What are Oklahoma players doing out there on the bases? Is that a tribute to “Karate Kid” Daniel LaRusso’s match-clinching crane kick in the 1984 All-Valley Karate Championship? Is it a new take on the classic yoga warrior pose? Something from ballet? Nope. It’s a shoutout to OU’s national champion gymnastics squad: arms up in […]
What are Oklahoma players doing out there on the bases?
Is that a tribute to “Karate Kid” Daniel LaRusso’s match-clinching crane kick in the 1984 All-Valley Karate Championship?
Is it a new take on the classic yoga warrior pose?
Something from ballet?
Nope.
It’s a shoutout to OU’s national champion gymnastics squad: arms up in a victory pose, wrists bent, fingers flexed out.
Jordan Bowers or Faith Torrez or Audrey Davis would be proud.
Oklahoma slugger Ella Parker / OU Athletics
“At the beginning of the season, we love watching women’s sports in general, we love our gymnastics team,” said Sooners captain Nelly McEnroe-Marinas. “We would do that little thing for them. And then, I don’t know, just kind of make a joke out of it. Everything is funny, like to be loose, have fun, be free. We’ve been doing a lot of different celebrations, I would say.”
Patty Gasso’s players would flash the tribute any time some popped up at second base on a double, sometimes after a stolen base, once in a while on first after an important single.
“We love women’s sports and gymnastics is one of the top programs here,” said outfielder AbbyDayton. “We want to represent them well.”
Oklahoma first baseman Cydney Sanders / John E. Hoover / Sooners On SI
That one OU national champion team is being honored by another who’s chasing their fifth consecutive national title and ninth overall is telling about the support that Sooner teams give one another.
“It’s respect — absolute respect for each other,” Gasso said this week as the No. 2 overall seed Sooners host Alabama in a Super Regional at Love’s Field.
“The day after the women’s gymnastics team won, they came onto our field with their trophy,” Gasso said. “Hugged some of our players, sitting in the stands, fans were around them. We were rooting, rooting for women’s basketball.
Gasso and the Oklahoma softball program have done as much for their sport as Geno Auriemma and the Connecticut basketball program or the US Women’s National soccer team.
Oklahoma gymnast Faith Torrez / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Such growth in mainstream popularity has helped clear the way for other phenomena like the CaitlinClark Experience that swept the nation the last two years and continues in the WNBA.
As these fun moments and historic achievements have laid a pathway for iconic events, women’s sports have gained a powerful seat at the table of American television consumption, and it seems much of that success is rooted in this kind of cross-sport support.
“It’s just respect for women’s sports here and the elite level that we’re all trying to play, all of us, not just the ones named,” Gasso said. “It’s hard to live in this world of elite sport and hard to maintain it. There is a different level of respect that we have knowing the grind that it takes.”
As women’s sports continue to make signifiant strides internally — like the NCAA Tournament giving its women’s teams the same access to quality food, hotel and training facilities as the men’s teams, or the USWNT fighting for equal pay despite their team drawing bigger crowds and TV ratings than the men — the popularity of women’s sports continues to rise.
Those things can go hand in hand, Gasso hinted this week.
With Alabama coming to town, she looked back at the 2012 national championship series in Oklahoma City, when the start of the final game was delayed nearly three hours by inclement weather but was eventually started and played late into the night despite a driving rain that affected pitchers’ ability to get the ball over the plate.
Alabama beat OU for its first national title.
“I just remember asking, ‘What are we doing?’ “ Gasso said. “And (the answer) was, ‘ESPN won’t come back tomorrow, so we’ve got to play it now.’ ESPN’s saying, ‘We didn’t say that.’ So I’m not getting a real answer.”
Gasso said officials “played it the right way” and insisted she’s not still complaining about it. But she still says it should have been handled differently.
“For me personally, I was disappointed that, if we would have played the next day, it would have been the most-watched female softball game ever and may still hold that because it was such a battle of elite players, elite pitching on both sides,” she said. “It was a tremendous matchup and a tremendous opportunity to bring more fans into the game and to put us in a better position versus a ball slipping out of your hand when you’re trying to pitch it.
“Back then, maybe people didn’t think we deserved better. Now, that would never happen today. It would not.”
Nebraska Volleyball Coach Dani Busboom Kelly to Light Cornhusker State Games Cauldron
Olympians, Super Bowl champions, and now Dani Busboom Kelly. The new Nebraska volleyball coach is set to be the torch lighter for the 41st Cornhusker State Games. The moment, which will take place next month, will mark a full-circle moment for Busboom Kelly, who competed in the Games in her youth. The cauldron will be […]
Olympians, Super Bowl champions, and now Dani Busboom Kelly.
The new Nebraska volleyball coach is set to be the torch lighter for the 41st Cornhusker State Games. The moment, which will take place next month, will mark a full-circle moment for Busboom Kelly, who competed in the Games in her youth.
The cauldron will be lit on July 10, just outside of Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. The lighting is the the climax of the Opening Ceremonies, celebrating an Olympic tradition.
Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball head coach Dani Busboom Kelly is introduced during a break in the first half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
Prominent Nebraska athletes litter the former torch lighters list, including a number of Husker volleyball players. Busboom Kelly, besides being the fourth coach in program history, helped Nebraska to a national title in 2006 as a libero.
Other Nebraska volleyball players to light the cauldron for the Cornhusker State Games include Rebekah Allick, Nicklin Hames, Amber & Kadie Rolfzen, Sarah Pavan, Jordan Larson, Kim Behrends-Buckendahl, Angie Oxley, and Allison Weston.
The lighting ceremony will be the latest in a busy summer for Busboom Kelly and the Cornhusker program. She took over for John Cook earlier this year, when Cook retired after 25 years at the helm. Since then, the Huskers have gone through a beach volleyball season, played a match at the Devaney Center and another in Ord, and signed multiple players to aid the team this fall.
Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball head coach Dani Busboom Kelly and former coach John Cook embrace while being recognized during a break in the first half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
Nebraska’s season begins with the AVCA First Serve Showcase at Pinnacle Bank Arena Aug. 22 and 24, taking on Pittsburgh and Stanford.
The 2025 Cornhusker State Games run July 10-20, with events in communities statewide. This year’s Games will also be featured in ESPN’s “50 States in 50 Days” series.
Below are past torch lighters for the Cornhusker State Games.
Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.
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2024-25 Season In Review – University of Hawai’i at Manoa Athletics
The magic was evident from the start. On a mid-August night in Waipi‘o, the Rainbow Wahine soccer team celebrated a dramatic comeback victory in a rousing kickoff to the 2024-25 University of Hawai‘i athletics calendar. The season-opening thriller would be just the first verse of a theme that coursed through the department into the heat […]
On a mid-August night in Waipi‘o, the Rainbow Wahine soccer team celebrated a dramatic comeback victory in a rousing kickoff to the 2024-25 University of Hawai‘i athletics calendar. The season-opening thriller would be just the first verse of a theme that coursed through the department into the heat of May.
By the time the year ended with a strong showing from UH’s contingent in the first round of the NCAA Track and Field Championship, Rainbow Wahine and Rainbow Warrior teams had crafted a season replete with unforgettable moments.
Along the way, sustained success for the UH women’s programs remained at the forefront with the Rainbow Wahine volleyball, basketball and water polo teams repeating as conference champions and the soccer team earning the program’s first Big West crown.
The Rainbow Warrior volleyball team electrified SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center while maintaining a place among the nation’s elite. Crowds flocked to Les Murakami Stadium to experience the Manoa Magic generated by the baseball ’Bows, and across the street one of the nation’s winningest softball coaches bid aloha after more than three decades in the dugout.
Individual accolades included six Big West Coach of the Year awards and 11 student-athletes earned conference player of the year honors. A total of 148 current and former ’Bows received their diplomas in the fall and spring commencement ceremonies and achievements in both aspects of student-athlete life were recognized in a collection of national and conference academic awards.
Bonner, Burmester, Capece and Croteau Named CSC Academic All-District
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WALTHAM, Mass. – Four members of the Bentley women’s track and field team were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team for their combined performances on the track and in the classroom. The quartet are Caitlin Burmester, Mia Bonner, Molly Capece and Hannah Croteau. Burmester advanced to […]
WALTHAM, Mass. – Four members of the Bentley women’s track and field team were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team for their combined performances on the track and in the classroom.
The quartet are Caitlin Burmester, Mia Bonner, Molly Capece and Hannah Croteau.
Burmester advanced to the ballot for Academic All-America consideration.
Burmester, a standout for both the track and cross country teams, majored in both accounting and liberal studies and was named the NE10 Female Scholar Athlete of the Year among a number of awards.
Bonner is an accounting major and competes in jumps for the track and field team. She earned an eighth place finish in the triple jump at the NE10 Outdoor Championships.
Capece was a sophomore in 2024-25 and majored in quantitative economics. She ran track this spring and cross country in the fall, which included finishing 17th at the NE10 Championships.
Croteau majors in computer information systems and competes in hurdles. She earned a 12th place finish in the 400 hurdles at the NE10 Outdoor Championships.
Will Robertson Named Post-Gazette Boys’ Volleyball Player of the Year
Will Robertson Named Post-Gazette Boys’ Volleyball Player of the Year Posted on: June 25th, 2025 by Jonathan Spina By: Jared Barton After another tremendous season on the hardwood, junior Will Robertson has been named boys’ volleyball Player of the Year by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He becomes the second member of the family to receive the […]
Will Robertson Named Post-Gazette Boys’ Volleyball Player of the Year
By: Jared Barton
After another tremendous season on the hardwood, junior Will Robertson has been named boys’ volleyball Player of the Year by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He becomes the second member of the family to receive the award, after his sister Molly took home the laurels this fall.
Robertson had a team-leading 260 kills in the 2025 campaign. He also notched 44 blocks, 263 digs, and 23 aces. He carries a career statline of 762 kills, 111 blocks, 584 digs and 68 aces.
Robertson was a first-team all-section and WPIAL all-star for the second time and, according to Ken Wunderley, will soon be recognized on the PVCA all-state team for the second time when it’s announced later this month.
Robertson and the Tigers earned the team’s 23rd WPIAL title this spring before taking home runner-up medals to Cumberland Valley in the PIAA State Championship earlier this month.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Head Coach Arielle Wilson has signed her first transfer athlete to the Central Michigan Volleyball program in Karla Sanchez. Sanchez comes to Mount Pleasant after spending her freshman season at Houston Christian where she was a beach volleyball player. The 6’1 setter, a native for Canovanas, Puerto Rico, attended […]
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Head Coach Arielle Wilson has signed her first transfer athlete to the Central Michigan Volleyball program in Karla Sanchez.
Sanchez comes to Mount Pleasant after spending her freshman season at Houston Christian where she was a beach volleyball player.
The 6’1 setter, a native for Canovanas, Puerto Rico, attended Colegio Adianez High School in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico and played beach and indoor volleyball there for four seasons, 2018-2024. Sanchez was a top three setter for the U21 Women’s North, Central American and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORECEA) at an international level.
Sanchez, an Olympic Youth Gymnasiade and 2025 competitor with the Puerto Rican National Team in the Panamericana Cup, won the silver medal with the national team in 2024.
On making the move to CMU, Karla says “I chose Central Michigan University because it felt like the perfect balance between high-level athletics and strong academics.
From the moment I connected with the volleyball staff, I felt seen — not just as an athlete, but as a person. The coaches truly care about player development and long-term success.
As an international student-athlete from Puerto Rico, finding a place that felt welcoming and supportive was important to me, and CMU gave me that sense of home. I also loved that I could pursue a double major in Industrial Engineering and International Business, which is a rare and powerful combination for a future career.
One moment that confirmed CMU was right for me happened during my visit — I watched a practice where the team competed hard, laughed together, and had a culture of respect. That energy and unity stuck with me. I knew I wanted to be part of that.”
For the latest news and updates on CMU Volleyball, follow the team in X (@cmuvolleyball) and on Instagram (@cmuvolleyball).
Legendary Cloud County Track and Field Coach Harry Kitchener Announces Retirement
By Toby Nosker, CCCC SID Harry Kitchener, a legendary NJCAA track and field coach who won two national championships and turned Cloud County Community College into a consistent national title contender, announced his retirement after 48 years in Concordia. “I have been so proud to coach and work for Cloud County for 48 years,” […]
Harry Kitchener, a legendary NJCAA track and field coach who won two national championships and turned Cloud County Community College into a consistent national title contender, announced his retirement after 48 years in Concordia.
“I have been so proud to coach and work for Cloud County for 48 years,” coach Kitchener said in a statement. “Serving as head women’s and men’s cross country coach, head men’s track and field coach, and director of cross country/track and field has been an amazing career. We have accomplished so much and have made so many connections with wonderful people, it is hard for me to end my coaching career.”
Kitchener, the longest-tenured coach in Cloud County history, was inducted into the Cloud County Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006 and the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2017. He was named Region 6 Coach of the Year five times (1999, 2001, 2006, 2008, 2019), and NJCAA Indoor Coach of the Year in 1994 and 2006.
Under Kitchener, Cloud County reached remarkable heights, winning twenty consecutive Prairie Junior College Conference championships, seventeen Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference – West Division championships, and eight Region 6 championships. Kitchener led the T-Birds to its first-ever NJCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in 2019. Kitchener was named that year’s Region 6 Men’s Coach of the Year, Central Region Coach of the Year, and NJCAA Men’s Coach of the Year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Kitchener also led Cloud County to a NJCAA Half Marathon National Championship in 2004.
Kitchener extended a heartfelt thank you to the student-athletes that chose to compete for him at Cloud County. In his 48 years with the T-Birds, Kitchener aided in the development of over 50 NJCAA national champions and nearly 350 national placers.
“I have had two team mottos in my overall 58 years of coaching,” Kitchener said. “‘Bigger is not always better!’ and ‘Make every finish line count for something!'”
Kitchener, whose original name was Harry Sargent, Jr, was born May 2, 1945 in Compton, California. From age four, Kitchener and two of his siblings were raised in children’s homes in Hutchinson, Kansas and Newton, Kansas. At the age of 12, Kitchener, his sister Sally Ann, and his brother Robert William were all adopted by their foster parents, Orville and Marcena Kitchener of Oak Hill, Kansas.
Kitchener graduated from Longford Rural High School as class salutatorian in 1963. He played quarterback on the high school football team, while he also excelled in basketball and track and field. Kitchener received many scholarship offers but elected to walk on the track and field team at Kansas State University. He lettered as a triple jumper and pole vaulter at KSU.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1967 and his master’s degree in 1970, Kitchener coached at Wakefield High School for ten years. There he coached junior and senior high school football, basketball, and track and field. He later started the school’s high school cross country program and coached the team for many years. In one of Wakefield High School’s best years under Kitchener, the school qualified teams for the state playoffs in both football and basketball while winning the state championship in cross country and track and field.
But Cloud County is where Kitchener established himself as one of the greatest coaches in Kansas sports history. Coach Kitchener made the move to Cloud County in 1977, first becoming the men’s cross country and track and field coach. Besides his coaching position, he also served as the college’s Director of Student Activities and Student Senate sponsor for 23 years.
Kitchener led the T-Birds to eight top three national placings with more than 200 NJCAA All-Americans.
As legendary as Kitchener’s coaching career has been, so too is the number of former student-athletes who became coaches themselves. He is proud of the number of former Cloud County student-athletes that also went on to become college and university track and field coaches, including Keith Blackwill (assistant cross country and track and field coach at Odessa College), Moses Dirane (graduate assistant at Fort Hays State University), Eugene Frazier (assistant coach at the University of Northern Colorado), Randy Hasenbank (associate head coach at the University of Iowa), Kirk Hunter (associate coach at Wichita State University), David Kaiser (head coach at University of Texas at Tyler), Mike Kirkland (former head coach at Southwestern College), the late-Mark Phillips (distinguished head track and field coach at Cowley College), and Kirk Wren (head coach at Ottawa University), among others.
One of Kitchener’s most meaningful relationships is with current Cloud County assistant track and field coach, Ted Schmitz. Schmitz was a walk-on turned standout track athlete at Cloud County for Kitchener from 1977-1979. After finishing his academic career at Kansas State, Schmitz returned to Cloud County where he served as the head women’s track and field coach for 37 years and volunteer assistant men’s track and field coach for 40 years. He was inducted into the Cloud County Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008 and the NJCAA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2021.
“I have been truly blessed with a coach like Ted Schmitz, who has been with me for 46 years as an athlete and coach,” said Kitchener.
With Kitchener retiring, Schmitz is now the longest-tenured coach at Cloud County.
“I have been so proud and fortunate to coach Kansas high school athletes and athletes from all over the world and develop so many All-Americans in Concordia, Kansas,” Kitchener added. “Thanks to all that have supported Cloud County track and field in our community.”
