OU softball falls to Alabama, narrowly avoids first shutout loss since 2019
OU softball avoided its first shutout in nearly six years, but couldn’t manage another late comeback Sunday, falling to Alabama 6-1 in the second of a three-game series in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Sydney Barker delivered a two-out solo home run in the seventh to get the Sooners on the board and avoid their first shutout loss […]
OU softball avoided its first shutout in nearly six years, but couldn’t manage another late comeback Sunday, falling to Alabama 6-1 in the second of a three-game series in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Sydney Barker delivered a two-out solo home run in the seventh to get the Sooners on the board and avoid their first shutout loss since the Crimson Tide shut out OU in the first game of the Women’s College World Series semifinals in 2019.
But Barker’s home run wasn’t near enough.
Alabama scored in four consecutive innings off a trio of Sooners’ pitchers to even the series.
Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
In Saturday’s opening game of the series, the Sooners trailed 1-0 entering the seventh before scoring five in the final inning to pull off the comeback victory.
OU softball star Ella Parker fighting through foot injury, heating up for Sooners
But this time, OU was in a much deeper hole.
The Sooners fell behind in the second after Kierston Deal hit Abby Duchscherer with one out. Duchscherer advanced to third on a single and then came home on Lauren Johnson’s fielder’s choice groundout.
The Crimson Tide added another on Kristen White’s RBI single later in the inning.
Alabama’s Kali Heivilin led off the third with a homer to make it 3-0.
The Crimson Tide added another in the fourth but it could’ve been much worse.
It loaded the bases with no outs on a walk and two infield singles chopped just in front of the plate.
But freshman Audrey Lowry limited the damage, getting an out at the plate on another chopper just in front of the plate, giving up a sacrifice fly to Audrey Vandagriff, then striking out Heivilin to end the inning without further damage.
The teams will play the decisive game of the series beginning at 6 p.m. Monday.
Nine from Men’s Track & Field named to NEWMAC Academic All-Conference Team
Story Links
MARLBOROUGH, Mass.—Nine members of the Babson College men’s track and field program were honored for their hard work in the classroom when they were named to the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Academic All-Conference team on Tuesday. Graduate student Matthew Campbell (South Easton, Mass.) and seniors Will […]
MARLBOROUGH, Mass.—Nine members of the Babson College men’s track and field program were honored for their hard work in the classroom when they were named to the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Academic All-Conference team on Tuesday.
Graduate student Matthew Campbell (South Easton, Mass.) and seniors Will Dean (Belmont, Mass.), Julian Ivarra (Plano, Texas), and Jack Reynolds (Fairfield, Conn.) were named to the Academic All-Conference team for the third time in their careers, and graduate student Ryan Wilson (Mount Sinai, N.Y.), senior Harrison Prucher (Hopkinton, Mass.), and sophomores Jonathan Hanscom (Hadley, Mass.), Coleman Hayes (New York, N.Y.) and Stratton Seymour (Merrimac, Mass.) were honored for the first time.
Academic All-Conference honorees must have met the following criteria: earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5/4.0 scale after the 2024 fall semester, achieved second-year academic status, and been a member of the varsity team for the entire semester.
Campbell, a Strategic Management major, competed for Babson for the first time since 2022 and registered career-best times in his last two races. He placed 13th in the 1500 meters in a personal PR time of 4:09.40 at the NEWMAC Championships on April 26, and he finished seventh in the 10,000 meters at the New England Division III Championships with a PR time of 32:44.85. He made his Babson debut with two appearances back in 2019 and also competed in 10 meets in 2021 and 2022.
Dean, a Business major, competed in four meets this spring and finished his career with a ninth-place performance in the long jump at the NEWMAC Championships with a mark of 19-feet, 5.25-inches. He earned All-NEWMAC honors in 2024 with a second-place finish in the conference meet in the decathlon, scoring 4,331 points. His javelin throw of 149-feet, 6-inches at the MIT Sean Collier Invitational on April 19, 2024, ranked 29th in the NCAA Division III East Region.
Ivarra, a Business Administration major, ran in six track meets this spring after competing in the NCAA Division III cross country championships last fall. He ran a personal-best time in the 5000 meters with a 14:53.27 at the Bryant Black & Gold Invitational in late March and a PR 31:01.28 in the 10,000 meters at the MIT Sean Collier Invitational on April 19. He went on to place third in the 10,000 at the NEWMAC Championships and 13th in the 5000. His career-best time of 14:53.26 in the 5000 ranks seventh-fastest in program history, and his 31:01.28 in the 10K ranks fifth-fastest in program history.
Reynolds, a Business Analytics major, competed in 25 meets in his first three seasons at Babson but did not appear in any meets this spring. He placed fourth in the triple jump at the 2024 NEWMAC Championships with a career-best mark of 42-feet, 8-inches, eighth in the high jump with a leap of 6-feet, 1.5-inches, and 12th in the javelin throw with a mark of 135-feet, 8-inches. He placed third in the high jump (6-feet, 0.75-inches) at the NEWMAC meet in 2022 and fifth in 2023 (6-feet, 2.75-inches).
Wilson, a Finance major, returned for his final year of eligibility for the Beavers as a middle-distance runner. He finished 11th in the 1500 meters in a time of 4:08.54 at the NEWMAC Championships and finished in 16th place in the 800 meters in 2:05.02. He ran a career-best 15:41.84 to place sixth in the 5000 meters at the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational back on March 21 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Wilson previously placed eighth in the 1500 meters at the NEWMAC Championships back in 2022 and fifth in the 1500 in 2023.
Prucher, a Finance major, competed in the high hurdle events in 18 meets in his first three seasons at Babson but did not appear in any meets this spring. He finished 11th in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.76 at the NEWMAC Championships in 2023, and placed fifth in the event with a career-best time of 15.53 at the NEWMAC meet in 2024.
Hansom, a Finance major, appeared in two meets this spring as a distance runner. He ran a career-best time of 32:43.11 in the 10,000 meters to take ninth place at the Bryant Black & Gold Invitational on March 28, and finished seventh with a time of 33:17.85 in the 10K at the NEWMAC Championships on April 25. He was also 11th in the 10,000 meters at the 2024 NEWMAC meet in 34:15.89.
Hayes, a Finance major, competed in five events this spring as a thrower for the Beavers. He placed seventh in the shot put at the NEWMAC Championships with a career-best mark of 42-feet, 6-inches; finished 13th at the NEWMAC meet in the discus with a mark of 109-feet, 6-inches; and placed 14th in the hammer throw with a career-best mark of 117-feet, 7-inches. He was also seventh in the discus (career-best 119-feet, 2-inches) at the 2024 NEWMAC meet and eighth in the shot put (39-feet, 8.75-inches).
Seymour, a Business Administration major, competed in four events this spring for the Beavers. He finished 11th in the 400-meter hurdles at the NEWMAC Championships this spring in a time of 59.70 seconds. He set the program record in the 400 hurdles three times in 2024, the third time coming at the MIT Final qualifier with a clocking of 56.52 seconds.
The Beavers finished in fifth place at the conference championships with 79 points, third-most in program history.
Inside Sixpack: A Play Inspired by Hmong Volleyball
The Bump Local playwright Katie Ka Vang is no stranger to weaving her life’s stories into her work. “It’s the way I understand the world, and it helps me make sense of myself,” she says. Everything from her cancer diagnosis to stories about immigration and displacement is on the table. But until recently, she’d never […]
Local playwright Katie Ka Vang is no stranger to weaving her life’s stories into her work.
“It’s the way I understand the world, and it helps me make sense of myself,” she says.
Everything from her cancer diagnosis to stories about immigration and displacement is on the table. But until recently, she’d never been able to figure out how to write about her passion for Hmong volleyball—one of the largest sports in the Twin Cities that many have never even heard of. The competitive, cutthroat—but loyal and love-filled—world of Vang’s 20s is the setting for her newest work, Sixpack, opening May 31 at the Jungle Theater.
The Set
Hmong volleyball is similar to standard volleyball, but with more specific rules around faults and certain hits. Volleyball was wildly popular in Thai refugee camps, where many Hmong people were displaced during the Secret War, and its popularity grew as Hmong communities settled elsewhere.
“It reminds us of our stateless home,” Vang says.
Vang grew up playing and competed with teams around the country in her 20s. But she always saw Minnesota as the center of it all.
“Every year, thousands travel to St. Paul for the Hmong International Freedom Festival, where there’s a big tournament,” she says. “Even when I didn’t live here, we would make the trip. I was so scared of these Minnesota Hmong girls because they were so tough and ruthless—and then they recruited me to play for their team, Sixpack, and I became one of them.”
The Spike
The team showed her another way to be a Hmong woman—one that was a little louder and more assertive, and one that made her feel more like herself.
“They showed me so much I never thought I’d get to have,” she says. And even though Vang doesn’t play as much now, as is clear in Sixpack—an homage to the community and the relationships formed within it—her passion for the sport persists.
Tarleton State Track and Field readies for first ever appearance at NCAA West Preliminary Rounds
Story Links
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – For the first time in program history, 11 athletes will compete for Tarleton State at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds held at E.B. Cushing Stadium from Wednesday to Saturday. The 11 Texans competing will be fighting to earn a top 12 performance in […]
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – For the first time in program history, 11 athletes will compete for Tarleton State at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds held at E.B. Cushing Stadium from Wednesday to Saturday.
The 11 Texans competing will be fighting to earn a top 12 performance in their respective event to reach the NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships. In each event, the top 48 athletes that declared for their event earned a spot in the First Rounds. In the field events, there will just be one day of competition with the prelims and finals combined into one round and the top 12 athletes advancing to Eugene, Ore. For the track events, the 48 athletes will compete on the first day, Wednesday for men and Thursday for women. There will be 24 athletes advancing to the next day with the top three times in each heat and then the next best six overall times will earn a spot in the next round on Friday for men and Saturday for Women. On that day, the top 12 times will qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Each day, the track events will be streamed on ESPN+. Live Results will be provided for all events by flash results. Tickets are required for each day and are sold by the single day or by a pass for all four days of the meet. Follow @tarletontrackxc on Instgram and X for live updates, content and highlights across the four days.
The men’s long jump will kick off the competition for the Texans on Wednesday. Lokesh Sathyananthan and Sir Jonathan Sims will chase the Texans’ first NCAA Championships bid. The duo ranks in the top 12 entering the meet earning a spot in the fourth and final flight of 12. Sims best leap of 7.94 meters has him ranked fifth in the West. Sathyanathan holds the NCAA’s top mark of 8.14 meters. The pair is expected to start jumping around 5:45 p.m.
Also on Wednesday, two more Texans will lace up their cleats on the track. Ca’terrin Cox will race in the third heat of the 110 hurdles from lane eight at 6 p.m. He finished third and tied the school record at the WAC Championships in 13.77 seconds. David Mvundura is doubling in the 100 and 200. He will get started at 7 p.m. in the 100 meters running out of lane nine in heat five. Less than two hours later, he will be in the third heat of the 200 slate to start at 8:45 p.m. The senior will be in lane two. Both Cox and Mvundura will be searching for a top 24 time on the day to reach Friday’s next set of heats.
On Thursday, the recently named WAC Outdoor Female Freshman of the Year, Prestina Ochonogor, will be in search of her second NCAA Championships appearance in the long jump after earning First Team All-American at the Indoor Championships. Ochonogor tied the WAC Championships meet record en route to the gold medal last week. Her jump of 6.67 meters is ranked sixth in the West. She will be jumping in the fourth flight with an estimated start time of 5:45 p.m.
The WAC Outdoor Female Athlete of the Year, Victoria Cameron will be competing in the 100 and 200 on Thursday as well. First, she brings her fourth-best time in the region to the track in the 100 scheduled to start at 7 p.m. She is in the second heat of the 100 and will be running out of lane four. Three Texan women will be competing in the 200 slated to start at 8:45 p.m. Lauren Roy and Amandine Estival will be running in the first heat with Roy in lane six, and Estival in nine. Victoria Cameron will race in the sixth heat in lane five.
On Friday, Gabriele Tosti will be making his first appearance of the meet in the triple jump. Tosti and Sims will each compete in the fourth and final heat. Tosti enters ranked third in the NCAA and third in the West with his best leap of 16.39 meters coming at the Joe Gillespie Invitational. Sims is ranked ninth in the West and 18th in the NCAA with a best mark of 15.99 meters. Also on Friday, Mvundura and Cox will hope to have run a qualifying time on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals in the 100, 200 and 110 hurdles on Friday. Each will have three heats with the 110 hurdles starting at 6:15 p.m., the 100 at 6:35 p.m. and the 200 at 7:50 p.m.
Saturday, Sofia DeGroot will make her debut at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds. She will compete in the first flight of the triple jump starting 2:30 p.m. She earned the bronze at the WAC Championships. Also competing for the first time on Saturday will be the 4×100 relay. The quartet consisting of Cameron, Roy, Estival and Hanna Dudley will race for a top 12 performance to earn a bid to the NCAA Championships. They will race at 5 p.m. in the third heat out of lane seven. The 100 quarterfinals will be ran at 6:35 p.m. and the 200 will be ran at 7:50 p.m., the final race of the meet for the Texans. If Cameron qualifies in the top 24 for the 100 and 200, she will be running three races in the span of two hours and 50 minutes on Saturday.
The Texans will look to secure their first bids to an NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. The NCAA Championships will begin on June 11 and end on the 14th from Hayward Field.
Central boys volleyball team gets four on all-star squad | News, Sports, Jobs
Metro Four Central players and one from Bishop Guilfoyle Academy were named to the Mid-State Boys Vollleyball League All-Star roster this week. Making the team for Central were Bryson Brooks, Christian Heuston, Hayden Smith and Blake Reynolds. The Marauders were represented by Brenden Young. OTHERS DuBois-Ethan Rusnica, Kyan Peck; Forest Hills-Isaac Valko, Eli Rudnik; West […]
Four Central players and one from Bishop Guilfoyle Academy were named to the Mid-State Boys Vollleyball League All-Star roster this week.
Making the team for Central were Bryson Brooks, Christian Heuston, Hayden Smith and Blake Reynolds. The Marauders were represented by Brenden Young.
OTHERS
DuBois-Ethan Rusnica, Kyan Peck; Forest Hills-Isaac Valko, Eli Rudnik; West Shamokin-Braydn Rogers, Travis Jones, Aiden Oesterling, Anderson Fowler, Jesse Cessna
Bowlers shine
Several area youth bowlers competed recently at the PA State USBC Youth Championships which were held in the Altoona area.
One of the first-place winners was Maddie Rupp, who was tops in the All Events Class A Girls Handicapped division with a score of 2,216. She also placed second in the Singles Class A Handicapped division with an 809, just two points from winning the title.
Also taking home a title was Ashton Erndl, who won the Boys Singles Event Class A Handicapped division with an 848 score.
In the Boys Doubles Class A Handicapped division, Zachary Tremmel and Bryce Monahan finished sixth with a score of 1,518.
Tremmel placed second in the Singles Class B Handicapped division with a 694. Aidan Casillo was in the same division and took sixth with a 632. Tremmel also took sixth in the All Events Boys Class B Handicapped division with a 1,802 score.
J&P wins big
J&P Auto Mart improved to 2-0 Tuesday night, thanks to a 14-4 win in five innings over Penn Crest Bank in an Altoona Teener Minor League 15U game at Seitz Field.
Wesley Zitsch had three hits and four RBIs to go with three hits and three RBIs from Elijah Adams. Winning pitcher Blake Claar struck out seven.
Records: J&P Auto Mart (2-0), PennCrest Bank (2-2).
Two stars at Mount
CRESSON — Joey DeRubeis and Brandon Cook, members of the Mount Aloysius baseball team this past spring, were named to the ABCA/Rawling and D3baseball.com All-Region teams respectively.
Cook was honored on the ABCA/Rawlings second team and the D3baseball.com third team, as an outfielder. This marks the second time he was honored as All-Region by D3baseball.com, after earning second-team All-Mid Atlantic Region in 2021. Cook led the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference with 10 home runs and ranked sixth with 36 RBIs. He was also in the AMCC top five with 92 total bases and a .648 slugging percentage.
DeRubeis earned a second-team All-Region selection from D3baseball.com, while finishing tied for 18th nationally with seven saves. This is DeRubeis’ first All-Region selection. His seven saves tied a program record and finished just one behind Alma’s Ken Fistler, who held the highest total in Region 7. DeRubeis made 12 appearances in 2025, tossing 13.1 innings and carrying a 2.02 ERA.
He also struck out 15 batters, giving him a 10.13 K/9 ratio. The converted catcher registered nine career saves, which ranks third in program history.
ROARING SPRING — The team of Ron Hinish, Anthony Musselman, Jerry Weaver and Tudor Trifan finished 25 under to …
As Schools Prepare to Pay Athletes, What Role Will Insurance Play?
Article 0 Comments As colleges and universities prepare to legally pay athletes for the first time in National Collegiate Athletic Association history, collegiate sports programs are exploring insurance policies designed to mitigate the risks that come with dishing out tens of millions of dollars annually to players. A proposed settlement deal between the NCAA and […]
As colleges and universities prepare to legally pay athletes for the first time in National Collegiate Athletic Association history, collegiate sports programs are exploring insurance policies designed to mitigate the risks that come with dishing out tens of millions of dollars annually to players.
A proposed settlement deal between the NCAA and five major collegiate sports conferences is expected to soon allow schools to directly compensate students for the first time in 173 years of organized competition. Total pay will be capped at about $20 million per school.
“The reason why insurance is now being introduced more consistently is that there are now real dollars at risk,” said Tyrre Burks, founder and CEO of Players Health, a sports-centric managing general agency. “And we’re not talking a small amount of dollars, either. We’re talking billions of dollars that are now going to athletes. Universities, for the first time, are now sharing athletic department revenues back to the athletes.”
Burks said Players Health gives clients greater visibility of their risks while supplying them with tools and resources to mitigate them. One of those resources is insurance; the Minneapolis-based company writes general liability, equipment and property, D&O and more lines of coverage for youth, amateur and collegiate sports organizations.
AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File
Following decades of a strict no-pay policy enforced by the NCAA, athletes were cleared to begin profiting off their name, image and likeness (NIL) in 2021. They have since been legally allowed to receive money from third parties like donor collectives and brand sponsorship deals — but they haven’t been cleared to receive funds directly from their schools.
That stands to change soon. Sports Illustrated reported May 24 that many in the college football world expected a decision to come last week in the landmark House vs. NCAA settlement, but as of press time, approval had not yet been announced.
In the meantime, Players Health has developed and begun selling policies that aim to address the risks that schools will face under the new payment system. Because while the NCAA has long pulled from a pool of carriers to provide participant accident policies for collegiate athletes, that health insurance only covers medical costs to athletes.
The critical injury insurance policy offered by Players Health is designed to insure payment from a school or collective to a student athlete should that athlete suffer an injury that forces them to miss at least 40% of a sports season. The product is parametric; pre-determined injuries are covered, and if the insured athlete suffers one of them and meets the 40% threshold, the policy triggers.
“It’s a very flexible product for these universities,” Burks said. “They can protect their downside, and we’ll insure up to a million dollars with that product.”
Players Health calculates an injury probability for every athlete to determine policy premiums. Burks said his company has aggregated one of the largest injury databases in amateur sports and uses that data to create the predictive model.
The MGA also offers a contract protection product that insures against player transferring. When the NCAA’s transfer portal system launched in 2018, it made it easier than ever for athletes to switch schools. In the current sports calendar, Burks said that front-loading cash to players who want upfront payments has its pitfalls.
An athlete could sign a deal with a school when the first open transfer portal period begins in December, Burks said, and then transfer away in the spring — when the second portal period begins — without ever playing a game for the school that paid them.
“You could insure the transfer risk that you have for that athlete,” Burks said, explaining that Players Health has created a model that predicts the likelihood an athlete will transfer and bakes that into the premium. This policy is designed to help keep predatory language out of contracts, Burks said, while also preventing litigation and making schools whole.
In addition to critical injury and contract protection, Players Health offers schools a fair market value bonus product that Burks said allows schools to punch above their weight when it comes to attracting and retaining athletes.
Colleges and universities aren’t allowed to award performance bonuses directly to players, but Burks explained that through these policies, payment triggers to a school if an athlete hits on-the-field milestones that increase their value, like being named to an all-conference team or winning the Heisman trophy.
“Ultimately, the athlete now has these triggers that they can shoot for,” Burks said. “They know their value is worth more, and … they’ve got an extra half a million dollars that they can go and achieve if they hit these milestones. Now, they’re worth more in the market.”
Schools from the Big 12, SEC and Big East conferences have purchased policies outlined in this piece from Players Health. Burks said the MGA’s focus is to democratize data and use insights to drive changes in behavior and decision-making.
“We’re not trying to just push papers and just send over a policy,” he added. “We want the client to understand why they’re buying it, and we want them to be just as educated about why they’re buying it and the product as we are.”
Fordham Student Visas Continue to Be Revoked – The Fordham Ram
Two more student visas have been revoked since May 8, according to Fordham University Spokesperson Bob Howe. The University updated their website on May 13 stating: “You should be aware that the U.S. Department of State has again begun revoking the visas of international students and faculty, as of Thursday, May 8, in Fordham’s case.” […]
Two more student visas have been revoked since May 8, according to Fordham University Spokesperson Bob Howe. The University updated their website on May 13 stating: “You should be aware that the U.S. Department of State has again begun revoking the visas of international students and faculty, as of Thursday, May 8, in Fordham’s case.”
International students and faculty received an email on May 13, updating them on the reoccurring revocations. The process is different from earlier in the year, as students are receiving an email from the U.S Department of State informing them of their revocation rather than the University searching for them in the SEVIS system, and notifying them of the change in status.
‘HE IS TOP-10 NO QUESTION!’ | First Take
