NASHUA – With the top seed and an undefeated record, the Coe-Brown Northwood Academy boys’ volleyball team consistently showed it was the best in the state. On Saturday, the Bears finished the job. 

Coe-Brown (19-0) was able to neutralize Hollis-Brookline’s Ethan Norris, arguably the best player in the state, and dropped a set for only the second time this season, but responded to defeat the Cavaliers (16-3) in four sets, 25-17, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, to win the program’s first championship.

The result halted Hollis-Brookline’s bid for a fourth consecutive state championship, but not before the Cavaliers handed Coe-Brown its third dropped set all season and pushed the unbeaten Bears deeper than most opponents had managed all year.

The only other time Coe-Brown dropped sets was in a 3-2 victory over Dover on May 8.

“We played with a lot of heart and intensity,” said Cavaliers head coach Jake Balfour. “Taking a set from Coe-Brown, which has only happened once this season, I couldn’t be prouder. It just wasn’t our day.”

The first set was evenly matched through the opening points, with both teams tied at 8-8. Coe-Brown pulled ahead following a pair of Hollis-Brookline attack errors and an ace from senior Carter Brown. That short surge forced a timeout from Balfour, but the Bears kept applying pressure. Senior Bruce Marshall delivered two straight kills to give Coe-Brown a 16-12 advantage.

Hollis-Brookline responded with a block from senior Mateo Morel to trim the deficit to 17-16, but Coe-Brown regained control late as junior Tyler Fuller closed the set with three kills in the final stretch, powering the Bears to a 25-17 win.

Coe-Brown carried that momentum into the second set, opening on a 4-0 run that included two aces from junior Oliver Ford. Hollis-Brookline never fully recovered, allowing three separate 5-0 scoring runs in the frame. Struggling to gain traction, the Cavaliers dropped the second set 25-18 and found themselves facing a two-set deficit.

“They changed their offense, and we weren’t ready,” Balfour said. “Once we figured out how to get them out of system, we started gaining momentum.”

That turning point came in the third set, led by the play of senior captain Ethan Norris. Norris recorded four straight kills to give Hollis-Brookline a 10-9 lead, energizing both the team and the fans in the stands. Morel added another timely block, and Norris continued to dominate at the net, ripping four more kills and combining for three shared blocks to stretch the lead to 18-13. That run prompted Coe-Brown to burn their first timeout of the match.

Although the Bears responded with back-to-back kills from junior Luke Corriveau to cut the margin to 19-17, the Cavaliers held firm. Norris tallied three more kills down the stretch to seal the set 25-22. The victory marked just the third time all season that Coe-Brown had dropped a set, and Hollis-Brookline became only the second team to do so.

With a spark ignited, Hollis-Brookline came out firing in the fourth set. Norris picked up where he left off, delivering three of the team’s first five kills as the Cavaliers grabbed a 6-4 lead. An ace from senior Jamil Patel extended the advantage to 9-6. Coe-Brown answered behind Marshall and Fuller, who helped even the score at 9-9.

From there, the teams traded points up to 12-12 before Corriveau sparked a decisive Coe-Brown push. He recorded two kills and an ace during a 5-0 run that gave the Bears a 17-12 cushion. Hollis-Brookline made one final rally, cutting the lead to 18-16 after a kill from Morel, but it was not enough. Marshall and junior Istvan Miko combined for five of Coe-Brown’s final six kills as they closed out the match 25-19 to claim the Division I state title.

Corriveau led the Bears with 15 kills and four blocks. Norris finished with 25 kills, three blocks, and an ace, while Morel contributed seven kills and five blocks to lead the Cavaliers.

“Great game. We knew it was going to be a grind,” said Coe-Brown head coach Ryan Smith. “After the third set, we got in our heads a little. Coming into the fourth, we told the kids to be confident, get swings on the ball, and play connected.

“We have five senior leaders who are experienced, but it was a team effort – all 15 players contributed at some point. Ten years ago, we were 0-16, and now we’re champions. These kids deserve it.”

(Dan Attorri contributed to this report.)

EUGENE, Ore. – Brown track and field senior Jada Joseph competed at the NCAA National Championships in the triple jump on Saturday. She finished 20^th with a leap of 12.58 meters and earned Honorable Mention All-American as a result. 

Joseph returned to Eugene for the second consecutive year after she earned Honorable Mention All-American in the same event a season ago. 

In her final outdoor season, she tied the second best marks in Brown history in the triple jump (13.15m) and long jump (6.29m). She ends her career as a two-time All-American. 

 

 
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SINGAPORE – In their final international outing ahead of the July 11-Aug 3 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, the Republic’s artistic swimmers earned a confidence-boosting overall bronze medal at the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup Super Final in Xi’an, China. 

Debbie Soh, 27, Yvette Chong, 17, and Kiera Lee, 16, won the bronze in the duet category of the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup Series, which also came with US$10,000 (S$12,800) in prize money. 

Soh and Lee scored 183.6818 during their duet free routine at the Super Final in China on June 14, which placed them eighth out of 11 pairs in China.

Chinese twins Lin Yanjun and Yanhan won the gold medal with 266.1442 points to finish ahead of duets from Spain and Japan.

But Spain took the overall gold and US$15,000, while Kazakhstan bagged a silver as well as US$12,000 in the duet category of the World Cup Series.

Chong said: “It is a huge confidence boost ahead of the World Aquatics Championships. It reassures us that we’re on the right track and gives us momentum for a strong showing as the host country.”

For Soh, it is a milestone in a long campaign.

“It felt like our season began in December 2024, right after the exam period. Since then, we’ve been training six days a week, for about five to 10 hours a day, and have gone through multiple intensive training camps. It’s been a challenging and hectic few months, but we stayed focused and motivated to rise above the challenges we faced along the way,” said Soh.

The youngest of the trio, Lee added: “We feel very fulfilled that our efforts were rewarded. It wasn’t in our expectations at all. We were more focused on hitting personal bests at every stop of the World Cup series, so we were taken aback by the final world ranking.”

Final rankings are calculated based on the score from the Super Final and the top two scores from the rest of the series. To be ranked in the world series, teams must participate in at least two out of its three legs, plus the Super Final. 

The first three legs were in Paris, France (Feb 28-March 2), Somabay, Egypt (April 11-13) and Markham, Canada (May 1-3) before the June 13-15 Super Final in Xi’an.

The artistic swimming national team’s performance director Anastasia Goutseva said that the bronze was an “incredible recognition for the athletes and the hard work they have put in throughout the year”.

She added: “The third-place overall ranking came as a bit of a surprise, but it shows that you have to dream big. It is a historic result for Singapore, and we are very happy that the team’s effort has paid off.”

Goutseva said that the duet (technical) score in Paris, the duet (free) in Egypt and their performances in the Super Final in Xi’an earned them the bronze.

In Egypt, Chong and Soh had combined for 184.8755 points in the duet free to place 14th out of 23 and in Paris they scored 238.3992 to finish sixth out of 21 in the duet technical.

Meanwhile, on the final day of competition on June 15, Rachel Thean scored 195.3688 to finish eighth out of 10 competitors in the women solo free, while Singapore finished eighth out of nine teams in the team acrobatic event with a score of 144.2251.

On the artistic swimmers’ performance in the series, Goutseva said: “Overall, we are very satisfied. There has been clear improvement from one world series to the next. After each competition, we make the necessary changes and modifications to our routines based on feedback from the judges and technical controllers.

“We had set specific goals for this year, and we can definitely see the progress here in Xi’an.”

Ranked second only to the Olympics in prestige for water sports, the world championships will see over 2,500 athletes from more than 190 countries and territories compete in six aquatic disciplines – swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming and high diving – across various venues in Singapore.

As they make their final preparations ahead of the home showcase, Goutseva said: “Singapore is committed to raising the level of artistic swimming, and while there is still a lot of work to be done, we are positive and motivated. Our focus is to push the team as far as we can and help them achieve their fullest potential on home soil.”

• Deepanraj Ganesan is a sports journalist at The Straits Times focusing on football, athletics, combat sports and policy-related news.

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EUGENE, Ore. – Florida Gators Track and Field concluded the 2025 season on Saturday, the final day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
 
The fourth day of the championship meet saw six Gator entries, combining for 14 more team points to round out the team scoring.
 
Highlights
Throws
Alida van Daalen, after two consecutive third-place finishes in the NCAA Discus event, managed a second-place finish in her junior season. Her 64.94m [213′ 1″] fifth attempt stands as the best Discus mark by a Florida Gator in the History of the NCAA Championship meet.
 
Her runner-up finish is the best finish in the Discus by a Gator athlete, man or woman, in Florida’s program history.
 
Sprints
Florida’s evening session was quickly derailed, as in the 4x100m Relay, Freshman and anchor leg Habiba Harris pulled up with around 80 meters to go, resulting in a DNF.
 
Harris, the collegiate leader in the 100m Hurdles event, was unable to take to the line for the hurdles final later in the session. Her ills drew her season to an untimely ending, though she will enter next season as one of the most promising young stars in the collegiate ranks.
 
Anthaya Charlton, who lit up the preliminary round of the 100m dash with her collegiate-leading 10.87, Faced a difficult headwind in the 100m final on Saturday. She managed to cross the line in 11.19 despite the adverse conditions, earning a fourth-place finish.
 
Charlton’s finish is the best by a Gator in the 100m since 2008, when Lakecia Ealey finished third.
 
Gabrielle Matthews picked up First-team All-America Honors for her eighth-place finish in the 200m final. Matthews, running out of the treacherous lane 1, managed to score after sneaking into the event final with the last time qualifying spot.
 
Jumps
Asia Phillips reached her first NCAA Championship event final, ultimately finishing ninth in the Triple Jump field. With her 13.13m [43′ 1″] effort, she becomes a two-time Second-team All-American, having picked up her first honor this past indoor season.
 
NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships – Florida Gators Results
Saturday, June 14

 
 

By:

Josh Rizzo


Saturday, June 14, 2025 | 11:47 PM

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Tom Sorce is happy for the Shaler Area sports community. The Titans softball coach did wish he was worried less about the chores around the house and more about what his colleagues in other sports were.

The Shaler softball team joined the boys volleyball and baseball teams in capturing WPIAL championships this spring, but ushered out of the PIAA Class 5A playoffs in the first round following an extra-inning loss.

“I’m kind of jealous right now,” Sorce said. “They are rolling and we got bumped out in the first round. It’s exciting for the school and the community. At our games, when we were in the WPIAL playoffs, we had a lot of younger kids come out and watch games.”

The boys volleyball team won a third consecutive WPIAL crown despite graduating 12 seniors from last season’s Class 3A state championship squad. Shaler fell in the PIAA Class 2A semifinals to Meadville this year.

The baseball team played in the PIAA Class 5A championship game for the second time in four seasons.

The baseball team played District 1 runner-up Upper Dublin for the championship after deadline for this edition.

Shaler athletic director Clint Rausher said the success is a testament to everyone in the district.

It has given the Titans an opportunity to grow, while other districts have seen their numbers decline.

“What I’m most proud of is the consistency in leadership we’ve built within our programs,” Rauscher said. “While many districts across the state and country struggle with coaching turnover, with strong administrative support, we’ve been able to retain head coaches over extended periods. This stability, combined with our intentional outreach to younger grades and the community, has allowed us to not only sustain but actually grow the number of athletes in our program.”

Shaler boys volleyball coach Paul Stadelman said he appreciates the situation he is in.

“I hope the community appreciates how difficult, unique and amazing it is,” Shaler boys volleyball coach Paul Stadelman said. “With spring sports, it can be hard because the season goes past the school year and people aren’t hearing the announcements or bumping into each other. It’s nice the wonderful first responders we have in Shaler have welcomed all the teams back to the school and anyone near a major artery can think that is for the baseball, softball or volleyball team.”

Stadelman inherited the program with the least amount of success historically and slowly built it to the top. Shaler won the WPIAL championship in Class 3A in 2023 and 2024 before finding similar success when the program moved to Class 2A this season.

Stadelman said he had never really built anything from the ground up before.

“I wouldn’t say I had an opportunity to parallel the work with this program,” Stadelman said. “It took some patience at the beginning and believing in the process. We needed to find the right people in the program who were willing to go through that process.”

Brian Junker, the baseball coach, has led Shaler for 16 seasons and leads what has been the most consistent of the spring programs. The Titans have won three WPIAL crowns — 2019, 2023 and 2025 — since Junker took over.

Before Junker’s tenure, the Titans last won the district in 1999.

“It’s a reflection of how we do things. We have high standards,” Junker said. “We work hard in the classroom, and we work hard in the weight room. We’re doing things right on and off the field. We stress that, and we play hard. We don’t think sometimes we’re as talented as some of these teams, but we’ll fight you till the end. They carry that attitude with them, and then, we just focus on our process — throwing strikes, having quality at-bats and sprinting on and off the field.

“That’s how we win games.”

Sorce took over Shaler’s softball program from Skip Palmer, who had won 199 games over 12 seasons in charge, in 2018. Since Sorce has been on the bench, the Titans have won the WPIAL title and played for a state championship.

Sorce feels the pressure to keep up with Stadelman and Junker.

“They’ve built those programs to be competitive every year,” Sorce said. “I wanted to make sure we’re a part of it. This doesn’t doesn’t happen so often and consistently. Those guys are legends.”

Dave Mackall contributed to this report.

Tags: Shaler