College Sports

Nineteen Sherando athletes sign with colleges

STEPHENS CITY — After several coaches had finished praising the athletes who had assembled on Sherando’s auditorium stage, the high school’s coordinator of student activities wanted to make sure the approximately 200 people in the audience understood the full significance of what they were seeing. “I have done some recalculation, and there’s 19 of them up […]

Published

3 weeks ago

April 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Nineteen Sherando athletes sign with colleges

STEPHENS CITY — After several coaches had finished praising the athletes who had assembled on Sherando’s auditorium stage, the high school’s coordinator of student activities wanted to make sure the approximately 200 people in the audience understood the full significance of what they were seeing.

“I have done some recalculation, and there’s 19 of them up there,” said Jason Barbe, drawing laughter with his statement. “Let’s give them all a hand. This is amazing.”

The crowd was quick to applaud the group of athletes who have made a habit of inspiring cheers over the years.

Eight sports and five college levels were represented on the stage on Wednesday, including two athletes who are headed to NCAA Division I Radford University in McKenna Hardy (soccer) and Gracie Defibaugh (track & field as well as cross country). Sherando’s state semifinalist football team had the largest representation, with 10 people set to play football at the next level and star quarterback Micah Carlson signing to compete in track & field.

Sherando track coach Brad Symons recently said Hardy — who in addition to playing soccer also stars in track & field — is probably the best female athlete in the entire school. She currently holds the area’s best marks in the 100 (12.74 seconds), long jump (16 feet, 9 inches) and triple jump (35-1) and ranks in the program’s all-time top 10 in all three events.

It doesn’t take long to see that Hardy is a unique athlete, which the Radford soccer coaching staff will certainly attest to.

The center back plays her club ball with Great Falls Reston Soccer Club. Her club coach is friends with Radford associate head coach Davis Fox, and he invited Fox to see her play in a tournament.

“He was late and only got to see me play the last five minutes of the game,” Hardy said. “He liked what he saw in the last five minutes, I guess. I was four games in and I was tired, but he invited me to an ID camp.”

Radford 29th-year head coach Ben Sohrabi also liked what he saw from Hardy and invited her to visit with the team in June of last year.

“Everybody on the team is in the same vicinity in the dorms, and they’re all very close with each other,” said Hardy of her visit. “It was a very family kind of feeling with the team. I really liked that. That was my favorite part about it.”

An offer to play for the team soon followed. Hardy will receive a partial academic scholarship and will have the opportunity to earn athletic scholarship money in the future. Hardy will major in biology at Radford and will look to enter the medical field in the future.

Radford has had plenty of success under Sohrabi. He has a career record of 306-201-51 with nine Big South Conference titles. The Highlanders reached their 10th NCAA Tournament in 2023 and went 9-4-5 last year (3-1-3 in the Big South), falling in the conference semis.

A member of the Sherando varsity team as a freshman and sophomore, Hardy focused on playing club ball as a junior but has returned to lead the Warriors to a 9-0 record this year. With Hardy at center back, Sherando has only surrendered four goals. Hardy has occasionally been moved up into the attack and had scored four goals.

“I’ve always been better at reading people when it comes to soccer,” said Hardy when asked what she likes about playing defense. “And with my speed, if someone gets by me, I can catch up to them. No matter their speed, I know the angles to cut in at so I can stop them.”

Hardy said it means a lot to her to compete at the college level.

“It’s amazing that all the hard work that I put in finally came out into something,” Hardy said. “I wasn’t sure that I was going to play college soccer. But going to an ID camp for a D-I school, and just seeing a glimpse of what I could be, that made me want to play in college.”

Hardy will see a familiar face on campus next year in her track teammate Defibaugh.

Last year, Defibaugh was the area’s fastest runner in the 800 (2:20.65; No. 2 in school history) and No. 2 runner in the 1,600 (5:18.93; No. 7 in school history) and competed in both events at the Class 4 meet. This season, she ranks third in the area in both events. She had Sherando’s best time at the Region 4D cross country meet in the fall and had a top 3.1-mile time of 20:26.30, according to MileStat.

Radford took third in the Big South in outdoor track last year and fourth in indoor this year. The Highlanders were also third at the Big South cross country meet.

Defibaugh liked the idea of joining a strong program, so she reached out to Radford about five months ago. She went on two visits after that, one to check out the school as a whole, and one to familiarize herself with the program on an official visit.

“I love the coach,” Defibaugh said. “All the girls were great. The campus was beautiful. They had everything I wanted. It seemed like a perfect fit.”

Defibaugh will have the opportunity for scholarship money in the future. She’s undecided on a major.

“It’s crazy,” said Defibaugh about competing at the college level. “It’s been my dream since I was little. To see it come true, and to think back to my younger self, she’d be very proud of me.”

Before college comes, Defibaugh will look to get the most out of her senior year and compete at the state meet again.

“I feel like each year, I take a little more out of it,” said Defibaugh of her running career year. “I keep cutting down on the time. Mentally, [running] is my favorite thing to do.”

The other two track athletes involved in Wednesday’s ceremony will both compete at the NCAA Division II level.

Tristan Hantute-Abebe will attend Ferrum College, which will begin competing in Division II in the Conference Carolinas in 2025-26. The Panthers are currently in the midst of their final year in the Division III Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

Hantute-Abebe ranks third in the area in the 200 (22.64, No. 4 in program history) and has posted times of 11.27 in the 100 (No. 7) and 52.11 in the 400 (No. 9). In indoor track, he ranks second in program history in the 300 and third in the 55.

Hantute-Abebe will study nursing.

Carlson will attend Frostburg State University in Maryland and compete as a decathlete. The Bobcats placed seventh at the Mountain East Conference indoor meet this year and fourth at last year’s outdoor meet.

As a junior, Carlson had the area’s best marks in the discus (154-11) and triple jump (42-3) and placed sixth in Class 4 in the discus and tied for ninth in the high jump. This year, he’s No. 1 in the discus, tied for second in the high jump (5-10) and No. 3 in the long jump (20-4) and triple jump.

Carlson will study electrical engineering.

Carlson — the Region 4D Offensive Player of the Year — was joined on stage by 10 football teammates who helped the Warriors post a 12-2 record and capture the Region 4D title.

T.J. Rohrbaugh has been a part of Sherando football for most of its history as a player and assistant coach prior to taking the head coaching position in 2023. The Warriors have won eight region titles and been to four state title games in their 32-year history, but he told the crowd that the Warriors have never had a signing class like this year’s.

“This is an outstanding group that I’ve had the opportunity to coach,” Rohrbaugh said. “We’ve never had 10 guys sign to go play at the next level. These guys really set the standard for our program in lot of ways, and I couldn’t be more proud of them as a group. I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to coach these guys. These guys up on here on stage were a big reason we were able to have the success we were able to have this past season.

“Thank you, all you guys. I appreciate everything you did for our football program. I’m going to miss the hell out of every one of you guys, and good luck in the future.”

Linebacker/H-back James Walters (undecided on major) is also heading to Ferrum. Walters ranked second in the area in tackles with 150 (80 solo, 12 for loss), and had three interceptions, three forced fumbles and two sacks. He was a Class 4 State, Region 4D and Northwestern District First Team selection.

Four players are heading to NCAA Division III Christopher Newport — offensive tackle Parker Fredman, safety/wide receiver twins Hayden and Tucker LaFever and wide receiver/kicker Aiden Leatch. The Captains went 7-3 overall and 5-1 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference last year.

Fredman (business finance) was a Region 4D and Northwestern District First Team pick who helped the Warriors average 32.6 points per game.

Tucker LaFever (undecided, will eventually go to pilot school) had 62 tackles (42 solo), six pass breakups and one interception. He was a Region 4D and Northwestern District First Team selection. He had 434 total yards and four TDs.

Hayden LaFever (undecided) had 53 tackles (35 solo, six for a loss), three pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one interception. He was a Region 4D and Northwestern District Second Team pick. He had 10 catches for 235 yards and a TD.

Leatch (undecided) tied for the area lead in receptions (25) and receiving TDs (five) and ranked third in receiving yards (465). He was a Region 4D and Northwestern District Second Team selection.

Two other football players — linebacker Breiden “BB” Lowery and offensive guard Kaden Hurst — will also continue their education and athletic careers in Newport News at The Apprentice School. The Builders are members of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association and went 6-5, concluding their season with a 59-6 win over Atlantis University in the Neptune Bowl.

Lowery was The Winchester Star Defensive Player of the Year after ranking third in the area with 148 tackles (85 solo, 13 for a loss). He also had seven forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, four sacks and two interceptions. He was named to the Region 4D and Northwestern District First Team.

Hurst was named All-Region 4D Honorable Mention after helping the Warriors average 344.9 yards per game.

Lowery will focus on electrical work and Hurst will focus on outside mechanics.

Defensive end Kaleb Nowlin will compete for NCAA Division III Bridgewater College. The Eagles went 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the ODAC.

Nowlin ranked ninth in the area in tackles with 93 (54 solo, 22 for loss) and tied for the area-lead in sacks (8.5). He had two forced fumbles and two interceptions and was a Region 4D and Northwestern District First Team selection.

Nowlin will study business.

Also heading to the ODAC is the other defensive end. Also a tight end, Ben Taylor will compete for Hampden-Sydney College (5-5, 3-4 ODAC). He had 11 catches for 189 yards and tied for the area lead with five receiving TDs. Taylor was Honorable Mention All-District on defense (49 tackles, 10 for a loss, six sacks, five pass breakups).

Taylor will study mechanical engineering.

Running back Tali Burgess will compete for Waynesburg University, a Division III school in Pennsylvania. Waynesburg went 4-6 overall and in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference last year.

Burgess averaged a team-best 10.3 yards per carry, rushing 52 times and ranking second on Sherando with 533 yards. He also had four rushing TDs and caught eight passes for 65 yards and a TD.

Burgess will study physical science.

After Rohrbaugh, several other coaches expressed their gratitude and appreciation for the athletes on stage. Others who spoke were baseball coach Craig Bodenschatz; Brian Kibler, who recently stepped down as wrestling coach after seven seasons; girls’ basketball coach Brooklyn Wilson; cross country and track coaches Megan Roberts and Becky McGraw; and girls’ soccer coach Patrick Gladden.

Baseball catcher Dylan Frazier (undecided) will play for Allegany College of Maryland, a National Junior College Athletic Association school in Cumberland. Allegany is 29-19 overall and 20-12 in Region 20.

In 2024, Frazier led the area with 25 RBIs and tied for the lead with four homers. He hit .366 and had a .432 on-base percentage while being named First Team All-Class 4 Northwestern District and Second Team All-Region 4D. This year, Frazier is hitting .462 (18 for 39) with a .533 on-base percentage, one home run, 15 RBIs and four doubles.

Frazier’s teammate Gavin McKelvey is another player heading to Waynesburg. The Yellow Jackets are 7-25 overall and 3-12 in the PAC this year, but last year’s squad went 23-19 with a 15-5 PAC record.

In 34.2 innings last year, McKelvey went 5-2 with a 3.64 ERA, 31 strikeouts and a 1.48 WHIP. This season, he’s 1-1 with a 3.50 ERA and nine strikeouts in 10 innings.

McKelvey will study cybersecurity.

Sherando has two wrestlers who will compete at the NCAA Division III level in Damien Costello (Shenandoah University) and Judson Dean (Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania).

Costello went 32-11 at 120 pounds and qualified for the Class 4 state tournament by taking second at the Region 4D tournament. He will join an SU team that placed sixth in the ODAC and went 5-8 (3-4 ODAC) in duals this year.

Costello will study business entrepreneurship.

Dean went 29-12 with 15 pins at 215 pounds. He placed third in Region 4D to qualify for the state tournament. Dean will join a Saint Vincent team that placed second in the PAC and a 5-7 (3-1 PAC) duals record.

Dean will study marketing.

One athlete at Wednesday’s ceremony will compete in two sports. The general public knows Madison Mood for her basketball exploits, but she’ll also be competing for a national equestrian power at the University of Lynchburg.

The Hornets won their third straight National Collegiate Equestrian Association single discipline national championship in 2024. This year’s team lost to Dartmouth in the semifinals but won the ODAC Head-to-Head Championship for the second straight year and the traditional ODAC Championship for the third straight year. Lynchburg will compete in the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association National Championship May 2-4 in Tryon, North Carolina.

In basketball, Mood averaged 8.7 points (second on the team) and 5.7 rebounds (first) and also made 61.4 percent of her free throws. She was a Winchester Star Second Team All-Area selection.

Mood will join a Lynchburg squad that went 10-14 overall and 6-10 in the ODAC this year.

Mood will study business administration.

College Sports

Atwwood homers twice and drives in four to send No. 6 Texas past UCF 9-0

AUSTIN, Texas — Reese Atwood hit two, two-run home runs, Leighann Goode homered for the second straight day and sixth-ranked Texas eliminated UCF with a 9-0 win in the Austin Regional on Sunday. Longhorns pitcher Teagan Kavan spread six hits in a complete-game shutout and topped 200 strikeouts for the season in the process. Senior […]

Published

27 minutes ago

May 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

AUSTIN, Texas — Reese Atwood hit two, two-run home runs, Leighann Goode homered for the second straight day and sixth-ranked Texas eliminated UCF with a 9-0 win in the Austin Regional on Sunday.

Longhorns pitcher Teagan Kavan spread six hits in a complete-game shutout and topped 200 strikeouts for the season in the process. Senior Mia Scott went 3-for-4 at the plate and recorded her 300th career hit with a flair double in the fifth inning.

Goode opened the scoring in the second inning, jumping on a first-pitch riseball parking it over the center-field wall. Atwood, who flew out in her first two at-bats, turned on a high riser in the fifth to double the Texas lead to 4-0 and chase Isabella Vega from the game. Vega, a redshirt freshman, allowed eight hits and four earned runs while striking out three in 4⅓ innings.

The Knights (35-24-1), who extended their record run of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances to five, batted 2 for 14 with runners on base, stranded seven runners, and committed three fielding errors.

Texas (49-10) advances to the NCAA Super Regionals for the sixth straight season; its first as a member of the SEC following departure from the Big 12. Texas hosts No. 11 Clemson in a best-of-three series next weekend for a spot in the Women’s College World Series.

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

Link

College Sports

Color of Hockey: Lee ready to lead U.S. at World Para Ice Hockey Championship

Lee was transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, to help his body and mind recuperate. There, he connected with Operation Comfort, a nonprofit group that provided rehabilitative and therapeutic programs for wounded veterans at the medical center. “I tried playing wheelchair basketball, volleyball, other adaptive sports,” Lee said. “When I heard […]

Published

54 minutes ago

May 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

“I tried playing wheelchair basketball, volleyball, other adaptive sports,” Lee said. “When I heard about sled hockey, I was a little surprised because I didn’t even know you could play hockey as a disabled person. I immediately signed up for it and as soon as I went in for my first practice with other service members I definitely fell in love. It’s really the fastest sport there is compared to other therapy or adaptive sports.”

Lee began playing with the San Antonio Rampage sled hockey team in 2009 and worked his way onto the U.S. national program by 2010. He’s 41-1-0-2 (W-OTW-OTL-L) with a 0.65 goals-against average, .907 save percentage and 25 shutouts for the national team. In addition to three Paralympics gold medals, he has three world championship gold medals (2023, 2021, 2019 and 2012) and two silver medals (2024, 2013).

All the hardware and championships are meaningful, Lee said, but the Beijing Paralympic gold brought him to tears because he earned it as the team’s No. 1 goalie.

“It was the first time that I was able to help contribute or be able to be part of all that, to get on the ice,” he said. “I thought about my family, too. I came to the United States as an immigrant from Taiwan and, knowing their sacrifices and struggles from growing up, it wasn’t easy. And my dream of being an elite athlete, being G.I. Joe, a soldier.

“Just being able to accomplish all that, though the path was different, it was still a huge accomplishment,” he said. “I was just happy, and that’s the emotion that came out.”

Link

College Sports

Kansas State University

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Playing in the first NCAA Championship in program history, the Kansas State women’s golf team was unable to produce another low round to survive the 54-hole cut on Sunday, but sophomore Alenka Navarro and senior Carla Bernat advanced as individuals to Monday’s final round at the par-72, 6,330-yard Omni La Costa Resort […]

Published

1 hour ago

May 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Playing in the first NCAA Championship in program history, the Kansas State women’s golf team was unable to produce another low round to survive the 54-hole cut on Sunday, but sophomore Alenka Navarro and senior Carla Bernat advanced as individuals to Monday’s final round at the par-72, 6,330-yard Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.

Following a round of 12-over par 890 on Sunday, the Wildcats finished in a tie for 19th place at 26-over par 890, eight shots below the 54-hole cutline of 15 teams. The Wildcats and Demon Decans finished five shots ahead of 21st-place Kansas. Navarro and Bernat were able to advance to Monday’s final round by virtue of being two of the top nine individuals on non-advancing teams.

“I think the last two days showed some of the stuff we need to clean up and the things we need to get better at, especially at the highest level,” head coach Stew Burke said. “You’re not going to get away with those mistakes. But, what a great season. I am really, really proud. It was looking as though we had a shot with a few holes to go. The most important thing is just keeping our fans happy.”

The Wildcats closed out the 2024-25 campaign by ranking first in program history in team scoring average (288.13) in addition to rounds (38) and tournaments (13) played. Additionally, 10 of the lowest 17 team rounds in school history and seven of the lowest 11 team 54-hole scores have come this season. On the individual front, seven of the top 17 rounds and six of the top 10 individual 54-hole scores were obtained this season.

Bernat led the Wildcats on Sunday by posting a score of 1-over par 73. After starting with a bogey and double bogey on the first two holes, the Castellon, Spain, native parred the rest of the front 9 before going bogey-free and 2-under par on the back 9. She enters Monday’s final round tied for 37th place at 3-over par 219.

Navarro finished Sunday’s round one shot back of Bernat, going 1-over par on each side. Overall, the Mexico City native is one shot ahead of Bernat as she is tied for 28th place at 2-over par 218.

“Both of those ladies did great to get to the fourth round,” Burke said. “Obviously we wanted to get there as a team, but two out of five isn’t bad. To be honest, it really is a changing of the guard. Carla has done so much for us the last two years. She had taken Alenka under her wing and shown her what it takes to be a high-class player. Tomorrow, they will go head to head in Carla’s final round. So that’s kind of cool for me to see. The future is bright.”

Senior Sophie Bert, junior Noa van Beek and freshman Nanami Nakashima each saw their seasons come to an end as they tied for 124th place at 15-over par 231. A native of Oene, Netherlands, van Beek had her best round of the weekend at 2-over par 74 with four birdies on the day. Bert played her final 18 collegiate holes at 7-over par 79, while Nakashima finished the day at 9-over par 81.

Bert, a former East Tennessee State transfer who became the first individual conference champion in program history, finished her lone season at K-State with a 73.39 scoring average to rank fourth in school history. Nakashima finished at 73.95 during her initial collegiate campaign to rank 10th in school history. van Beek will enter her senior campaign ranked fourth in school history with a career 74.47 scoring average.

The top-ranked team in the country, Stanford, held on to its 36-hole lead and is 15 shots clear of the next best team, Northwestern, as the Cardinal enters Monday’s final round at 23-under par 841. Stanford is in position to be the No. 1 seed once match play begins on Tuesday as the top eight teams after Monday’s final round of stroke play will advance to the match-play portion of the championship.

Arkansas’ Maria Jose Marin posted a score of 7-under par 65 on Sunday to improve 11 spots on the individual leaderboard. She enters the final round of stroke play at 9-under par 207, one shot ahead of Stanford’s Paula Martin Sampedro.

Navarro and Bernat will begin Monday’s final round off the 10th tee at 12:51 p.m. and 1:12 p.m. (PT), respectively. Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD powered by Clippd.

Link

College Sports

Penn State’s first official visits, Elite 11, All 22 recap | Penn State Football News

It was a busy weekend for football in Happy Valley as Penn State hosted its first batch of 2026 official visitors while State College Area High School held the Elite 11 and All 22 camp at Memorial Field. From a top two-way in-state target, to a tandem of future Penn State quarterbacks, there was tons […]

Published

1 hour ago

May 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

From a top two-way in-state target, to a tandem of future Penn State quarterbacks, there was tons of action.

Here’s everything that went down this weekend.

Official visits

The headliner on the official visit front was 4-star ATH Joey O’Brien. O’Brien is arguably the top player on Penn State’s board, being recruited to play both wide receiver and safety for James Franklin.

He’s the No. 65 player nationally and No. 2 player in Pennsylvania, playing for La Salle College High School, where former Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter played. O’Brien has finalists of Penn State, Oregon, Notre Dame, Clemson, Michigan and Tennessee.

Right behind O’Brien is one of the top players on cornerbacks coach Terry Smith’s board in 4-star cornerback Khary Adams. He’s the No. 76 player nationally, No. 10 cornerback and No. 4 player in Maryland.

Another top-100 prospect who made his way to campus was 4-star EDGE/linebacker Cincere Johnson. He’s the No. 73 player nationally and No. 2 player in Ohio, and has finalists of Penn State, Ohio State and Alabama.

4-star cornerback Dorian Barney made the trip from Georgia, though he has ties to Pennsylvania, being originally from Erie. He has finalists of Penn State, Michigan, Colorado, Texas A&M, North Carolina and Georgia Tech, and is the No. 150 player nationally, No. 20 player in Georgia and No. 15 cornerback. He was previously committed to Alabama.

Another cornerback target made the trek in 4-star Camren Hamiel, who has finalists of Penn State, Oregon, Texas A&M and Nebraska, and is ranked as the No. 225 player nationally, No. 22 cornerback and No. 1 overall player in Arizona. He goes to Desert Edge High School, but started at Fort Wayne Northrop in Indiana, where former 2026 Penn State wideout pledge Jerquaden Guilford plays.

Penn State has a trio of wideouts committed in 2026, but a near top-100 prospect nationally at the position went for an official visit in 4-star Messiah Hampton. He’s the No. 101 player nationally, No. 11 wide receiver and No. 1 player in New York.

Another target in the secondary that was up for an official visit was 4-star safety Jordan Deck. He’s the No. 387 player nationally, No. 52 in Texas and No. 36 safety.

A riser who was offered by Penn State just over a month ago in 3-star wide receiver Brian Williams Jr. rounds out the group. He’s the No. 746 player nationally, No. 117 wide receiver and No. 101 player in Florida.

Camp action

The Elite 11 and All 22 camp continued its national tour, stopping at State College for high school recruits to showcase their skills.

Tons of talented quarterbacks were in attendance like the No. 3 quarterback in the 2027 class in 4-star Nebraska pledge Trae Taylor and 4-star Washington commit Derek Zammit. Zammit went to the Elite 11 finals, but Penn State had a pair of its future gunslingers tossing the pigskin.

Both 4-star 2026 quarterback Penn State commits Peyton Falzone and Troy Huhn made the trip, marking the first time the duo has interacted with each other in person. Falzone made the drive from in-state Nazareth, while Huhn made the cross-country trek from California.

Elite 11, Troy throws ball — Quarterback Troy Huhn throws the ball at the Elite 11 football camp at the State College Area High School South Track Facility on Sunday, May 18, 2025 in State College, Pa.

Matt Cropp

Falzone is the No. 247 player nationally, No. 17 quarterback and No. 6 player in Pennsylvania. He was formerly committed to Virginia Tech and plays for Nazareth High School, where former Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson played.

Huhn’s the No. 268 player nationally, No. 28 in California and No. 20 quarterback. Penn State hadn’t had a commitment from the Golden State since linebacker Koa Farmer in 2014 prior to Huhn’s pledge. Freshman linebacker LaVar Arrington II became the next shortly after.

In addition to the gunslingers, a pair of commits from Delaware made the trip, in 4-star 2027 offensive tackle Layton Von Brandt and 3-star defensive lineman Isaac Chukwurah. Both spent some time competing against each other in drills.

Von Brandt is the No. 74 player nationally, No. 7 offensive tackle and No. 1 player in Delaware. Chukwurah is ranked as the No. 711 player nationally, No. 79 defensive lineman and No. 2 player in Delaware.

Chukwurah brought home the defensive line MVP for the All 22 camp.

MORE FOOTBALL CONTENT

Penn State recruiting, wide receiver room and official visits | The 1-0 Podcast

“The 1-0 Podcast” co-hosts Avery Hill and Will Horstman reacted to recent 4-star wide receiv…

Link

College Sports

Mulligan like an MVP for P-Bruins

Staff Writer | Standard-Times As Hartford Wolf Pack coach John Paddock scouts key members of the Providence Bruins during their Calder Cup semifinal playoff series, he’d be smart to write down the name Tom Mulligan. A 25-year-old New Bedford native who played defense on his high school hockey team, Mulligan set a record this year […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Staff Writer
| Standard-Times

As Hartford Wolf Pack coach John Paddock scouts key members of the Providence Bruins during their Calder Cup semifinal playoff series, he’d be smart to write down the name Tom Mulligan.

A 25-year-old New Bedford native who played defense on his high school hockey team, Mulligan set a record this year for assists, but not with his hockey stick. He carries bandages, tape and surgical scissors on his belt.

Mulligan, you see, is the P-Bruins athletic trainer.

“We were thinking about giving him the team MVP,” assistant coach Bill Armstrong said after a recent practice.

“We couldn’t do it, but if anybody deserved an MVP it would be him,” agreed head coach Peter Laviolette. “Tommy’s done a great job, phenomenal.”

When a player misses a game with an injury, the statistician marks it down as one man-game lost for the team.

During last year’s dream season that ended with an AHL championship, Providence lost 76 man-games. This season the P-Bruins exceeded that total by the end of November.

An AHL record 70 players have skated for the P-Bruins this season, and the total of man-games lost climbed throughout the winter like the price on the gas pump.

The P-Bruins current total of man-games lost due to injury alone is around 400. Combine that with suspensions and all the recalls by the similarly-battered Boston Bruins and the total for man-games lost exceeds 830.

“You learn by doing,”‘ Mulligan said.

“If you learn by doing,” Laviolette said, “he should be a genius in the field of medicine by now.”

Mulligan didn’t feel too smart on the final weekend of the regular season when newcomer Mike Sylvia was knocked unconscious during a game at Springfield, Mass. Along with the standard how-many-fingers question, Mulligan asked Sylvia “What’s my name?”

“Then it dawned on me – wait a second,” Mulligan told himself. “He probably doesn’t know my name. I just met him yesterday.”

During the season Mulligan spends seven days a week in the bowels of the Providence Civic Center. On game days he arrives at 8 a.m. and doesn’t go home until 11 p.m. Even on non-practice days, players stroll in for injury rehabilitation and to get their aching muscles massaged.

With hockey players’ ever-growing fear of concussions, the trainer has to be a good listener. Gone are the days when a player gets knocked cold and argues his way back onto the ice in 10 minutes.

“Some guys make a big deal out of the littler things, and some guys don’t pay attention to some things that they should,” Mulligan said. “That’s half the battle, the psychological issue.”

“Tommy’s good with people, that’s one of his strengths outside of being knowledgeable in what he does,” Laviolette said. “He’s a good person and he’s a good communicator. People like Tommy, they respect him. He’s a young kid taking care of guys who are 31, 32 years old.”

“We have a great atmosphere here in the locker room and Tommy’s a big part of it.”

Mulligan’s work load intensified even more this season when the man-games lost spread off the ice.

“We even lost our equipment manager (Vinny Ferraiuolo),” he said. Ferraiuolo had to assist in Boston after its equipment manager, Peter Henderson, was sidelined with an illness.

That left Mulligan with a college intern and half the work of the equipment manager, including sewing holes in hockey socks and new name tags onto jerseys for players being recalled from Greenville, S.C. (ECHL) or signed to tryout contracts.

“They stay here as late or later than we do,” Laviolette said of Mulligan and Ferraiuolo.

After graduating Quinnipiac College in 1997 with a degree in physical therapy, Mulligan interned with the Boston Bruins under fellow Quinnipiac alumnus Tim Trahant and there he fulfilled a life-long dream of meeting Ray Bourque.

“I grew up living and dying by the Bruins,” he said. “When I started in Boston, I had never really met a professional athlete.”

Mulligan was at the Bruins practice facility in Wilmington when Rob DiMaio and other players came into the trainer’s room and introduced themselves.

“He was talking to me like a regular person. It didn’t really faze me, then all of a sudden Ray walks in and I just stood there and froze,” Mulligan said. “He walked out. About five minutes later he comes back in. He walks over to me, taps me on the shoulder, goes ‘Hey, you the new kid?’ I went ‘hum-a-da-hum-a-da…’

“Since I was 5-years-old, he was my idol. For me now, if I see him and say ‘Hey Ray, how ya doing?’ He’d say ‘Tom, how are ya?’ That’s amazing to me.”

Mulligan is glad he joined the P-Bruins when there was ample opportunity to learn the many administrative duties the trainer must perform, including detailed documentation of all treatment for legal purposes.

He realized very early how different this season was going to be.

“In training camp,” he said. “Keith McCambridge had one of his hamstring tendons skated over.” And rookie winger Jeff Zehr came to camp with a recurring knee injury that still threatens his career.

Providence’s season was barely a month old when tough-guy winger Aaron Downey was accidentally stabbed in the groin by teammate Johnathan Aitken’s stick.

Unless they repeat as Calder Cup champions, the gore on the ice that night will be the signature moment of the P-Bruins’ season.

“We were going to sandwich (the defenseman), we were going to knock him off the puck,” said Downey, who crashed together with Aitken and sustained a horrific injury. He thought he had a painful charley horse until blood began squirting out of his leg onto the ice.

“I was going towards Aitken and he wasn’t moving,” Mulligan recalled. “As I maybe got to the faceoff circle I saw this streak of blood… I tried to go underneath (Downey’s hockey pants), I wasn’t sure where it was coming from. I went to his main artery in the groin area and our doctor (Jack Bevivino) came out there. He used his belt as a tourniquet.”

“‘m fortunate that the great doctor in the stands, Jack Bevivino, did what he did,” Downey said. “I’m just fortunate there’s great help here, that’s for sure.”

“Seventy-plus players in and out of the line-up, plus Tommy’s had his hands full all year. We broke the transactions record this year.”

An athletic trainer in the AHL earns anywhere between $25,000 and $40,000 and from $40,000 and $110,000 in the NHL, depending on experience and on which end of the organization is signing the paychecks. Mulligan is signed with Providence.

He hopes in the future for a healthier squad and the lighter schedule that comes with it.

In the meantime, his fianc?e Kellie Charbonneau has been patient. She wasn’t a hockey fan when they met.

“She is now,” Mulligan said. “She’s unbelievably supportive, she knows I love this.”

Link

College Sports

US scores 5 goals in middle period to rout Kazakhstan and advance at ice hockey worlds

HERNING, Denmark — After a goalless opening period, the United States proceeded to secure its place in the quarterfinals of the ice hockey world championship with a 6-1 rout of Kazakhstan on Sunday. The Americans are tied with the Czech Republic on 14 points in Group B, trailing leader Switzerland on 16. The U.S. completes […]

Published

3 hours ago

May 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The Americans are tied with the Czech Republic on 14 points in Group B, trailing leader Switzerland on 16. The U.S. completes its group stage on Tuesday against the Czechs, who have two more games to play.

“I thought we were ready to play out of the gate,” U.S. head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We need to continue to build and get ready for what will be a big challenge on Tuesday against the Czechs.”

Despite an unproductive first period in Herning, the U.S. jumped to a commanding five-goal lead in the second.

Frank Nazar broke the deadlock 6:58 into the period with a shot from the left circle above the glove of Sergei Kudryavtsev. The forward added two assists later in the game.

Defenseman Jackson Lacombe wristed a shot from the blue line through heavy traffic to double the lead with 8:14 to go in the second period.

The next two goals came in the span of 58 seconds.

Forward Tage Thompson scored his fifth at the tournament — after receiving a pass from defenseman Zeev Buium — to make it 3-0 with 6:00 left. Matty Beniers increased the advantage to four from the left circle before Michael Kesselring scored with a high shot from a tight angle from the boards 56 seconds before the end of the period.

U.S. defensive star Zach Werenski skated toward the goal before beating backup goalie Maxim Pavlenko who came on at the beginning of the final period.

Goaltender Jeremy Swayman made 16 saves for the U.S.

Switzerland demolished Hungary 10-0 and will play its last Group B game against Kazakhstan on Tuesday.

In Stockholm, a 5-1 victory over Slovakia lifted Latvia to fourth place in Group A.

Also in Stockholm, Austria beat Slovenia 3-2 in a shootout to keep alive its hopes of reaching the quarterfinals for the first time. Austria is tied in fifth with Slovakia in Group A.

The top four teams from each group will advance.

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Link