(Natalie Newton | Amplify Utah) Lindsey Kirschman, at left, strength coach for the Utah Utes women’s basketball team, explains the day’s workout to team members.
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'They know she's doing it, too'
This story is jointly published by nonprofits Amplify Utah and The Salt Lake Tribune, to elevate diverse perspectives in local media through student journalism. The first time that University of Utah basketball assistant coach Dasia Young saw Lindsey Kirschman, the reaction was visceral. “I was like ‘dang, she’s jacked, like she’s ripped,’” Young said. It’s […]

This story is jointly published by nonprofits Amplify Utah and The Salt Lake Tribune, to elevate diverse perspectives in local media through student journalism.
The first time that University of Utah basketball assistant coach Dasia Young saw Lindsey Kirschman, the reaction was visceral.
“I was like ‘dang, she’s jacked, like she’s ripped,’” Young said.
It’s not easy to create a body that looks like that. It’s even harder to maintain it at 37 years old. But Kirschman loves a challenge.
Now, as she ends her third season as the director of sports performance for women’s basketball at the University of Utah, Kirschman’s challenge is keeping the team in shape. That includes daily workouts, lifts, conditioning, or anything else she thinks the athletes need.
The Utes finished the regular season with a 22-7 record, good enough for sixth place in the Big 12 in their first year in the conference. In the postseason, they scored a No. 8 seed in last month’s NCAA Tournament and lost in the first round to Indiana.
Much of the team’s work happens when no one is watching. In the summertime, college basketball players are restricted by NCAA rules that govern how much they can practice on a court, so that’s when they spend the most time strength training to prepare for the upcoming season.
The workouts can be grueling. But Kirschman said she won’t ask anything of a player she wouldn’t do — or that she wouldn’t be excited to do.
“A lot of my hobbies involve physical discomfort,” she said. “My best days are the days where I am just physically exhausted at the end of them.”
That’s what assistant coach Jordan MacIntyre said the players need, too.
“We play a really fast, up-tempo style of basketball, and we have to be able to get up and down the floor and be in our best physical shape to play the brand that we want to play,” MacIntyre said. “That is so much of a credit to the work that she puts in with people outside of our season.”
All of that effort, MacIntyre said, permits the team “the ability to play the style we want to play.”
Kirschman ‘absolutely motivates them’
Kirschman’s days have early starts. She wakes up around 4 a.m., reads, writes in her journal, goes on a run with her dog, works until 2 p.m., does her own workout, and then goes to bed around 9:30 p.m. She’ll often go to the athletic facility at 4 or 5 in the morning to do the workout that she’s planning on putting her athletes through later that day.
“She actually knows what she’s talking about, which is nice, because, you know, sometimes strength and conditioning coaches don’t look like what they preach,” Young said.
Even though she has often already gone through the workout, Kirschman doesn’t hesitate to jump in alongside the players. At a team lift in late February, for instance, she was stretching, planking and demonstrating different exercises to athletes who needed help. The workout culminated in Kirschman pushing a sled that carried Alyssa Blanck, the Utes’ 6-foot, 2-inch sophomore forward, across 20 yards of turf while the team cheered on the sideline.
“I know that they see her own drive. She can have them do whatever in their workouts because they know she’s doing it, too, and she’s probably done it already before we’ve done it,” MacIntyre said. “That absolutely motivates them and she has such an element of respect because of it.”
Strength coaches at the collegiate and professional levels often have degrees in athletic training, kinesiology or sports medicine. Kirschman, on the other hand, earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental science at the University of Washington, where she also competed in track and field.
She then began graduate school for rangeland management. During this period, she started coaching at a high school in her free time and found herself pulled back to the world of sports.
“I would sneak out every afternoon to go volunteer coach at a high school in town,” Kirschman said. But soon she thought, “Why am I sneaking around to do something that I could just do for my job?”
She switched programs to start studying education. After finishing her master’s program, she taught science and coached track and field, cross country, and strength and conditioning at Poudre High School in Fort Collins, Colorado.
“I think a lot of my own coaches have been role models and that’s part of the reason why I wanted to be a coach, because as an athlete I thought about who has had the biggest impact in my life in a positive way and it’s always coaches,” Kirschman said. “I wanted to be that for other athletes.”
Kirschman taught and coached for eight years in Colorado. Eventually she began thinking about how she could take herself to the next level. Being a high school strength coach often means having a lot of teams to oversee, and Kirschman grew tired of working with that many athletes at once.
“I was coaching before school, teaching all day, coaching after school, coaching all summer, but I had hundreds of athletes,” she said. “You can only do so much with each one individual athlete when you’ve got 300 more coming.”
She found a new opportunity at the University of Central Arkansas, as the school’s assistant strength and conditioning coach. Kirschman took a 50% pay cut — and was still training hundreds of athletes — but the prospect of a new mountain to climb was enticing.
“The challenge of that was appealing to me. I wanted to be held accountable to the highest standard possible, and have that risk of, if you’re not good at your job you’re going to get fired,” Kirschman said. “It’s kind of hard to fire someone at the high school level. … I want to see if I have what it takes to hang.”
Kirschman’s teaching experience has been a benefit.
“She comes with a lot of different experiences that a lot of other strength coaches don’t have… she does a lot of teaching of exercises,” Utah women’s basketball athletic trainer Christina Jones said. “She has all of those fundamentals down very well and can connect with the athletes and really hones into the teaching aspect.”
After one season in Arkansas, the University of Utah women’s basketball program hired Kirschman. In Utah, she finally got her wish of working with athletes on an individual level.
“First time in my career that I only had one team to work with,” she said. “I went from working with 300-plus athletes to working with 14, and that’s been a huge blessing and learning experience.”
(Natalie Newton | Amplify Utah) Lindsey Kirschman, at left, strength coach for the Utah Utes women’s basketball team, joins the team during a morning workout.
Tough in the weight room, but ‘kind-hearted’
Her one-on-one work with athletes doesn’t go unnoticed. Jones noted that Kirschman is especially focused when it comes to injured players. Any time the team is on the road, she gets up early with the athletes who are injured to put them through a workout in the hotel gym before breakfast.
“I think it’s a cool thing that she does, and the ability to adapt and be able to do that in the hotel,” Jones said. “It’s hard to do that when your other teammates aren’t doing that when you’re hurt.”
It’s that attentiveness that gives Kirschman one of her greatest strengths as a coach. Those who work with her say she has an innate kindness, an ability to make connections with people, that lifts her to the next level. Anyone who works with or plays for Kirschman will sooner or later be likely to receive a valentine in their locker, a note, a treat she’s baked, or a moment where she genuinely checks in because she cares.
“She’s probably one of the most, if not the most, kind-hearted people I’ve ever worked with, let alone met,” MacIntyre said. “She really is someone that cares to be there for other people, and wants her impact to be so much more than just teaching people how to get stronger.”
Kirschman gets the best results from people, Young said, because she has their best interests at heart.
“Nobody’s ever going to listen to their teacher if they don’t like them or if they don’t believe in what they do,” Young said. “She mastered that perfectly — to get people to do hard things and enjoy it at the same time.”
Kirschman said she knows that players respect her because she is a good strength coach but, she said, “people love me because of the impact I have on their lives and in their heart and that I have a relationship with them.”
That love can be leveraged into the sort of trust she needs, from her athletes, to get them to do things they might not do otherwise.
“She just always made sure that we didn’t settle. I could be curling 25s and she’s like, ‘Babe, you can definitely go to 40.’ I’m like, ‘I could but do I want to?’ and she’ll come pick up those 40s and hand them to me,” Young said. “I can do more. That’s probably what I took away from her the most: that I can do more. Whatever that is.”
Natalie Newton wrote this story as a journalism student at the University of Utah for a capstone course focused on women’s sports. It is published as part of a collaborative including nonprofits Amplify Utah and The Salt Lake Tribune.
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University of North Carolina Athletics
NEW ORLEANS – Senior Parker Wolfe earned his first national track and field accolade of the season when the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named him Men’s National Athlete of the Week on Monday, May 19. This is the second time in program history that a male athlete from North Carolina has […]

NEW ORLEANS – Senior Parker Wolfe earned his first national track and field accolade of the season when the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named him Men’s National Athlete of the Week on Monday, May 19.
This is the second time in program history that a male athlete from North Carolina has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. Ethan Strand won for the first time earlier in May.
Wolfe became the first ACC runner to defend the 5k and 10k titles successfully. Wolfe was also named the men’s track MVP. This was the second time in Wolfe’s career that he won a conference MVP, as he was named the 2024 Men’s Indoor Championship MVP.
In the 10k race on day one, Wolfe (28:51.09) ran the fourth fastest time in school history. Wolfe stayed in the lead pack for the entire race, and as he entered the final lap, he pushed to the head of the pack and cruised to the title four seconds ahead of his closest challenger. Wolfe ran the ACC and meet record in the 5k in 13:13.49. The senior came out and jumped into the lead pack, battling with Wake Forest’s Rocky Hanson, who pushed Wolfe into battle early. Rocky and Wolfe had a sizable lead heading into the 3000m mark, and Hanson dropped out, giving Wolfe the lead position as he coasted to a 23-second victory.
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PHS boys volleyball team preparing for 4A tournament
The Philomath High School boys volleyball team ended its regular season Saturday with tournament victories over Molalla and Junction City and will now prepare for a Class 4A “culminating event” this weekend at Hillsboro. The Warriors (16-6) had victories of 25-23, 34-32 over Junction City and 25-10, 21-25, 15-10 over Molalla in their appearance at […]

The Philomath High School boys volleyball team ended its regular season Saturday with tournament victories over Molalla and Junction City and will now prepare for a Class 4A “culminating event” this weekend at Hillsboro.
The Warriors (16-6) had victories of 25-23, 34-32 over Junction City and 25-10, 21-25, 15-10 over Molalla in their appearance at a tournament hosted by Estacada. Philomath went 1-2 in pool play with losses to the state’s No. 1 team, Class 6A Central Catholic, as well as the host school. The pool play win came over Cottage Grove.
Coach Helen Bennett said the team had fun playing against the unbeaten and top-ranked Rams.
“It’s obvious they have been playing for a few years, as they really don’t have any weaknesses and multiple players can pound some balls,” Bennett said. “Estacada was also tough — they are a 4A team, so there’s a chance we might see them again in the tournament.”
Philomath and Newport finished the season tied for first place in Special District 2 with 10-2 records. The Warriors were seeded No. 4 for the 4A state tournament, which is not recognized by the Oregon School Activities Association since boys volleyball is not yet an official sport with the “emerging” designation. But even if unofficial, the tournament will determine the top team this spring in 4A.
Eight teams qualified for the tournament and the Warriors will face Cascade in the quarterfinals. In the other matches, No. 8-seed Marshfield will face No. 1 Crook County, No. 6 Phoenix squares off against No. 3 Estacada and No. 7 Molalla will take on No. 2 Newport.
“The seeding is a bit deceiving because all teams are ranked in one poll regardless of your classification,” Bennett said.
In those rankings, Crook County is No. 21, Newport No. 22, Estacada No. 23 and Philomath No. 27. Cascade comes in ranked No. 47.
“Cascade’s league was mainly 5A and 6A teams and also one of the biggest leagues with eight teams, so their record of 4-10 and 6-11 overall probably wouldn’t be the same if they were placed with teams in their class,” Bennett said. “So we need to come prepared for that first round — and mainly my main goal is team consistency.”
Philomath won more than 70% of its matches this season but has gone through ups and downs in certain parts of the game.
“When we are playing well and executing our offense, we are competitive and fun to watch,” Bennett said. “But we can also make a lot of errors, which of course is understandable being our first year, but it’s those unforced errors that give teams the edge. So our goal is having the competition earn their points and we minimize giving them points.”
Philomath will play three matches in the 4A tournament, which will take place at the Olympus Sports Center in Hillsboro. The quarterfinal match vs. Cascade is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday.
Philomath will play Marshfield or Crook County at 4 p.m. Saturday in either a loser’s bracket game or in the semifinals. The championship match is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday. Trophy matches will be played Sunday at 10 a.m. (seventh/eighth), noon (fourth/sixth) and 4 p.m. (third/fifth).
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Sports
Tulane Athletics Announces 2025’s Hall of Fame Class
NEW ORLEANS – The 2025 Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame class was announced today by Ben Weiner Director of Athletics Chair David Harris and Hall of Fame Committee Chair Lenny Vangilder. The five former student-athletes/coaches and administrators that were selected to the 2025 class include: women’s golf coach/administrator Sue Bower (1992-2016), football and track’s Devon […]

The five former student-athletes/coaches and administrators that were selected to the 2025 class include: women’s golf coach/administrator Sue Bower (1992-2016), football and track’s Devon Breaux (2012-16), volleyball/beach volleyball’s Tea Juric (2013-17), baseball’s Nathan Southard (2003-06), women’s basketball’s Leslie Vorpahl (2013-17). In addition, the 2008-09 women’s golf team will be inducted.
The Billy Slatten Award, given annually to someone who has given extraordinary service, commitment and support to Tulane University and its student-athletes, will be presented to Tulane board member emeritus and donor Richard Yulman. This award was established in 2004 in honor of William A. “Billy” Slatten, a longtime supporter of Tulane Athletics, a member of the Tulane Board of Trustees and the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee.
Joe Scheurmann, the head coach and athletic director at Delgado Community College, is the 2025 recipient of the Don and Lora Peters Career Achievement Award. This award honors a former Tulane student-athlete who earned his or her undergraduate degree while competing for the Green Wave. The recipient has combined his/her athletic experience with their Tulane education to achieve a career of distinction in an athletics-related field. This award was established in 2023 to recognize Donald “Don” and Lora Peters in acknowledgement of their steadfast support and dedication, and their commitment to helping prepare student-athletes for their futures post-graduation.
“We are fortunate to have an opportunity to induct another phenomenal Hall of Fame class in 2025,” Harris said. “Annually I am impressed by those that have laid the foundation of our athletics department.
We are excited and thrilled to honor them and welcome them back to campus in September. Roll Wave!”
The induction ceremony for the 2025 Hall of Fame Class is set for Friday, September 12, followed by in-game recognition as the Green Wave take on Duke inside Yulman Stadium on Saturday, September 13.
2025 Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame Class
Sue Bower, Women’s Golf Coach, 1992-2005; Administrator, 2005-16
- Spent 24 years on Tulane staff, 13 as head women’s golf coach and 11 in athletic administration
- Inherited a program ranked 121st of 122 schools nationally in 1992, eventually leading the program to five postseason trips, including a team berth to the 2005 NCAA Championship
- Led Tulane to back-to-back Conference USA championships in 2004 and 2005; both of those teams finished the year ranked in top 20 nationally
- Earned Coach of the Year honors no fewer than nine times, including National Golf Coaches Association East Region Coach of the Year in 2003
- Transitioned from coach to administrator in 2005-06 when women’s golf program was discontinued in wake of Hurricane Katrina, then served as sport’s primary administrator upon a successful restart
- Served as senior woman administrator and chaired Hall of Fame committee for Tulane Athletics as an administrator
- Served as athletic director at Guilford College in North Carolina after departing Tulane
- Currently serves as AD at Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans
Devon Breaux, Men’s Track & Field/Football, 2012-16
- A two-sport athlete who excelled in jumps and sprints on the track and was a wide receiver on the football field.
- Three-time NCAA regional qualifier in the long jump (2012, 2014, 2015), the first Tulane male track athlete to qualify three times in the regional era.
- Placed 19th in the long jump at NCAA outdoor championships in 2015.
- Won the American Athletic Conference indoor championship in the long jump in 2015 and was freshman of the meet at the 2013 Conference USA indoor championships after scoring in three events (LJ, HJ, 4×100).
- Three-time All-Conference selection in the long jump and high jump and twice earned conference athlete of the week honors.
- In four seasons as receiver for the Green Wave football team, caught 41 passes for 625 yards (15.2 avg) and five touchdowns.
Tea Juric, Volleyball/Beach Volleyball, 2013-17
- A native of Croatia was one of Tulane’s first volleyball players to play indoors in the fall and beach in the spring, excelling at both disciplines.
- Indoors, she ranks in Tulane’s career top 10 in six categories, including fourth with 1,479 career kills, eighth with 3.36 kills per set, fifth in total attacks with 3,914, sixth in digs with 1,291 and ninth with 2.93 digs per set.
- Was named Conference USA and Louisiana Freshman of the Year in 2013. She was also first-team All-CUSA in 2013, while garnering second-team All-American Athletic Conference as a senior in 2016.
- Earned First-Team All-Louisiana honors in 2015 and Second-Team All-State in 2014.
- On the sand, became the first player in Tulane history to win 100 matches and had a career record of 103-43.
- More than half (58) of her beach volleyball career victories came at the No. 1 spot in lineup.
- Twice earned All-Conference honors in Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA).
- Part of the first Tulane pair to be selected for AVCA College Sand Volleyball national championship.
Nathan Southard, Baseball, 2003-06
- A member of Tulane’s last team to reach the College World Series in 2005.
- Finished his career with a .321 batting average with 29 home runs, 168 RBI, 50 stolen bases and 277 hits.
- Ranks in the top 10 of 10 career categories, including doubles (sixth, 61), games played (seventh, 241), games started (seventh, 219), runs (ninth, 204), hits (ninth, 277) and triples (ninth, 8).
- Ranks in the top 10 of 10 single season categories, including triples (fourth, 5 in 2006), runs (fifth, 80 in 2005) and doubles (seventh, 24 in 2005).
- Posted his best season in 2005, hitting .341, third-best on the team behind current Tulane Hall of Famers Micah Owings and Tommy Manzella.
- Tied a school record with three home runs against Houston, becoming only the second player in conference history to achieve this feat.
- Batted .500 (8-for-16) in New Orleans Regional and was named to the All-Tournament team.
- Was consistently named to the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and was repeatedly recognized as a Tulane Scholar-Athlete throughout his four years with the Green Wave.
- Drafted in the 17th round by the St. Louis Cardinals and played three years in their minor league system before embarking on his professional business career.
Leslie Vorpahl, Women’s Basketball, 2013-17
- Started 87 of 129 games in four seasons in a Tulane uniform, scoring 1,255 points, dishing out 558 assists and connecting on 192 three-pointers
- Ranks third in school history in career assists, fifth in three-pointers and sixth in minutes (3,679)
- Her 15 assists against Grambling on Nov. 12, 2016, are the most in a game in school history, one more than the 14 done twice by current head coach Ashley Langford
- Won the American Athletic Conference’s most improved player award in 2016 and the league’s scholar-athlete of the year and sportsmanship award in 2017
- A member of the Conference USA All-Freshman team in 2014 who twice was named Third-Team All-Conference in The American Athletic Conference, in 2016 and 2017
- Twice earned CUSA Freshman of the Week honors in 2013-14 and was named to the Tulane Classic all-tournament team in 2016
- She has played professionally for eight seasons overseas
2008-09 Women’s Golf Team
- The program was reinstated after three years following Hurricane Katrina and won the 2009 Conference USA championship by 23 strokes
- Finished 20th at the 2009 NCAA National Championship
- Finished 5th at 2009 NCAA East Regional Championship
- Final National Ranking of 28th in 2009 (Golfstat)
- The team won 2 tournaments and finished second in two other events in 2008-09
- Produced the conference’s Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year
Billy Slatten Award
Richard Yulman
- Helped lead the charge to return Tulane football to campus, making a $15 million naming-rights gift to the project
- Yulman Stadium, which opened in 2014, is named for Richard, his late wife, Janet and the entire Yulman family
- Served as a vocal advocate and proponent for Tulane Athletics during his tenure on the Board of Trustees at Tulane
- Retired chairman and owner of mattress manufacturing giant Sealy
- Parent of daughter, Katy Yulman-Williamson, who graduated from Tulane with a degree in psychology in 2005
- Along with Katy and Katy’s husband, Greg Williamson, renewed his support for Tulane Athletics through a lead commitment to Investing in Excellence, a major capital campaign to upgrade facilities and infrastructure across the university’s athletic programs
- Is credited as one of the champions of the modern-day renaissance of Tulane Football and Tulane Athletics
Don and Lora Peters Career Achievement Award
Joe Scheuermann, Baseball
- A New Orleans native who played for his Hall of Fame father “Rags” at Delgado Community College before transferring to Tulane for the 1983 season
- He played regularly on a pair of 40-win teams in 1983 and 1984 under Hall of Famer Joe Brockhoff, including the first-ever team to receive an NCAA at-large berth in 1983
- After graduating from Tulane in 1984, he joined Brockhoff’s staff as an assistant coach, along with other administrative roles, before succeeding his father as Delgado’s coach in 1990
- Now in his 35th year with the Dolphins, he has won more than 1,200 games – the most at one school by a coach in Louisiana history – and led his teams to five appearances in the Junior College World Series, most recently in 2023
- He added the title of athletic director at Delgado in 2013
- He led efforts to construct the Tom and Gayle Benson Athletic Complex at Delgado, a state-of-the-art facility that opened last fall
- Will be inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in June 2025; also a member of the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame and the All-American Amateur Baseball Association Hall of Fame
- Won the Eddie Robinson Award from the Allstate Sugar Bowl Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 2016, for outstanding achievement in athletics, academics, sportsmanship and citizenship with limited resources
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WE ARE NOLA BUILT
Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, all-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.
Sports
Taylor Bell: A passionate steward of the ocean – Gig Harbor Now
2025 Students of Distinction Gig Harbor Now is posting profiles featuring the Students of Distinction being honored by the Greater Gig Harbor Foundation. Peers, teachers or parents nominate students, who must be a graduating senior at a Peninsula School District school. A panel of community leaders selects students to be honored in one of seven categories: academics; athletics; […]

2025 Students of Distinction
Gig Harbor Now is posting profiles featuring the Students of Distinction being honored by the Greater Gig Harbor Foundation. Peers, teachers or parents nominate students, who must be a graduating senior at a Peninsula School District school. A panel of community leaders selects students to be honored in one of seven categories: academics; athletics; career and technical excellence; community service; music, arts and drama; overcoming adversity; and science and technology.
These students will be celebrated during a banquet from 6 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21, 2024, at Ocean5, 5268 Point Fosdick Dr.
School: Peninsula High School
Category: Science & Technology
Taylor Bell has always felt a pull toward the sea. What began as a fascination with biology in middle school quickly evolved into a deep-rooted passion for marine science, particularly the preservation of coral reefs. Now, as she prepares to attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa to pursue a degree in Marine Sciences, Taylor is eager to turn that passion into a lifelong mission to protect and restore ocean ecosystems.
With a 3.867 GPA and six advanced courses under her belt, Taylor has balanced academic achievement with a deep commitment to service and leadership. She’s a four-year varsity water polo athlete, team captain, and recipient of multiple “Most Inspirational” awards – testaments to both her grit and her ability to uplift those around her. She also participated in Swim and Dive, served as co-creator and treasurer of the Sewing Club, and is an active member of the National Honor Society. Incredibly, Taylor has completed over 430 hours of community service through Waypoint Church, modeling the kind of care and consistency that defines her character.

Taylor Bell
What excites Taylor most is the intersection of science and innovation – specifically, how technological advancements are transforming coral restoration efforts. She dreams of contributing to projects that develop sustainable solutions to combat climate change, ocean acidification, and coral bleaching. Her admiration for coral farming technologies and other restoration breakthroughs reflects not only her scientific curiosity but a profound sense of environmental responsibility.
Taylor credits her high school experience with offering flexibility and support to explore her interests – especially through the encouragement of teachers like Mr. Knowels, who made learning both engaging and meaningful. Now, as she looks ahead to the next chapter, Taylor’s vision is clear: to be a voice for the ocean, a leader in conservation, and a scientist driven by purpose.
Sports
Gorillas Top Mavericks 10-8 at ISG Field – Minnesota State University
MANKATO, Minn. – No. 16 Pittsburg State went undefeated in the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament and defeated No. 6 Minnesota State 10-8 Sunday at ISG Field, ending the Mavericks’ historic season in the championship. Minnesota State finished the spring 51-8 overall, tying a program record for wins in […]

MANKATO, Minn. – No. 16 Pittsburg State went undefeated in the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament and defeated No. 6 Minnesota State 10-8 Sunday at ISG Field, ending the Mavericks’ historic season in the championship.
Minnesota State finished the spring 51-8 overall, tying a program record for wins in a season.
The Mavericks took a 2-0 lead early. Matthew Fleischhacker singled to lead off the first for the Mavericks. Aidan Byrne hit a one-out double and Ike Mezzenga collected two runs batted in with a single up the middle.
The Gorillas reclaimed the lead with four runs in the second. With a pair of runners aboard, Andrew Branson doubled to the wall in left center field and advanced to third on an error. Jake Skaggs singled in a run and Alex Rodgers reached on a fielder’s choice. Rickey Sanchez reached on a throwing error by pitcher Hunter Day as Pittsburg State took a 3-0 lead.
Mack Crowley relieved Day for the Mavericks and Drew Bugner singled in another run with a ground ball over second base. Dagen Brewer homered to left center to bring the inning total to seven for the Gorillas. Ian DiPasquale entered to record the final out.
Jake Berkland grounded a two-out single through the left side for an MSU run in the third inning. Then Logan Miller sliced a two-run double to the right-center field gap for two more runs. Ben Palmer’s single made it 7-6.
The Gorillas made it 8-6 in the fifth before Aidan Byrne’s sacrifice fly to the warning track in left center field gave him 188 career runs batted in, setting the program record (Jordan Hart, 187). Mezzenga followed Byrne and tied the game 8-8 with a single.
Pittsburg State rallied for two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, but Spencer Wright struck out Andrew Branson with the bases loaded to end the inning.
After zeros on the scoreboard in the seventh and eighth innings for both teams, Jake Berkland reached on an error at shortstop with one out in the ninth, bringing the tying runner to the plate. Logan Miller broke his bat on a ground ball to second base and the Gorillas ended the game on a 4-3 double play.
The Mavericks advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 43rd time in program history in 2025 and made their seventh straight appearance. MSU also hosted NCAA Region Tournament games for the ninth time.
Louis Magers and Ike Mezzenga both surpassed the MSU single-season record for home runs. Aidan Byrne set MSU career records for hits and runs batted in during the tournament.
Sports
From the Liver King to ultramarathons, fitness influencers are glorifying extreme masculinity where ‘pain is the point’
A new Netflix documentary about a shirtless supplement salesman who claimed to be “natural” and was exposed as a fraud might seem like a punchline. But Untold: The Liver King is more than just a character study of a well-known fitness influencer; it’s a case study of performative masculinity in the world of social media. […]

A new Netflix documentary about a shirtless supplement salesman who claimed to be “natural” and was exposed as a fraud might seem like a punchline.
But Untold: The Liver King is more than just a character study of a well-known fitness influencer; it’s a case study of performative masculinity in the world of social media.
Brian Johnson, better known as the Liver King, built a brand on extreme workouts, eating raw organ meat, and evangelising about masculinity. He preached “ancestral living” and radical self-control, all while secretly using steroids.
And his rapid rise to popularity reveals how social media rewards the spectacle of hypermasculinity – especially when it leans into extreme behaviours.
Extreme self-discipline, extreme exercise, extreme eating and extreme “wellness” have all become forms of public performance on social media.
From influencers pushing steroids or “wellness” lifestyles, to the growing popularity of ultramarathons, a new model of masculinity is going viral: control your body, grit through pain, workout hard, and make sure everyone hears about it.
The rise of ‘discipline content’
Social media apps and websites such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, are flooded with content that frames pain and extreme physical effort as markers of masculine worth.
One analysis of male fitness YouTubers found they established authority and discipline through a mix of visible physical strength and affiliations with commercial fitness brands. In some cases, the influencers explicitly listed their personal records or showcased their physique post-training as proof of their “masculinity” and discipline.
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Influencers also often frame extreme leanness and muscularity as indicators of moral virtue and discipline, even when achieving it has taken a negative physical or mental toll on them. The look of discipline has become more valuable than the outcome of it.
Posts are often wrapped in the language of “resilience”, “discipline” and militaristic rhetoric. Men are told to “go to war” in the gym, to “stay hard”, and to generally treat life like a battlefield.
What’s being sold isn’t stoicism: it’s pseudo-stoicism – a term researchers have coined to describe emotional suppression masquerading as strength and discipline.
Pain is the point
Strava’s 2023 Year in Sport report found Gen Z athletes are 31% less likely to exercise for health reasons compared to older generations. Instead, they are more likely to train with a focus on athletic performance – that is, to push their physical limits, improve metrics such as speed or distance, and outperform others.
The same report shows a surge in extreme endurance activity. Compared to 2023 data, uploads (activities shared with others) of gravel bike rides grew 55%, trail runs grew 16%, and ultramarathon-style workouts grew by 9%.
Take Nedd Brockmann, who ran across Australia in 2022, and last year ran 1,600 kilometres in ten days to raise money for charity – all while sharing his self-imposed physical torture.
Or take the countless fitness content creators pushing themselves through punishing routines for the camera.
These cases reflect a deeper shift of fitness being turned into spectacle, wherein suffering becomes a sign of legitimacy, and pain is “proof” that you’re serious.
Such extreme content, which is often visually striking, can also be pushed by social media algorithms. Research shows how social media platforms systematically boost content that is intense, emotionally charged, and morally loaded.
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In other words, posts that provoke a reaction are more likely to get promoted. And
content relating to “wellness” extremism is designed to provoke, as it is visceral, performative, and packed with motivational and self-help anecdotes.
Why this matters
This is a potential public health issue.
Social media platforms amplify and monetise these performances, often pushing the most extreme content to the top. And influencers make money, above the money made from directly these platforms, from selling supplements, gear and coaching plans. At the same time, they act in more and more extreme ways to get further amplified by algorithms.
The risks of this dynamic, for both the viewers and creators, are very real. They range from hormone damage, to mental and physical decline, to injury, and even death.
But there is also a deeper ideological harm, as young men are fed a narrow and punishing idea of what it means to be a man. They are taught pain equals purpose, and that if you’re not suffering, you’re not trying.
Where to from here?
Public health agencies need to reckon with this form of digital hypermasculinity.
Extreme fitness influencers aren’t just poor role models; they’re the product of a system that profits from insecurity and spectacle. The goal shouldn’t be to ban or censor this content. But we do need to challenge its dominance, and offer alternatives.
That means engaging young men in offline spaces, such as the Tomorrow Man project, where they have an outlet for community and relationship building.
It means creating counter-narratives that don’t mock, but model, healthier versions of ambition and masculinity. For instance, the Movember campaign’s podcast Dad in Progress explores the various challenges and experiences faced by new dads.
It also means holding platforms accountable for the way they amplify extreme content.
In the absence of healthier narratives, self-flagellation is the only thing young men will have to aspire to.
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