By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

PIEDMONT – Piedmont track and field coach Patrick Walker said he recently came across a photo of senior Katie Brown’s first year on the Bulldog track and field team.

Walker recalled Brown being in seventh grade then. She was small in stature, but through the years she grew into a big-time talent for the Bulldogs.

“Coach Grace Cantrell was the one who got her out for track. She kind of recruited the middle school for us,” Walker said. “Just to watch her grow up and succeed, do everything she’s been asked to do, if every athlete was like her, it would be the most enjoyable job in the world.

“She’s a great student. She does everything right. She just does everything you wished everybody would do. She’s pretty hard-nosed.”

Being that hard-nosed hurdler, runner and jumper has served Brown and the Bulldog program well through the years. Now it’s led to Brown signing a scholarship with Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss. She’ll join former Bulldog Claudia Dempsey on the Majors’ track and field team.

“I’ve been doing this since seventh grade, and then all of a sudden, my senior year hit,” Brown said. “Indoor ended and outdoor started getting toward the end, and I was like ‘I cannot stop running.’”

Brown decided to apply to Millsaps College after talking with Dempsey.  Dempsey helped get her in touch with Millsaps men’s and women’s cross country and track and field head coach Brandon Becket, and the rest was history.

“Claudia graduated from Piedmont last year. She was on the relay teams with me. She went down there and ran this year, and she told their coach about me. He was like ‘She sounds great’ so I went down there for a visit and stayed with Claudia. I went to their practices. Their coach really wanted me. I’m super excited to go there because I love running and hurdling and jumping. I’ve wanted to do this for a while now.”

Brown won a gold medal in the 300-meter hurdles at the Class 3A, Section 3 meet two weeks ago in Lincoln. Her time was 52.66 seconds. She also placed third in the high jump (4-10.00) and was part of the Lady Bulldog 4×100, 4×400 and 4×800 meter relay teams.

“People don’t realize she’s really fast. She was the anchor leg on our 4×1 team,” Walker said. “She hasn’t run a lot of sprints for me because I always needed her to jump, but she’s always done everything she’s been asked to do. It’s gratifying to see her go on (to college).”

Brown gave thanks to her Piedmont track and field coaches, especially Walker, for believing in her.

“Our coaches are always pushing us to run to the best of our abilities,” she said. “At the end of the day, I don’t think I could do this without Coach Walker. He believes in me. He’s put me in events I say I don’t think I can do, but he puts me in them because he knows I can. He’s the reason why I’m good at hurdles.

“I was like ‘No way am I going to do hurdles’ but he was like ‘Just go and practice them.’ Ever since then I’ve been doing good at them.”

Better than just good, Walker said.

“Track doesn’t come easy to a lot of people. I won’t say it came easy for her, but she was willing to sacrifice and work hard to get it. I think she’s got a lot of upside when she goes down there (to Millsaps). If she continues to do the things she’s done. There’s no telling what she can accomplish. I know she’ll go off and make our school and our community proud. She’ll represent us with a lot of class.”

Brown said she’s up for the challenge.

“It’s a hard sport. It’s an individual sport. You’ve got to push yourself, but that’s why I like track,” she said. “I think it’s pretty cool I can sign and go somewhere for it. I can find myself there, find what I’m going to do with my life and run at the same time. It’s bittersweet to leave here, but I’m excited for it.”

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The high school boys volleyball state tournament continues Thursday.

This year, the top four teams all enter with undefeated records.

Hilo has the ideal resume: a perfect record of 14-0, newly crowned BIIF Champs, and extra motivation.

The Vikings are in the exact same spot they found themselves in last year, facing Kamehameha Schools Kapalama in the quarterfinals.

Except one year ago, they were swept while the Warriors went on to win it all.

“Boys volleyball is traditionally dominated by the Oahu teams, and we’re trying to crack into that,” said Vikings head coach Adam Tuifagu.

He makes a valid point. The last time a neighbor island school won the DI state title was in 1969.

Ironically enough, that team was Hilo.

Since then, it’s been long dominated by the powerhouse school of Punahou with 39 state titles.

“In the past, maybe league championship woulda been the goal. Okay we can go home happy, all pau, but for these guys having been there before, knowing that their goals are set higher is something that I’ve been fortunate enough to witness,” said Tuifagu.

Just by watching film, the Vikings don’t have the height that some of these other teams do. But what they lack in one department, they make up for it in another.

“You don’t have to be tall to be good or to demolish on the court,” said outside hitter Maluhia Tandal.

Tuifagu added, “We know height is a factor. That does impact the game, but it’s not a factor that we can control so we focus on the things that we can control.”

For a scrappy team like Hilo, the state tournament is more than just crowning a champion at the end of it.

It’s a way to get exposure for hidden gems like Tandal.

“I think he’s one of the best volleyball players we’ve ever had come out of this island,” said Tuifagu.

Tuifagu says Tandal is a player that has the skills, but just needs the opportunity to shine.

“We’re going to train for one year straight so we can at least get a scholarship for DIII or DII colleges out there,” said Tandal.

Tuifagu added, “Malu, he’s gonna take the year to train, but yeah, any school, I’m still trying to convince him, you know, give Charlie Wade a call or next time you see Charlie Wade have him call me.”

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This weekend the University of Minnesota Duluth track and field teams will compete in the 2025 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Outdoor Conference Championships. The best part? All the action, from Thursday May 8, through Saturday May 10, will take place right here on the University of Minnesota Duluth’s campus at Malosky Stadium. 

UMD will play host to all schools within the NSIC, which is a total of 14 programs for the women, and 11 for the men. 

Decathlon and Heptathlon events will kick off on Thursday, but the first event of the meet for a Bulldog student athlete will be the men’s hammer throw Friday morning at 11:00 a.m.

“We have 60 student athletes that have qualified for this conference meet and we are excited because we believe each and every one of them can have an impact,” said head coach Karly Brautigam. “I think we have as well rounded a team as we’ve had at the conference level and with it being at home, I know the energy is incredibly high!” 

Brautigam is especially excited about both the men’s and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays. This is the first time since she has taken over the program that all Bulldog relays are ranked top-four in the NSIC.

Leading the charge in the women’s 800m event group with the ninth-best average times among all NCAA Division II programs, Savannah Schley will be looking to put a bow on her succesfull outdoor season so far. The senior has been a consistent All-Conference performer over the past four seasons, and is currently second in the NSIC and 25th nationally.

In the women’s triple jump, sophomore Erin Steinman and freshman Alyssah Larson are expected to have strong showings. Both women placed in the indoor conference championship a few months ago. 

Junior Jackson Weston is also an athlete that Brautigam expects will have a great weekend. He is seeded fourth in shot put and ninth in the hammer throw. 

Distance coach Brette Jensen is looking forward to graduate student Shae Hostager’s race in the women’s 10k. She is currently ranked third in the NSIC and 22nd nationally in the event. Shae recently broke the school record in the 10k at the Drake relay, and is also seeded top 10 in the NSIC 5k. 

Additionally, Jensen is excited for reigning 5k indoor conference champion fifth year Jack Van Kempen. He will race in both the men’s steeplechase (ranked third), as well as the 5k, in which he is also ranked in the top 10 in the conference. In the 5k, Van Kempen is currently the school record holder, and also holds the second all-time spot at UMD in the steeplechase. 

Coming off a runner-up all-conference finish in the men’s 3k at the indoor conference championships, fellow fifth year Owen Dickenson is also expected to show up big this weekend. He is currently ranked fourth in the 1500m and fifth in the 800m in the NSIC. 

Follow along with the events of the weekend here. 

CITY SECTION BOYS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

OPEN DVISION
QUARTERFINALS
#1 Venice d. #8 Grant, 25-19, 25-16, 25-19
#4 Granada Hills d. #5 Palisades, 25-21, 25-16, 25-16
#3 El Camino Real d. #6 Eagle Rock, 25-15, 25-15, 25-11
#2 Chatsworth d. #7 University, 25-11, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE
DIVISION I
(Games at 7 p.m.)
QUARTERFINALS
8 Cleveland at #1 Taft
#5 Marquez at #4 South East
#6 Kennedy ar #3 Marshall
#7 Van Nuys at #2 Carson

DIVISION II
(Games at 4 p.m.)
SECOND ROUND
#17 LACES at #1 VAAS
#9 North Hollywood at #8 Roosevelt
#12 Panorama at #5 Poly
#13 Reseda at #4 Fairfax
#14 San Pedro at #3 Banning
#11 Diego Rivera at #6 Sylmar
#10 Legacy at #7 Vaughn
#18 Bravo at #2 Mendez

DIVISION III
(Games at 4 p.m. unless noted)
SECOND ROUND
#16 Animo Robinson at #1 East Valley
#9 Central City Value at #8 Foshay
#12 Manual Arts at #5 Downtown Magnets
#20 King/Drew at #4 SOCES
#19 San Fernando at #3 Larchmont Charter
#11 Chavez at #6 Angelou
#10 Orthopaedic at #7 Maywood CES
#15 Animo Bunche at #2 Gardena

DIVISION IV
(Games at 4 p.m. unless noted)
SECOND ROUND
#17 Sotomayor at #1 Garfield
#9 Rise Kohyang at #8 Hamilton
#12 LA Leadership at #5 Animo Venice
#20 Belmont at #4 Burton
#19 Animo Watts at #3 Sun Valley Magnet
#11 University Prep Value at #6 Magnolia Science Academy
#10 Port of LA at #7 Contreras
#15 West Adams at #2 Huntington Park

DIVISION V
(Games at 4 p.m.)
SECOND ROUND
#17 USC-MAE at #1 Wilson
#9 Magnolia Science Academy at #8 Bert Corona
#12 Arleta at #5 Animo Brown
#13 Community Charter at #4 Animo South LA
#14 New West Charter at #3 Harbor Teacher
#11 University Pathways Medical at #6 New Designs University Park
#10 Washington at #7 University Pathways Public Service Academy
#15 Academia Avance at #2 Dorsey

Note: Quarterfinals in Divisions II-V, May 12 at 7 p.m. at higher seeds; Semifinals in Open and Division I, May 13 at 7 p.m. at higher seeds; Semifinals in Division DII-V, May 14 at 7 p.m. at higher seeds; Finals in all divisions May 16-17 (sites and times TBD).

Fletcher and Episcopal punched tickets for the Florida High School Athletic Association final four in beach volleyball, winning their regional finals on home sand on May 6.

The Long Beach Century Club continued its annual tradition of making a large gift to the local schools this week, donating $80,500 to Long Beach State, LBCC, and the middle and high school sports programs in Long Beach. The donation represents the largest of the annual gifts the club has made, buoyed by fundraising efforts including their membership drive as well as their annual golf tournament.

“This might be my favorite night every year,” said Century Club president Mike Fillipow. “This is what the Century Club is all about–giving back and helping our schools.”

Representatives from each school were on hand for the meeting, which was hosted in LBCC’s new state of the art aquatic facility (with catering by local stalwarts Naples Rib Company). Long Beach State received $12,500 plus a $2,500 donation to the club’s endowment with the athletic department; LBCC received $7,500; all of the high schools received $3,000; and all of the middle schools received $1,500.

The club’s relationship with the Long Beach Unified School District’s middle schools is especially strong since the Century Club raised money to keep the LBUSD’s All-City middle school sports programs going when they were on the chopping block in 2008.

Each school spoke a little about what they’d do with the money, with plans ranging from covering tournament fees to buying new equipment and uniforms to hosting banquets or purchasing banners to help with the costs of postseason honors.

Fillipow made a challenge to the Century Club membership on hand, saying he’d like to see next year’s donation top $100,000.

“It’s going to take all of us working together to make an even bigger impact,” he said.

Disclosure: The Century Club has donated money to the562’s non-profit.