KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee head coach and director of track & field Duane Ross has announced the hiring of Jeff Chakouian as an assistant coach. Chakouian will be tasked with leading and developing the Tennessee throws program.
 
“We are thrilled to welcome Jeff Chakouian and his family to Rocky Top,” Ross said. “Coach Chak brings a passion for developing athletes and a proven track record of preparing them to perform at the highest level. His experience as an All-American and SEC Champion gives him a unique perspective that will resonate with our student-athletes. I have no doubt he’ll make an immediate impact as we continue our pursuit of championships here in Knoxville.”
 
Chakouian arrives on Rocky Top with 20 years of full-time collegiate coaching experience after previous stints at Baylor, UCF and Illinois State. In his most recent eight-year tenure at Baylor, he guided his throwers to 17 school record performances, three First Team All-America honors and three Big 12 titles in the throwing events.
 
“I’m incredibly excited to join the Tennessee staff and become part of the Vol family,” Chakouian said. “Tennessee is recognized as one of the premier track and field programs in the country, and both the Vol and Lady Vol programs have a rich tradition of excellence. I look forward to contributing to that legacy and helping bring championships back to Knoxville.
 
“After speaking with Coach Ross and learning more about his vision for the program, it was clear that Tennessee was the perfect fit for me and my family. I want to thank Coach Ross for this amazing opportunity. I’m also deeply grateful to Coach Todd Harbour for hiring me at Baylor and Coach Mike Ford for retaining me—without their support, I wouldn’t be in this position today. And to all my former athletes, thank you for your trust and hard work. I can’t wait to get to Knoxville and become part of this incredible community. Go Vols!”
 
Chakouian mentored three-time All-American and Big 12 individual conference champion Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi, a javelin specialist who represented Nigeria at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He established the Nigerian national record in the men’s javelin with a lifetime-best toss of 82.80m (271-8) to win the 2024 African Games title with a mark that ranks 11th in collegiate history.
 
Nnamdi finished top-five at the NCAA Outdoor Championships all three seasons competing under Chakouian’s tutelage at Baylor, including a third-place showing at the 2023 national meet in Austin, Texas.
 
Chakouian guided Baylor standout JL van Rensburg to a silver medal finish in the men’s shot put at the 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships, missing the title by just two centimeters with a toss of 20.74m (68-0). Chakouian also coached Gary Moore Jr. to a phenomenal true freshman campaign for the Bears in 2023, ending the year as the Pan American U20 Champion and USATF U20 National Champion in the men’s shot put.
 
Over the course of eight seasons in Waco, Chakouian guided numerous athletes to top-10 program marks and All-Big 12 honors. Five current Baylor school records were established under his watch from 2018-25.
 
Prior to Baylor, Chakouian spent the previous eight seasons coaching all field events at UCF in addition to serving as the Knights’ recruiting coordinator. During his time in Orlando, he helped guide the team to five conference championships, claiming four outdoor titles in a row. He coached 18 NCAA qualifiers and 20 all-conference performers in addition to helping student-athletes break 30 school records in field events.
 
Prior to UCF, Chakouian spent three seasons at Illinois State University where he coached a pair of Missouri Valley Champions, 13 all-conference standouts and 10 NCAA outdoor regional qualifiers. His athletes recorded two school records for the Redbirds. 
 
Chakouian’s coaching career began with stints as a volunteer assistant at Kentucky and Brown, coaching six all-conference performers.
 

As a student-athlete and member of the Kentucky track & field program, Chakouian was a six-time All-American, five-time SEC champion and eight-time All-SEC selection in the men’s shot put. His collegiate-best performances of 20.08m (65-10.5) and 20.19m (66-3) both stood as indoor and outdoor program records for nearly two decades.
 
A Seekonk, Massachusetts, native, Chakouian graduated from Kentucky with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology in 2005. Chakouian and his wife, Samantha, have two daughters, Mackenzie and Leota.

LONG BEACH, Calif. – National Champion Skyler Varga was selected as an Academic All-American, as the Men’s At-Large Teams were announced Wednesday by Collegiate Sports Communicators (CSC).
 
Created in 1952, the Academic All-America program is reserved for college student-athletes who perform at an elite level in their chosen sport and the classroom.
 
That certainly applies to Skyler Varga, who was named to the Third Team, becoming just the 20th student-athlete from Long Beach State to be recognized in the program, and joining Stacy Black of Women’s Water Polo, Keri Nishimoto of Women’s Volleyball and Shane Peterson of Baseball as the only others from Long Beach State Athletics to be named both Academic and Athletic All-American.
 
A First Team All-American, Varga was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team after helping guide Long Beach State to their fourth National Championship. A First Team All-Big West selection, the junior led Long Beach State with 270 kills on the year, averaging 2.73 per set while making 33 aces, playing a part in Long Beach State’s NCAA record-setting season total of 237 aces on the year.
 
In the classroom, Varga carries a 3.54 cumulative GPA, majoring in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sport Psychology and Leadership.
 
The At-Large program recognizes collegiate sports with smaller footprints that still compete at a high level. Varga was one of just two Men’s Volleyball players in the nation selected as an Academic All-American, joining Parker Van Buren of Loyola Chicago.
 

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases related to the protection—and the preservation—of women’s sports. This news should gladden the hearts of female athletes across the country. The Court’s decision promises a legal reckoning that is long overdue.

It also signals the turning of a tide. For most of the last four years, women concerned for the future of their sports have been confronted with brutal apathy from athletic administrators, government officials, and the courts—and silence from an intimidated public.

But polls show a growing consensus among Americans that women’s sports should be for women, and that Title IX has been stretched out of all resemblance to its original intent. Government officials and athletic associations need to protect women’s sports and make sure that women are not robbed of their athletic opportunities, personal safety, and hard-earned accomplishments.

States across the country have now passed laws—27 at last count—designed to protect women’s sports. Challenges to two of those laws have now brought the subject to the nation’s highest Court for a final ruling.

In West Virginia v. B.P.J., West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey and attorneys for Alliance Defending Freedom are asking the court to review a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that would invalidate a West Virginia law protecting fairness in women’s sports. ADF represents former college soccer player Lainey Armistead, who intervened in the lawsuit.

While captaining the women’s soccer team at West Virginia State University, Armistead saw that a growing number of qualified female athletes were being sidelined—and in some cases, injured—by male athletes competing in women’s events. After watching female athletes across the country lose opportunities to win in their sport, she decided to join the case.

She’s not the only one recognizing the physical danger posed to women competing with bigger, stronger, more aggressive male athletes—nor the humiliation so many women feel at being virtual spectators in their own sports, knowing, before competition even begins, that their best efforts will never be enough to overcome the inherent physical advantages enjoyed by men.

In recent years, those advantages have cost thousands of women crucial athletic opportunities for achievement on the playing field, including major tournaments and championship events.

ADF is representing two of those women, former Idaho college track-and-field athletes Madison Kenyon and Mary Kate Marshall in Little v. Hecox, the other case the High Court has agreed to hear. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit—like the Fourth Circuit—has moved to squelch a state law protecting women’s sports. Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador is asking the Justices to review that lower court decision.

The Idaho case is supported by 102 female athletes, parents, coaches, and sports officials, who signed off on a brief that includes testimony after testimony from women who lost some of their best opportunities to male athletes.

The breadth of pushback against these two appeals court rulings undoubtedly influenced the Supreme Court’s decision to hear these cases. Twenty-six other states signed a brief in support of the West Virginia case, collectively describing the lower court’s ruling as “profoundly wrong” and warning of its “far-reaching consequences.”

Common sense, too, is on the side of female athletes—overwhelmingly.

In 2017, thousands of men ran 400-meter times that were faster than the personal bests of Olympic gold medalists Sanya Richards-Ross and Allyson Felix. That’s pure biology: Boys have larger hearts, bigger lungs, denser bones, and stronger muscles. Laws and policies that leave the door open for male athletes to compete in women’s sports must eventually, inevitably lock women out of any chance of succeeding in those competitions.

If the only thing women can hope to glean from participating in sports is the chance to watch male athletes blow past them on the track, on the courts, and in the pool; if all that awaits them after the years of hard work they bring to competition is an increased risk of injury; if the best they can hope for is to clap politely while males win the medals, the attention, and the scholastic opportunities; then, soon enough, there will be no more female athletes in “women’s sports.” There will be no women’s sports at all.

That is the crux of what the U.S. Supreme Court will be deciding: not what women’s sports will look like going forward, but whether there will be any point to women’s sports existing at all.

Suzanne Beecher is legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

*release by Sanford Sports*

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Minnesota Golden Gophers will play the University of San Francisco Dons in men’s basketball at the Sanford Pentagon in a nonconference matchup on Nov. 22. The on-sale date for tickets will be announced later.

 

“This matchup provides both teams the opportunity for a quality non-conference win at a true neutral site, which will be a valuable addition to their resume,” said Jesse Smith, vice president of operations for Sanford Sports. “We are excited for fans in the region to not only watch Minnesota play on Heritage Court but to also see such a storied program in San Francisco.”

 

Minnesota basketball ushers in a new era this coming season as Nico Medved takes over as head coach of the Gophers. Medved, who earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Minnesota, returns to his alma mater after a seven-year head coaching stint at Colorado State. It marks the second time Medved has been a coach at Minnesota, as he was an assistant coach during the 2006-07 season. 

 

“We’re really excited to play in Sioux Falls and at the Sanford Pentagon this season,” Minnesota head coach Niko Medved said. “The venue and location give fans a great regional opportunity to watch the Gophers play, and we look forward to growing this partnership for future events there.”

 

San Francisco finished the 2024-25 season with a 25-10 record, including a 13-5 showing in the West Coast Conference. The Dons advanced to the second round of the NIT. San Francisco returns seven student-athletes from last year, including All-West Coast Conference (WCC) Freshman Team selection Tyrone Riley IV and the 2023-24 WCC Freshman of the Year Ryan Beasley. Entering his fourth year as head coach, Chris Gerlufsen guided the Dons to 20-plus wins in 2024-25, the eighth time in the last nine seasons the program has reached the 20-win mark.

 

San Francisco leads the all-time series 1-0. Their last meeting was a 76-58 Dons victory at the Chase Center on Nov. 26, 2023.

This is the sixth NCAA Division I event at the Sanford Pentagon announced for the 2025-26 season. Iowa State plays Mississippi State in men’s basketball on Nov. 10. Nebraska will face Oklahoma in men’s basketball on Nov. 15. The Nebraska women’s basketball team will take on North Dakota State on Nov. 16. The South Dakota State women will face against Gonzaga on Nov. 20 and South Dakota State will match up against Wyoming in men’s basketball on Dec. 15.

 

About Sanford Sports

Sanford Sports is the modern athletics arm of Sanford Health, the premier rural health system in the United States. Rooted in science and health care, Sanford Sports offers a combination of programs, services, events, facilities and partnerships intended to make active lifestyles accessible and rewarding for people of all ages and abilities. Based on the 500-acre Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Sanford Sports has been changing the way athletes play for 25 years. With operations in three states, more than one million athletes use Sanford Sports facilities each year. Visit sanfordsports.com for more information.

DAVIS, Calif. – Head coach Daniel Leyson enters year 13 for the UC Davis men’s water polo team in 2025, with seven top 10-ranked clubs from last season on the docket, the team announced Wednesday.

The season kicks off in full force with back-to-back tournaments, starting with the Triton Invite hosted by UC San Diego from Aug. 29-31. Then, the team will return to Schaal Aquatics Center as they host the annual Aggie Round Up on Sept. 6, facing off against former No. 5-ranked Stanford at 9:30 a.m. PT and capping off the day against San Jose State at 3:30 p.m. PT.

After a quick trip to Berkeley, the team will face off against Pacific on Sept. 14, followed by a matchup against the Aggies Alumni Club. The Aggies will then travel down the coast the following weekend for the MPSF Invite from Sept. 19-21, hosted by last season’s national champions, the UCLA Bruins.

After going on the road against Santa Clara on Sept. 27 and hosting last year’s national runner-ups, USC, on Sept. 28, the team will then travel to San Jose for their final tournament of the season at the SJSU Tournament on Oct. 4. Big West conference play begins on Friday, Oct. 10 against UC Irvine.

In the last half of the season, the high level of competition continues for the Aggies, with a rematch against Stanford (Oct. 19), a matchup against UC San Diego, the team that knocked the Aggies out of last year’s Big West Tournament (Oct. 25), and the home finale against the Alumni Water Polo Club (Nov. 15).

The 2025 Big West Conference Championships will be hosted in Irvine, Calif. from Nov. 21-23.

The full schedule can be found below:

2025 UC Davis Water Polo Schedule

• Aug. 30-31 at Triton Invite
• Sept. 6 Aggie Round Up
• Sept. 13 at California, 1:00 p.m. 
• Sept. 14 vs. Pacific/Alumni, 1:00 p.m.
• Sept. 19-21 at MPSF Invite
• Sept. 27 at Santa Clara, 1:00 p.m.
• Sept. 28 vs. USC, 12:00 p.m.
• Oct. 4 at SJSU Tournament
• Oct. 10 at UC Irvine*, 6:00 p.m.
• Oct. 11 at Biola, 11:00 a.m.
• Oct. 17 vs. Cal State Fullerton*, 6:00 p.m.
• Oct. 19 at Stanford, 1:00 p.m.
• Oct. 25 at UC San Diego*, 12:00 p.m.
• Oct. 26 at Golden West, 9:00 a.m.
• Oct. 26 vs. Whittier, 1:00 p.m.
• Nov. 1 vs. UC Santa Barbara*, 10:00 a.m.
• Nov. 2 vs. West Valley, 10:00 a.m.
• Nov. 2 vs. UC Merced, 12:00 p.m.
• Nov. 8 at Long Beach State*, 12:00 p.m.
• Nov. 15 vs. Alumni Water Polo Club, 12:00 p.m.
• Nov. 21-23 at Big West Conference Championships

Home Games in BOLD
* Denotes Big West Conference matchup
 

Destini Smith has broken records, won championships and the sky is the limit for one of the most decorated athletes in Pennsylvania High School Track and Field.

This 2025 Souderton Area High School graduate picked up her diploma last month with her gold medals proudly displayed around her neck, a testament of how far she’s come, how high she’s jumped and how fast she’s ready to make her mark as collegiate athlete.

Smith has had a remarkable high school career for long jump, triple jump, and high jump.  As a 5-time state champion, 11-time state medalist, 3-time All American and National Champion, she is recognized as a top athlete in the nation and is gearing to take her winning ways to Kansas State University this fall.

But she’s no overnight success. Smith’s storied dominance in track and field started at a very young age, when her family lived in Florida and Georgia. Her family moved to Pennsylvania before her 10th grade year, landing her in suburban Philadelphia.

“I was in first grade. I was running up a grade because I was taller than all the other first graders, so I had to run with the second graders.  I was still cooking them in the 100 [meter] and stuff like that. So it was pretty fun. Even though they were older than me, it still felt better than if I was running against my own age,” said Smith, who now stands at 5 feet 9 inches tall.

Smith started her track career as a sprinter, then gradually moved to the jumping events as she got older. By the time of her junior year in high school, Smith locked in on the jumping events.

“I was a sprinter at first, I have long legs, that’s what I was really into. And then ninth grade is when I started high jump, and I kind of hated it, because I was like, ‘they just took me right out of the sprinting as soon as I started high jump,’” Smith said.

Junior year consisted of sprints and jumping, while senior year she pulled back on sprints to focus on her jumping events, dominating in the high, long and triple jumps.

Smith credits her success to technique, her consistent work ethic, and natural ability.

“It was a whole lot of everything. High jump, I’m tall in general, it just kind of felt natural — not going backwards, like over a bar. It didn’t feel natural at all. Actually, I was scared to do it at first, but it just came like, it became second nature to just do high jump,” Smith said.

Smith has only been long jumping and triple jumping for about a year and a half. She won the national championship at Nike Nationals U20 in the Triple Jump at Oregon with a jump of 42 feet 7.5 inches.

To win the Girls 3A PIAAA championship, she cleared 5 feet 7 inches in the high jump and the long jump with a fifth attempt at 19 feet, 11.50 inches.

“When it came to triple and long, honestly, it was a hard transition from going to vertical jumps to horizontal jumps. It was pretty tedious, the training and all that, and the weight training was way different. I was used to plyometrics and all that. So like, just increase my vertical to weight training and trying to lift as heavy as possible,” Smith said.

When jumping during track meets, Smith credits her mental toughness and focus over her reliance on physical abilities. 

“It’s a lot of mental, you got to know what you can do, going into long and triple. I know what I can do. And I just know that nobody’s topping me. But when it comes to high jump, you truly don’t know. So you get in your head so much to, like, second guess yourself, and it eventually can affect, what you actually put out on the field that day,” Smith said.

It’s al working for Smith, who broke the state record in triple jump this season.

She also was the Gatorade Player of the Year for Girls Track and Field in Pennsylvania in the 2024-2025 season, and broke every single Souderton school record for all three jumps — records that have been standing for over 40 years. 

She did it all while having a 3.97 GPA in the classroom. Her athletic and academic success made her a top recruit for colleges. Smith’s recruitment started to pick up and gain traction at the end of her junior year.

With schools like Indiana, Texas Christian University (TCU), and many more knocking at her door, Smith found a home at Kansas State and will begin her collegiate career as a Wildcat.  

“I’m really firm in K-State. Out of all the coaches that reached out to me, I feel like that connection was just that, like an unbeatable connection,” Smith said

With college on the horizon, the training doesn’t stop and Smith’s work ethic is carrying her as she practices with her track team along with training with her designated jumping coach, and does even more training out of the state.  

“I know what I want, from myself, and I know what I can do. So it’s like, I might as well put in that same work to show everybody else what I can do … I want to go out there every time and show people that I know what I’m doing,” Smith said. 

There to help Smith in her journey is Souderton Area High School Coach Anthony Pace. 

Pace has been at the helm for three years, leading the team to their first-ever title win in the 2025 PIAA Class 3A state championship. He understands what type of player and talent he has on his team and is incredibly grateful for the opportunities Smith brings Souderton.

“She’s given so many more opportunities I would have never expected, her putting us on the map. It’s like, OK, we’re traveling to Oregon, we’re traveling to Virginia, we’re traveling to Boston. All these extra things that probably would not happen without an athlete like her,” Pace said.

“She won every single event throughout the entire season, whether it’s dual meets, invites, leagues, districts, states. She finally finished second in the Triple Jump at New Balance nationals, but that was a day and a half after winning the Nike U20 Nationals,” Pace said.

Smith had a veteran presence for the rest of the girls on Souderton’s track team.

“She’s selfless. She cares about everyone else. She’s making other people involved. She’s taken freshmen and sophomores underneath her wing. She’s never shying away from them training with her. Even though, like a lot of her stuff, would be isolated, just with the dedicated training that she would need,” he said.

Through it all, Smith stays humble as she defines greatness.

“It really just depends on, not only the person that’s doing it, but how they act when they’re doing something great,” she said. “I feel like a lot of people just look at it as doing something that nobody else is doing.  I feel like it really depends on the attitude they have with that.”