CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Addison Halpern, a freshman forward/midfielder with the Virginia women’s soccer team, was named the 2025 Gatorade Girls Player of the Year it was announced by Gatorade with the release of its annual award.

Halpern, who is rated the No. 5 overall recruit nationally, enrolled at Virginia in January and has been practicing with the women’s team through the spring. She is part of the fourth-ranked recruiting class in the nation.

Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community. Halpern was selected as the New Jersey state winner for 2024-25 and now claimed the national award.

As a senior, Halpern led the Argonauts to a 23-0 record and both the Prep B and Non-Public B state championships this past season. Halpern scored 44 goals and passed for 14 assists, setting up Rutgers Preparatory School’s 3-0 win over DePaul High School in the Non-Public B state final. Halpern missed the first six games of the season while participating in the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup with the U.S. National Team. Also the 2024 United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Year, she is a two-time NJ.com State Player of the Year honoree. Ranked as the nation’s No. 5 recruit in the Class of 2025 by TopDrawerSoccer.com, she concluded her prep soccer career with 180 goals—second in state history—and 68 assists.

Halpern has volunteered locally with Rise Against Hunger and as an elementary school mentor and tutor. She has also donated her time as a youth soccer coach and as part of multiple community service initiatives through her church.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states across 12 different high school sports – football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field – and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.

The Volleyball Nations League got underway last week, with nine current and former Long Beach State athletes representing four different countries.

Brothers Alex and Moni Nikolov are both competing for Bulgaria, alongside middle blocker Lazar Bouchkov and outside hitter Alex Kandev. Team USA features Long Beach alumni Mason Briggs, Kyle Ensing, and Shane Holdaway. Simon Torwie is representing Germany, while Skyler Varga is playing for Canada.

Bulgaria

Alex and Moni Nikolov each had a one-year stint at Long Beach State and became the only two players in NCAA history to win both AVCA Player of the Year and AVCA Newcomer of the Year honors. This year marks the first time the brothers are sharing the court in the VNL. 

Alex Kandev was a major contributor to Long Beach State’s 2025 national championship run, leading the team in kills in both the semifinal and championship matches. He plans to return to the Beach after the VNL season.

Through four matches, Bulgaria is 2-2 with wins over Argentina and Germany. Alex Nikolov has averaged over 14 kills per match, while Moni is averaging 22 successful sets per match and was named to the VNL’s Week One Dream Team. Each brother has also recorded at least one ace per match, with Moni averaging two aces per match.

USA

Three-time AVCA First Team All-American libero Mason Briggs has appeared in all four matches for Team USA. Briggs played four seasons at Long Beach State and helped lead the Beach to the 2024 national title game.

Opposite hitter Kyle Ensing is in his fourth year with Team USA in the VNL since graduating from Long Beach State in 2019. He was a key part of Long Beach State’s back-to-back national championships in 2018 and 2019, reaching the NCAA Final Four in all four collegiate seasons.

Shane Holdaway, a middle blocker, also played four years at Long Beach State and was part of the 2019 national title team. He graduated in 2023 after starting all 25 matches in his senior season.

Team USA is 2-2 after one week of play, with wins over Iran and Cuba. The team currently ranks sixth in the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Rankings.

Germany

Middle blocker Simon Torwie is representing Germany, where he grew up and played for the country’s U18 national team. He played four years at Long Beach State and earned First Team All-Conference honors as a senior in 2024.

Torwie is averaging over five kills and four blocks per match through Germany’s first four matches. Germany is 1-3, with a win over France and three narrow five-set losses to Bulgaria, Canada, and Italy.

Canada

Skyler Varga is one of two active Long Beach State players in the VNL and has started to see action in the last two of Canada’s matches. Varga joined the VNL following a standout junior season at Long Beach State, where he helped the Beach capture a national championship.

The outside hitter saw the court for the first time in the VNL during a match against former teammate Moni Nikolov and Bulgaria, recording a pair of kills. Varga also tallied 12 kills against France.

Canada is 2-2, with wins over Germany in the opener and a recent sweep of Bulgaria.

The Ames Regional Economic Alliance kicked off its second “Summer Series” event Wednesday afternoon, bringing brief moments of music and sunshine before inclement weather forced the event into an early end. 

The event hosted Campustown businesses, including Superdog, Macubana and a range of other vendors. Wednesday’s festivities also hosted local band Mango Soul.

According to the Vice President of Economic Development, Travis Toliver, Summer Series checks a multitude of boxes in satisfying the local community.

“Events like [Summer Series] are designed to promote family fun,” Toliver said. “We want the community to see Campustown as a family-friendly environment.”

Thanks to the event’s location, some locals arrived on foot, none walking more than a few blocks to attend.

“Campustown is only two blocks from where we live,” local resident Charlie Case said. “We love these types of events, and having them this close makes it that much easier.”

Due to lightning in the area, the event was cut short and forced to shut down early, but not to the dismay of its attendees.  

“I don’t think the weather should stop people from having fun,” Ames local Dave Wagner said. “It’s live music, and it’s free. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

According to another event goer, Stacy Woodword, the event achieved its goals.

“The goal is to show that Campustown isn’t just college students,” Woodward said. “We come over here all the time to shop, have dinner, grab a drink, and we love it. There’s no reason that the students and community members can’t coexist.”

The Economic Alliance hopes to continue the event for years to come. It aims to showcase the likes of the local community and its members. 

“It’s awesome that we have the support of our sponsors, and we thank them all,” Toliver said. We’re proud to be supportive of Campustown and the local businesses and the community that calls Ames home.”