Sports
Step by step: Wolverines prepare for big move to Big West | News, Sports, Jobs
1 / 4 Utah Valley’s Zach Lifferth (13) battles for the ball with an opponent during the 2024 season. Courtesy UVU Marketing 2 / 4 Members of the Utah Valley men’s basketball team pose for a photo after clinching at least a share of the Western Athletic Conference regular season title on Thursday, March 6, […]

- Utah Valley’s Zach Lifferth (13) battles for the ball with an opponent during the 2024 season.
- Members of the Utah Valley men’s basketball team pose for a photo after clinching at least a share of the Western Athletic Conference regular season title on Thursday, March 6, 2025.
- The Utah Valley volleyball team celebrates a point in a women’s college volleyball match against Hawaii on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021.
- The Utah Valley baseball team celebrates winning the Western Athletic Conference title in Mesa, Ariz., on Sunday, May 24, 2025.
The easy part for Utah Valley was to accept the invitation to join the Big West Conference.
Now comes the hard work of getting ready to make the move.
The Wolverines have more than a year left to compete in the Western Athletic Conference and while some sports — men’s basketball, baseball and women’s soccer, for example — seem ready to take on the challenge, others will have to step up their game to be competitive in the Big West.
“It’s something we’ve been talking about with our coaches,” UVU Director of Athletics Jared Sumison said. “We’re excited to be in the WAC for the next year and that will give us time to prepare. We need to get better competitively in some sports. Our facilities are really good but there are a couple where we can do some upgrades and get prepared for the Big West move.
“We’re in a place right now where our coaches are already preparing for recruiting and for the opportunity ahead of us. It’s a more competitive league so a lot of our sports are going to have to ramp up. It comes down to fundraising and friend-raising.”
UVU Vice President Val Peterson said he sees great advantages in the Big West in terms of competition, stability and level of play.
“Facilities will be something we’ll continue to work on,” Peterson said. “On the drawing board we have a student athletic academic building. We need to continue to maintain our academics. It’s important to us an as institution to have success in the classroom. Our coaches are recruiting to be competitive in the Big West.
“I think our coaches are up to the challenge and are excited about it. They are already out looking for the right student-athletes to be part of our program. The college athletic landscape continues to change very rapidly and we’re making sure we’re adjusting to that. I think our profile fits nicely with the Big West.”
League commissioner Dan Butterly said as the Big West moves to 11 teams his office will take an active role in helping Utah Valley prepare for membership.
“UVU is the largest public institution in the state of Utah,” Butterly said. “They have a strong, diversified academic profile, tremendous leadership and a strong athletic program with many championship teams. We’ll be ramping UVU up to the Big West bylaws and our policies and procedures. We’ll be getting to know their staff. One big initiative will be working with UVU in changing their conference logo out in all of their facilities.”
When Utah Valley joins the Big West on July 1, 2026, it will be the only program in the conference not based in California.
“As we looked at UVU, we did our campus visit early in February,” Butterly said. “We can see how easy it is to get to UVU and we enjoyed walking through their facilities. One of our board members said, ‘We’re not named the Big California, we’re named the Big West.’ We’re excited to get the state of Utah back to the footprint of the Big West.”
Utah State competed in the Big West from 1978 to 2005.
“Our fans have really started to travel better,” Peterson said. “It will be a lot easier for our fans to go to California and a lot of our fans are already planning trips to our games out there. Utah Valley will be a better traveling school as we go into the Big West.”
Big West Conference 2026
Hawaii and Cal Davis are headed to the Mountain West Conference and Utah Valley will join the Big West, making it an 11-team league. Here’s what the Big West will look like in 2026.
Cal Poly
The Mustangs swept the Big West 2025 Track and Field Championships, winning both the men’s and women’s team titles, and also won both of the league’s cross country titles.
Cal State Bakersfield
The Roadrunners made the transition to Division I in 2006 and became a full member in 2010. Bakersfield’s last league championship came in 2004 (men’s swimming and diving).
Cal State Fullerton
The Titans women’s golf team won the Big West Championship and was the first-ever No. 10 regional seed to advance to the NCAA Finals.
Long Beach State
The 49ers won the 2025 NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship, defeating back-to-back defending champion UCLA in three sets.
Cal State Northridge
The Matadors are one of just 45 schools in the nation with a beach volleyball program. The men’s soccer team reached the third round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
UC Irvine
The Anteaters won their first-ever Big West Commissioner’s Cup for the 2024-25 season, getting top three points in 11 of the 17 league-sponsored sports.
UC Riverside
The Highlanders produced five national championship teams in baseball and women’s volleyball at the Division II level.
UC San Diego
The Tritons accepted a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, losing to No. 5 Michigan 68-65 in the first round to finish with a 30-5 record.
UC Santa Barbara
The Gauchos Manu Duah was the No. 1 selection in the 2025 Major League Soccer SuperDraft by San Diego FC.
California Baptist
The Lancers compete in 21 intercollegiate varsity sports including water polo, stunt, cheerleading and dance.
Utah Valley
The Wolverines join the Big West on July 1, 2026 and will have the premier soccer facility in the league. The $20. million UCCU Stadium, which seats 3,000 spectators and includes luxury seats, opens this fall.
Sports
Uncapped, not unnoticed: How Salonee Dangore went from track and field to the CPL
Jun 29, 2025, 01:13 AM ET It is rare for an uncapped player to get picked in an overseas T20 league, especially when they have not played in their own country’s equivalent tournament. But Salonee Dangore did the improbable when she signed with Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) for the 2025 Women’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL). […]

It is rare for an uncapped player to get picked in an overseas T20 league, especially when they have not played in their own country’s equivalent tournament. But Salonee Dangore did the improbable when she signed with Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) for the 2025 Women’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
A legspin-bowling allrounder, the 27-year-old Dangore is one of four overseas players at TKR alongside Lizelle Lee, Shikha Pandey and Jess Jonassen. For the last two WPL seasons, Dangore was a net bowler at Delhi Capitals, the franchise Pandey and Jonassen play for. It would not be a surprise if these two put in a word after watching her at close quarters.
Dangore’s cricketing journey is as improbable as her CPL selection. Growing up, she was a national-level athlete and had no interest in cricket. Until 2015, she did not even know of legspin’s existence.
“When I was in school, I used to run very fast,” she tells ESPNcricinfo. “So our sports teacher asked me to pursue athletics. I would do 100m, 200m, long jump and triple jump. During my Under-14 and Under-17 days, I represented Madhya Pradesh at the national level in all those events.”
She was around 17 when Jose Chacko, a Sports and Youth Welfare officer, advised her mother to make her switch to cricket for better opportunities. Dangore enrolled at an academy run by the former Ranji Trophy player Sunil Lahore in Indore. Since she had only watched boys in her residential colony bowl with long run-ups, she wanted to be a fast bowler. Lahore watched her bowl a couple of deliveries and told her to take up legspin.
After spending about two years at the academy, Dangore joined the Ramesh Bhatia Cricket Foundation (RBCF). As a track-and-field athlete, her fielding was top-notch, but she struggled to turn her legbreaks. That sounds incredible, because currently she can pitch it on middle and leg stump and consistently hit off.
“I was inspired by Shane Warne and the way he turned the ball,” she says. “But my arm would rotate in the other direction and most of my deliveries would end up as googlies. So I would watch his videos in slow motion to figure out how he did it.
“Apart from that, my coaches – Sanjay Choubey sir and Himanshu Vairagi sir – at the RBCF helped in correcting my arm alignment. It took a lot of effort but eventually I was able to turn the ball.”
Dangore made her debut for Madhya Pradesh in 2017-18. Two seasons later, she was their highest wicket-taker (14 in eight games, at an average of 11.50) and third-highest run-scorer (130 at 32.50) in the One-Day Trophy, before Covid-19 ended the tournament prematurely.
The turning point of her career came in 2022, when the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) called up former India legspinner Narendra Hirwani for a camp. “He changed my mindset completely,” Dangore says. “He said, ‘You will do what you think you can. So you should think you are the best legspinner in the world.’ That advice is still fresh in my mind and gives me a lot of confidence when I am bowling.”
Shortly after that camp, the RBCF also invited Hirwani to their academy. Since then, Dangore has had multiple sessions with him.
“Sir also advised me to bowl slightly faster,” she says. “So right now I am working on increasing my pace while maintaining the turn. Apart from that, I am working on my slider and googly.”
When it comes to batting, Dangore’s focus is on power-hitting and strike rotation, so that she can “contribute in every situation”.
The stints with Capitals have also helped her immensely. “In my first year with them, there were only two net bowlers, [VJ] Joshitha and me,” she says. “I used to bowl in the same set as Jess Jonassen and would ask her about my bowling, tactics, and what to bowl when. Whatever feedback I got, I worked on that.”
Dangore also realised she needed to shoulder more responsibility for her domestic side to stand out. In search of better opportunities, she moved to Chhattisgarh before the 2024-25 season.
She picked up only two wickets in six games in the T20 Trophy, but emerged as Chhattisgarh’s leading wicket-taker in the one-dayers with 15 scalps from six matches at an average of 12.00. With the bat, she was their second-highest run-getter with most of her 144 runs coming at No. 6.
That, in December 2024, remains Dangore’s last competitive tournament. Since then, she has had another stint with Capitals and is eager to show off her learnings. But with the CPL allowing teams to field only three overseas players in their XI, will she get enough game time?
“I am not thinking about that because it’s not in my control,” she says. “Whenever I get a chance, I want to give my best. Moreover, the pitches there [in Guyana] should help spinners.”
Dangore cites Shreyanka Patil’s example. Patil too was uncapped when Guyana Amazon Warriors picked her in 2023, though unlike Dangore she had had a full WPL season behind her. She finished the CPL as the highest wicket-taker with nine wickets from five games.
“I want to create a similar impact,” Dangore says. “Whenever the team needs me – be it with the ball or the bat – I want to win matches. I hope this stint opens up more doors for me.”
Sports
Bill Dellinger, 1934-2025, Eight Takeaways on The Amazing life of a Treasured Coach
Larry Eder Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America’s first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from […]

Sports
'Usher Autograph Night' … and Other Less Popular Minor League Baseball Promotions
The season of the minor league ballgame is in full swing, and so are the minor league promotions. Here are some of the less popular ones. — Strained Groin Day — Usher Autograph Night — Free Pretzel in Every Beer: Save money! Save digestion time! — LIVE Bat Night: Wear a scarf! — Extra Marjoram […]


The season of the minor league ballgame is in full swing, and so are the minor league promotions. Here are some of the less popular ones.
— Strained Groin Day
— Usher Autograph Night
— Free Pretzel in Every Beer: Save money! Save digestion time!
— LIVE Bat Night: Wear a scarf!
— Extra Marjoram Madness: Marjoram sprinkled on any concession — gratis!
— Poppin’ Fresh Lookalike Contest: Winner gets a whole lot of dough! Literally.
— Adult Children of Jerks Day: Come in and cry. Our game will help!
— Signed Balls: Fellas! Get inked by the night’s MVP!
— Got the ultrasound to prove it? You’re in for free on: Pregnant with Twins Night!
— Safer than fireworks! Duracell and the National Fire Safety Council proudly present this evening’s: Post-Game Flashlight Follies!
— Cheek-Piercing Night: Ouch!
— Toilet Seat Toss: Actually, this one is real. Sorry.
— Show Us Your Rash: You could win a free ticket!
— There’s Your Mascot!: Win the chance to have our mascot sit in front of you the whole game.
— Health Is a Major League Issue: Turkey dogs served on seven-grain rolls with lip-smacking, thirst-quenching liquid kale.
— The North American Hooligan Society invites you to: Defenseless Little Old Ladies Night!
— Napkin Ring-Palooza!
— Go Blue!: It’s all-you-can-eat blue cheese night!
— Hermit Gift Basket: Razor, matches, and tin pot included.
— “J’adore Zee Baseball” Soiree: Berets and creme brulee for the first 100 attendees who can sing an entire Edith Piaf song.
— Minor League Bobbleheads: Who can forget “Slow and Steady” Stan Osofsky? Or Carl “I’m Getting There” Brown? Or away-game crowd favorite Mo “Oops!” Mallard? Your mantlepiece will groan with near-greatness!
— Free Cropped T-Shirts: Show off that dad bod!
–- Foam Toe Freebies: Give those foam fingers the toe! We’re (Toe) No. 1!
— Hairy, Scary Fun: Got a tarantula at home? Bring it in, set it loose and get a free ticket!
— Kombucha Kraziness: Free ice-cold kombucha when you buy a squishy tomato or cup of warm mush.
— Show Us Your Papers Night: kidding! (Not kidding.)
Creators.com
Sports
Study suggests water may not be the most hydrating drink for you
(CNN) – Researchers from Scotland’s Saint Andrews University have compared the hydration responses of several different drinks. While many Americans may reach for water when they get thirsty, the study suggests it may not be the best option. Researchers at the university found that milk is a better option for hydration. They said milk has […]

(CNN) – Researchers from Scotland’s Saint Andrews University have compared the hydration responses of several different drinks.
While many Americans may reach for water when they get thirsty, the study suggests it may not be the best option.
Researchers at the university found that milk is a better option for hydration.
They said milk has sugar, fat and protein – all of which help to slow the emptying of fluid from the stomach and keep hydration over a longer period.
Milk also has sodium, which acts like a sponge and holds ono water in the body.
Copyright 2025 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
Sports
Track and Field: Osakis sets new standards in 2025 – Alexandria Echo Press
OSAKIS — The 2025 season was a special one for the Osakis track and field program. The Osakis boys team won the Section 6A True Team title, Section 6A team title, the Prairie Conference team title (as did the girls), and had its best finish at the state championships as it finished second in Class […]

OSAKIS — The 2025 season was a special one for the Osakis track and field program.
The Osakis boys team won the Section 6A True Team title, Section 6A team title, the Prairie Conference team title (as did the girls), and had its best finish at the state championships as it finished second in Class A.
The Osakis boys team had only won one state title as Bob Gelle won the shot put state title in 1949.
Osakis won five state titles this season including two relays. Andrew Jones, Trenton VanNyhuis, Tyler Wolbeck, and Zackery Bruder won the 4×400-meter relay. Jones, VanNyhuis, Wolbeck, and Bryler Gustafson won the 4×200-meter relay.
Jones also won the boys 300m hurdles, while VanNyhuis won the boys triple jump, and Robert Kendall won the 400m wheelchair.
VanNyhuis placed second in the boys long jump and Kendall placed second in the wheelchair shot put.
Kendall earned third place finishes in the 100m and 200m wheelchair, and Bruder placed third in the 400m dash.
Harlie Schwope earned two top eight finishes as she placed sixth in the girls 100m hurdles, and eighth in the pole vault.
Sam Stuve / Alexandria Echo Press
Schwope, Ally Boyer, Kaelyn Walker, and Addison Roering placed 16th in the girls 4x200m relay.
Schwope, Jones, VanNyhuis, Wolbeck, Gustafson, and Bruder earned all-state honors.
Osakis set a plethora of school records this season.
Jones now holds the school record in the boys 200m (22.63), 110m hurdles (15.35), and 300m hurdles (37.39). Bruder set the school record in the 400m (48.72) and the 800m (1:57.02), and Kendall set records in the 100m wheelchair (21.56), 200m wheelchair (41.35), 400m wheelchair (1:31.51), and wheelchair shot put (13’3.75).
Jones, Wolbeck, VanNyhuis, and Bruder set the school record in the 4x200m (1:28.42), and Jones, Gustafson, Wolbeck, and Bruder set the school record in the boys 4x400m (3:21.22).
VanNyhuis now holds the record in the boys triple jump (45’3.5) and long jump (22’5.75).
Schwope set the school record in the girls pole vault (11’0).
For team awards, Bruder won the boys Most Valuable Track Athlete award, while Roering won the girls Most Valuable Track Athlete award.
Bruder also won the boys Will to Win award, while Adelyne Olschlager won the girls award.
VanNyhuis has been named the boys Most Valuable Field Athlete, while Stephy Marthaler won the girls award.
Sophia Doiron was named the girls most improved athlete, while Gustafson was named the boys most improved athlete.
Sam Stuve / Alexandria Echo Press
Taven Ebnet won the boys Silverstreak Award, while Morgan Baker won the girls award.
Each season, Osakis hands out the Stroup “Big Picture” Award in memory of former coach Chris Stroup. Mikkel Steinert won the boys Stroup “Big Picture” Award, and Stephy Marthaler won girls award.
2025 Osakis Track and Field
All-State Academic (3.6 GPA and meet performance standard) (9th Grade and Above)
Stephy Marthaler
Kaelyn Walker
Addison Roering
Katie Collins
Ally Boyer
Stephanie Mages
Harlie Schwope
Anna Marie Ruegemer
Erika Baker
Kaleb Helberg
Trenton VanNyhuis
Isaac Chisholm
All-Conference Academic (3.7 GPA and Letter Winner) (9th Grade and Above)
Stephy Marthaler
Morgan Baker
Addison Roering
Ally Boyer
Emmarose Olschlager
Lexy Marthaler
Emma Lubbers
Katie Collins
Alexis Bruder
Stephanie Mages
Harlie Schwope
Anna Marie Ruegemer
Erika Baker
Aislinn Brown
Trenton VanNyhuis
Chase Johanson
Ezequeil Rodriguez
Isaac Chisholm
Roger Dunn
Boys – Academic All-State – Silver (Team GPA above 3.5), team GPA was 3.73
Girls – Academic All-State – Gold (Team GPA above 3.75), team GPA is 3.978
Letter-Winners
BOYS – Austin Dickinson, Micah Moore, Caiden Knox, Andrew Ziesmer, Taven Ebnet, Bryler Gustafson, Grant Winkle, Zackery Bruder, Kaleb Helberg, Mikkel Steinert, Christian Nathe, Levi Ries, Trenton VanNyhuis, Andrew Jones, Keaton Lien, Chase Johanson, Jaxon Christner, Tyler Wolbeck, Kegan Thole, Ezequiel Rodriguez, Tal Loverink, Isaac Chisholm, Luke Kraemer, Roger Dunn, Robert Kendall, Henry Miller
GIRLS – Stephy Marthaler, Morgan Baker, Abby Fiskness, Addison Roering, Ally Boyer, Katie Collins, Addison Kranz, Emmarose Olschlager, Lexy Marthaler, Emma Lubbers, Stephanie Mages, Harlie Schwope, Anna Marie Ruegemer, Erika Baker, Aislinn Brown, Adelyne Olschlager, Sophia Doiron, Dakotah Pastian, Lillian Tenhoff, Mary Beach, Jaylyn Lusty, Jadelyn Bruder, Lucy Boyer, Alexis Bruder
Participants
BOYS – Damian Ruegemer, Connor Tenhoff, Ethan Owens, Tytus Doman, Logan Holmquist, Hunter Goodwin, Levi Hanson, Guy Steinbeisser, Dylan Karnes, Emmet Thompson, Colbie Klimek, Rylan Gould, Riley Marthaler, Thomas Glenetske, Max Bayer-Rooney
GIRLS – Kaelyn Walker, Mataya Moore, Abby Fiskness, Aliana Gould, Mahala Anderson, Lydia Brown, Kaleigh Fredriks, Madison Stier, Eliana Lund, Maralyne Meyer, Serena Moore, Brooklyn Lee, Abigail Marcyes, Laney Kalpin, Ellie Otremba, Taylor Lubbers, Tressa Gunther, Bryn Ferris, Gemma Jacobson
Team Awards
Most Valuable Track Athlete – Addison Roering (girls), Zackery Bruder (boys)
Most Valuable Field Athlete – Stephy Marthaler (girls), Trenton VanNyhuis (boys)
Most Improved Athlete – Sophia Doiron (girls), Bryler Gustafson (boys)
Silverstreak Award – Morgan Baker (girls), Taven Ebnet (boys)
Will to Win Award – Adelyne Olschlager (girls), Zackery Bruder (boys)
Stroup “Big Picture” Award (In memory of former coach Chris Stroup) – Stephy Marthaler (girls), Mikkel Steinert (boys)
Sports
Belleville HS athletes announce their college decisions – Essex News Daily
This slideshow requires JavaScript. BELLEVILLE, NJ — Belleville High School Athletics honored several senior student-athletes who announced their collegiate decisions to continue their athletic careers, during a recent ceremony. The following are those athletes: Nicholas Bustios, Fairleigh Dickinson University–Madison, soccer. Eric Castillo, Caldwell University, soccer. Jeremiah Cook – Kean University, football. Tristan Hargrove — Iona […]

BELLEVILLE, NJ — Belleville High School Athletics honored several senior student-athletes who announced their collegiate decisions to continue their athletic careers, during a recent ceremony.
The following are those athletes:
- Nicholas Bustios, Fairleigh Dickinson University–Madison, soccer.
- Eric Castillo, Caldwell University, soccer.
- Jeremiah Cook – Kean University, football.
- Tristan Hargrove — Iona University, rowing.
- Izabella Luna, New Jersey City University, wrestling.
- Raul Pineda – FDU–Madison, soccer.
- Jolieana Pagan – FDU cheerleading.
- Shaniece Perez– Caldwell University, cheerleading.
- Wilberto Solozano, FDU–Madison, soccer.
- Yamile Serna, FDU cheerleading.
- Anthony Torres – Caldwell University, track and sprint football.
Photos Courtesy of Belleville HS Athletics
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