A Boston College junior has run marathons all around the world and in taking on that challenge, he’s also out to set a new world record.

In less than two years, 20-year-old James Redding has run all but one of the Abbott World Marathon Majors.

“It’s been something that has been such an eye-opener for me,” said Redding.

Before he began running around the globe, Redding got his start in high school, running around Brighton alongside his mom.

“Me and my mom are so close. We both pushed each other to get better. I pushed her to get out there out of her comfort zone and she held me accountable to keep running when I didn’t want to.”

Despite his love for running, hockey was Redding’s first love. It’s a passion he now shares with skaters of all ages as a coach at Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton.

“That mix between doing something super fast and super fun was something that was such a draw to me,” said Redding. “I’m not a person that likes sitting still.”

“We call him Coach Whiteboard because he wants to coach every aspect of the game,” said Matt Cappucci, assistant hockey director at Warrior Ice Arena. “He’s trying to help kids at every aspect.”

Turned to running to get in shape for hockey

But in high school, Redding felt his weight was holding him back from getting more playing time on his varsity hockey team at Brookline.

“It came down to ‘I’m too big, I can’t move my body in the way that I want to move my body,’ so I’ve gotta make a change somehow,” said Redding.

His solution? Running. He started with 5Ks alongside his mom. Then they graduated to 10Ks and soon after, a half marathon.

“Went to her at the finish line, we hadn’t even recovered or showered yet, I said, ‘Mom, we gotta do a marathon.’  And she was like, ‘Absolutely not,'” said Redding.

He convinced his mom to run Boston when he was still too young. Now a rising junior at BC, he would follow in her footsteps down Boylston Street in 2024. It was his first major marathon.

“Turning that corner onto Boylston, the crowds were unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, ever,” said Redding.

Aiming to run 6th marathon this fall

What’s next? That’s when Redding set a goal of completing the six Abbot World Marathon Majors by the time he graduated college. Six months after Boston, he ran Chicago. Then weeks later, New York, with the help of his bosses at New Balance getting him in. This year, he traveled to Tokyo, earning a bib through a lotto. New Balance then booked him a spot in London.

That leaves only Berlin, which Redding is now preparing to run in September. Crossing that finish line would make him the youngest male runner ever to earn all six of Abbott’s stars.

“It was a mix of the hookup, the blessing and a little bit of luck was needed, a lot of bit of luck,” said Redding.

Surreal but not a surprise to those who’ve seen Redding grow from the rink to the road.

“It’s a tremendous honor and I think I’m not shocked by it at all.  And if you ask me if he’s going to do other stuff like that, I would probably say the same thing. He’s always ‘What’s next, what’s next, what’s next.’ Incredible.”

Perhaps the most interesting piece of information to come up surrounding the BC Men’s Hockey program these past couple of weeks doesn’t have to do with players or recruitment at all. Headlines suggest that such developments will be essential for the NCAA sports landscape as a whole for the foreseeable future.

To put it plainly, schools that opted into a new revenue-sharing agreement will be able to pay college athletes $20.5 million in aggregate dollars among all NCAA-sanctioned programs. While schools such as BC have opted into the agreement for this upcoming academic year, rivals such as Boston University have not. So, how these developments will affect college hockey in the upcoming years remains to be seen.

In the past, Comm. Ave rivals BC and BU have ridden the wave of elite recruiting strictly through positive word of mouth, top-notch coaching/development, and program success. However, with athletes now being able to receive financial compensation, all that goes out the window.

Walter Charles Ferry IV

OBITUARY

Walter Charles Ferry IV, of Red Hill, passed away unexpectedly Friday afternoon, July 18, 2025 at age 55. He was born January 8, 1970 to Anita (Novicki) and Walter Charles Ferry III. He was predeceased by his father and grandparents. A beloved son, brother and uncle, Walt enjoyed spending time with his family and friends. He also loved spending time with his special buddy, his cat Milo, whom Walt adored and affectionately called “Sweet.” Walt was introduced to fishing at a very young age and was immediately hooked! He enjoyed surf fishing, deep sea fishing and especially liked fishing in Pulaski, New York with his friends. Another passion Walt developed at an early age was his love for hockey. He and his family spent countless hours playing street hockey on Washington Street. He played ice hockey and roller hockey in various leagues throughout eastern Pennsylvania. After graduating from Mount Pocono High School, Walt attended East Stroudsburg University, where he was the goaltender on the ice hockey team. Walt also liked watching hockey. Saying he was a huge Flyers and Phantoms fan is an understatement. He attended many, many games as well as numerous Flyers’ Wives Fight For Lives Carnivals. He and his cousin Scott even made the evening news when they hit Behn Wilson with whipped cream pies at one of the carnivals. In a fundraiser, Walt played goalie for the You Too Animal Rescue team skating against the Flyers’ Alumni All-Star team. He also golfed with Bernie Parent, Joe and Jimmy Watson and Bob Kelly in other fund raisers for the Rescue. Walt was a great skier and had the opportunity to ski the slopes of many resorts across the country, including Jackson Hole, which was one of his favorites. He also went to Czechoslovakia to ski in Prague. For more than 25 years, Walt was the respected business owner of Ferry’s Lawn Services, which included cutting grass, landscaping and snow removal. He was also a skilled carpenter and very knowledgable in plumbing and HVAC. Walt was well-loved by many people in the community. He could often be found hanging out with his friends at the PC Pub, VFW or the Red Hill Fire House. Walt loved having fun, talking about sports and politics, and was an avid fan of the Three Stooges. Walt made many people happy with his great sense of humor and his infectious laugh that was as unique as he was. He will be greatly missed by his mother, Anita Ferry, sister Sabrina Taylor Van Horn, sister Tiffany Andrews, nephews Matthew Taylor and Liam Andrews, niece Lily Andrews, Uncle William Novicki and wife Darlene, Aunt Ronnie Novicki, cousin Scott Novicki and wife Jennifer, cousin Angie Novicki-Geesey and husband Jason Geesey, and the other relatives and friends he leaves behind. A celebration of Walt’s life will take place at the Red Hill Fire Hall Saturday, August 9, beginning with visitation at 1 pm, service at 1:30 pm, followed by a luncheon. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Walt’s memory to The Philadelphia Zoo, where Walt volunteered from 2003 to 2013. For on-line donations go to philadelphiazoo.org and click “donate now.” Mail donations go to the Philadelphia Zoo, Attn. Development Dept., 3400 W. Girard Ave, Philadelphia PA 19104. Thank you to Jim Bowen and everyone at Maryott-Bowen Funeral Home, 217 York Ave, Towanda, for all the arrangements. Memories and condolences be expressed by visiting www.bowenfuneralhomes.com.

Head coach Mike Locksley and the Maryland Terrapins compiled back-to-back eight-win seasons and three consecutive bowl wins before falling to 4-8 in 2024.

It was Locksley’s sixth season at the helm, and one that the former Nick Saban assistant admitted featured an underlying issue.

Locksley revealed at Big Ten Media Days that he and his staff “lost” the locker room, leading to just four wins and five-straight losses to cap off the year.

“I’ll tell you, a year ago Coach Locks lost his locker room,” Locksley said at Big Ten Media Days. “For me to stand in front of a group of media and tell you that I lost my locker room – and it wasn’t because I wasn’t a good coach, it wasn’t because they weren’t good players because we were better than a four-win team.”

Locksley pointed to significant shift to the NIL era as the root of the locker room disconnect, which he believed was created by his players not playing for the collective group. He even claimed that he will put his desk inside the locker room this year if it comes to it.

“What we had to do was, we had haves and have-nots for the first time in our locker room, and the landscape of college football taught me a valuable lesson,” Locksley said. “That valuable lesson is it’s important for me, even in the midst of this change, to continue to educate our players on the importance of what playing for something bigger than yourself is all about. And I can tell you that if I’ve got to put my desk in the locker room this year, I will.”

Some players are hauling in millions of dollars in NIL funds in today’s era. But those figures aren’t distributed equally, and Locksley aims to create more of an equal environment within the program this season.

“What I’ve decided now is if you come to Maryland and you look outside of the our locker room, there’s a sign,” he continued. “That sign reads, ‘You can leave your Louis belts, your car keys, and your financial statements outside of this locker room,’ because when you enter those doors, we’ll all pay the same price for success or failure.”

Maryland’s first test will come in the season opener against Florida Atlantic at home on Aug. 30 at noon ET.

Phone: 814-863-7461 Email: ses13@psu.edu

Eight NCAA Championships appearances, and eight NCAA Regional Championships. Eighteen All-America titles, 25 regional individual titles and 106 all-conference academic selections. Three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (1999, 2006, 2009). One of his athletes sits atop every Penn State event record list. All this as Steve Shephard enters his 18th season as the head coach of the Nittany Lion women[apos]s gymnastics team.
Beyond impressive scores and records, Shephard[apos]s true aim lies in molding the all-around college student. To that end, he, longtime assistant Jessica Bastardi and assistant Randy Monahan have created a family atmosphere within the gymnastics program that has helped athletes thrive.

[quote]We have a philosophy where we want our athletes to succeed in all aspects of their college experience,[quote] Shephard explains. [quote]We want them to succeed academically, athletically, and socially. We want them to come away feeling good about their time at Penn State.[quote]

Shephard, an avid off-road motorcyclist, began his affiliation with national caliber competition early in his career. Competing at Hinsdale High School in Illinois, Shephard was part of two national high school championship teams. He finished fourth in floor exercise in the state scholastic meet in 1973 and was on state championship teams from 1969-73. As an undergraduate at Southern Illinois, Shephard was part of the 1975 Saluki team that placed third at the NCAA Championships.

Shephard went on to become the coach and co-director of the Olympic Academy of Gymnastics and Dance in Newark, Ohio, for a year before joining the coaching staff at his alma mater in 1978.
He moved on to coach the men[apos]s team at Ball State in Indiana for two years and was director of the Woodward Gymnastics Camp in nearby Woodward, Pa., in the summer of 1981. He then purchased the Nittany Gymnastics and Dance School in State College in 1983, a facility he owned and operated for six years.

In 1989, Shephard was named Penn State[apos]s assistant women[apos]s gymnastics coach. During his three seasons as an assistant to Judi Avener, Shephard earned Assistant Coach of the Year honors in the Northeast and helped the Nittany Lions to fifth and fourth-place NCAA finishes and two Atlantic 10 Conference championships.

Following Avener[apos]s departure for the head job at Florida following the 1992 season, Shephard was named Penn State[apos]s eighth women[apos]s gymnastics coach.

In addition to years of competitive gymnastics experience, Shephard holds a master[apos]s degree in physical education and is an internship away from a second masters in Counselor Education. He has used this educational background to enthusiastically develop a unique coaching philosophy.

Shephard and his wife, Debbie, have two sons, Taylor and Sam.