Text and Video produced by James Chung

Pranav Iyer, Founder and CEO of AMAZN HQ, sat down with AsAm News to share his story from NFL dreams to creating the premiere media company showcasing Asian American sports talent.

Born in Cupertino California, Pranav was first inspired by sports during an elementary book report. He told us “Looking through the library and ended up stumbling upon a book about Brett Favre. The recess after that book report was the first time I really actually played football.

I fell in love with football from that day and my dream in life is to play in the NFL.” 

He kept playing football through high school, landing an opportunity to play at Chapman University. While at Chapman, Pranav was the only Asian American on the team. Feeling a renewed sense of his Indian American identity he made it a point to help educate his peers and proudly represent his culture.

He pursued sports journalism while in school which first sparked his idea for creating AMAZN HQ.

“There were so many inspirational trailblazing athletes of Asian descent that came before me that I could have looked up to had I known their stories. Two, there were so many athletes my own age who were doing the same things as I was in different areas of this country that were Asian that if I had known who they were, I could have felt so much less isolation in my journey. I was like, ‘There’s something like this that needs to be started,’” Iyer stated.

He bought a camera and reached out to start filming games. Dealing with the ups and downs of the Pandemic, Pranav went to grad school and eventually got a job at ESPN. After gaining valuable experience at ESPN, he began working on AMAZN HQ full time. He and his partners created their own basketball showcase highlighting the best Asian hoopers across North American and has even partnered with the NFL, NBA, and Team USA.

While being able to cover the biggest Asian American athletes in the world, he still prides himself on telling the stories of the unsung heroes, the ones on the grassroots level making a difference. When speaking about the original content on these athletes he told us 

When other times no one else will give them that opportunity or they’re not telling the other side of their story, right? It’s not just about the numbers but it’s also about like, wow they’re doing something historic for their community.”

With his journey just getting started. Pranav had one goal for starting AMAZN HQ that still stands true “To show sports fans, non-sports fans what is possible for them in life.”

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Section Five high schools are gearing up for a busy week of playoff action. Despite Memorial Day giving students a break, the sports schedule is packed with events that fans won’t want to miss.

Baseball fans can look forward to the Triple-A best-of-three series between McQuaid and Fairport starting Tuesday at Monroe Community College. Classes A, B, and D will play their quarterfinals on Tuesday, while Double-A and C will compete in the semifinals on Wednesday. Finals for Classes Double-A through D are set for Friday.

In softball, Classes Triple-A, Single-A, C1, and C2 have their quarterfinals on Tuesday. Semifinals for B1 and B2 are also scheduled for Tuesday. Thursday will see the semifinals for AAA, AA, A’s, the C’s, and the D’s, with finals planned for Saturday.

Girls lacrosse action kicks off with Class B and C quarterfinals on Tuesday. The Class A and D semifinals are set for Wednesday, with championships scheduled for next week. Class C and D’s championships are scheduled for Tuesday, June 3, while A and B are planned for Wednesday, June 4. On the boys’ side, all classes will host their quarterfinals on Tuesday, with semifinals beginning Friday. Title games are planned for next week. Class C and D’s championships are scheduled for Monday, June 2, while A and B are planned for Tuesday, June 3.

Flag football is set to crown a Class A champion Tuesday night at 6 pm in a matchup between Penfield and Fairport. Classes B and C will have their championship games on Wednesday. All flag football finals will take place at Monroe Community College.

News10NBC will provide highlights and scores throughout the week. Classes are determined by school enrollment, and more information on that can be found here.

AI assisted with the formatting of this story. Click here to see how WHEC News10NBC uses AI

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Jill Clark remembers the game like it was yesterday. 

She and her Ardmore teammates were tied in the waning seconds against DAR in the regional finals, and with a trip to sub-state on the line, Clark took the ball with 8 seconds left and drove the lane. 

By the time the final buzzer had sounded, Clark had scored a career-high 41 points to propel the Tigers to a 78-76 victory. 

“That is the one high school memory that I will never forget,” said the 2025 Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame inductee. “Playing on the road at DAR was always tough and that game was no different. They were ranked third in the state when we played them. As a kid growing up, it is a basketball player’s dream to hit a shot at the buzzer to win a championship.  And then to see all of our parents and fans storm the court celebrating was something that will forever be stretched in my memory.”

Clark’s performance at DAR was one of her many highlights as a three-sport star at Ardmore, where she was a multi-year starter in basketball, softball and volleyball.

 She averaged over 20 points per game during her last three years playing basketball. During her senior season, Clark averaged 21.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game while leading the Tigers to a 23-7 record. She was named to the Class 3A All-State team and was a USA Today Honorable Mention All-American selection.  She was an All-Area and All-County selection in both softball and volleyball. 

She was also the center fielder for the softball team that won the 1993 state championship. 

“I had great teammates throughout high school,” said Clark. “We were close. A lot of us played fast-pitch softball in the summer together. The Ardmore community was great. They really supported us. I enjoyed playing for Coach (Mike) Jackson. He is a great person and pushed us girls to be the very best we could be.”

Jackson says that Clark was an intense competitor. 

“Jill simply didn’t like to lose. I coached her in basketball and softball. In basketball, she made it tough for our opponents to get the basketball past mid-court. She scored a lot of her points on layups because she had so many steals in the backcourt. I could play her anywhere on the softball field. She was that good of a softball player. She was a really good player in all the sports she participated in at Ardmore,” said Jackson. 

A highly recruited athlete, Clark had 26 college basketball scholarship offers but wanted to stay close to home and chose Martin Methodist College to continue her basketball career. 

“My goal was always to play Division 1 basketball. I attended Coach Pat Summitt’s basketball camps at the University of Tennessee during the summers in high school and made some all-camp teams. Attending those camps inspired me to work hard and hopefully one day earn an opportunity to play collegiately at the highest level. Martin Methodist was a junior college when I graduated from high school and only about 30 minutes from home. I felt like that pathway was best for me to achieve my goal. If I could improve my skills during my two years there, I might earn the scholarship I was hoping for. Everything was going well during my freshman year, but unfortunately, I broke my ankle during the preseason and took a redshirt year. I decided to then change my athletic focus back to softball. I transferred to Calhoun Community College and played softball. I am glad I did because it allowed me to reunite with some of my high school teammates who were on the softball team. It was a great experience and we won a lot of games in softball while I was at Calhoun,” said Clark. 

Clark says that being inducted into the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame is an unbelievable honor. 

“I was blessed to have so many wonderful teammates and coaches in high school. Plus, I had wonderful parents who encouraged and supported me throughout my career. Ardmore is a great community and I am proud to call Ardmore home. It is where my children go to school, so this honor is extra special on so many different levels. It has been over 30 years since I wore the Ardmore High School jersey, but I get to represent my alma mater one more time as the second Ardmore High School female athlete to be inducted into the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame. I am so thankful and blessed to receive this honor,” said Clark.

AI-assisted summaryTwo Greencastle-Antrim High School seniors received track scholarships for outstanding performance.Jaylynn Schmuck and Joel Amstutz were awarded the R. Edward Baumgardner Track Scholarships.Baumgardner, a G-AHS alumnus and former track star, presented the awards.Schmuck holds the school record in the triple jump, while Amstutz set a new stadium record in the 3,200-meter run.Two Greencastle-Antrim High School seniors received R. Edward Baumgardner Track Scholarship awards during the annual track and field awards banquet on May 13.

This the fourth year the $1,000 awards have been given one senior boy and one senior girl for outstanding performance in track and field, according to Baumgardner, a 1957 graduate of Greencastle-Antrim High School and pole vault and long jump standout.

He presented the awards to Jaylynn Schmuck, who holds the school record in the triple jump at 36 feet, 11 inches, and Joel Amstutz, who set a new G-A stadium record in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 9:36.45.

How did Greencastle track star meet Olympians?

Baumgardner is a member of the first class of the GAHS Athletic Hall of Fame, inducted in 2024. The hall of fame will be highlighted at the Old Home Week official opening on Saturday, Aug. 2, and he will be the main speaker.

He shared some of his sports highlights at the track and field banquet.In his senior year, he was a state pole vault champion, clearing 12 feet at the PIAA meet at Penn State. He’d qualified for states in the pole vault and long jump at the District 3 meet a week earlier.

After he won the district long jump at 20 feet 2 inches, his medal was presented by Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Germany.

He also met Olympic champion pole vaulter Bob Richards twice, once when he visited Greencastle on his motivational speaking tour and again when he stopped by the pole vault pit at Lafayette College while Baumgardner was practicing. Richards also was the first athlete pictured on the front of a Wheaties box.

In his senior year at Lafayette, Baumgardner set school and Middle Atlantic Conference pole vault and long jump records.

“I continued my track career after college as a member of the Baltimore Olympic Club, increasing my personal best in the long jump to 23 feet, 2 inches,” Baumgardner told the G-A athletes. “I hung up my track shoes in 1966 and took up golf.”

PEORIA (25News Now) – Peoria Richwoods rallied to beat Galesburg 4-2 and advance in the IHSA 3A state baseball tournament. Pekin shuts out Moline, 10-0, in Class 4A softball.

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