Sports

Pair of Arlington alumni compete at NCAA Track Nationals

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 […]

Published

1 month ago

June 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

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.”

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Sarussi has MVP final season for UIC women’s track

Ally Sarussi (Courtesy of UIC Athletics) Ally Sarussi had quite a senior sendoff with the Washington University women’s track and field team as part of its 2024 NCAA Division III national team champion. The 2020 Lyons Township High School graduate, however, still had one season of eligibility and a graduate degree to pursue. “I was […]

Published

18 minutes ago

July 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Ally Sarussi (Courtesy of UIC Athletics)

Ally Sarussi had quite a senior sendoff with the Washington University women’s track and field team as part of its 2024 NCAA Division III national team champion. The 2020 Lyons Township High School graduate, however, still had one season of eligibility and a graduate degree to pursue.

“I was going to take a gap year, but then I kind of thought I have an opportunity to run another year,” Sarussi said. “I love track a lot so I might as well take the opportunity while getting my degree.”

As a grad student this spring, Sarussi had her best individual season for the University of Illinois Chicago. She was named the team’s Most Valuable Performer and athletic department’s Female Newcomer of the Year for non-freshmen after qualifying for the NCAA Division I postseason in the 1,500-meter run following her lifetime-best, school-record 4:19.35 at the Missouri Valley Conference Meet.

At the NCAA West First Round May 30 in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Sarussi was ninth in her heat (4:25.74) and 34th overall as the No. 40 seed among 48 entries.

“It was very cool to be able to go to that. It’s insane facilities and to get to compete with some of the best athletes in the nation was exciting, a rewarding experience,” Sarussi said. “My parents got to see me race there so it was a memorable way to cap off my career.”

She became the first UIC women’s track and field athlete to compete on the national level in a track event and the third in combined women’s and men’s track and field history. She has one more year of school at UIC as she pursues her doctorate in physical therapy after graduating from WashU with a degree in anthropology and minor in psychology.

“Winning the [MVP] award was cool but it was more fun to do the exciting things on the track and get to know my teammates better and develop some long-lasting relationships and push myself to a new level,” Sarussi said. “I definitely learned a lot about myself as a person and athlete in terms of how I was able to come onto the team and deal with this new training plan and how I was able to be coached by a totally different person. It really proved my adaptability.”

Sarussi’s competitiveness also helped. The MVC Meet May 17-18 in Carbondale could have been Sarussi’s finale. The 4:19.35 became her ultimate moment.

“I’m going to remember that conference final race for a long time,” Sarussi said.

She wanted to break 4:20 after a second-fastest 4:28.93 in prelims and personal-best 4:25.63 from the Drake Relays April 23. The top-three finish — just .15 ahead of fourth place — also gave Sarussi all-conference honors and put her on the awards podium after finishing fourth in the 800 (2:10.34) at the indoor MVC Meet. She also was part of the eighth-place 4 x 400 relay’s school-record 3:52.92.

Considering the West First Round’s slowest seed time was 4:22.50, Sarussi also advanced to NCAA’s because of the 4:19.35.

“I just competed the best I ever had to make the podium at conference,” Sarussi said. “I don’t really know how I did it. I was just pushing to get top three and to have that 4:19 come along with it, I knew my body could do it. It just took everything in me and everything had to go perfectly. I’ll definitely take that one with me.”

Previously, Sarussi was known mainly for 800s. At LTHS, she was part of all-state 4 x 800 relays in 2019 (3rd) and 2018 (7th). She never ran at state for cross country but joined LTHS teammates at Nike Cross Regionals.

For WashU, Sarussi had six top-eight Division III All-American performances – four individually and two in relays, including the 2023 indoor national championship with the distance medley relay. The COVID-affected 2020 season gave athletes like Sarussi an additional season of eligibility.

Approaching the 2024 outdoor nationals, Sarussi had been All-American three times in the 800 but began adding the 1,500 to help the Bears get team points. Sarussi just missed the 800 finals with 10th but was an All-American third in the 1,500 (4:28.74). The Bears (71 points) won their second national team title by 23.5 points after being third outdoors in 2023 and 2022.

“We worked for that for so long. Winning Division III nationals was such a highlight, such a way to cap it off. We had a really strong senior class,” Sarussi said. “Just through the four years at WashU and with UIC, I learned so much about drive and commitment. I really do love track a lot and it helped me grow so much as a person. It’s tested my perseverance and to set and reach new goals and have that happen alongside being a student, it’s something I’m proud of.”

Coming to UIC, Sarussi was fourth in the 800 (2:10.34) at the indoor MVC Meet after an injury-affected cross country season. With more specified training, she began to flourish in the 1,500.

Her first 1,500 outdoors happened to be at WashU March 28 in St. Louis (2nd in 4:30.06) – an emotional return with her UIC teammates and coaches while reuniting with former ones.

“I just felt really lucky to be there and lucky I’d gone to school there. The race didn’t go as well as I’d hoped but everyone brought me up and supported me,” Sarussi said.

After NCAAs, Sarussi went out a winner in her last competitive race “for the foreseeable future.”

At the Magis Mile June 7 at St. Ignatius, Sarussi won the Elite division and top-seeded final women’s race with a meet-best 4:46.89 mile (4:27.98 for 1,500 meters).

“I wanted to be competitive and try to win it. It was a good opportunity to do that against a field (mainly) of really good high school girls,” Sarussi said. “Definitely going into it, I was excited for one more time to get a good mile time while I was still in shape basically.”

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Sports

MTSU Athletics saddened by passing of former Volleyball coach Matt Peck

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee Athletics is saddened to learn of the passing of former Blue Raider Volleyball coach Matt Peck. The seasoned coach spent 12 seasons in Murfreesboro, where he helped build the Blue Raiders into a championship program. “There are a lot of banners hanging in AMG that are due to Matt and […]

Published

19 minutes ago

July 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee Athletics is saddened to learn of the passing of former Blue Raider Volleyball coach Matt Peck. The seasoned coach spent 12 seasons in Murfreesboro, where he helped build the Blue Raiders into a championship program.

“There are a lot of banners hanging in AMG that are due to Matt and his staff’s efforts,” said MTSU Director of Athletics Chris Massaro. “We reached the pinnacle in volleyball by going to the Sweet 16, which is one of the deepest postseason runs any of our teams have had in an NCAA Tournament.

“Under his leadership, we were nationally competitive with anybody we were on the court with, and to have six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances speaks volumes to the kind of coach he was, the kind of players that were here and the kind of success we had at that time. My thoughts and prayers are with those who are close to Matt, his family, his friends, and all the former players who helped raise a lot of those banners.”

Peck’s accomplishments in over 20 years of coaching were long and distinguished. After a three-year stint as a Graduate Assistant with the Purdue men’s volleyball team, Peck became the head coach at Wayne State University in 1987, compiling a 231-135 record and two NCAA Tournament appearances over seven seasons. He was then hired as the head coach at the University of North Alabama in 1995 where he proceeded to build a Division II powerhouse. Over nine seasons at UNA, Peck accumulated a record of 312-61, securing eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances, four Elite Eights, two Final Fours and the 2003 NCAA Division II National Championship.

In 2004, Peck took over as the leader of the Blue Raider volleyball program. He went on to become the winningest coach in program history with a 208-141 record across 12 seasons. During his tenure at Middle Tennessee, Peck led Middle Tennessee volleyball to six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, an NCAA Sweet 16, four Sun Belt Tournament Championships and two Sun Belt regular season titles.

After his time at MTSU, Peck continued to grow the game of volleyball coaching at the club level, where he inspired younger generations and shared his love for the game.

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Sports

Coach Mirarchi shaping Italy’s next water polo stars at the FISU Games

Written by Valentina Rasini, EU U-Media Ambassador, Italy Water polo is a demanding sport that requires lots of sacrifice and dedication. For student-athletes, balancing academics and intense training makes it even more challenging. Maurizio Mirarchi, coach of the Italian women’s team at the Rhine Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games, understands this well. He puts his […]

Published

47 minutes ago

July 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Written by Valentina Rasini, EU U-Media Ambassador, Italy

Water polo is a demanding sport that requires lots of sacrifice and dedication. For student-athletes, balancing academics and intense training makes it even more challenging.

Maurizio Mirarchi, coach of the Italian women’s team at the Rhine Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games, understands this well. He puts his heart into mentoring his young players, helping them grow not only as competitors but as the champions of tomorrow.

Coach Mirarchi made a clear decision: to train student-athletes, both at the international level and in the Italian championship, and he stands firmly by his choice.

“There’s no trick, you just have to make sacrifices, train and try to give your best in every session. If you train well, matches are a consequence of training. The trick is simply to do your best during the week,” he said, speaking about the challenges of coaching such a young group.

One of the most important aspects for Mirarchi is keeping his pupils fully focused, especially in the most difficult moments, when emotions and tension can weigh heavily on young minds.

“I always ask for their maximum attention. I try to explain the various situations that arise in the match to make sure they have it. It’s not easy, because there are emotions, there is the moment, there is the match. We try to make sure that things are explained well in some moments of the match.”

The hardest part of being a student-athlete in Mirarchi’s opinion? “They have to balance their work and their student activities. It’s a big commitment for them. This is a sport that requires a lot of sacrifice, so they are really good at managing both things in the best way possible.”

A stepping stone to the future

Rhine-Ruhr 2025 represents an enriching and valuable experience for the Italian coach.

“It’s a good level, a good high level. There are good teams, from Australia, Germany, Japan, us, Hungary, the United States,” he said, about the calibre of different delegations competing in the tournament.

Looking ahead to the future of his young protégés, Mirarchi sees the FISU Games as a key benchmark for preparing them for the next level of competition, such as the Olympics or the World Championships.

“The university team is always a tank, where the national team can take on the athletes. So, it’s very important to do it well, to do the competition seriously, because then it can be a showcase to continue later,” he affirmed.

His vision is long-term and clear: these kinds of tournaments are not an end, but a means to grow.

“I took this job because we work in perspective. So, we try to make these girls grow, making them do as many experiences as possible. And this is a good experience for them, because they are all young girls. So, I hope that over the years they can play even more important competitions.”

Looking to match their silver-medal finish from Chengdu 2023, the Italian women reached the semifinals on Tuesday, 22 July with a dominant 20-5 win against Türkiye. Mirarchi’s side will face the United States on Thursday for a spot in Saturday’s gold-medal match.

The Young Reporters Programme exemplifies FISU’s commitment to more than sports competitions. At every FISU World University Games, a group of talented aspiring sports journalists are chosen to cover the competition.

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Sports

Cameron Brink Reacts to Post Roasting Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers’s Viral Outfits

One needs to look no further than the WNBA to witness some of the most fashionable dressers in the sports world, as the league’s stars strut through tunnels day after day showing off jaw-dropping looks and oozing effortless style. Most players—to use the popular Gen Z term—slay with their pregame outfits. But on the few […]

Published

53 minutes ago

July 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Most players—to use the popular Gen Z term—slay with their pregame outfits. But on the few occasions they don’t, fans will be ready to roast any given player at a moment’s notice—even if that player is one of the rising faces of the W.

Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 picks of the WNBA Draft in the last two years, were recently grouped together in a funny social media post concerning their fits ahead of the Indiana Fever-Dallas Wings game on July 13.

Clark donned a baggy gray power suit, while Bueckers wore a green and yellow striped sweater with jeans. One fan on X (formerly known as Twitter) posted a hilarious comment on the stars’ contrasting looks: “Someone said the mom headed to the superintendent’s office, and her 13-year-old kid who got in trouble.”

Los Angeles Sparks’ Cameron Brink later got in on the fun and dished on her peers’ fashion tastes on the Straight to Cam podcast this week.

“I mean… it’s pretty accurate,” Brink said. “Does [Caitlin] look very boss woman chic clean? Yes. Does Paige look very streetwear cool girl? Yes. But seeing those side by side, it’s pretty funny.

“I think they both stay very true to those aesthetics, like Caitlin’s usually in her Prada, she’s a little more buttoned up. I guess Paige, she’ll wear suits [too].”

.@paigebueckers1 & @CaitlinClark22 are our girls, but @cameronbrink22 & Sasha Colby have thoughts on their latest viral fits 🤣 pic.twitter.com/KHFqyoIdQJ

— Straight to Cam (@straight2cam) July 22, 2025

While Clark and Bueckers usually let their on-court play do the talking, their comically different fits clearly served as a conversation starter among the WNBA community. The two franchise stars will meet again on Aug. 1 and 12, after Clark’s Fever defeated Bueckers’s Wings in the pair’s first professional matchup against each other on July 13.

More WNBA on Sports Illustrated

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Sports

AD Newsletter – July 22, 2025

Dear Wildcats: What we’ve accomplished together over the past year has laid the groundwork for a bold new era at Arizona Athletics. In our inaugural year in the Big 12 Conference, we didn’t just compete, we built momentum. Fueled by your support, we embraced transformational change, tackled financial challenges head-on, and launched a strategic […]

Published

60 minutes ago

July 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Dear Wildcats:

What we’ve accomplished together over the past year has laid the groundwork for a bold new era at Arizona Athletics. In our inaugural year in the Big 12 Conference, we didn’t just compete, we built momentum. Fueled by your support, we embraced transformational change, tackled financial challenges head-on, and launched a strategic vision to guide our future.

With a focus on integrity, innovation, and urgency, we’ve worked to restore financial discipline, elevate the student-athlete experience, and assemble a leadership team prepared to meet the demands of a rapidly changing landscape. Thank you for standing with us, believing in our vision, and helping us build something that will last far beyond the scoreboard. We’re stronger because of YOU.

I’m proud to share just a few highlights:

We closed a $39M deficit to just $5M, with a goal to balance the budget by FY26 through strategic oversight, streamlined operations, and accountability.
We raised $5.9M more than last year thanks to your generosity and a restructured Development Office that better aligns philanthropic goals with strategic priorities.
We rose in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings (from No. 48 to No. 43), powered by a national championship in Women’s Triathlon, Big 12 titles in Baseball, Women’s Golf, and Men’s Tennis, and Top 25 finishes in Gymnastics, Softball, Men’s Basketball, and Men’s Swim and Dive.
We launched the Bear Down Blueprint, a five-year strategic plan built on four pillars: Graduating Leaders, Winning Championships, Galvanizing Community, and Organizational Strength. Read the full plan here.

We’ve also continued building a team that can meet the challenges of this moment. This year, we welcomed four new head coaches, each chosen not just for their competitive credentials, but for their values, vision, and ability to mentor student-athletes:

Ben Loorz, Head Coach, Men’s and Women’s Swim & Dive

Giovana Maymon, Head Coach, Women’s Golf

Becky Burke, Head Coach, Women’s Basketball

Andrew Dubs, Head Coach, Track & Field / Cross Country

These new leaders join a department-wide effort to elevate every aspect of the Wildcat experience—from competitive performance to academic achievement and holistic support.

We also welcomed a dynamic group of new administrative leaders, all bringing high-level experience from the Power Four conferences or professional sports. Each of these leaders was carefully selected to help drive innovation, accountability, and sustained excellence across our department:

Tony Daniel, Chief Revenue Officer

Rachel Blunt, Chief Operating Officer/SWA

Will Wheeler, Chief Financial Officer

Mike Smith, Chief Development Officer

Morgan Domenick, Chief of Staff

Brian Rooney, General Manager, Arizona Sports Enterprises

Bud Sasser, Associate Athletics Director for Contracts

This year also marked the official launch of Arizona Sports Enterprises (ASE)—our innovative new division focused on maximizing commercial revenue through multimedia rights, partnerships, and premium experiences. Under the leadership of Tony Daniel, ASE exceeded its first-year revenue goal by 14% and welcomed its first General Manager, Brian Rooney, a proven leader in sports business. With ASE now fully operational, we’ve created a modern, agile platform that positions Arizona Athletics for long-term financial growth and greater brand impact.

A New Era: Revenue Sharing + NIL Support

As of July 1, Arizona Athletics entered a new era with the formal launch of revenue sharing as provided by the terms of the House v. NCAA settlement. Our student-athletes deserve to be supported and empowered, and Arizona is leading the way.

We’ve implemented a comprehensive financial literacy course in collaboration with the College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences, expanded Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) education, and built internal systems to meet compliance standards—all while preserving the essence of college athletics.

As revenue-sharing reshapes college athletics, Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) remains essential to providing our student-athletes with the resources and opportunities they deserve. Your continued support helps Arizona remain competitive in recruiting and retaining top talent—while also preparing our Wildcats for success beyond the playing field.

We’re calling on members of the Arizona community—especially those who own or influence businesses—to play an active role in shaping the future of Wildcat Athletics. By creating or supporting legitimate NIL opportunities, you’re helping student-athletes grow their personal brands and ensuring Arizona thrives in this new era of college sports.

If you’re interested in exploring NIL partnership opportunities, or contributing directly to NIL efforts, please visit www.ArizonaWildcats.com/sponsorship.

Your continued philanthropic support is more critical than ever, so thank you for all that you do.

Looking Ahead: Football & Fan Experience

Arizona enters Year Two in the Big 12 with momentum, and we’re making Saturdays in Tucson more exciting than ever. This fall, fans will enjoy:

A reimagined team entrance featuring cryogenics, pyrotechnics, and military flyovers
A new live music partnership with the DUSK Music Festival
Expanded tailgating zones and on-field hospitality
Fan-friendly concession pricing

These enhancements reflect our commitment to building a world-class gameday environment for our student-athletes and fans alike. We can’t wait to welcome you back to Arizona Stadium this fall.

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Sports

Griz volleyball wins fifth straight AVCA Team Academic Award

Published

1 hour ago

July 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Montana volleyball has received the AVCA Team Academic Award sponsored by INTENT for the fifth consecutive season after another successful year in the classroom.

In order to qualify for the honor, teams needed to maintain a year-long grade-point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale. Montana had a cumulative GPA of 3.66 as a team throughout the 2024-25 academic year.

“We are a player-led program built on the belief that passion for learning and love for the game go hand in hand. Our athletes don’t just compete—they lead, question, explore, and grow,” head coach Allison Lawrence said. “They fuel a culture of curiosity that stretches from the court to the classroom and into every aspect of life. Year after year, our student-athletes redefine what success means on the court and in the classroom. They push limits, raise standards, and lift each other up.”

Casi Newman earned a perfect 4.0 for Montana in her only season in Missoula as a graduate transfer. The Grizzlies also had 11 players record a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better for the 2024-25 school year.

Gracie Cagle just missed out on a perfect GPA with a 3.96 while Emma Williams had the third-best mark on the team with a 3.87 GPA.

The Grizzlies had four individuals record 4.0 GPAs in the spring 2025 semester. Cagle and Newman both had perfect marks and they were joined by Paige Clark and Maddie Kremer in the 4.0 club.

It’s the fifth straight time that Montana has earned the AVCA award. This is the best GPA that the program has recorded under Lawrence at 3.66 for the academic year, and they also recorded an impressive 3.68 GPA in the spring term. Last year, Montana had a 3.60 GPA.

Academics have been a priority for Lawrence since taking over in 2017. They have claimed the award five times under Lawrence. Prior to Lawrence, Montana had won the award five times since 1992.

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