After completing the 400 meters as part of the men’s decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 11, Jaden Roskelley took a few moments to catch his breath. The BYU sophomore started talking to his coach under the tunnel leading out to the track when he felt a pat on his shoulder.

It was Washington State’s Parker Duskin, who had just completed the men’s 400 relay. Of all the events that took place during the four-day championship at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, it was quite the coincidence that these two athletes would wind up in the same spot together, even for a moment.

While competing for separate programs last weekend, the two graduated from Arlington High School a year apart — Roskelley in 2021, Duskin in 2022 — after competing for the Eagles track & field program. The pair would talk about competing for their dream schools, and eventually doing it on a national stage.

They each checked the first box a couple years ago, with Roskelley enrolling at BYU and Duskin at WSU. Last weekend they checked the second box, becoming the first pair of Arlington athletes to compete at the same national championship, much to the pride of Eagles coach Judd Hunter.

“That is a rarity,” Hunter said. “Even to have one make it, let alone two that graduated a year apart.”

With the strict rules and official proceedings of such an important meet, Roskelley and Duskin couldn’t talk to each other in that moment in the tunnel, but both were able to appreciate it. Duskin even texted Hunter a video of Roskelley completing his 400.

“It was definitely strange to see each other on such a big stage,” Roskelley said. “So many people around us and so many things going on when we came from such a— although Arlington isn’t that small, it had that small-town vibe.”

Duskin agreed it was weird in a good way. They managed to talk to each other after the meet about each other’s races, about what went right and what went wrong.

“We talked like we just never left,” Duskin said. “It’s really awesome, but it was just surreal for us, and no matter what, we still want to be champions and we still have that grind. So it’s almost like, job’s not finished.”

Duskin and the Cougars 400 relay placed 20th in the preliminaries with a time 39.41 seconds. It would ultimately be Duskin’s final race with the school he grew up wanting to compete for following Washington State’s decision to cut part of the track & field program to focus on a “distance-approach,” which was announced on Monday. Duskin, who competes in hurdle events as well as sprints, entered the transfer portal shortly after the news broke.

Meanwhile, Roskelley placed 19th in the decathlon despite entering the meet seeded fourth. In the long jump, he fouled his first two attempts, which forced him to take a more conservative approach in order to ensure he would be scored. His 7.02-meter jump (23-00.5) was more than a foot shorter than his personal record 7.75m (25-05.25).

Additionally, a stumble on the 110 hurdles slowed Roskelley down to a 15.97-second finish, last among the 20 finishers, costing him valuable placement and points.

“He’s just running, probably, his best race of his life,” Hunter said, recalling watching it on TV. “(He) nails — I can’t remember what number hurdle it was, maybe six, and almost bites it. Almost goes down, saves it, gets back and finishes. He still ran a (15.97) after almost falling down, but that’s tough. … That’s a difference of probably 100, 150 points right there.”

Roskelley excelled in other events, finishing second in the discus throw (150 feet), fifth in the javelin (184 feet, 1 inche) and tied for third in the high jump (6 feet, 8.25 inches), but ultimately the mishaps in two of his best events set up for a disappointing weekend in his eyes. He still turned it into a learning experience.

Following his trip on the hurdles, Roskelley realized he faced less pressure since placing high was more than likely off the table. He started to see better results in the subsequent events after focusing on each individual one rather than stressing about the points.

“It was so fun for me. … I was focusing on, you know, hitting my positions and doing the right thing in the event,” Roskelley said. “So that also was great. That was super cool to see, and I’m gonna carry that on to other meets, you know, focus on the event, not the overall score.”

Roskelley said he learns more in one track meet than he does over a few weeks of practice, and he credits Hunter for instilling the value of simplifying his focus to one thing at a time on each rep.

Going forward, Roskelley plans to focus on practicing higher quality reps and lowering his volume in order to maximize his progress while also staying fresher over the course of the season. Despite graduating high school in 2021, he just finished his sophomore season because he spent two years as a missionary in Ecuador before enrolling at BYU.

With his missionary work, Roskelley stayed moderately active but was unable to train, especially not at the level of a Division I athlete. He believed he didn’t return to the level of fitness he was at before the mission until halfway through this past season.

With two more years of eligibility left and this experience at nationals under his belt, Roskelley is excited to see his progress going forward. He plans to keep the bib from nationals on his locker throughout next season.

“It really is disappointing to do not as good as you know you can, because you’ve done it before,” Roskelley said. “So seeing that bib on my locker … for the rest of summer and next season is going to be a huge motivator.”

As for Duskin, once he finds a new team for his upcoming senior season, he hopes to return to nationals not just sprinting, but as a hurdler as well. He expects to train with Roskelley in Arlington at some point this summer, as both remain closely tied to Hunter and the Eagles program. Hunter introduced each of them to what is now their primary event — hurdles for Duskin and the decathlon for Roskelley — and the pair even returned last spring to speak to the current Arlington team at the time.

“I was just that kid at one point, right?” Duskin said. “I just walked in, I saw how amazing our track program is. … I was that kid who didn’t want to do hurdles at all, and now I’m doing it at the NCAA national meets, so it’s just, you never know what you’re going to get. I wanted to go out and talk to those guys and say, ‘Just give it your all. Listen to Coach (Hunter).’ I mean, we have such a successful program that we have set up in the Washington area.”

Hunter said their words for the Arlington team served as great motivation, and he noticed performances started to tick up as a result. As proud as he is for what the two are accomplishing now, he’s also proud of what they give back to the program.

“It’s just a great thing,” Hunter said. “To have two guys from the same high school that are really good friends, both competing at the Nationals.”

The 2025 volleyball season starts in eight weeks and before the fall arrives, today’s blog will highlight the athletes that were honored to star in this past season’s GACA/BSN All-Star Games. This event was hosted by Jefferson High School and had 38 individuals from around the state that were nominated by the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association. The all-stars were comprised of mostly juniors and sophomores and gives great insight to some of the top Class of 2026 and 2027 prospects in the state. While it is not a complete picture to what the 2025 season will look like, these athletes will be leaders returning to their respective program that will provide invaluable experience this upcoming season.

Savannah Arts libero Maggie Allen is a Class of 2026 libero that is one of the top servers in the state. Allen posted a career-best 84 aces last year after tallying 81 as a sophomore. Teammate Charlotte Browne was one of the sophomores selected to play in the all-star game last year and is a Class of 2027 Middle Hitter. Last year, Browne helped lead the Panthers with 101 kills and 56 total blocks.  Oconee County was represented by Class of 2027 Middle Hitter Jillian Benning and Class of 2026 Outside Hitter Petra Mooney. Last year, Benning (62) and Mooney (158) accounted for a combined 220 of the Warriors’ kills.

Johns Creek will be another team with returning starpower in 2025. Hana Catic, a 2027 Outside Hitter and Defensive Specialist appeared in the all-star game and will be teaming up with Class of 2026 Adonia Haile next year. Haile—who surpassed 1,000 career assists last September while starring for the Gladiators. Haile and Johns Creek finished 25-9 last season after dropping a tough 3-2 loss to Sequoyah in the first round. In that defeat, Haile matched her season-high with 28 assists. Haile finished her junior season with a team-high 556 assists and had just 16 ball handling errors in 88 sets played. The 5-foot-7 setter tallied 179 assists as a freshman and then posted 485 assists as a sophomore in 114 sets played. Haile has increased her impact, while decreasing the errors and will be a pivotal piece for Johns Creek this season with both Sara Buoni and Hana Catic returning after breakout sophomore campaigns where they led Johns Creek with 275 and 232 kills, respectively.

ROAD TO RECOVERY

Westminster’s Toni Odujebe missed the all-star game due to an injury, but will be back this season to help the Wildcats in their quest for a 10th all-time state title and first since 2020. Additionally, Northside-Columbus will benefit from Blakely Arnold’s recovery from her injury last year. In 2025, Arnold missed eight weeks with an ankle injury before returning to the lineup for the final several matches and provides the Patriots with a 6-foot presence at Middle Hitter.

2024 GACA/BSN All-Star Roster 

Maggie Allen, Savannah Arts, Libero 2026

Jillian Benning, Oconee County, MH 2027

Layla Bergman, Appling County, Setter 2026

Siena Berthold, Jackson County, OH/MH 2026

Charlotte Browne, Savannah Arts, MH 2027

Serenity Carter, Valdosta, OH/RH 2026

Hana Catic, Johns Creek, OH/DS 2027

Emory Caylor, Appling County

Fatima Cesaire, Fayette County, OH 2026

Elizabeth Cook, Oglethorpe County, OH 2026

Abby Dennard, Morgan County, Setter 2026

Layla Dunn, Mt. Paran, OH/RH 2027

Alyssa Feder, Brookwood, Setter 2026

Makaila Foster, Fayette County, MH 2026

Carsyn Galligan, Brookstone, MH/OH 2027

Mia Goldbach, North Cobb, OH 2026

Skyy Green, Ware County, OH 2026

Ava Husted, North Forsyth, Setter 2026

Juli McDaniel, Creekview, OH/RH 2026

Prentice McGarvey, Gainesville, L/DS 2026

Claudia Meditz, McIntosh, MH 2026

Petra Mooney, Oconee County, OH 2026

Allie Moore, West Laurens, L/DS 2026

Hannah Nicholson, North Cobb, L 2026

Tonii Odujebe, Westminster, OH 2027

Abby Peppers, Woodstock, MH 2026

Mar’ley Phillips, Seckinger, OH 2026

Olivia Philopt, River Ridge, L/DS 2026

Ryan Presley, Brookstone, Setter 2027

Mia Ray, North Gwinnett, OH 2027

Taylor Reid, Gainesville, MH 2025

Caitlyn Rivers, Richmond Academy, OH 2026

Camryn Scherer, Morgan County, L 2026

Jordynn Skinner, Holy Innocents’, L/DS 2026

Shelby Smith, Lakeside-Evans, OH 2027

Hadley Sparks, Bremen, OH/DS 2026

Addison Stewart, North Oconee, OH 2027

Marley Woodall, North Oconee, MH 2026

The Long Beach Century Club hosted its 68th Annual Sports Night Banquet this week recognizing the city’s top high school athletes along with a host of special award winners.

The562’s Mike Guardabascio and Tyler Hendrickson hosted the awards and started by naming Long Beach State coaches LaTanya Sheffield and Gavin Arroyo as the Century Club’s Co-Coaches of the Year. Both coached at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, where Sheffield served as head coach of Team USA’s women’s track and field team, while Arroyo was an assistant for the men’s water polo team.

A few more Olympians were then honored as the Century Club’s Players of the Year, with the honors going to Team USA water polo’s Max Irving, Hannes Daube, Chase Dodd, and Ryder Dodd. The four Long Beach natives played a key role in Team USA’s bronze-medal finish in Paris, and Daube and Chase Dodd were present at the banquet to accept the award.

This year, the Century Club also had four new inductees into the Hall of Fame: Vania King, Patty Gasso, Tara Cross-Battle, and Lashinda Demus.

King, a Long Beach Poly alumna, achieved a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world in doubles and No. 50 in singles. She won Wimbledon and US Open doubles titles in 2010 with partner Yaroslava Shvedova, and went on to capture 15 doubles titles on the WTA Tour. She also won a singles WTA Tour title at the 2006 Bangkok Open.

Gasso played softball at Long Beach State from 1983 to 1984 and began her coaching career at Long Beach City College in 1990. She was hired as the head coach of Oklahoma softball in 1995, where she just wrapped up her 31st year with the program. She has led the Sooners to eight national championships and holds the record for most wins by a coach in program history.

Cross-Battle led Long Beach State to an NCAA title in 1989 and was named AVCA Player of the Year in both 1988 and 1989. Cross-Battle earned an Olympic bronze medal in 1992 and was later inducted into the Long Beach State Hall of Fame (1995) and the International Volleyball Hall of Fame (2014).

Demus set national high school records at Wilson High in the 300-meter hurdles, as well as on the 4×400-meter relay team. She went on to compete for the University of South Carolina before winning multiple world titles and an Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles in 2012—becoming the first American woman to the event.

Less than a week after competing at two events at the NCAA championship, Florence Caron is a national champion in another country.

Caron raced at the Royal City Inferno on Wednesday, where she took home the title of Canadian National Champion in the 10,000-meters with a time of 33:18.84.

The Quebec native was the only collegiate athlete to race in the event, lining up against eight club runners. However, she took first place by nearly 10 seconds, showcasing her dominance on the track.

Last week, Caron raced in the 10,000m at the NCAA championship, where she finished 11th overall in 32:23.71. Two days later, she raced in the 5000-meters, running 15:49.72 for 16th place.

MORE SPORTS COVERAGE

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 19, 2025) –The U.S. Women’s National Team started strong before falling to Poland, 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-18) in 2025 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) play on Thursday in Belgrade, Serbia.

The U.S. (2-4) will have a day off before facing the Netherlands on Saturday, June 21 at 7:30 a.m. PT. Poland moved to 5-1 with the win.

Outside hitter Logan Eggleston led the U.S. with 24 points on 22 kills and two blocks. Middle blocker Brionne Butler led all players with six blocks, adding five kills and two aces to finish with 13 points. Libero Morgan Hentz played a tremendous match on defense, leading the team with nine digs and making multiple great plays to keep points alive.

The U.S. totaled 12 blocks to just seven for Poland and were nearly even in kills (50-48 Poland), but yielded 10 aces, including five in the fourth set.

“We would want to go back and pass some better balls at the end,” said Eggleston, when asked what she would have liked her team to do differently. “We lost the serve and pass game, which is super important, so we will get back in the gym and work hard to get ready for Holland on Saturday.”

“We just need to be more consistent. That is the frustrating piece. I don’t feel like we competed at a level that we held ourselves to the last three or four matches that we played,” remarked head coach Erik Sullivan. “We need to get back and regroup a little bit and make sure we are ready for our next match. Serve and pass is always important. We can’t give up three- and four-point runs and expect to be in sets, so that’s always going to be a focus for us.”

Outside hitter Sarah Franklin scored eight points on seven kills and a block playing the final two sets, opposite Logan Lednicky earned her eight points on six kills and two blocks, and middle blocker Molly McCage tallied five points on three kills and a pair of blocks. Amber Igiede and Roni Jones-Perry each scored two points, and Olivia Babcock and setter Ella Powell each had one.

With its fifth block of the first set, the second by Lednicky, the U.S. took a 15-11 lead. Poland evened the score at 16 before Eggleston scored three consecutive points to give the U.S. the lead for good. Two Butler kills, an Eggleston ace, and a free ball that fell in between four Poland players after a great dig by Hentz sealed the set victory.

Eggleston scored nine points on seven kills and two aces, Lednicky scored six points on four kills and a pair of blocks, and Butler added two kills and two blocks for four points.

An early ace gave Poland a 7-4 lead in the second set. An Eggleston kill on a back row attack gave the U.S. its last lead of the set, 13-12. Lednicky scored by putting a ball through the block to even the score at 17, but Poland finished the set on an 8-3 run.

Poland led for most of set three. Franklin, playing her first set of the match, scored after a great up by Hentz for an 8-7 lead and again when she hit the end line on an out-of-system attack to give the U.S. its final lead of the set, 9-8. A Butler ace closed the gap to one, 12-11, and another Butler block cut the deficit to two later in the set, 17-15. Poland ended the set on an 8-2 run. Franklin scored four points on three kills and a block.

Butler’s sixth block of the match, after another great save by Hentz, and ace gave the U.S. a 9-5 lead in the fourth set before Poland scored the next five points. Eggleston’s 23rd point of the match put the U.S. ahead 15-14 but Poland again scored five consecutive points to take control of the set. Eggleston recorded six kills in the set and Franklin added four.

Week Two Roster for 2025 VNL

U.S. Women’s Preliminary Roster for 2025 VNL
No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
6 Morgan Hentz (L, 5-9, Lakeside Park, Ky., Stanford Univ., Pioneer)
7 Lexi Rodriguez (L, 5-5, Sterling, Ill., Univ. of Nebraska Great Lakes)
8 Brionne Butler (MB, 6-4, Kendleton, Texas, Univ. of Texas, Lone Star)
9 Madisen Skinner (OH, 6-2, Katy, Texas, Univ. of Kentucky and Univ. of Texas, Lone Star)
13 Amber Igiede (MB, 6-3, Baton Rouge, La., Univ. of Hawaii, Delta)
16 Dana Rettke (MB, 6-8, Riverside, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin, Great Lakes)
21 Roni Jones-Perry (OH, 6-0, West Jordan, Utah, BYU, Intermountain)
22 Sarah Franklin (OH, 6-4, Lake Worth, Fla., Univ. of Wisconsin, Florida)
24 Olivia Babcock (Opp, 6-4, Los Angeles, Calif., Pitt, Southern California)
27 Ella Powell (S, 6-0, Fayetteville, Ark., Univ. of Washington, Delta)
28 Logan Lednicky (Opp, 6-3, Sugar Land, Texas, Univ. of Texas A&M, Lone Star)
29 Molly McCage (MB, 6-3, Spring, Texas, Univ. of Texas, Lone Star)
32 Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres (S, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Texas, Aloha)
33 Logan Eggleston (OH, 6-2, Brentwood, Tenn., Univ. of Texas, Southern)

Reserve
15 Rachel Fairbanks (S, 6-0, Tustin, Calif., Pitt, Southern California)

Coaches
Head Coach:  Erik Sullivan
Assistant Coach: Mike Wall
Second Assistant Coach: Brandon Taliaferro
Second Assistant Coach: Tayyiba Haneef-Park
Second Assistant Coach: Joe Trinsey
Team Manager: Rob Browning
Team Doctors:  William Briner, James Suchy, Chris Lee, Andrew Gregory
Physiotherapist: Kara Kessans
Physical Trainers: Shawn Hueglin, Shannon Boone
Mental Performance Coach: Andrea Becker, Katy Stanfill
Performance Analyst: Virginia Pham

Week 2 Schedule: Belgrade, Serbia (all times PDT)
Matches will be shown on VBTV, Big Ten Network and/or CBS Sports Network. Please check listings for BTN and CBSN.

June 18 USA def. Serbia, 3-2 (25-22, 25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 15-11)
June 19 Poland def. USA, 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-xx)
June 21 at 7:30 a.m. vs. Netherlands
June 22 at 7:30 a.m. vs. France

Week 1 Results: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
June 4 Italy def. USA, 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 30-28)
June 5 Brazil def. USA, 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19)
June 6 Czechia def. USA, 3-2 (23-25, 20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 27-25)
June 8 USA def Korea, 3-0 (25-13, 28-26, 25-17)

By: Jason Pugh, Associate Athletic Director for External Relations

NATCHITOCHES – As a track and field coach, Leon Johnson left an indelible imprint upon Northwestern State.
 
The impact he made upon those who competed for him – regardless of when or where – is of matching depth and importance.
 
Johnson, a legendary figure in Northwestern and the Southland Conference’s track and field history, died Tuesday at the age of 86. There will be a celebration of life for Johnson held at Magale Recital Hall on the NSU campus at 3 p.m. Sunday. Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. Saturday at Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home, located at 848 Keyser Avenue in Natchitoches.

“I am saddened today to learn of the passing of my dear friend, coach and mentor, Leon Johnson,” said former Northwestern State President Dr. Chris Maggio, who ran for and coached under Johnson before ascending the ranks of university administration. “My life has been greatly blessed and enriched because this gentleman reached out to me 43 years ago and said, ‘My name is Leon Johnson, and I am the new track and field coach at Northwestern State University, and I want you to become my first recruit at NSU.’ Thankfully, I said yes to his invitation and words cannot adequately express the magnitude of life lessons that I learned from him.  

 

“He will be remembered as a Hall of Fame coach who mentored 50-plus All-Americans and won several conference championships. I, too, will remember him for his coaching accolades, but I will also remember him as a Christian man, a great role model and for the hours and hours he spent working with young men and women on the track no matter their athletic abilities. It didn’t matter if you were an All-American or a beginner, Coach would be there for you teaching and coaching you to be better in your event and better in your life. Thank you, Coach Johnson changing the lives of thousands of young people.”

 

The individual and team accolades Northwestern compiled under Johnson were many. Three Southland Conference team championships and top-20 finishes in the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Fifty-seven All-Americans and nearly 100 NCAA championship qualifiers. Two Olympic triple jumpers.

 

There was the 1986 birth of the Lady Demon track and field program that also occurred on Johnson’s watch.

 

In other words, Northwestern could build a trophy case simply for Leon Johnson and his student-athletes’ accomplishments. What transpired in the past 48 hours could fill a virtual one as well.

 

“I first stepped foot on the Northwestern State campus 40 years ago this August,” former Director of Athletics Greg Burke said. “Even then, as an intern, I recognized what kind of man, what kind of mentor and what kind of coach Leon Johnson was. I had the good fortune to come back as athletic director and have him sitting at our head coaches’ table. The perspective he offered, the respect he had among coaches and staff within the department was really remarkable.

 

“One needs to look no further than social media in the past 48 hours and read the number of posts – and not just the number – but the heartfelt messages from so many track alumni,” Burke said. “Oftentimes, the true measure of a coach’s impact — and how lasting that impact is — will be reflected in the sentiments expressed by the student-athletes who practiced and competed under that coach.”

 

Johnson began his career as a high school basketball coach in Colorado before coaching state champion high school track and field track and field teams in Louisiana at Opelousas and DeRidder, ultimately taking over at Northwestern where his name became synonymous with the school.

 

Northwestern track and field athletes compete in the Leon Johnson Invitational each spring after entering the Walter P. Ledet Track and Field Complex via Leon Johnson Lane.

 

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s state cross country championships also conclude in that area, thanks largely to Johnson’s push to bring the event to Natchitoches where it has become a staple of the city’s athletic calendar, with Johnson and staff doing yeoman’s work each November to make it happen.

 

What Johnson built at Northwestern was done so on the foundation of a family feel – one that serves as a living testament to Johnson’s approach.

 

“He helped shape so many men’s and women’s lives,” said current Northwestern track and field coach Mike Heimerman, who competed under Johnson before coaching with him and, ultimately, succeeding him as the program’s leader. “Hundreds of athletes – probably closer to thousands – came through Northwestern under coach Johnson, and he helped shape and mold them into young men and women, good mothers and fathers, good husbands and wives.

 

“He made Natchitoches and Northwestern State a home for so many young men and women, including myself. That was an attraction to NSU and to Natchitoches. That’s something we’ve tried to instill in the program now. It’s something I learned from him, and we tried to take it up a notch. The other thing I learned most from him is making sure the student-athletes get a degree and that you care for them. When you care for them, they do more for you. That’s been very evident in the past here with the men’s and women’s programs and the success we’ve had.”

 

Johnson’s legacy was made working with Northwestern’s track and field athletes, but his influence permeated the athletic department as a whole.

 

Late in his career, former Demon men’s basketball coach Mike McConathy utilized Johnson’s ability to provide insight on flexibility and conditioning for McConathy’s team. It proved to be a learning experience for both the Demon players and their longtime coach.

 

“His impact was invaluable in the fact he taught me as well as the kids so much,” McConathy said. “It was the respect my players had for him. The way he taught and instructed them was amazing. He used the technique of lower volume. He had something they were interested in. They all locked in with no distractions. That taught me something, taught my staff something.

 

“The attention he gave them showed me they had a tremendous amount of respect for his ability. It was just incredible to witness. I don’t know that you can paint a word picture to describe what we actually saw.”