by Garth Meyer

The RUHS girls beach volleyball team won the CIF Division I state championship in both team and pairs competition last week; pairs at Huntington Beach in a 64-team tournament, and team at Long Beach City College.

The Sea Hawks beat Mira Costa to win each title, ending Mira Costa’s 12-year streak of league or state championships, going back to when beach volleyball was limited to area club play.

Redondo Union junior twin sisters Addison and Avery Junk won the 2025 pairs title May 6-7, outlasting the Mustangs’ Ruby Cochrane and Lucy Matusik in the final.

A total of 32 pairs made it out of pool play in the two-day tournament, the last 16 playing four matches the second day to decide it. 

For the team competition May 3 in Long Beach, schools advancing to the championship rounds brought five (ranked) pairs. RUHS beat Mira Costa in the no. 1 match, no. 2 and no. 3 to win the championship. 

“This year I knew our team was very good; I felt we had a shot for sure,” said Redondo Coach Mark Paaluhi. “It was a matter of convincing our athletes that we could beat someone who had been in control that long.”

An RUHS alumnus from Hermosa Beach, Paaluhi played on the AVP Tour for 13 years, mainly in the ‘90s.

He is in his 12th year coaching at RUHS, starting the program first as a club team before beach volleyball became a CIF sport in 2022.

The current RUHS beach group only graduates one starter this year; one of its three seniors on the roster. ER

Ross Edgley, a British swimmer who plans to swim around Iceland.
Mbl.is/Eyþór

Ross Edgley, a 39-year-old endurance athlete and swimmer from the UK, is set to embark on an extraordinary journey this Friday—a 1,600-kilometer swim around Iceland. The challenge, which could take between three to five months, is one of the most ambitious of his career and has been more than a year in the making.

Lifelong swimmer with a passion for the sea

Edgley, who has swum competitively since childhood and once played water polo, says he turned to open-water swimming after realizing he didn’t have the height advantage for team sports.

“Height doesn’t matter as much as grit and determination,” he tells

mbl.is

.

A grueling training regimen

In preparation for the expedition, Edgley has followed an intense training and dietary program, consuming 10,000 calories a day and swimming for up to 12 hours daily. He has gained nearly 15 kilograms, aiming to build endurance while maintaining strength.

Much of his recent training took place in the cold waters of Scotland, but he also came to Iceland in February to test the local conditions.

“It was incredibly cold, but I got to see the Northern Lights,” he says with a smile. “It was awesome.”

Sustainable support at sea

Edgley will be accompanied by a support boat carrying an eight-person crew. The team is committed to minimizing environmental impact, rotating responsibilities to ensure a sustainable and efficient voyage.

A Mmission of science and storytelling

In partnership with the University of Iceland and the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, Edgley will collect environmental DNA (eDNA) samples along his route to help map marine biodiversity.

He also plans to document the journey in detail: weekly YouTube videos, as well as regular updates on TikTok and Instagram, will offer a window into life at sea. He hopes to connect with Icelanders and audiences around the globe, sharing not just the physical challenge, but the people, nature, and culture of Iceland.

Inspired by myth and Marvel

The idea for the swim came years ago, shortly after his swim around Britain. While chatting with friend Chris Hemsworth—the actor who plays Thor in the Marvel films—Edgley was encouraged to consider Iceland, a land steeped in Norse mythology.

“Chris said this would be the closest I’d get to Asgard,” Edgley recalls. “That stuck with me.”

A warm Icelandic welcome

Above all, Edgley says he’s felt nothing but kindness from the people of Iceland.

“I know I’m an odd Brit who came here to swim around your country,” he laughs. “But everyone has made me feel so welcome. It’s a privilege, and I’m incredibly grateful.”

The swim officially begins Friday, and Edgley’s location will be trackable

online

throughout the journey.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Hamilton College Continentals set two women’s team records in the 2025 All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference Outdoor Championships at Williams College’s Lee Track at Williamson Field on Wednesday, May 14.
 
Dana Schwartz ’26 continued to improve her own record in the javelin throw and finished in second place out of 30 athletes with a distance of 40.73 meters. Schwartz’s performance is currently ranked 24^th in NCAA Division III.
 
Olivia Waruch ’28, Claire Tratnyek ’26, Mia O’Neill ’28 and Marley Meyers ’28 led the 4×400-meter relay to third place and a team-record time of 3:55.07 that shattered the previous record by more than four seconds.
 
Personal records were posted by Tatiana McCray ’28 (100 meters), Lily Murphy ’27 (third, 10,000 meters) and Sylvie Najarian ’25 (fourth, steeplechase). Keira Rogan ’28 tied Schwartz for the best finish of the day with a runner-up showing in the 5,000-meter run.
 
Hamilton has athletes in the 800- and 1,500-meter run, the 4×800-meter relay and the triple jump on the second and final day of the championships on Thursday, May 15. The Continentals were in second place in the team standings with 33 points after the opening day. University of Rochester led the way with 36 points.

HAMILTON PERFORMANCES

4×100-meter relay prelims (15 teams)

10. Olivia Waruch ’28, Tatiana McCray ’28, Marley Meyers ’28, Michelle Wu ’25 (48.77)

4×400-meter relay (15 teams)

3. Waruch, Claire Tratnyek ’26, Mia O’Neill ’28, Meyers (3:55.07, SR)

100-meter dash prelims (21 runners)

19. McCray, 12.57 (PR)

5,000-meter run (27 runners)

2. Keira Rogan ’28, 17:13.38

21. Claire Pfanstiel ’27, 18:58.63

10,000-meter run (24 runners)

3. Lily Murphy ’27, 38:14.26 (PR)

3,000-meter steeplechase (23 runners)

4. Sylvie Najarian ’25, 11:03.76 (PR)

Javelin throw (30 throwers)

2. Dana Schwartz ’26, 40.73 meters (133 feet, 7 inches; SR)

Girls indoor volleyball has its own season in the fall while boys indoor volleyball shares the spring season with girls beach volleyball. The latter sport is now in its fourth years of existence, though many have yet to see an actual game due to off-campus competition venues.

That should be changing in the near future after Eastlake High School put a focus on the emerging sport after capturing the San Diego Section Division II championship last weekend at San Diego Mesa College.

“To be able to bring a CIF championship back to Eastlake is not only a great achievement but we also wanted to prove that the South Bay can complete,” EHS coach Lizbeth Lau said. “Kudos to my seniors, who is leaving a big legacy behind — two CIF championship, indoor and beach — because they are setting the expectation and standard while helping me build a culture where we will continue to work hard and hold each other accountable to get the result we deserve.”

This year’s CIF tournament included three divisions — Open Division (four teams, double-elimination), Division I (12 teams, single-elimination) and Division II (16 teams, single-elimination) — in four competition rounds from May 1-10.

The competition format includes three pairs on each team. There are five rotations with the object to win three rounds to clinch a victory, though all five rounds are played.
Each pair must win two (of three) sets to win a round.

Top-seeded Eastlake defeated 16th-seeded Sage Creek, 3-2, in the first round before eliminating ninth-seeded Coronado, 4-1, in the second round. The Lady Titans swept fourth-seeded Francis Parker, 5-0, in the semifinals at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, Eastlake’s home venue.

Taking center stage in the section finals, the Lady Titans defeated seventh-seeded Canyon Crest Academy by a score of 4-1.

Top players/pairs on this year’s EHS team included seniors Elizabeth Heath and Leila Reynante, seniors Nichole Corona and Kenidee Wax and freshman Presley Ruperto and junior Kaycee Papa.

Others shared in the spotlight.

Alyssandra Macias and Brooke Hidalgo opened the day with a 21-14, 21-10 win in straight sets while Wax and Noelle Barcas advanced the lead to 2-0 with a 22-24, 22-20, 15-13 win.

Ruperto and Papa made it 3-1 with a 21-17, 21-17 straight sets win while Mellissa Wagenka and Daniella Garcia won 23-21, 16-21, 16-14 to wrap up the match.

Canyon Crest Academy took down second-seeded Rancho Bernardo, 3-2, in the third round.

In other CIF finals, top-seeded Cathedral Catholic edged third-seeded Torrey Pines, 3-2, to claim the Open Division title as well as its fourth consecutive division championship as undisputed queens of the sand court, while top-seeded San Marcos swept second-seeded Carlsbad 5-0.

Among Metro Conference teams:

Otay Ranch received the No. 11 seed in the Division I bracket and bowed out with a 4-1 loss to sixth-seeded La Jolla in South Mission Beach.

Bonita Vista received the No. 5 seed in the Division II bracket and eliminated 12th-seeded Steele Canyon, 4-1, in the first round at the CV Elite Athlete Training Center before tasting defeat (3-2) against Francis Parker in the second round.

Sixth-seeded Olympian lost 3-2 to 11th-seeded Patrick Henry while 14th-seeded Mar Vista ended its season with a 5-0 loss to third-seeded Clairemont.

Helix and Steele Canyon competed as members of the Metro Conference this season. Francis Parker defeated 13th-seeded Helix, 3-2, in the first round in Ocean Beach.

Stadium modernization projects are ongoing at Castle Park, Mar Vista and Chula Vista high schools. Sand courts are being installed at all three sites to further facilitate the sport locally.

Fall back
Eastlake finished the 2024-25 fall schedule with a final 29-12 record as undefeated Metro-Mesa League champions and Division I section indoor champions with a 3-0 sweep over Rancho Bernardo. The Lady Titans advanced four rounds in the Division II regionals playoffs to reach the regional final against Bakersfield Centennial.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Seventeen members of the St. Olaf College women’s track and field team were honored for their performances at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 2025 MIAC Track & Field Awards, as announced on Thursday.

St. Olaf’s 17 honorees included eight individual All-MIAC (places 1-3) performances, two All-MIAC relays, and seven Honorable Mention All-MIAC (places 4-6) performances, as the Oles finished fourth in the team standings last week. St. Olaf won five events at the meet, marking the highest total for the program since 1999-00.

Senior Alison Bode won both the 5,000-meter run and 10,000-meter run, while junior Isabel Wyatt won the 800-meter run, and senior Sophie Abernethy won the 1,500-meter run. Abernethy was also part of St. Olaf’s first-place 4×800-meter relay, along with sophomore Siri Erickson, senior Jules Fromm, and junior Ella Landis.

Below is a complete list of St. Olaf’s honorees in the 2025 MIAC Track & Field Awards.