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North Idaho Water Polo repeats as Junior Olympic national champions

Published

4 months ago

August 6, 2025

The North Idaho Water Polo girls 18U team defended its 2024 Junior Olympic Championship title last weekend by winning the Session III 2025 National Junior Olympics Tournament in Dallas. 

The Idaho Narwhals team is comprised of a very talented group of players — Jillian Provost, Alena Gonzalez, Gianna Gonzalez, Claire Thorpe, Rachel Tober, Amanda Bittleston, Daisy Whitney, Gracelyn Kenney, Priya Bevacqua, Addy Karoblis, Addy Wallace and goalie Reese Taylor.

The team started out the tournament on July 31 with two rather easy victories: 16-6 vs Fleet out of Houston and 22-4 vs the Kraken out of San Antonio. The two victories put NIWP into the Platinum (top) division where the competition level would be higher.

The next morning NIWP played against a strong New Haven Hydras team from Connecticut. In one of their more closely matched games, the NIWP Narwhals got an early lead and then slowly built it through the match, though the Hydras managed to stay within striking distance until the end, with NIWP winning 11-8. Later that day the team played the Houston Storm club. Idaho overwhelmed the opponent with numerous goals from the hole set and from its outside shooters. Goalie Reese Taylor knocked down almost all Houston’s attempts in route to a 15-3 finish.

On the third day of the tournament, North Idaho matched up with another top seeded club — the Orlando United Black squad. Orlando looked unstoppable with two very strong hole players and a variety of excellent shooters on the outside. The Narwhals looked tight and unsettled in the game. Orlando was able to repeatedly score by passing the ball into the set position and then either scoring or drawing ejections. Orlando’s outside shooters were also repeatedly finding the outside corners of the cage, making blocks from the defense difficult. Orlando won the game 16-6. Losing this game made the NIWP club’s journey more difficult — it would need to win the next three games in a row in order to win the championship. 

Later on the third day, NIWP played the Sea Monsters out of Cincinnati and quickly built an early lead, ultimately winning 14-3, giving the Narwhals an easy game and some much-needed rest. At this point, NIWP had an overall record of 5-1, which put it in the semifinals on the last day of the tournament.

The next morning, the team played the Viper Pigeon team from Houston. The game was very close throughout the game, with defense taking a priority for both squads. After a very hard-fought first quarter and strong defense on both teams, the score remained 0-0.

NIWP broke open the scoring in the second quarter, with Alena Gonzalez putting in the first goal of the game. Rachel Tober followed up with a penalty shot goal, giving NIWP a 2-0 lead. The teams then traded goals through the rest of the second and third quarters, giving the Narwhals a 4-3 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Houston team came out strong in the fourth and scored two natural goals to take the lead 5-4. Shortly afterward, NIWP earned an exclusion and Claire Thorpe scored on the resulting 6-5 play, tying the game. Both teams scored again in the quarter and the score was tied 6-6 going into the final minute of the game.

After some quick passing, NIWP’s goalie Reese Taylor blocked a shot by the Pigeons. The Narwhals set up their offense and passed the ball to Rachel Tober who scored, giving NIWP a 7-6 lead with less than a minute remaining.

Houston immediately called a timeout to install a play but its attempt was thwarted with a steal by Alena Gonzalez. NIWP then slowed down the game with 38 seconds left. Idaho worked the ball down the pool but did not realize Houston had dropped back two players. Jillian Provost covered one player but the other was left wide open in front of NIWP’s goal. The coaches screamed at the players to get back to cover the open player, but couldn’t be heard due to the crowd noise.

Houston recovered the ball with 8 seconds left as time ran out on Idaho’s possession. In the scramble and confusion, the Houston goalie didn’t see the open player who was ready to score a goal and instead threw the ball to an outside attacker covered by Thorpe who pulled up and was able to tip the ball away. By the time the ball was recovered, time ran out and Idaho secured the win.

The victory placed NIWP into the national championship game against the highly regarded Orlando United squad, who had crushed every team it had played, including NIWP, and looked unstoppable. Orlando’s average winning score was 17-5 in their six tournament games.

The NIWP team decided to go with a much less scripted offense and defense in the championship game, with the coaching staff telling players to play with more abandon and a free-flowing offense. On defense, they went with their favorite piston defense (alternating defenders to the set position to reduce scoring opportunities from the hole set position while also covering the top shooters).

Scouting work had revealed Orlando was not only regarded as the best team in the tournament but had no apparent weaknesses. Orlando often ran a 2-post hole set with its two excellent hole set players, had many excellent perimeter shooters and got back quickly in the counter-attack and transition games. Their hole defenders were also very strong, often pushing out or fronting the opponent’s centers.

NIWP’s offensive strategy had Gianna Gonzalez covering most of their set play with occasional support from Rachel Tober, Alena Gonzalez and Addy Karoblis. Jillian Provost took primary responsibility for set defense, with Karoblis and other filling in as needed. Priya Bevacqua also started for the Narwhals.

One area NIWP found challenging throughout the tournament was exclusions — in the earlier game, this gave the Orlando many opportunities (nearly 20 during the course of the game) to score on 6-on-5 plays. However, NIWP’s 6-5 defense was excellent with the United team shut out of nearly everything but weaker outside shots or inside passes which were knocked down by Idaho’s inside players, while Reese Taylor did a fantastic job as goalie covering anything that got through.    

The game was low scoring and very close for the first half as both teams struggled to score against excellent defenses. NIWP scored first with an early goal by Tober on a penalty throw who then followed up a few minutes later with a natural goal. Bevacqua added to the early total with another nice outside shot, shocking the Orlando team with a three-goal lead in the first 2 minutes.

Orlando took a time out to reset and was then able to score the next three goals, putting the game back into a tie. The teams swam back and forth repeatedly in the first half, with Alena Gonzalez finishing up the first quarter scoring with a nice assist from her sister, giving the Narwhals a 4-3 lead.

Idaho’s defense looked increasingly strong during the game, allowing only one goal in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the Narwhals’ offense continued to score, with Tober adding two more goals and Thorpe scoring on a 6-5 situation, giving Idaho a 7-4 lead at the half.

In the third quarter, Orlando’s set player Fiona Pando was able to score twice from the hole. However, the Gonzalez sisters stepped up their scoring too, with Alena scoring a natural goal and Gianna putting the ball into the goal on two 6-5 plays, giving Idaho a 10-6 lead going into the 4th quarter.

One concern for the coaches was that most of Idaho’s starters had multiple exclusions and additional exclusions would force them out of the game. The hole defenders needed additional support from the rest of the defense to cover the hole and allow them to not take unnecessary fouls.

Provost added a goal on another 6-5 play, increasing the Narwals lead to 11-6. Orlando continued to fire shots from on top in what looked like an increasing desperate attempt to find goals. Orlando did find one with a couple minutes to go in the quarter, drawing the United team to 11-7. Shortly after however, Thorpe found the goal also off a nice assist from Karoblis on another 6-5 play, giving Idaho a secure 12-7 lead.

The teams traded shooting opportunities, but no further goals were scored and as the clock ran out, the crowd stood on its feet, stomped their feet, rang cowbells and cheered while the players and coaching staff (Mark Collingham, Makenna Ferguson and Rylan Butera) jumped into the pool to celebrate.

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Cal Poly indoor track and field sets school records in Reno – Times-Standard

Published

15 minutes ago

December 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Cal Poly Humboldt women’s and men’s indoor track and field squads opened the 2025 season with a meet at the Silver State Invitational and Multis, hosted by the University of Nevada, Reno, this past weekend. The Jacks saw three NCAA provisional marks set, one by pole vaulter Michael Payan (16-8.75) and two on the women’s side, Cocome McKamey in the pentathlon (8th out of 22) and Isabel Perez-Zoghbi (2:10.70 seconds in the 800 meters). Two of those marks are likely enough to earn an invite to the national championships in March, according to Lumberjacks head coach Sarah Ingram.

The marks are set as an indication that the individual is in range to go to nationals, not a “golden ticket,” Ingram said. When the time comes for the university to declare athletes it wants to enter for the national championship, they are allowed with a provisional mark. However, there will still only be roughly the top 18 that qualify for the national meet out of those declared, which comes down to a ranked order list of each event. Payan’s mark, Ingram is reasonably confident, will be included, and comes after Payan took fifth place last year at nationals as a freshman, setting a new school record as “we’re expecting big things out of him this year,” said Ingram.

On the women’s side, Perez-Zoghbi has gone previously to nationals indoor in the 800m and outdoors twice for the 400m hurdles, the 800 currently being her focus. Ingram said her mark is probably strong enough to get her in, which Ingram said “is pretty exciting, and obviously both of these athletes are going to continue competing; we have a couple more weekends of indoor in February where they’ll be able to try to better those marks and get them as high as possible on that rankings. Our third athlete, Cocome McKamey, is one of our multi-event athletes indoors with the pentathlon. Her mark met the qualifying threshold, but based on previous years, we don’t expect that mark to be good enough to get in, but based on what we saw at her meet, she’ll be able to hit the marks needed at our next multi opportunity up in Spokane, Washington in February.”

Humboldt is going on its third season in indoor track and field, and “building out some depth in our record book,” according to Ingram. Eight new school records were set in Reno across the women’s and men’s events. Of the women, two freshman had an “outstanding” meet, said Ingram, with “really big personal bests in all their events.” Kelsi Lytle set a new school record in the 60m with a 7.85 seconds and also had p.r.’s in the 200m and 400m, while Caitlyn Dougherty established a school-best mark in the 200m and had personal records in the 200m, 400m (winning her heat at 58.32 secs), and 60m hurdles. She was also on the 4×400 team that set a new school record with Brielle Jimerson, McKamey, and Perez-Zoghbi.

“We’re really expecting a strong 4x400m relay in our next meet as well, and hoping we’ll be able to get a provisional qualifying mark in that event as well,” said Ingram.

Of the men, in addition to Payan’s new school mark, Dylan Ochoa also set a new mark in the 400m, running 49.12 seconds. Collin Friedman had a new long jump record and high jump as well to tie Gabe Bondurant and Alex Dillon in the latter at 1.90m. Joseph Gonzalez not only set a new school record in the shot put, he won the meet outright with a 15.89m, and Isaak Kasso won the 60m hurdles with a mark of 8.50 secs.

“We’ve got a big stretch here where we’re taking a break and not allowed to have official practices during winter break,” said Ingram. “We’re trying to make sure everybody passes their classes, does their finals and enjoys the holidays. And then we come back and start practicing again Jan. 12. Our first meet (of the new year) will be February 5th through 7th in Spokane. We’ll be bringing all event groups and that meet will also have a multi offered as well.”

Finally, she continued, “We had lots of really good stuff this weekend, we’re just really excited to be putting up such strong marks this early in the year, it helps the athletes stay motivated going into that long stretch of winter break with their goal-setting, their training, when they’re kind of on their own time. We’re excited for what this will mean not only for the finish of our indoor season come February and March, but springboarding us into that outdoor season for the whole rest of the spring semester.”

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NMU track & field wins pair of events at Early Bird | News, Sports, Jobs

Published

32 minutes ago

December 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Northern Michigan University’s Baux Truckey, center, gets out of the starting blocks during a track event at a college indoor track and field meet held at Minnesota State-Mankato on Feb. 15. (Photo courtesy of NMU)

OSHKOSH, Wis. — The women’s track and field team at Northern Michigan University opened their season with more than a dozen top-five finishes, including two event victories, at the Early Bird Invitational hosted by Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Friday and Saturday.

With no team scores kept, the Wildcats tasted the most success with Kaitlin Smith winning the pole vault and Teiolla Harvey capturing first place in the weight throw. Teammates also added four runner-up finishes, six in third place, two more in fourth place and another three in fifth.

In the field, Smith cleared 3.36 meters (11 feet, 1/4 inch) to win the pole vault, while teammate Alyssa Tumminaro got over at 3.06 meters (10-feet-1/2) for third.

Harvey’s winning weight throw distance was 15.81 meters (51-10 1/2), which she achieved on her fourth throw. The Wildcats’ Danielle Lund, a Manistique High School graduate, was fourth with 15.18 meters (49-9 5/8).

Harvey was also runner-up in the shot put with a heave of 12.29 meters (40-3 7/8), while teammate Alizabeth Little was third with 12.20 meters (40-feet-3/8) and Lund fifth with 11.56 meters (37-11 1/8).

And Northern’s Crystal Walker was third in the long jump with a leap of 5.31 meters (17-5), while Alayna Vandegriff was third in the triple jump with 11.07 meters (36-3 7/8).

On the track, the Wildcats’ Anya VanSweden was runner-up in the first race on Saturday, the 3,000-meter run, in 10 minutes, 58.38 seconds.

In the 60 hurdles, freshman teammate Lily Phillips was second in 8.95 seconds, while Walker was fourth in 9.19.

Marquette Senior High School product Baux Truckey was third in the 60 dash in 7.87.

In the 4-by-400 relay, Truckey, Lily Phillips, Taylor Rogers and Beverly Harper were runners-up in 4:06.32, while Brooke Lemos, Paige Anderson, Ella DeBruyn and Ishpeming grad Lola Korpi were fifth in 4:31.32.

In the five-event pentathlon, NMU’s Natasha Nowakowski finished third in a field of 11 competitors after compiling 3,076 points. He top finishers were third in both the high jump after clearing 1.54 meters (5-feet-5/8) and shot put with a heave of 9.86 meters (32-4 1/4).

Teammate Eva Zonca was fifth with 2,942 points as she was fourth in the 60 hurdles in 9.51 seconds, while Northern’s Elizabeth Simpson was sixth with 2,875 points. Simpson’s top finish was fourth in the 800 in 2:34.80.

With this warm-up meet finished, the Wildcats won’t be in action again until Jan. 24 when they travel to Whitewater, Wisconsin, for the Karl Schlender Invitational.

They also have one home meet on Saturday, Feb. 7, the WCW Tri-Meet, an annual event that also includes Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release reviewing the meet. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.

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This Week in Dartmouth Sports: 12.9 – 12.15

Published

48 minutes ago

December 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

HANOVER, N.H. – Check out all the Big Green teams in action this week!

Men’s Basketball – Tuesday, December 9 and Saturday, December 13
The Dartmouth men’s basketball team will wrap its trip to the Rocky Mountains by playing Colorado State at 9:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. MST).The Big Green will then host Boston University at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday at Leede Arena. Follow live stats at DartmouthSports.com and click here to purchase tickets for Saturday’s game.

Women’s Basketball – Thursday, December 11 + Saturday, December 13
The Big Green hit the road this week for games at NJIT (Thursday) and Iona (Saturday). Dartmouth is coming off two wins last weekend, beating Central Connecticut State (53-44) and Bucknell (53-45). The Big Green are 5-2 after seven games, marking their best record after seven games since the 2017-18 season. Nina Miniccozi has impressed, posting double-figure points for three straight games, the longest streak of her career.

Men’s and Women’s Track and Field – Friday, December 12 and Saturday, December 13
After opening the indoor schedule in Boston, Mass., the Dartmouth track and field teams will host the Dartmouth December Invitational on Friday and Saturday, marking the first home meet of the indoor season. You can follow live results here.

Women’s Hockey – Friday, December 12 and Saturday, December 13
Dartmouth women’s hockey will close the first half of the season this weekend, welcoming Saint Michael’s and Saint Anselm to Thompson Arena for its final games of 2025. The Big Green are coming off a 3-1 loss to RPI and a scoreless tie with Union last weekend and will look to get back in the win column before the holiday break.
The matchup with the Purple Knights on Friday, December 12 is the first in program history. Friday’s game will also be Dartmouth’s annual Teddy Bear Toss presented by Townline Equipment. Bring a new unwrapped teddy bear and toss it onto the ice after the Big Green’s first goal. On Saturday, Dartmouth will host Saint Anselm, having a 3-2 record against the Hawks. The Big Green won the teams’ last matchup 9-1 in Manchester last season. Puck drop on Friday is set for 3 p.m. while Saturday’s game will get underway at 2 p.m. You can purchase tickets here or watch either game on ESPN+ or follow the live stats on DartmouthSports.com.

Men’s Hockey – Friday, December 12 and Sunday, December 14
No. 8/7 Dartmouth men’s hockey hits the ice for two games ahead of the holiday break. The Big Green take on Army on Friday night before traveling to in-state rival UNH. Dartmouth is coming off its fifth straight weekend sweep after defeating ECAC Hockey and Ivy foes Brown and Yale this past weekend. Hayden Stavroff had six goals and three assists in the two games as he was named ECAC Hockey Forward of the Week. On Monday, the Big Green were ranked eighth in the USCHO.com poll and seventh in the USA Hockey poll, the highest ranking the Big Green have received under the current polling system. Fans are encouraged to bring new teddy bears to Friday’s game against Army for Dartmouth’s annual teddy bear toss; faceoff is at 7 p.m.

Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving – Saturday, December, 13
The Big Green return to action on Saturday at the CSCAA Open Water Nationals following a stellar performance at the Golden Grizzly Classic, which saw the women finish first and men second.

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Beach and Munday Earn 2025 AVCA All-Pacific Region Recognition

Published

2 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

LEXINGTON, Ky. — San Diego volleyball’s Nemo Beach and Kylie Munday earned 2025 AVCA All-Pacific Region recognition, the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced on Tuesday.

Beach, a junior outside hitter from Chandler, Arizona, was named to the 2025 AVCA All-Pacific Region Team, while Munday, a sophomore setter from Post Falls, Idaho, picked up a 2025 AVCA All-Pacific Region Honorable Mention.

It’s the first career AVCA accolade for both Beach and Munday, who were named the 2025 WCC Player and Setter of the Year, respectively, last month.

Beach hit .261 and led the WCC with 467 kills and 527 points this season, marks that ranked 25th and 26th nationally. She also recorded 208 digs, 41 blocks, and 36 service aces, and achieved eight double-doubles this season. She received three WCC Offensive Player of the Week honors in 2025 and was also named to the 2025 All-WCC First Team.

Munday totaled 1,108 assists, 273 digs, 65 blocks (seven solo), 65 kills, and a team-high 47 service aces in 2025 as she became the first player in program history to be named the WCC Setter of the Year in back-to-back seasons. Munday achieved 13 double-doubles in 2025 and had 50 or more assists in six different matches. She was named the WCC Setter of the Week four times this season.

Beach and Munday are the Toreros’ first AVCA All-Region players since 2022, when Gabby Blossom, Grace Frohling, Katie Lukes, and Leyla Blackwell were recognized.

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UTRGV Athletics Welcomes Dan Keefe as Assistant Director of Ticket Sales and Operations

Published

2 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced on Monday the hiring of Dan Keefe as assistant director of ticket sales and operations.

Keefe will oversee group ticket sales and experiences while also assisting with ticket sales and operations for all UTRGV-ticketed athletic events. In addition, Keefe will assist the team in season ticket sales.

“We’re very excited for Dan to be the newest member of our team,” Assistant Athletic Director of Ticket Sales and Operations Nicholas Swanson said. “He brings a great understanding of what it takes to succeed at the FCS level from his time at Montana State. I’m confident Dan will make a positive impact on not only UTRGV Athletics, but the community here in the Rio Grande Valley, and I believe our fans and season ticket holders will enjoy the quality of customer service and professionalism they will experience when working with him.”

Keefe brings experience working for one of the premier FCS athletic departments in the country after spending over a year at Montana State. Working as a marketing and game operations graduate assistant with the Bobcats, Keefe primarily oversaw women’s basketball, volleyball, and tennis marketing initiatives, managed department social media pages, oversaw eight interns for game day and day-to-day marketing strategies and operations, and was the on-field director for Montana State football.

“I am excited to accept this position with the Vaqueros,” Keefe said. “Joining the family here brings a great opportunity to grow in my experiences and knowledge of collegiate athletics. I want to thank [Senior Vice President and Director of Athletics] Chasse Conque, [Senior Associate Athletic Director/Chief Revenue Officer] Derek Schramm, and Nick for this opportunity to join the UTRGV family. When I first got to the Valley, I knew this is home, the community has embraced me, and I am looking forward to meeting Vaquero nation! V’s Up!”

Prior to his time with Montana State, Keefe was the director of football operations for Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSU Moorhead) for five years. Keefe would work in a variety of recruiting tasks, maintained team travel and meal budget, managed a team of up to eight students for game day and equipment operations, and helped with multiple recruiting tasks.

Keefe is currently pursuing his Master of Science in sport and coaching science at Montana State and previously earned his Bachelor of Science in exercise science from MSU Moorhead in 2024.

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Three Owls Kick Off Indoor Track Season with LEC Awards

Published

5 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Three Keene State College student-athletes honored by the Little East Conference for their achievements accomplished for the week of 12/1-12/7 after the Owls’ first day of competition for the indoor 2025-2026 season.

Men’s Indoor Track and Field

Junior Tyler Bolaske (Palmer, Mass.) was named the LEC Track Athlete of the Week from his performance at the New Balance Early Bird Invitational at the TRACK on Saturday. Bolaske picked up where he left off from the cross country season with his performance on Saturday as he ran the 5,000 meters in 14:56.89 to finish in ninth in a tough field. Bolaske’s time is currently a top-25 time in Division III as he sits in 22nd after the opening weekend of action to kick off the indoor season.

The Owls’ distance medley relay team also took home an LEC recognition as they were named the LEC Relay Team of the Week. The relay team composed of Sean Von Ranson, Aidan Law, Keith O’Donnell, and Nick Terranova won first at the Suffolk Relays on Saturday with a time of 3:37.57, beating the other 13 teams in the event.

Bolaske, the Sprint Medley Relay team, and the Owls’ return to action over break at the Middlebury Snowflake Invitational at Middlebury College on Saturday, January 10, at 11:00 AM.

Women’s Indoor Track and Field

Freshman Ballay Conteh (Concord, N.H.) was named the Rookie Field Athlete of the Week from her first performance of her first indoor track and field season for the Owls at the Suffolk Relays. Conteh recorded a New England Division III qualifying mark in the long jump with her first jump of 3.59 setting the winning mark at the meet.

Conteh and the Owls’ return to action over break at the Middlebury Snowflake Invitational at Middlebury College on Saturday, January 10, at 11:00 AM.