PITTSBURGH – Olivia Babcock and Serena Gray have earned a spot on the 2025 VNL (Volleyball Nations League) week one roster, announced by USA Volleyball on Friday afternoon. They are two of 14 athletes to compete at the first preliminary round stop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (June 4-8). The duo are the first Panthers to be named to an active VNL Senior National Team roster. 

Babcock took home silver with USA Volleyball at the NORCECA Pan American Cup Final Six last summer in the Dominican Republic. Gray competed at the 2023 Pan American Cup and earned a first-place finish, defeating host Dominican Republic. 

The 2024 AVCA National Player of the Year and ACC Player of the Year had the most decorated season in program history in her sophomore campaign. Babcock was named the AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year, an AVCA First Team All-American, Volleymag.com First Team All-American, First Team All-ACC, Pittsburgh NCAA Regional Most Valuable Player and an AVCA East Coast Region Team member. 

Gray was an AVCA First Team All-American at Pitt and led the Panthers to back-to-back National Semifinal appearances. She was a two-time ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and All-ACC First Team recipient. 

The VNL brings together the world’s top 18 teams for three action-packed weeks of preliminary play, with each team competing in four matches per week. Only the top eight teams will earn a spot in the Final Round, where a VNL title will be on the line.

USA Volleyball Release

The562’s cross country and track & field coverage is sponsored by Joe Carlson & Debbie Hughes.

The 2025 track and field season will conclude tonight at the CIF State Finals, with 19 Long Beach entries set to compete. The meet begins with field events at 4:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium on the campus of Buchanan High School in Clovis.

With seven of the 11 total Wilson entries and a handful of high qualifiers, the Wilson girls are in good position to go for a three-peat. According to Rich Gonzalez from PrepCalTrack, Wilson is projected to score 46 points and win the girls’ title. Long Beach Poly is projected to land right behind them with 41 points.

Wilson’s Kaylin Edwards is the top qualifier in the girls’ 300m hurdles, one of three Long Beach runners in the event. It will be a competitive event with runners like Carlsbad’s Morgan Herbst, who set a state record last week at 39.95, breaking the 2001 mark set by Wilson alum Lashinda Demus. Edwards edged Herbst by one-hundredth of a second at the Mt. SAC Relays a month ago.

Edwards will also have stiff competition from San Diego’s Anisa Bowen-Fontenot in both the 110m hurdles and 300m hurdles. Bowen-Fontenot is the defending champion in the 100m hurdles and was the top qualifier on Friday, just one spot ahead of Edwards. 

Wilson’s Wyland Obando was the top qualifier in the boys’ 800m and has won five of his eight 800m races this year. He’s only come in second to a California runner once—Poly Riverside’s Beckett Sullivan, who was the ninth-place qualifier from Friday.

It’ll be a unique meet without Long Beach runners in any of the sprinting events, and just one runner in the 400m—Wilson’s Kaedyn Burroughs in the boys’ race.

The defending state champion Long Beach Poly boys have slimmed down their entries since the CIF-SS meet, but they’ll look to pick up key points in the 4×100 where they were the top qualifier on Friday. Lynnox Newman will be the Jackrabbits’ only individual boys’ competitor, running in the 110m hurdles.

The Jackrabbits will have a pair of athletes in the girls’ field events where Jillene Wetteland and Joy Anderson both qualified in the high jump. Anderson has also come along as a talented hurdler and qualified for the 300m hurdles. 

As usual, the Poly girls will be in both the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. The Jackrabbits won their heat in the girls’ 4x100m on Friday while Wilson was the top qualifier in the girls’ 4x400m.

Wilson (11 entries)

Girls’ 800: Shirayah Lewis-Williams

Girls’ 100 Hurdles: Kaylin Edwards

Girls’ 300 Hurdles: Saniah Varnado

Girls’ 300 Hurdles: Kaylin Edwards

Girls’ 4×400

Girls’ 4×800

Girls’ Long Jump: Loren Webster

Boys’ 400: Kaedyn Burroughs

Boys’ 800: Wyland Obando

Boys’ 4×400

Boys’ 4×800

Long Beach Poly (8 entries)

Girls’ 4×100

Girls’ 100 Hurdles: Kadence Bain

Girls’ 300 Hurdles: Joy Anderson

Girls’ 4×400

Girls’ High Jump: Jillene Wetteland

Girls’ High Jump: Joy Anderson

Boys’ 110 Hurdles: Lynnox Newton

Boys’ 4×400

COLLEGE STATION, Texas—Garrett Kaalund situated in the blocks, bowed his head, and waited for the gun to sound.

“The main thing that goes through my mind is to calm myself down,” he said.

In a blur, the University of Southern California junior, a San Antonio native who transferred to the Trojans’ program from Nebraska in 2025 following an impressive first two years of collegiate sprinting, crossed the line in a wind-legal 19.85 seconds, clocking the third-fastest 200 meter time in the world and the eighth-best NCAA performance in history on Friday at the NCAA West Track and Field First Round inside E.B. Cushing Stadium.

“It gives me a lot more confidence than I previously had,” Kaalund said. “Initially I felt as if I could definitely win nationals, but now I really kind of believe it instead of just saying it.”

Kaalund has quietly emerged this spring for the Trojans, claiming personal records in the 100 meters (9.93), 200 meters (19.85) and 400 meters (44.73). He finished fourth at the distance at indoor nationals in March, which followed an outdoor nationals bid with Nebraska in 2024.

Better yet, he capped off an impressive haul for USC, which secured two more automatic spots to the NCAA Outdoor Championships over the first two heats of the 200 meters and an array of additional national qualifiers, including relay teams in the 4×100 and 4×400, four athletes in the 100 meters and the top 400 meter performer at the NCAA West Regional.

The result was a strong indication that the Trojans, one of the most successful programs in NCAA history, have a viable shot to win an outdoor title in two weeks in Eugene.

The USC men haven’t won a men’s outdoor title since 1976.

This Arkansas Star Secured A World-Leading Performance At The NCAA West Regional

On Friday, Jordan Anthony secured the world’s fastest 100 meter performance in 9.75 seconds.

Despite being slightly outside the requirements of a wind-legal race, it was the second-fastest all-conditions NCAA performance in history, only behind UTEP’s Obadele Thompson’s effort of 9.69 in 1996–though that was with a 5.0 meters per second wind and Anthony’s was a 2.1 mark.

The reigning national indoor champion at 60 meters wasn’t fazed.

“I’ve had the confidence, just not cockiness,” Anthony said afterward. “I know the work I put in day and night. So anybody who steps on the track with me, it’s F you mentality. I don’t care what you did two weeks prior. You got to re-do it. Like Coach Buck said, validate it.”

The effort marks an important line in the sand for Anthony, who’s arguably been the most consistent performer on the NCAA stage this season and was added to the Bowerman Watch List on May 22. With a wind-legal sub-10 time at the Mt. SAC Relays in April and then two SEC Outdoor titles in May in the 100 meters and 200 meters, Anthony could have felt the pressure on his back.

He didn’t.

“My pride and I,” he said. “I don’t know, man, there’s just a dog in me.”

Four men broke 10 seconds at Regional on Friday, including USC’s Taylor Banks (9.91), Iowa’s Kalen Walker (9.94) and Washington State’s Mason Lawyer (9.95). Walker was the only athlete to accomplish the feat with a wind-legal time.

The Big Ten champion also secured the first sub-10 performance of his career.

“I think as I get older, these big moments drive me to be better,” Walker said.

BYU Steeplechase Veteran Looks To Avenge NCAA Loss In 2024

James Corrigan has been eyeing up a trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships for months.

On Friday, the Brigham Young University junior advanced to nationals after a steady performance in the first heat of the 3,000 meter steeplechase in 8:31.79. New Mexico’s Mathew Kosgei led all performers with his 8:25.41 mark in the third section.

A year ago, Corrigan struggled to put together a quality effort in the NCAA final following a qualifying mark in the first round. But after solving those issues in the U.S. Olympic Trials and then qualifying for the Paris Olympics, Corrigan has been in a completely different heat space.

Behind strong training with the Cougars and a great relationship with BYU head coach Ed Eyestone, Corrigan says he’s more ready than he’s ever been.

“I was able to prove I can run rounds and prove that, I guess, my season last year wasn’t a fluke,” Corrigan said. “This year, I’m not worried in the least. I recognize what stopped me from performing how I could have and so I have just as much confidence as I did before last year.”

Portland Pilots Senior Matt Strangio Driven By His Late Father

University of Portland Matthew Strangio took control of the 5,000 meters a little earlier than expected on Friday at the NCAA West Regional.

“Probably took it out a little further than our coach would have liked,” said Strangio, who managed the pace and ultimately leaned on his strength to claim the NCAA West Regional in 13:25.98.

But that confidence was worth something, because Strangio – who ran a personal best time of 13:24.14 in April at the Stanford Invitational – had another gear over the final 800 meters, holding off California Baptist’s Valentin Soca and Iowa State’s Robin Kwemoi through the final straight away.

“Had a really good training block and since Stanford and have been pretty on it,” Strangio said. “I take myself against everybody anyways, so I wanted to come out here when the pace felt good.”

Behind the surface, though, Strangio has also been running with more meaning. The Pilot senior lost his father, Steven Strangio, after the NCAA Indoor Championships and has dedicated his performances since then to him.

“I know I run with him on my side,” he said. “I try to do it for him, but I also know he’s always wanted me to do it for myself.”

Dominant pitching, timely hitting send Spartans to state title game

Bainbridge plays Anacortes in the championship

The No. 2 seed Bainbridge Spartans (21-4) beat the No. 3 seed Selah Vikings (25-2) 2-0 in the semifinals of the 2A state baseball tournament May 30 at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham, thanks to a complete game shutout from junior McCrea Curfman and some timely hitting late in the game by junior Trey Thompson.

The Spartans will play No. 1 seed Anacortes May 31 at 7 p.m. in Bellingham for a chance to claim their first state baseball championship in school history.

Curfman got the start on the mound for Bainbridge against Selah, forcing three quick outs in the top of the first inning. The Spartan batters didn’t do much in the bottom of the first, keeping the game scoreless.

Curfman continued his strong performance on the mound in the second inning, forcing another three quick outs after letting up a single. The game remained scoreless through two innings.

Curfman kept up his strong pitching performance, forcing three consecutive outs in the top of the third and keeping the game locked at zero.

The Spartans got their first baserunners of the game in the bottom of the third with a single to left field from Dom D’Amico and a single to center field from Curfman. Nonetheless, the Bainbridge offense couldn’t get a baserunner home.

Spartans Duncan Bos and Rohrbacher got out in the bottom of the fourth, but Braden French was able to hit a line-drive single to left field. However, Thompson flew out to right field, ending the bottom half of the inning for the Spartans.

Curfman walked the first Selah batter of the sixth inning, the first time the Spartans did that all game. The Vikings followed that up with a single and Curfman later hit a batter with a pitch, loading the bases for Selah. But Curfman responded by getting Bainbridge out of the inning with a strikeout.

The Spartans scored the first and only runs of the game off a Thompson 2 RBI single to center field in the bottom of the sixth, giving Selah only one more opportunity to make a comeback.

Curfman forced three consecutive groundouts in the top of the seventh inning to secure the victory.