ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College women’s track & field team turned in several solid performances on the first day of the MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, held at Macalester Stadium Friday afternoon. The Scots scored 19 points and sit in sixth place heading into the final day on Saturday.

On the track, first year Ariella Rogahn-Press (Albuquerque, N.M./Bosque School) qualified for Saturday’s finals in both the 400 meters and the 200 meters. She won her heat and posted the fourth-fastest time in the prelims of 57.00 in the 400, then ran a time of 24.57 in the 200 to rank second heading into the finals. The Scots’ 4×800-meter relay team of junior Hadley Wilkins (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School), sophomore Ivy Coldren (Frederick, Md./Urbana), sophomore Timna Nevo (Portland, Ore./Sunset) and first year Kate Fox (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt) placed fourth with a time of 9:35.70, which ranks eighth all-time at Macalester.

In the field events, sophomore Harmony-Keli Tomety (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook East) placed second with a personal-best leap of 5.48 meters (17-11.75). The performance ranks third all-time at Mac and 74th in Division III. Sophomore Tessa Myatt (Chicago, Ill./Northside College Prep) posted an outdoor PR with a toss of 12.78 (41-11.25) to take third in the shot put. Both Tomety and Myatt earned All-MIAC honors in their events.

The MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships conclude on Saturday, May 10 at Macalester Stadium. The field events get underway at 12:00 p.m., with the track events starting at 1:30 p.m.

Tickets for the Saturday session is $12 for adults and $3 for students per session. All ticket sales will be handled online by HomeTown Ticketing.

MIAC Outdoor Championships Website | Live Video | Live Results | Tickets | Meet Schedule |

Through two rounds, the slipper seems to fit for the American Canyon and Benicia High volleyball teams.

Although American Canyon is the No. 14 seed in the North Coast Section Division II playoffs and Benicia is the No. 12 seed, both squads are having Cinderella-like postseason runs with each making the semifinals after wins on Thursday night.

American Canyon defeated San Leandro in five games, winning 22-25, 25-23, 25-20, 19-25, 20-18.

Leading the way for the Wolves was Hector Valencia, who had 20 kills and 10 digs. Patrick Gamboa had 14 kills, while Jacob Badua had seven of his own. Joshua Hmum set up his teammates all night with 46 assists.

The Wolves will play International High of San Francisco on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, Benicia swept Terra Linda on Thursday, winning 25-22, 26-24, 25-16.

Benicia moves on to play Quarry Lane in a rare 9 vs. 12-seed matchup in the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs. Quarry Lane defeated top-seeded North Hills Christian on Thursday night at Valley Christian High.

Benicia’s match with Quarry Lane is scheduled for Tuesday night.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Carleton College men’s track & field team had two all-conference honorable mention runs on the first full day of competition at the MIAC Outdoor Championships. Gabe Nichols was sixth in the 1500-meter run and later ran the anchor leg of the fourth-place 4×800-meter relay.
 
Carleton is seventh of 11 teams in the standings after a day when temperatures on sat in the low to mid 80s.
 
The Knights’ initial team points on Friday came from Nichols, who clocked a 1500-meter time of 3:55.04. Ravi Achar established a new PR of 4:07.23 while finishing 19th overall.
 
The 400-meter dash prelims saw both Daniel Scheider and Asher Nathan set personal bests while earning spots in Saturday’s finals. Scheider was seventh at 49.13, one spot ahead of Nathan (49.41). James Alexander also competed in the event, placing 27th at 51.87.
 
Max Jones was 18th in the long jump after measuring 6.12 meters on his first attempt.
 
Indy Lyness qualified for the finals of the 800-meter run by placing eighth during the prelims. His diving finish resulted in a season-best time of 1:55.82. Josh Meier was 11th at 1:57.37, Ronen Silberman took 18th with a new PR of 2:01.68, and Ben Mazor was 25th at 2:08.31
 
Lucas Heldman and Tommy Applebaum finished 21st and 24th, respectively, in the 400-meter hurdles. The former finished at 1:01.95, while the latter did so at 1:03.90 to register a new PR.
 
Nathan was back on the track for the prelims of the 200-meter dash. He clocked a time personal-best time of 22.12, good for 12th place.
 
Carleton’s entry in the 4×800-meter relay earned All-MIAC Honorable Mention as Sam Reiter, Pranav Kadkikar, Josh Meier, and Gabe Nichols combined on a time of 7:51.68.
 
Due to the heat, the 10,000-meter run was pushed back and raced under the lights at Macalester Stadium. Roy Llewellyn contributed to the team score as he finished seventh at 32:16.36. Ryan Bernstein took 13th at 33:06.26, followed soon after by Travis Brown (14th at 33:20.74) and Andrew Jamison (16th at 33:27.17).
 
Last week, Soren Kaster and Reese Anderson added to Carleton’s team point total when they finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the decathlon.
 
Up Next for the Knights
The conference championships conclude on Saturday, May 10. Field events start at 12:00 p.m. with racing on the track beginning an hour later.
 
All-MIAC honorable mention performances for Carleton (4th-6th place…through Day 1)
Decathlon
4. Soren Kaster — 6,121 points
5. Reese Anderson — 5,993 points (PR)
 
1500-meter run
6. Gabe Nichols — 3:55.04
 
4×800-meter relay
4. Carleton (Sam Reiter, Pranav Kadkikar, Josh Meier, Gabe Nichols) ­— 7:51.68.
 

GRACE WHITE

WHEELING — Wheeling Central High School will be playing volleyball with grace this season.

The school has announced the hiring of Grace White as the school’s next head volleyball coach.

White takes over for the reins of the program from Beth Blake, who stepped down after two seasons at the helm of the Maroon Knights program.

White comes to CCHS after spending one season at Bridgeport High School as the Bulldogs head coach.

“I am grateful and excited for the opportunity to be the head coach of CCHS’s volleyball team,” White said. “I am ready to get to work with a fantastic group of student-athletes, faculty and administration.”

White, who is a graduate of Keyser High School and Wheeling Jesuit University, got her coaching start in Tennessee when she and her husband, Camden, were living in Clarksville.

She helped establish the CForce Volleyball Club and also served as an assistant coach at Clarksville Academy. Upon returning to the valley, White has worked with Club Gold South Volleyball and now oversees the club’s boys program.

“The goal is for (Central Catholic) fans to see a team that is competitive, like-minded on the court,” White said. “I am excited to see this team develop both athletically and as volleyball players. My hope is that fans are excited to come watch the girls and feed off the energy they create on the court”

White is currently a faculty member at Wheeling Country Day and just this month completed her master’s degree in developmental psychology from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.

Central’s overall “culture and history” along with its athletic tradition are some of the things that White learned of when she was an undergraduate student in the Ohio Valley.

“When I moved back to Wheeling, I immediately knew I wanted to be a part of a community that supports each other and its student-athletes,” White continued. “Getting to meet various members of CCHS has only confirmed what I thought to be true of this community.”

White and her husband reside in Wheeling. The couple has two dogs.

INDIANOLA — Central College women’s track and field junior Peyton Steffen (junior, Marion) outpaced the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase field Friday to give the Central College women’s track & field team its only individual title so far at the American Rivers Conference Championships.
The Dutch women are in fourth with 39 points through eight events.
Steffen won the steeplechase n 10 minutes, 33.21 seconds.
“Anytime you can hit a lifetime best at a conference meet it’s pretty impressive,” coach Brandon Sturman said. “It was exciting to see her feel as comfortable as she was. She’s got more big events tomorrow and hopefully this set her up for a special day.”
In the 4×800-meter relay, Peyton Madison (freshman, Eldridge, North Scott HS), Teah Miller (sophomore, Iowa Falls, Iowa Falls-Alden HS), Riley Packer (junior, Erie, Ill.) and Alivia Roerdink (sophomore, Tiffin, Ohio, Hopewell-Loudon HS) took second place in 11:44.19. Emma Rocha (senior, Franklin, Wis.) also earned all-conference honors after finishing third in 38:57.22 during the 10,000 meters.
“I’m super excited Emma was able to get on the podium in her first 10K of the year,” Sturman said. “I was really proud of her and it’s exciting for her to do it in her senior year.”
High jumpers Abigail White (senior, Centerville) and Ramey Dahlquist (freshman, Janesville, Waverly-Shell Rock HS) were fourth and seventh, respectively, after both cleared 5-1. White won the tie breaker based on fewer misses. Long jumpers Olivia Bolen (junior, Belle Plaine) and Karlee Warnke (sophomore, Primghar, South O’Brien HS) were sixth (17-6.25) and eighth (17-0.75), respectively. Sage Austin (sophomore, Carlisle) took sixth in the heptathlon with 3,563 points.
The final day of competition from the league championships start with field events at 10 a.m. running events begin at 1:30 p.m.
 
 
Top-eight finishes
10,000 meters – 3. Emma Rocha, 38:57.22; 10. Kira Hooper, 42:00.28
3000-meter steeplechase – 1. Peyton Steffen, 10:33.21; 8. Teah Miller, 11:44.19
4×800 relay – 2. Peyton Madison, Teah Miller, Riley Packer, Alivia Roerdink, 9:28.64
High jump – 4. Abigail White, 5-1; 7. Ramey Dahlquist, 5-1
Long jump – 6. Olivia Bohlen, 17-6.25; 8. Karlee Warnke, 17-0.75
Heptathlon – 6. Sage Austin, 3,563 points
 
Qualified for Saturday’s finals
100-meter dash (prelims) – 5. Mary Gustason, 12.40
200 meters (prelims) – 4. Emily McMartin, 24.77; 8. Ava Parkins, 25.51
400 meters (prelims) – 3. Emily McMartin, 56.77; 5. Ava Parkins, 57.88
800 meters (prelims) – 3. Alivia Roerdink, 2:15.04
100-meter hurdles (prelims) – 2. Olivia Bohlen, 14.83
 

Many waterpolo stars have passed through HaBaWaBa over the years, but few can boast the palmares of Branislav Mitrovic, former goalkeeper and two-time Olympic champion with Serbia, in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2020, and also winner of one World Championships gold medal and four editions of European Championships. Having retired last year, Mitrovic is now part of the coaching staff of Vasas, the prestigious club from Budapest that has been taking part in the Lignano Sabbiadoro event for years: Mitrovic will coach the U13 formation of the Hungarian club, which is taking part in HaBaWaBa International Festival PLUS 2025 starting on June 22^nd.  

Mr. Mitrovic, why did Vasas choose to come to HaBaWaBa?

Branislav Mitrovic playing for Serbia: he won 2 Olympics, 1 WC, 4 EC, 6 World League, 1 University Games and 1 Mediterranean Games (ph. European Aquatics).

I heard a lot about HaBaWaBa before, this tournament is very popular, and as a coach I made some research, discovering that is a very good tournament, with a lot of teams and kids. One of the coach of our club is Ildiko Sedlmayer, who has an old relationship with HaBaWaBa, and she asked me if I wanted to participate in the event and I had no doubt. After, she told me a little be more and now I’m very excited, I look forward to go there: I call HaBaWaBa the waterpolo world fair, with a lot of kids in one place, plenty of games, and the chance to meet other team, coaches and cultures.

The importance of involving kids in waterpolo is the concept behind HaBaWaBa: do you share the same idea?

Yes, I am. It’s very important because kids are genuine, they play with their hearts and give them free time to play with the ball in the water is a very good idea to make them know waterpolo.  

What do you think about HaBaWaBa rules?

I’ve studied a little bit, for me they are ok: we can see that they’re trying to reach the same goal in senior waterpolo. I thing that we need to make waterpolo more interesting for kids. When my children play football, they can score every time. We need to manage that for kids playing waterpolo, to have the same feeling, to have fun playing. And also, on the other side, these rules help to develop basics of the game, swimming and legs.  

Let’s talk about you: how did you fall in love with waterpolo? 

I was in 3^rd grade and some of my friends pushed me to try a sport in the water along with them. After 3 days of training the coach put me in the cage as goalkeeper: I never knew why, maybe because he saw my height and the size of my hands. You know, waterpolo could be not nice at the beginning: the water is cold and the game is tough. So playing with my friends and having a good environment in Novi Sad, at Vojvodina, were very important for me. Waterpolo is playing together: if I’m still in waterpolo is because it’s a collective sport, that is much better than individual sport. In team sport you don’t train just for your goal, you are not alone, you fight, cry and cheer with your friends. And I had great teammates: I played with Nikola Radjen and Dusko Pijetlovic since we were kids. 

To be a goalkeeper is a very hard job: have you any suggestion for little HaBaWaBa goalies? 

Just have fun. And make it personal: “You’re not going to score a gol against me!”, that’s the thought they should think in the cage.  

Will you coach the kids in Lignano Sabbiadoro?

That will be a very good experience for me as well as for the kids. They’re going to travel abroad without parents and that’s important because nowadays kids are often too attached to parents. It will be good for kids to be a little bit away from them, to see other place and other athletes in the village, as it happens at the Olympics or University Games, feeling just the competition. And it applies also to me: also adults need to explore.

Before you, other famous waterpolo goalies came to HaBaWaBa, as Stefano Tempesti, who announced his retire at the end of the season. Can you tell me which are the best goalkeepers you’ve seen in your life?

During his career, Mitrovic played for Vojvodina, Partizan, Ferencvaros, Debrecen, Eger, OSC and Vasas (ph. European Aquatics).

As first I say Jesus Rollan, one of the greatest person and goalkeeper in waterpolo: he made Spain so good at that time. Then Denis Sefik, who was born to be the king. And now I like Some Vogel, he had a very big impact in Ferencvaros and Hungary national team. 

What about the new generation goalies? Who do you like?

Croatian Mauro Ivan Cubranic could be one very good goalkeeper at international level.

You were part of the gold generation of Serbia, who won 2 Olympics. After Tokyo 2020 most of you left the national team, however Serbia triumphed again in Paris 2024, against all odds. Will they win also the next Singapore 2025 World Championships? 

In Serbia we have a very good organization about coaching and this is why we keep winning so many medals. The players of the “new” Serbia were good prepared, they didn’t win the third gold olympic medal accidentally. After Tokyo Serbia needed few years to get that level we have before. In the next 4 years the team is going to change less players, has already started a new cycle ahead of other national teams and will play 4 years more with these players. I’m sure Serbia will reach the top 4 in Singapore. 

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