Sports
Reef Roundup | April 29
Story Links AWARDS UCU Athletes of the Week » Michael Crossland (BSB), Varsity Eight – Kiera Cooper, Natasha Vallancey, Laine Bradley, Annica Ford, Samantha Anderson, Lily Feagler, Matti Key, Rachel Cuneo, Sabina Petersen (WROW) All Big West First Team » Anthony Cherfan, Bryce Dvorak (MVB) All Big West Honorable Mention » Josh Schellinger (MVB) #TRITONGIVINGDAY IS APRIL 30 Support the UC San Diego scholar-athletes by making a team-specific or […]

AWARDS
UCU Athletes of the Week » Michael Crossland (BSB), Varsity Eight – Kiera Cooper, Natasha Vallancey, Laine Bradley, Annica Ford, Samantha Anderson, Lily Feagler, Matti Key, Rachel Cuneo, Sabina Petersen (WROW)
All Big West First Team » Anthony Cherfan, Bryce Dvorak (MVB)
All Big West Honorable Mention » Josh Schellinger (MVB)
#TRITONGIVINGDAY IS APRIL 30
Support the UC San Diego scholar-athletes by making a team-specific or general funds donation on April 30. For more information, click here.
Your chance to give!
Every donation matters to help take Triton Athletics to the next level. April 30 is just around the corner.
Donate early at the link in bio. #GoTritons #TritonGivingDay pic.twitter.com/myDcgWUGyM
— UC San Diego Tritons (@UCSDtritons) April 29, 2025
BASEBALL (22-20, 11-10 BIG WEST)
This Week » UC San Diego travels to face No. 8 UC Irvine—the Big West leader—for a three game series, Friday-Sunday.
Last Time Out » The Tritons won their mid-week game against LMU, 6-5. Then, over the weekend, they won two of three games to secure their first ever series victory over UC Santa Barbara.
Need to Know » Michael Crossland finished the week 6-for-16 (.375) with two doubles, three walks, five RBI and two runs scored to help the Tritons to a 3-1 week.
SOFTBALL(14-28, 12-12 BIG WEST)
This Week » The Tritons will finish Big West play in Hawai’i, with one game on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday.
Last Time Out » UC San Diego went 1-2 over the weekend against CSUN.
TRACK & FIELD
This Week » The Tritons have just one final regular season meet left on the schedule. UC Irvine hosts the Steve Scott Invitational May 2-3, with The Big West Multis and Championships to come in the weeks following.
Last Time Out » The UC San Diego track and field team split up to take on three different meets. The Tritons competed in the Beach Invitational, Bryan Clay Invitational, and Mt. SAC Relays.
Need to Know » Over that weekend, the Tritons set five program records and had 16 marks in the top 10 all-time at UC San Diego. Nine Tritons reached the qualifying levels for The Big West Championships, and 29 personal-bests were set.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL (18-12, 3-7 BIG WEST)
Last Time Out » The Tritons ended the season at the 2025 Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship. There, they outlasted UC Santa Barbara in the quarterfinal round but were defeated by Long Beach State in the semifinal round.
Need to Know » Josh Schellinger set a new career high of 22 kills and 12 digs in the quarterfinal game.
WOMEN’S WATER POLO (16-13, 4-3 BIG WEST)
Last Time Out » UC San Diego closed out the season in Irvine at the Big West Championship. They defeated UC Davis, 15-10, in the quarterfinal round to move to the semifinal round, where they were narrowly defeated by Hawai’i, 9-11.
Need to Know » Caroline Christl extended her goal-scoring streak to 24 games. She has scored in 29 of 30 games and netted multiple goals in 22 contests.
WOMEN’S TENNIS (11-11, 5-4 BIG WEST)
Last Time Out » UC San Diego senior Adriana Tabares was a winner on court five, but the Tritons fell to UC Davis, 4-1, in the opening round of The Big West Women’s Tennis Championship
MEN’S TENNIS (7-14, 3-3 BIG WEST)
Last Time Out » The Triton men made their first appearance in the Big West Championship last week. Their first match was in the quarterfinal round against Cal Poly, and they took a 4-2 win. Then, they played UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals and took a 0-4 loss.
Sports
Boys Volleyball: Day 1 was a powerful day of history | News
Making history created ever-present smiles, enthusiasm and positivity to all involved in Day 1 of the inaugural Minnesota State High School League Boys Volleyball State Tournament on Tuesday, June 10 at Schoenecker Arena on the University of St. Thomas Campus. From goosebumps during the National Anthem to the excitement generated by public address announcer Jane […]

Making history created ever-present smiles, enthusiasm and positivity to all involved in Day 1 of the inaugural Minnesota State High School League Boys Volleyball State Tournament on Tuesday, June 10 at Schoenecker Arena on the University of St. Thomas Campus.
From goosebumps during the National Anthem to the excitement generated by public address announcer Jane Voss to the thrilling intensity and drama of nail-biting matches, this banner day belonged to the Boys Volleyball community. Win or lose, this was a historic day.
The journey for Boys Volleyball in becoming a League-sanctioned activity included approval in December of 2022 as an emerging activity. On May 9, 2023, the momentum continued when Minnesota became the 25th state association in the nation to sanction Boys Volleyball after the 48-member Representative Assembly approved a Bylaw Amendment to include the activity with the League’s vast menu of opportunities. The 2024 season was the final one under the guidance of the Minnesota Boys High School Volleyball Association.
“I’ve never experienced something like this,” Eastview junior middle blocker Colin Nathan said of the state tournament atmosphere. “It was pretty amazing.”
The top seeds played out per their ranking with No. 1 Eden Prairie, No. 2 Eastview, No. 3 Rogers and No. 4 Spring Lake Park advancing to the semifinals on Wednesday, June 11.
No. 3 Rogers 3, No. 6 St. Paul Central 2: What an incredible way to open the first-ever state tournament. This was tense and close from the start as each team had dazzling displays of power in a match that lasted more than two hours. Rogers built a two-set lead, but watched as scrappy St. Paul Central battled back to tie and force a deciding set. That was dramatic as well before the Royals (26-1) completed it for a 25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 21-25, 15-13 victory.
“We are very grateful to be the first team to win,” Rogers head coach Jarol Torres said. “It’s special.”
Junior right-side setter Ethan Pearson powered the Royals with 26 kills, and senior outside hitter Landen Holterman added 17.
St. Paul Central senior outside hitter Josiah Walker had 24 kills, including the first one in state tournament history. The Minutemen (21-6) said they felt the strong support in the crowd and beyond.
“We weren’t just playing for Central,” first-year coach Georgia Tilton said. “We were playing for the entire City of St. Paul.”
No. 2 Eastview 3, No. 7 Hopkins 2: Eastview, the Section 1 champion, took control from the start en route to posting a 25-17, 25-12, 25-19 victory over Hopkins in the second match of the day. Junior outside hitter Jay Thammavongsa had 15 kills and junior setter Brice Dehnel had 27 assists. Eastview (28-3) has not lost a set in four postseason matches.
“We knew coming in here that if we executed, we’d be OK,” Lightning coach Ryan Dehnel said. “If we fell asleep, we knew we’d be in trouble.”
Senior outside hitter Owen Barnett had 12 kills to lead Hopkins (17-9).
Eastview’s victory sets up a championship semifinal with Rogers. The two did not meet during the regular season.
No. 4 Spring Lake Park 3, No. 5 North St. Paul 1: Spring Lake Park head coach Shelly Deegan wasn’t overly concerned about her team’s mindset entering the inaugural Boys Volleyball State Tournament. Even after dropping the first set to the Polars, she remained confident. So did her team.
“There was an uneasy calmness, but they started coming alive,” she said.
The Panthers certainly did by rattling off three consecutive victories on the way to a 17-25, 26-24, 25-20, 25-18 victory in the third quarterfinal. Senior outside hitter Remi Xiong paced the Panthers (24-7) with 15 kills, and junior outside hitter Atticus Molitor chipped in with 11. Senior setter Hector Ly had 19 assists as the Panthers avenged a 2-1 loss to North St. Paul during an invitational on May 17.
North St. Paul (25-3) got 12 kills from senior Chi Nou Vaj and 10 each from senior Evan Thor and senior Roman Thao.
“Errors started showing up,” Polars’ coach AJ Vang said of the loss in the second set. “Nothing was going our way.”
No. 1 Eden Prairie 3, No. 8 Park Center 0: Top-seeded Eden Prairie looked the part in a 25-19, 25-18, 25-14 victory over Park Center. Senior outside hitter Gabriel Hernandez powered the Eagles (25-2) with 11 kills in the match that took just 1 hour, 12 minutes. Senior setter Deion Lange dished out 32 assists.
The victory sends the Eagles into the semifinals where they will face Spring Lake Park. Eden Prairie defeated Spring Lake Park in two sets during an invitational on May 3.
Park Center (13-9), the Section 5 champion, was paced by senior Payton Xiong, who had seven kills and senior setter Titus Lee, who had 19 assists.
Sports
Cross Country/Track & Field Caps Historic Year with National Recognition in USTFCCCA Program of the Year Standings
Story Links Pueblo, Colo. – June 10, 2025 — The Colorado State University-Pueblo men’s and women’s track and field programs have solidified their status among the NCAA Division II elite as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced the final 2024-25 Program of the Year standings on […]

Pueblo, Colo. – June 10, 2025 — The Colorado State University-Pueblo men’s and women’s track and field programs have solidified their status among the NCAA Division II elite as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced the final 2024-25 Program of the Year standings on Tuesday.
The ThunderWolves men’s team earned a No. 7 national ranking in the Damon Martin Program of the Year standings, which reward consistency and excellence across cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track seasons. The men totaled 43 points—accumulated by placing 14th at the NCAA Division II Cross Country, Indoor, and Outdoor Championships—proving the squad’s balance and competitiveness throughout the academic year.
CSU Pueblo’s success was once again anchored by standout senior Reece Sharman-Newell, who delivered exceptional performances across all seasons. In cross country, he led the ThunderWolves with a 31st-place All-American finish at nationals in Sacramento, clocking 30:17.7 in the 10K. Sharman-Newell followed that up indoors by becoming the national runner-up in the mile, breaking the 4-minute barrier with a time of 3:59.56. He also anchored the All-American distance medley relay (DMR) squad that placed fourth, alongside Jon Sweepe, Tyrell Smith, and Kaleb Tipton.
During the outdoor season, Sharman-Newell capped his year with a National Championship victory in the 1,500-meter run in front of a home crowd at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl. Additional All-American efforts came from Tim Anstett, who took fifth in the men’s 800-meter, and Jon Sweepe, who joined Sharman-Newell on the All-American list in the 1,500-meter.
On the women’s side, the ThunderWolves soared to fourth place in the Jerry Baltes Program of the Year standings—marking a historic year across all three seasons.
In cross country, CSU Pueblo notched its highest-ever finish with a third-place team performance at the national meet in Sacramento. The ThunderWolves saw three athletes earn All-American honors, led by mid-distance star Helen Braybrook, who finished 13th in the 6K (20:54.5). First-year sensation Leah Keisler, a Scottish native competing in her first-ever cross country season, stunned with a 20th-place finish and All-American accolades.
The women maintained their momentum indoors, taking sixth place at the NCAA Championships. Braybrook, the highly decorated veteran runner for the ThunderWolves showed that hard work eventually pays off. The Brit took home her first ever Individual NCAA Title, winning the 800 Meters with a time of 2:04.72.
Katherine Higgins recorded a personal best in the Shot Put, picking up a mark of 15.78 to bring home second place, while Febe Wessels etched her name into CSU Pueblo history as well, as the South African finished in fifth place in the Shot Put, also throwing a personal best and a mark of 15.39.
The DMR squad of Jadyn Herron, Gabrielle Dunich, Leah Keisler, and Helen Braybrook have officially etched their named in NCAA and CSU Pueblo history, as the four women led the Pack to a National Championship. While the Pack were the favorites to win the championship coming in, the four women did not let that get to their head, winning by more than five seconds.
The season concluded outdoors with another program-best, a ninth-place finish at the Outdoor National Championships on home turf in Pueblo.
Senior Katherine Higgins headlined the day, closing her collegiate career in storybook fashion. Higgins was named the Elite 90 award winner for having the highest GPA (a perfect 4.0) among championship competitors, then topped that achievement by capturing her first individual National Championship in the women’s shot put. She threw a personal best of 16.38m to earn her sixth All-American honor.
n the women’s 800m, Pueblo’s favorite Brit, Helen Braybrook—already a local legend and a likely future Olympian for Great Britain—ran a personal best of 2:03.67 to finish as national runner-up. She was joined on the podium by Scottish junior Leah Keisler, who took seventh in 2:07.07, earning All-American status.
Back in the shot put ring, junior Febe Wessels of South Africa continued her consistent excellence, placing fifth with a throw of 15.44m and adding another All-American performance to her résumé.
Freshman Keturah Templeman capped off her record-breaking debut season in the women’s javelin, finishing ninth with a mark of 46.18m—adding to a historic freshman campaign for the young ThunderWolf.
The 2024-25 campaign represented a year of firsts and milestones for the ThunderWolves. Under the guidance of their coaching staff and the leadership of student-athletes like Sharman-Newell, Braybrook, and Keisler, CSU Pueblo has established itself as one of the most complete and consistent programs in NCAA Division II.
With historic finishes, national titles, and a haul of All-American honors, the ThunderWolves’ success this year will be remembered as one of the finest in program history
Sports
Will Victoria Cameron Become The NCAA’s Newest Track And Field Star At Nationals?
Victoria Cameron (center) was second in the women’s 100 meters at the NCAA West First Round in … More College Station, finishing in 11.01 seconds. Tarleton State Athletics Victoria Cameron wasn’t supposed to be here. At least, that wasn’t the plan initially, with the Tarleton State University sophomore hardly envisioning a future at the NCAA […]

Victoria Cameron (center) was second in the women’s 100 meters at the NCAA West First Round in … More
Tarleton State Athletics
Victoria Cameron wasn’t supposed to be here.
At least, that wasn’t the plan initially, with the Tarleton State University sophomore hardly envisioning a future at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships coming out of Stephenville High School.
Didn’t matter that Cameron came up just seven-hundredths of a second short of Sha’Carri Richardson’s Class 4A 100 meter record at the UIL State Outdoor Championships in May of 2023. Nor did it matter that anyone with eyes could see she had an innate ability to run fast.
Cameron had already committed to play soccer at Tarleton State, just a couple miles down the road from where she grew up.
And two years ago, she was committed to it.
But then, maybe a month before her college start – or maybe as she put her hands on the fence overlooking the pasture at home where her family’s favorite cow grazed – things flipped.
“I realized I couldn’t really leave track,” said Cameron, who lives about four miles from her college campus, in a town of just over 20,000. “Like, there was this attachment to it.”
What a decision that turned out to be.
Victoria Cameron Emerges Over The 2025 Track Season
As Tarleton State made its full-fledged transition to the NCAA Division I in July of 2024, Cameron exploded as a track athlete in 2025, reaching indoor nationals in March before another national qualification came in May.
“(I) just want to put my hometown college on the map,” she said.
Cameron enters the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon with the eighth-fastest wind-legal time in college at 11.01 seconds, securing that effort at the NCAA Division I West First Round in College Station.
Still, there’s a star quality that seems to encircle her.
Take a moment from regionals, for instance. Cameron was recognized inside a restaurant …in College Station, Texas.
“It just makes me happy to have seen that,” she said. “Like, if my name’s out there, my college’s name is out there.”
Tarleton State’s Talented Athlete Is Biding Her Time
That being said, Cameron currently splits her time between two sports.
This fall, she logged 230 minutes in 18 games with the Tarleton State’s women’s soccer team, scoring a goal and generally cutting her teeth in the collegiate game. A few years ago, University of Kentucky track and field legend Abby Steiner did the same.
On the track, however, Cameron is an exceptional sprinter.
From her first outing at 100 meters at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in March to her most recent performance at the Regional Championships – a timeline spanning six meets – Cameron only got better with time, clocking progressive performances of 11.33, 11.25, 11.05 and 11.01 over her last four meets.
In the same venue where she won a state-championship winning 100 meter time of 11.35 seconds in 2023, Cameron ripped off a wind-assisted 11.09 inside Mike Myers Stadium. A few weeks later, in Denton, Texas, she ran a wind-legal 11.22.
“I love seeing my times go down over time,” she said. “Nothing feels better than having a PR so, I don’t know, my love for the sport just kind of helps put everything in place.”
In May, Cameron was named the WAC Conference’s women’s track athlete of the year. This weekend will mark the first time over the outdoor season she will race outside Texas.
The bigger question lies in wake: Will she be able to break 11 seconds?
Victoria Cameron Is Moving Closer To History
Cameron is on the cusp of a barrier that few women in college history have ever reached. Her career best 11.01 is 71st in U.S. history and she’s just outside the NCAA’s top 25 all-time performances.
“As soon as I got to the line, I had an overwhelming feeling of just being able to lock in,” Cameron said of her race. “And then when I came out of the blocks, I kind of knew I was behind, but the biggest key to that race was just having patience throughout it all.”
That being said, the college sophomore isn’t perfect. In the prelims at indoor nationals in Virginia Beach, Virginia, a poor start hindered her first 20 meters and she suffered at the line, running 7.38 seconds–a little over two-tenths off of her career-best 7.14.
Cameron said her focus this spring has been about fixing those issues. She’s been working on block starts and her reaction time.
While the first variable is physical, the second is in some ways mental.
“My reaction time over the season has proven to be a hit or miss – either I’m last out of the blocks, or I’m right up with everyone,” she said. “So I could definitely improve.”
Tarleton State sophomore Victoria Cameron qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the … More
Tarleton State Athletics
Can The College Sophomore Win An NCAA Title?
It would be unfair to say that Cameron is the favorite heading into nationals.
Four women enter NCAAs with season bests under 11 seconds – TCU’s Indya Mayberry, LSU’s Tima Godbless, Ohio State’s Leah Bertrand and Florida State’s Shenese Walker – while Cameron would have to secure two nearly perfect races across two rounds to claim victory.
But there’s no doubt she’s chasing the moment.
On Thursday, she’ll bring the Tarleton logo to Tracktown, a revered site for track and field greatness.
“As my coach would say, ‘I don’t want it to be a ‘Tarleton-Question-Mark,’ I want it to be a ‘Tarleton-Exclamation-Point,’” Cameron said. “That’s the goal here.”
Leaving her indoor performance behind her, Cameron insists anything can happen this weekend in Eugene. The first objective is reaching the final. The second will be to give herself a shot to win it.
“I believe really anything is possible within track and field due to the fact that it’s not a very forgiving sport,” she said. Indoors, the girl with the fastest time ended up false starting, so anything can happen. So you just gotta give it your all and believe that you’re going to win it before you run it.
What To Know Ahead Of The NCAA Outdoor Track And Field Championsnhips
Nationals begins on Wednesday starting at 1:30 p.m. at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. You can follow live results here. Men’s and women’s competition will alternate days, with the men’s first round action beginning on June 11, the women’s first round following on June 12 and then men’s and women’s finals taking place on June 13 and June 14. The women’s 100 meter first round will kick off at 5:15 p.m. PST on June 12. In the men’s competition, Minnesota is looking to win its first national team title since 1948.
Sports
Marshall University
Marshall Volleyball Championship Fund HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall Volleyball unveiled its 2025 schedule on Tuesday featuring 10 home matches for the first season under Head Coach Heather Stout. The Herd opens its schedule with the team’s Green & White Scrimmage on August 16 with its first regular-season home match coming against EKU on September […]

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall Volleyball unveiled its 2025 schedule on Tuesday featuring 10 home matches for the first season under Head Coach Heather Stout.
The Herd opens its schedule with the team’s Green & White Scrimmage on August 16 with its first regular-season home match coming against EKU on September 9.
In Sun Belt Conference action, Marshall is set to host Coastal Carolina (September 26-27), ULM (October 16-17) and Old Dominion (October 31 and November 1) before closing the home portion of its schedule against App State (November 6-7).
MU opens the season at the Radford Tournament (August 29-30) and then heads to the Michigan Invitational (September 5-6), Virginia Tech Tournament (September 11 and 12) and closing non-conference play at the Wofford Invitational (September 19-20).
2025 Marshall Volleyball Schedule
Aug. 16 Green & White Scrimmage (Fans First)
Aug. 22 at Ohio (Exhibition)
Radford Tournament
Aug. 29 vs. Kansas City
Aug. 29 vs. EMU
Aug. 30 at Radford
Michigan Invitational
Sept. 5 vs. FAU
Sept. 6 vs. SIU
Sept. 6 at Michigan
Sept. 9 EKU
Virginia Tech Tournament
Sept. 11 at Virginia Tech
Sept. 12 vs. Robert Morris
Sept. 12 vs. UMES
Wofford Invitational
Sept. 19 vs. NAU
Sept. 19 at Wofford
Sept. 20 vs. Gardner-Webb
Sept. 26 Coastal Carolina*
Sept. 27 Coastal Carolina*
Oct. 3 at Georgia Southern*
Oct. 4 at Georgia Southern*
Oct. 9 at James Madison*
Oct. 10 at James Madison*
Oct. 16 ULM*
Oct. 17 ULM*
Oct. 24 at Georgia State*
Oct. 25 at Georgia State*
Oct. 31 ODU*
Nov. 1 ODU*
Nov. 6 App State*
Nov. 7 App State*
Nov. 13 at Southern Miss*
Nov. 14 at Southern Miss*
To donate to the Championship Fund for Marshall volleyball, please click HERE. All proceeds go directly to the Marshall volleyball team.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS and Android.
—HerdZone.com—
Sports
Long Beach State Trio Chases NCAA Glory in Track & Field Championships
THE STARTING GUN Wednesday, June 11 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships Decathlon • 12 p.m. • Men’s 100m Semifinals • 5:25 p.m. • Men’s 200m Semifinals • 6:29 p.m. Hayward Field • Eugene, Ore. Live Stats • ESPN+ • 12 p.m. • ESPN • 4 p.m. Thursday, June 12 NCAA Division […]

Wednesday, June 11
NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Decathlon • 12 p.m. • Men’s 100m Semifinals • 5:25 p.m. • Men’s 200m Semifinals • 6:29 p.m.
Hayward Field • Eugene, Ore.
Live Stats • ESPN+ • 12 p.m. • ESPN • 4 p.m.
Thursday, June 12
NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Decathlon • 9:45 a.m.
Hayward Field • Eugene, Ore.
Live Stats • ESPN+ • 9:45 a.m. • ESPN • 4 p.m.
Friday, June 13
NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Heptathlon • 11:45 a.m. • Men’s 100m Finals • 5:52 p.m. • Men’s 200m Finals • 6:37 p.m.
Hayward Field • Eugene, Ore.
Live Stats • ESPN+ • 11:45 a.m. • ESPN • 5 p.m.
Saturday, June 14
NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Heptathlon • 3:30 p.m.
Hayward Field • Eugene, Ore.
Live Stats • ESPN+ • 11:45 a.m. • ESPN • 5 p.m.
Long Beach State sends three competitors to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships this week. ESPN+ streams every event of the meet. ESPN provides four hours of coverage on Wednesday from 4-8 p.m. and four hours again on Thursday from 4-8 p.m. Linear coverage shifts to ESPN 2 on Friday from 5-8 p.m. before the championship wraps up on ESPN 2 from 6-8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Tristyn Flores qualified for nationals in the 100m and 200m during the May 31 NCAA West First Round. Flores broke his own school record in the 100 meters, clocking 10.05 seconds in the second of three heats. His time is the 17th fastest in Division I this season and is a new Big West record. He became the first Long Beach State sprinter to advance to the NCAA finals in the men’s 100 since Brent Gray in 2008.
Flores returned for the 200-meter quarterfinals at the NCAA West First Round and tied Gray’s 2007 school record of 20.46. He placed second in his heat to automatically qualify. Flores joins Gray (2007, 2008) and Jaime Barragan (1995) as the only Long Beach State athletes to qualify for nationals in the 200 since Andy Sythe took over the program in 1990.
The 100m semifinals are set for Wednesday at 5:25 p.m. If Flores advances to the finals, he will run Friday at 5:52 p.m.
Ryan Gregory qualified for the decathlon by scoring a school-record 7,898 points at the Big West Championships May 16-17. Finishing second at the Big West Championships, Gregory broke the previous school record of 7,644 points, set by Aaron Booth in 2021. He enters the national championships with the seventh highest score in Division I this season.
Here is Gregory’s Decathlon schedule.
Wednesday | 12 p.m. | 100m |
Wednesday | 12:40 p.m. | Long Jump |
Wednesday | 1:55 p.m. | Shot Put |
Wednesday | 3:10 p.m. | High Jump |
Wednesday | 6:43 p.m. | 400m |
Thursday | 9:45 a.m. | 110m Hurdles |
Thursday | 10:35 a.m. | Discus |
Thursday | 11:45 a.m. | Pole Vault |
Thursday | 2:15 p.m. | Javelin |
Thursday | 6:43 p.m. | 1500m |
Claudine Raud-Gumiel earned her way into the national championships by breaking the school record and winning the heptathlon at the May 9-10 Big West Championships. Raud-Gumiel’s 5,698 points broke the previous school mark of 5,671, which Riley Hooks set in 2017 when she became the last Long Beach State entry to win the Big West heptathlon that same year. Her 5,698 point performance is the 16th best in Division I during the 2025 campaign.
Here is Raud-Gumiel’s Heptathlon schedule.
Friday | 11:45 a.m. | 100m Hurdles |
Friday | 12:45 p.m. | High Jump |
Friday | 2:45 p.m. | Shot Put |
Friday | 6:43 p.m. | 200m |
Saturday | 3:30 p.m. | Long Jump |
Saturday | 4:45 p.m. | Javelin |
Saturday | 7:43 p.m. | 800m |
~#LongBeachBuilt~
Sports
EIU freshman Johnson headed to NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships – The Daily Eastern News
Abraham Johnson stared at the scoreboard in disbelief. The Eastern Illinois freshman had qualified for the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a personal-best triple jump of 16.10 meters at regionals in College Station, Texas. When the announcer called his name, the weight of the moment finally hit him. “I ultimately couldn’t […]

Abraham Johnson stared at the scoreboard in disbelief.
The Eastern Illinois freshman had qualified for the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a personal-best triple jump of 16.10 meters at regionals in College Station, Texas.
When the announcer called his name, the weight of the moment finally hit him.
“I ultimately couldn’t cry because I was still processing,” Johnson said. “But then once I heard my name over the intercom I had to run over to coach [James Gildon and Riley Baker] and let the emotions out. I had been chasing this exact moment and this exact number all season, and to finally achieve it was a blessing.”
Johnson had just accomplished a goal he set long before he ever stepped onto a collegiate track.
“It means a lot,” he said. “I remember before I started competing collegiately, I would always see those boards that said ‘ticket punched’ and I said I was gonna get one of those one day.”
Now he’s one of just 24 triple jumpers in the country heading to the NCAA championships, and one of only four freshmen.
“It’s crazy in my opinion,” Johnson said. “It kinda felt like an underdog story. I was able to pull through, even with the troubles of my spikes almost getting me disqualified.”
That near disqualification came just 20 minutes before regionals.
Johnson said he was on his phone when he came across a post showing banned spike models, and the ones he had worn all season, Nike Triple Jump Elite 2, were on there.
Director of Track & Field James Gildon explained that the responsibility for knowing which spikes are legal lies with the coaches and athletes, not the officials inspecting them. He said there was some confusion because Nike produces several different models.
“The sole was, I think, three millimeters over what it needs to be,” he said, “And the Nike Threes are compliant.”
Luckily, Johnson had other cleats with him. But he had to quickly adjust to competing in Adidas cleats instead of his usual spikes.
For the upcoming competition, Johnson will be competing in the Nike Triple Jump Elite 3, according to Gildon.
Even before that moment, Johnson had been battling what he called the biggest challenge of his season: minor injuries, which included knee pain.
“I have never had knee pain before, but as soon as it came around it messed with me mentally,” he said.
The day before his competition, Johnson said the pain was the worst he had ever really felt before, so he turned to prayer.
“As soon as I got back to the hotel, I pleaded to God to give me a sign that he would be there with me during competition,” he said. “And all of a sudden I wasn’t experiencing any type of knee pain.”
Johnson credits God for his success.
“God has played the biggest part in my journey as a track athlete,” he said. “When I would think all would fail, God came and told and showed me something different.”
Now, with the NCAA championships in Eugene, Oregon, on the horizon, Johnson is sticking to what’s worked.
“I am just going to do what I always do,” he said. “Keep putting in that work and putting my faith in Jesus Christ.”
And Gildon said their approach to preparation won’t change much heading into the biggest meet of the season.
“We’re going to prepare like we’ve been preparing,” he said. “In terms of the X’s and O’s and the physical training of it.”
Gildon also emphasized the mental training for what he called the biggest meet Johnson’s ever competed in.
“There’s a lot of opportunity to be distracted with kind of the outside noise and venue,” Gildon said. “So just helping him, kind of staying focused on keeping the main thing the main thing.”
Gildon believes Johnson’s experience will help. Saying Johnson has competed well at championships throughout the year, and Gildon is confident he’ll be locked in when it matters most.
“By the time Friday comes, I’d like to think he’ll be dialed in and ready to go, hopefully being All-American,” he said.
Johnson is the second straight Panther to qualify for the NCAA outdoor championships, following Ramsey Hunt’s runner-up long jump finish last year.
Gildon said the accomplishment reflects the program’s competitive ability and commitment to development.
“It kind of highlights our ability to compete at a high level,” he said. “So hopefully this kind of radiates throughout our region into recruiting and such that you can do it here. And that’s one thing that I want all our student athletes to buy into is that you can do it here at Eastern Illinois University with the coaches, the resources that we have, we can compete at a very high level,” he said.
The championships start Wednesday afternoon at the University of Oregon. The men’s triple jump competition will begin at 5:10 p.m. on Friday. Johnson will compete in flight one. The competition will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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