PROVO — BYU’s rising star and Team USA Olympian will get another chance at a missed opportunity in Friday’s 3,000-meter men’s steeplechase final.

Of course, to get there James Corrigan had to make it through Wednesday’s semifinals on the opening day of the NCAA outdoor track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Check, and check.

Corrigan strolled into the finals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing fourth in his heat and No. 4 overall with a qualifying time of 8:24.97.

The junior Browerton Award finalist and returning U.S. Olympian in the event opened his stride to stay well within in the top-five automatic qualifiers from each of two heats while Iowa State freshman Joash Ruto won the semifinal heats with a personal-best time of 8:22.94.

“Today was definitely a quicker one,” Corrigan said. “I was glad, if anything, to just be able to get through safe.”

Corrigan said he “left with a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth” after finishing ninth at last year’s NCAA championships for second-team All-American honors. He obviously made up for most disappointments with a third-place finish at last year’s USATF Olympic Team Trials that helped set him up for a spot on Team USA at the Paris Summer Games.

But it left Corrigan with one of his main goals: a chance to “put it together when it really matters” in collegiate competition.

“We planned it so we can peak at the right time,” Corrigan said in the post-race mixed zone. “The race you really care about is the NCAA finals, which I’m running in two days. I think I’ve hit my strides where it really matters.”

Weber State steeplechaser Peter Visser finished 17th in the event in 8:40.84.

In another qualifier, BYU’s 4×400-meter relay team of Eli Hazlett. Josh Taylor, Jonah Heimuli and Trey Jackson squeezed into Friday’s finals with a ninth-place time of 3:03.83. The Big 12 runners-up with the fifth-fastest time in program history took off down the stretch, securing qualification on time by .17 seconds over conference rival Arizona State.

Arkansas cleared the top time of the semifinals in 3:02.53, followed by USC (3:02.76) and Texas A&M (3:03.09).

“These guys set me up well,” said Jackson, who anchored BYU to its first 4×400-meter finals appearance in 10 years. “I just thought about them coming down the home stretch, how much they’ve put into the season, and I thought, I want to be able to do it again.”

Utah Valley’s 4×100-meter relay team of Gavin Stafford, Cameron Franklin, Kade Thompson and Gabe Remy clocked a season-best time of 38.90 — just .19 seconds behind USC for the final qualifying spot for Friday’s finals.

It was the first-ever 4×100-meter relay team to compete at the national meet in school history for the Wolverines, who earned second-team All-American honors with the 10th-place finish. Their 38.90 was the second-fastest among non-power conference relay teams in the semifinals, trailing only South Florida’s 38.12 that finished second only to Auburn (37.97).

In one of six men’s finals on the day — and the only one on the track — BYU’s Creed Thompson finished eighth in the 10,000 meters in 29:11.44. Teammate Joey Nokes was 14th in 29:19.76, both behind New Mexico freshman Ishmael Kipkurui, the collegiate record holder who finished first in 29:07.70.

Thompson, who holds the No. 2 mark in the 5,000 meter and No. 6 in the 10K in BYU history, earned first-team All-American honors for the first time in his collegiate outdoor career. Nokes, a senior from Riverton, added second-team All-American honors for the second time in his career after finishing 10th in the indoor 5K last y ear.

BYU senior Danny Bryant finished sixth in the shot put, hurling the stone 19.71 meters (64 feet, 8 inches) for first-team All-America honors, a mark that improved on his 13th-rated throw after the NCAA West regionals.

“I had a big breakout season last year, and I’m very happy to have another first-team All-American under my belt,” said Bryant, who departs BYU with the No. 3 mark in program history in the outdoor shot put in 20.02 meters (65-8.25). “That’s a really good way to finish my collegiate career. I’m really happy with it.”

Utah State’s Logan Hammer cleared a mark of 5.33 meters (17-5 3/4) to tie for 13th in the pole vault. The junior from Nampa, Idaho owns the Aggies’ program and Mountain West records in the event, and collected his third career All-American honors — the first for the program since Dillon Maggard and Clay Lambourne compiled their ninth and fifth, respectively, in 2018.

Records began falling early Wednesday when Mississippi State’s Peyton Bair, who served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arizona and Mexico, broke his own national record with a time of 10.25 seconds in the 100-meter portion of the decathlon.

The junior from Kimberly, Idaho, is going for a season multi-event sweep after winning the indoor championship in the winter, and leads all decathletes with 4,479 points after the first day.

Bair punctuated the first day of competition with a career-best time of 46.00 in the 400 meter — a time that would rank as the fifth-fastest time in world athletics.

BYU’s Ben Barton finished second in the 400-meter portion in 46.59, helping the Big 12 champion and Indoor school record-holder in the heptathlon to 4,190 points and third place.

BYU sophomore Jaden Roskelley was seventh in the decathlon with 4,062 points, paced by a fifth-place finish in the high jump with a leap of 2.04 meters (6 feet, 8 1/4 inches).

The NCAA women’s outdoor track and field championships begin Thursday, followed by Friday’s men’s finale and Saturday’s women’s championships in Eugene.

SOUTH BRUNSWICK ― Gian Gomez sometimes finds himself looking at all those banners and hardware from years past of St. Joseph volleyball success. He, too, wants to be a part of that tradition.

“When I was a freshman, I always saw those trophies from a while ago, like 2008 ― the 43-1 team, I really wanted to be like one of those teams,” the now-senior said. “This year we had a great team, and we performed.”

Gomez and his mates cemented themselves as part of the green and white volleyball legacy with a 25-16, 25-18 win over Randolph Wednesday, June 11, to three-peat as NJSIAA Group 2 champions.

More: ‘Doesn’t feel real’: St. Joseph wins GMCT baseball title on Zayle’s walk-off grand slam

More: St. Joseph baseball pulls out another drama-filled win to advance in South Non-Public A

The Falcons (27-5) returned a bulk of last year’s squad but also had key underclassmen step in. After an 0-3 start, things started jelling and St. Joseph lost just twice the rest of the way.

A team might have one big guy with tons of kills. The Falcons, though, feature the two-headed monster up front in Gomez (292 kills, 102 digs) and junior Dominic Nycz (302 kills, 145 digs) along with freshman Saizo Takenaga (115 kills, 81 digs). Senior Sam Contursi (398 assists) has been a steadying presence with other key pieces stepping up.

The result has been three straight titles to go along with state championships in 2002, 2006 and 2008. Wednesday, St. Joseph used a balanced effort to methodically lead in both games at host South Brunswick High School.

Talk about spreading it out ― Nycz had nine kills and Gomez had eight, with Takenaga, Tyler Huseth and Carter Tarpley each chipping in four apiece. Jayden Dela Plaza had a team-high 10 digs and Contursi and Sean Martinez had a dozen assists apiece.

Rams coach Erik Novack noted his middle players had to move quickly to make reads and the Falcons had clean sets, while the big guys kept them guessing.

“For them, they can do much more,” Novack said. “They become more dynamic and they can utilize it more, and they did. They were able to make us spread out and we couldn’t focus in on one guy.”

The Falcons’ Contursi added, “Everybody on the court belongs there. Everybody has worked really hard all year to earn their spot on the court and I think it showed in this game.”

Players credited veteran head coach Miguel Cabrita for his leadership and creating the right mindset. In turn, he said he was happy to see Gomez and Nycz leading the way early in the season and the younger guys developing, which all led to Wednesday’s trophy presentation. Sophomore Matt Yacykewych and juniors Ben Peter and Santino Oliveti have also seen time.

“They played such a great team game today which was really nice to see,” Cabrita said. “Everything from the defense to ball control to the passing aspect of the game. It was amazing to watch them do that.”

While St. Joseph has long been a volleyball power ― the Falcons made every Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament final from 1999 to 2016 ― Randolph has only had a program for five years. The Rams (25-5) captured the North 2 Group 2 title and are on the rise.

The program will graduate just Kevin Tinio (607 assists). Stars back include juniors Benjamin Barninger (254 kills, 67 blocks, 130 digs), Aedan Perez (248 digs) and Cole Cantada (93 kills, 206 digs).

“I’m proud of how far the guys have come in five years,” Novack said. “The fact that we won the state sectional, made it to the groups, I’m like just really grateful, I’m really proud of the young men that they are. They have a ton to be proud of. Obviously, it stinks to lose this way, but they did give everything and that’s all I really strive for. I told them to remember the feeling of going there. That will motivate the guys next year.”

This year, though, was St. Joseph’s time, and the players have certainly etched their mark in the program’s record books of the Metuchen school.

“It’s honestly a great feeling,” Nycz said. “We’re more of like a family than a team. We have a lot of chemistry together so it’s a great feeling to be able to play on the court with these guys and just make these memories that will last forever.”

LOS ANGELES – Redshirt sophomore Payton Brennan of UCLA Baseball has been selected the Student-Athlete of the Week for competitions held between June 3-9.
 
The Bruin outfielder scored three runs during the Los Angeles Super Regional last weekend, including a fourth-inning score that put UCLA up over UT San Antonio in Saturday’s win over the Roadrunners. The center fielder paced the Bruins in Sunday’s blank of UTSA; he had three hits and two RBI while scoring two runs of his own in the 7-0 win. Brennan batted .444 during UCLA’s 2-0 weekend, helping the Bruins advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., next week. He’s hitting a team-best .514 (18-35) at the plate in nine postseason appearances; Brennan has 14 RBI and 10 runs over UCLA’s last nine games.
 
UCLA will be making its sixth appearance all-time at the CWS and fourth under head coach John Savage.
 
Brennan secures his first-career UCLA student-athlete of the week award.
 
Previous Winners
Aug. 21 – Bridgette Marin-Valencia, W. Soccer; Aug. 28 – Lilly Reale, W. Soccer; Sept. 4 – Cheridyn Leverette, W. Volleyball; Sept. 11 – Ryder Dodd, M. Water Polo; Sept. 18 – Bode Brinkema, M. Water Polo; Sept. 25 – Sofia Cook, W. Soccer; Oct. 2 – Pablo Ereño, M. Golf; Oct. 9 – Quincy McMahon, W. Soccer; Oct. 16 – Jose Contell, M. Soccer; Oct. 23 – Ethan Garbers, Football; Oct. 30 – Grayce Olson, W. Volleyball; Nov. 6 – Carson Schwesinger, Football; Nov. 13 – Quincy McMahon, W. Soccer; Nov. 20 –  Maggie Boyd/Sally Perez, Beach Volleyball; Nov. 27 – Lauren Betts, W. Basketball; Dec. 4 – Carson Schwesinger, Football; Dec. 11 – Ryder Dodd, M. Water Polo; Dec. 18 – Tyler Bilodeau, M. Basketball; Dec. 24 – Kiki Rice, W. Basketball; Jan. 1 – Eric Dailey Jr., M. Basketball; Jan. 8 – Lauren Betts, W. Basketball; Jan. 15 – Jordan Chiles, Gymnastics; Jan. 22 – Lauren Betts, W. Basketball; Jan. 29 – Aday Mara, M. Basketball; Feb. 5 – Jordan Chiles, Gymnastics; Feb. 12 – Taylor Tinsley, Softball; Feb. 19 – Mulivai Levu – Baseball; Feb. 26 – Lauren Betts, W. Basketball; March 5 – Jordan Chiles, Gymnastics; March 12 – Lauren Betts, W. Basketball; March 19 – Jordan Woolery, Softball; March 26 – Chae Campbell, Gymnastics; April 2 – Lauren Betts, W. Basketball; April 9 – Megan Grant, Softball; April 16 – Megan Grant, Softball; April 23 – Jordan Chiles, Gymnastics; April 30 – Omar Morales, M. Golf; May 7 – Jeremy Zammit, M. Track & Field; May 14 – Spencer Johnson, M. Tennis; May 21 – Jordan Woolery, Softball; May 28 – Jordan Woolery, Softball; June 4 – Roman Martin, Baseball
 

LOS ANGELES — USC Athletics continued its unprecedented academic momentum in Spring 2025, achieving a department-record cumulative GPA of 3.240 and a semester GPA of 3.278. 

Trojan student-athletes established several new academic high marks across the department during the semester, including a record-setting 440 Trojans posting a term GPA above 3.0. Additionally, 163 student-athletes earned Dean’s List honors with a GPA of 3.50 or better in at least 12 graded units, while 61 student-athletes – including 15 from women’s rowing alone – achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA. These milestones highlight the exceptional dedication of Trojan student-athletes to excellence in the classroom.

“I’m incredibly proud of the academic achievements of our student-athletes this semester,” said Charles Griffin Cale Director of Athletics Jennifer Cohen. “USC is the PLACE TO BE for student-athletes who want to reach their fullest potential in all they do, and these new academic records are a reflection of our student-athletes’ hard work and competitive spirit, the support of our faculty, coaches, and staff, and the outstanding work of our Student-Athlete Academic Services team. Together, we are preparing Trojans to thrive at USC and return to impact their communities.”

In total, 19 programs posted a team GPA above 3.0 this spring. All 12 women’s teams achieved GPAs above 3.0, and 7 of 9 men’s teams reached that benchmark as well. Women’s Swimming & Diving led all women’s teams with a term GPA of 3.667, while Men’s Swimming & Diving led all men’s teams with a term GPA of 3.414. Men’s Basketball, meanwhile, posted a 3.296 term GPA, the team’s highest ever, and recorded the largest GPA improvement(+0.694) of any USC team from Spring 2024 to Spring 2025.

Six programs – Men’s Basketball, Men’s Swimming & Diving, Men’s Water Polo, Women’s Rowing, Women’s Swimming & Diving, and Women’s Volleyball –  set new semester GPA records, while six others also set new cumulative GPA records, including Men’s Basketball, Football, Men’s Water Polo, Women’s Rowing, Women’s Swimming & Diving, Women’s Water Polo

These achievements build upon a year of historic academic success for USC Athletics. In November 2024, the department set a record Graduation Success Rate of 94 percent, with 13 teams recording perfect scores and programs like Baseball (93%) and Football (82%) achieving all-time best marks. In June 2024, USC also recorded its highest-ever Academic Progress Rate (991), with 15 programs tying or setting new records.

USC’s academic success comes during a time of historic athletic achievement, as the Trojans look poised to match or set the department’s best-ever finish in the Learfield Directors’ Cup. In total, USC has claimed one national championship, three Big Ten titles, and one MPSF championship heading into this weekend’s national outdoor track and field championships.

 

EUGENE, Ore. – University of Houston seniors John Adesola and Jamar Marshall Jr. qualified for the 110-meter hurdles final, and the 4×400-meter relay earned Second Team All-America honors at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Wednesday.
 
Adesola placed second in his heat at 13.43 to obtain the automatic qualification to Friday’s 110-meter hurdles final. Marshall Jr. finished third in his heat but posted the sixth fastest time of the afternoon at 13.37 to advance.
 
The 4×400-meter relay of freshmen Damarien Jacobs, Sahfi Reed, King Taylor and senior Trey East III earned Second Team All-America honors with a 14^th-place finish at 3:04.36.
 
East III also earned All-America Honorable Mention status in the 400-meter with a 17^th-place finish at 46.07.

Senior Grant Levesque completed day one action in the men’s decathlon sitting in sixth place with 4,068 points. Levesque tied two personal bests with a time of 10.58 in the 100-meter and a mark of 13.96m in the shot put.

 

UP NEXT

Levesque continues in the decathlon on Thursday with the 110-meter hurdles (11:45 a.m.), discus (12:35 p.m.), pole vault (1:45 p.m.), javelin (4:15 p.m.) and 1500m (8:43 p.m.).

 

On Friday, sophomore Antrea Mita will compete in the high jump at 6:30 p.m. while Adesola and Marshall Jr. take the stage in the 110-meter hurdles at 7:42 p.m.

 

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