CORAL GABLES, Fla. – During commencement exercises today at the University of Miami, 32 Hurricanes student-athletes are set to earn their undergraduate or graduate degrees.

“I am extremely proud to see this group of Hurricanes earns their degrees from the University of Miami,” Vice President/Director of Athletics Dan Radakovich said. “Graduation is a milestone moment for our student-athletes, and I am excited to see where their life’s journey takes them from here.”

Eleven of the University’s athletic programs were represented at today’s commencement, led by the football team with 15 graduates, including ACC Defensive Player of the Year Rueben Bain and ACC Jacobs Blocking Trophy winner Francis Mauigoa. The list also includes two 2025 NCAA individual champions — Devoux Deysel, who won the men’s javelin title and Chiara Pellacani, who captured the 1-meter diving crown.

Three former baseball student-athletes earned degrees, including John Siegler, who lettered under legendary coach Ron Fraser from 1963-65.

Fall 2025 Student-Athlete Graduates

Men’s Basketball
Yussif Basa-Ama*

Women’s Basketball
Sophia Zulich*

Men’s Diving
Max Flory*

Football
Rueben Bain, Markel Bell, Wesley Bissainthe, David Blay, Charles Brantley, Andrew Cohen*, Anez Cooper, CJ Daniels*, Carter Davis, Francis Mauigoa, Matthew McCoy, Akheem Mesidor*, Ahmad Moten, Jack Nickel, Ryan Rodriguez*

Soccer
Tori Grambo*, Nanaka Inaba, Emma Pidding

Women’s Swimming & Diving
Chiara Pellacani

Men’s Tennis
Martin Katz

Men’s Track & Field
Devoux Deysel*, Solomon Strader*

Women’s Track & Field
Jemima Mills*, Deisiane Teixeira*

Volleyball
Paula Guersching, Dalia Wilson

Former Student-Athletes
Carson Fischer* (baseball), John Siegler (baseball), Greg Veliz (baseball)

*Denotes Master’s degree

The Kentucky Wildcats look to take another step toward the NCAA Women’s Volleyball final four on Thursday afternoon, as they get set to host the upstart Cal Poly Mustangs.

The Wildcats came into the tournament as one of the favorites to win it all. They finished with the best record in the SEC during the regular season for the ninth year in a row, defeating Auburn, Tennessee and Texas to win the SEC Conference Tournament.

Kentucky has continued to be a strong team in the national tournament. After defeating Wofford in straight sets, the team outlasted UCLA in the second round, winning in four sets. The Wildcats are trying to get back to the regional final for the second year in a row, seeking their first final four appearance since winning it all four years ago.

Cal Poly is trying to write a Cinderella story. Unranked heading into the national tournament, the Mustangs knocked off fifth-seeded BYU in the opening round, before eliminating the No. 4 team in the region, USC, in a five-set thriller last weekend. The Mustangs are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007, and the seventh time in program history.

NCAA WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT

Third Round

Cal Poly Mustangs vs. Kentucky Wildcats

When: Thursday, December 11

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

Where: Historic Memorial Coliseum (Lexington, Ky.)

Channel: ESPN2

Friday’s competition marks the second trip to Ocean Breeze in the last seven days for the Red Storm. Last Saturday, the Johnnies enjoyed a plethora of success both on the track and in the field at the Youree Spence Garcia Invitational.

Nora Haugen highlighted the competition for St. John’s, breaking both the program record and Norwegian national record in the 600 meters with a time of 1 minute, 26.93 seconds. The senior’s time currently sits atop the NCAA across all three divisions.

Along with Haugen, three other Johnnies won their individual events, and both relays crossed the finish line first.

Eleven student-athletes will return to the track and the ring for the second time this indoor season.

Jamora Alves returns to the shot put circle for a second straight weekend, as she is slated to compete in the event. The Guyana native had a second-place showing last weekend

with a toss of 14.40m (47 feet 3 inches). Her teammate, Desiree Pagan, will also return to the ring, competing in the weight throw.

On the track, Attoya Harvey will compete in the mile run. Last weekend, the junior ran a lifetime-best 3:00.41 in the 1,000-meter run to take fourth place and was part of the first-place 4×800 relay.

On the sprints side, Cassandra Lemus-Sodji and Karese Clivesha Kezia Lloyd are slated to make their season debuts in the 60-meter dash. Last indoor season, Lemus-Sodji placed second at the BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championship with a personal-best time of 7.50.

Director of Track and Field Aliann Pompey and her squad will break until late January, where they will compete at the Dr. Sander Scorcher at The Nike Track and Field Center at The Armory. 

 

The Kentucky Wildcats volleyball team is on the the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament after a dominant 3-0 win over Cal Poly on Thursday. They move on to face Creighton, who won their match earlier in the day.

It was a true team effort by Kentucky in this one. Lizzie Carr was the star of the game, though. She led the team with 11 kills, and also led them with 6 blocks. Her hit percentage was an impressive .667, topped only by Kennedy Washington who had 7 kills and a .700 hit percentage.

They’re not alone, though. Of course, Brooklyn DeLeye and Eva Hudson were heavily involved with 8 and 9 kills respectively. Kassie O’Brien was terrific again as well, posting 31 assists and 3 blocks.

Three Pine Bush High School graduates were inducted into the Section IX Track and Field Hall of Fame this fall – Al Schmidt, Adam Mires and Amber Passalaqua Sherlock.

Adam Mires is a 1998 graduate of Pine Bush. Adam was a driving force in Pine Bush winning the 1998 OCIAA championship. He won the 800 meters, 1600 meters, 3200 meters and was a member of the winning 4 x 800 relay. He was a four-time New York State champion in the 800m, 1000m, and 1600m. Adam’s 4:16 in the 1600 meters is still the Pine Bush High School record. Nationally he competed in the 800m and one mile races. He went on to compete for Rutgers University where he again was successful on the track, being a two-time Metropolitan Intercollegiate Track and Field Association champion and a three-time Big East Conference medalist.

Amber Passalaqua, a 2010 PBHS graduate, exemplified an all-around athlete. Her strength made her one of the best pentathletes in the nation. She was the 2009 and 2010 New York State champion in the pentathlon, and still holds the Section IX record. She was also a team player, being a part of the 2008 New York State championship 4 x 400 meter relay team that competed in the prestigious Penn Relays in Philadelphia and the Millrose Games held in New York City where they placed third. She also competed in the high jump and hurdles, as well as on the competitive cheerleading team. As a senior, she placed second in the nation at the NSIC Indoor Track and Field championships at The Armory in New York City and won the 2010 Outdoor Track and Field AAU Junior Olympics. She went to Syracuse University on a full scholarship to compete as a heptathlete, where she took fourth in the Big East Championship and won the hept at the Cortland Classic. After her freshman year, she transferred to the University of Arizona to compete in the PAC 12 Conference and complete her education and her competitive years. Among the highlights there, Amber took third place in the PAC 12 championship in the heptathlon in 2014 and qualified for the NCAA D1 championships in long jump. She found great success both on the track and off at both schools.

Al Schmidt is a 1977 graduate of Pine Bush High School and a legendary track and field/cross country coach, serving the district for 40 years, from 1982 to 2022. Al Schmidt started his career in track and field as a runner on the modified team in 1971. In high school, he started running cross country under the great Coach Dan Brown where he found his passion for the sport. In the fall of 1976, they won the UCAL championships and Al represented Section IX at the state meet. In the spring of 1976 and 1977, they again won the UCAL championship in track and field. He was the county champion in 1977 in the two-mile run, and also held the school record in the one mile. 

He continued to run at Mohawk Valley Community College where he earned all-regional in cross country and track. He volunteered to coach both cross country and track and field at MVCC.

He came back to Pine Bush High School to coach in the spring of 1982 and never stopped until 2022. His time here is unsurpassed. During his coaching tenure here at Pine Bush he had two individual state and federation champions, as well as two relays that were state and federation champions.

“I have been blessed to coach many talented athletes who were able to excel and qualify Pine Bush High School for many championship meets such as Division I championships, multiple state meets, Penn Relays and Millrose games, along with multiple team awards over the years,” said Coach Schmidt. “I have watched the athletes grow and many went on to continue running in college and have gone on to become teachers, coaches, doctors, lawyers and sportswriters. I have been very thankful to have mentored so many individuals and many still keep in touch today.”

Current Pine Bush coaches Rob Lawrence, Anthony DiMarco and Robin Renahan attended the hall of fame dinner to honor the Pine Bush recipients.

“I have had the pleasure of being coached by and coached alongside Al Schmidt – Mr. Pine Bush Track & Field/ Cross Country, in my opinion,” said Coach Lawrence. “(He is) the best coach ever at Pine Bush. I was also a teammate of Adam Mires and recruited and coached Amber Passalaqua with Gerald Risco.”

Congratulations to Coach Schmidt, Adam Mires and Amber Passalaqua. You certainly make us Pine Bush Proud!

The Saints boys and girls basketball teams both split their season-opening games at the Vail Christian Tip Off Tournament last weekend. The boys took down Cedaredge in overtime on Friday before falling to Highland in the championship game on Saturday. The girls defeated Lake County 47-33 and lost to Cedaredge 67-18.

Vail Christian junior Rayman Romanin poured in 23 points in the season opener. Oliver Neumann added 18 points and nine rebounds and Jack O’Shaugnessy chipped in 10 points as well for the Saints, who were up by four at halftime.

The Bruins clawed back, however, taking a four-point lead late in the fourth quarter. With 16 seconds left, Neumann came off a screen and drilled a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from the wing to make it 69-68. Cedaredge guard Ian Blair missed two free throws on the next possession and Romanin was fouled on the loose ball rebound. The Saints junior went 1-for-2 to force overtime.

Romanin came through in the clutch in overtime, too. With 31.6 seconds left and the score tied 76-76, the Saints’ full-court press forced Blair into a double dribble. On the ensuing possession, Romanin floated an up-and-under right-hander from in the paint with five seconds to go for the game-winner.

Susie Irving and Eva Soto led the Saints against the Panthers in the Friday contest. Irving dropped 21 points to go along with nine rebounds and six steals, while Soto added 10 points and five boards. Irving led the way against Cedaredge as well, scoring seven. Vanessa Reyes added six in the loss.

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Both Vail Christian squads will face Nucla on Thursday night.

Eagle County volleyball players earn postseason awards

Several Eagle County volleyball players earned all-state and all-conference recognition.

Battle Mountain’s Cynthia Orona was named to the CHSAA 4A all-state second team. The outside hitter led the team in kills (330) and guided the Huskies to a 24-5 record and second-straight state tournament trip.

Eagle Valley’s Riley Weatherred was named all-state honorable mention. The junior led the Devils in kills (478) aces (42) and digs (290) in guiding the Devils to a 9-14 record.

Vail Christian had three players — Betty Bartok, Mary McClarrinon and Tenley Brasington — earn all-state honorable mention honors. Bartok was also named to the Colorado Coaches of Girls Sports all-state squad, was a 2A Western Slope first-team player and was named the league’s senior of the year. McClarrinon was tagged as the 2A Western Slope player of the year, while Brasington earned league setter of the year honors and was named to the conference second team. Stella Hawkins was named all-conference honorable mention as well.

Saints coach Britney Branson claimed 2A Western Slope coach of the year honors after guiding Vail Christian to a 21-6 overall mark and 10-0 league record. It’s the second time in Branson’s three-year tenure that the Saints have gone undefeated in league play and qualified for the state tournament.