. “There is a lot of incredible athletes here and we all have an opportunity to make a big impact on the sports we do.”
Keeping the best local talent close to home is a priority for the Seawolves staff and having someone like Campbell is a prime example of what they aspire to be without venturing out of the state to continue their athletic career.
“We have a great recruiting class coming in, including some young Alaskan athletes and a couple more international,” Shadowens said.
While the UAA coaching staff didn’t have to look far to find Campbell last year, landing Heite took a much broader scope as she was born and raised in Olpe, Germany.
“We’ve had a connection with Germany before and it’s kind of identifying the talent,” Shadowens said. “As well as Liv is doing right now, she was a girl who actually didn’t run the 100 hurdles a lot and was kind of primarily focused on the 400-meter hurdles.”
The coaches noticed Heite had run some fast 100-meter hurdle times in the past and began to talk with her about exploring it further and trusting in their development plan.
“It’s always a big adjustment regardless if it’s just someone coming from an Alaska high school or coming across the world,” Shadowens said. “We always tell our athletes that we’re preparing you for the full four- or five-year game plan so it can beat up a freshman a little bit.”
After graduating from high school, Heite wasn’t sure what she wanted to do until she came across the opportunity to participate in a track and field abroad program.
“Doing track in Germany is a little more complicated with college because we don’t have college sports,” Heite said. “I was like, well, I’ll just go to the U.S. and try it there.”
Her original plan was only to spend one year overseas but she fell in love with Alaska so much that she decided to extend her stay to pursue a collegiate career.
“I came here and immediately really liked the team a lot,” Heite said. “Back home, my team is smaller and it’s just different than here where I connected to my teammates really fast and obviously I get along with the coaches very well. I trust them 100% and I just know that this is the best place for me to keep growing as far as I can and as far as I want.”
Both of the Seawolves’ rising stars have their sights set on improving their top marks from this year and getting even better moving forward which will help the program as a whole continue to improve with them as young role models.
“I’m so glad I was given the chance to be a part of this program,” Campbell said. “Everyone pushes each other to get better everyday, with the support we give each other and the talent we have I just know the program is only going to continue to go up.”
