BOZEMAN, Mont. — Montana State University track and field will make program history in Eugene, Oregon, as the Bobcats are sending its first-ever relay team to compete in the women’s 4x400m at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

“We honestly didn’t know that we were the first team to make it,” MSU junior Peyton Garrison said. “Some of the pictures that were shown, we were jumping in excitement and we’re just so excited.”

But the manner in which the MSU relay team reached the championships required a little help from the rule book.

The team of Corvallis native and freshman Olivia Lewis, Garrison, junior Giula Gandolfi, and junior Caroline Hawkes finished with a time of 3:34.31, second-fastest in school history, to take 13th place at the NCAA West First Round in College Station, TX. The top 12 teams, top three from each heat and the next three fastest times, advanced to nationals, meaning the Bobcats were the first team out of the field.

However, those lows quickly turned to highs as a Northern Arizona team that made the top 12 from an earlier heat was disqualified. NAU protested the disqualification, and after waiting hours under the night sky and with the stadium empty, Montana State officially booked a ticket to Eugene.

“We were for sure sad, because we were the last team out, and then a couple of us girls looked up on the TV, and the TV had said that we had made it,” Garrison said.

“The relays are difficult, because it’s not just one person, you have to have four people, and they have to be at an incredibly high level,” MSU head track and field coach Lyle Weese said. “To get a relay into the NCAA Championships, it really signifies the level that the long sprints women’s program is at.”

For Garrison and Gandolfi, it wasn’t their first race in the NCAA West First Round. Both competed in individual events two days earlier with Garrison placing 42nd in the 200m and Gandolfi taking 27th in the 400m hurdles.

“We were a little nervous before the 4×4, of course you have to be, but I think it definitely helped having another race,” Garrison said. “We can get the energy out, the nervousness out, and I think that helped a lot.”

“I think it’s always a balance of competing, recovering from that, and going on to the next event in the meet,” Weese said. “I’m a big believer that if you have competed in an event at a meet, a lot of times it’s easier from the mental side and pressure side to compete in that second event.”

But it was Hawkes as the anchor leg that helped propel the Bobcats into nationals. After receiving the baton from Gandolfi, Hawkes moved the team from seventh to fourth in the heat, including beating out Oklahoma State by nine hundredths of a second for the final spot in nationals.

“It was amazing. Caroline always pulls through, Caroline is always the hardest worker out here, and that’s also another big reason why we are out here,” Garrison said.

“That was probably the best relay leg or the best 400m that Caroline has ever run,” Weese said. “The first 200m she was moving like crazy and making up a lot of ground, and she caught up to some of those individuals that she ended up passing them.”

MSU will look to take advantage of its opportunity on the highest stage as the Bobcat relay team shares a final race of the season together and represents a growing women’s program.

“We have a really close 4×4 team, and so all of us are best friends, we work together every single day. We show up to the track, we work together, we go out to eat together and we spend so much time,” Garrison said. “Being so close and being friendly, and we love each other so much, and that makes us work hard for each other. I think that’s why we made it.”

“It’s really built upon itself,” Weese said on the success of the MSU women. “It’s been that situation where they’ve raised each other’s ability level, but to see so many school records from every event group is really an exciting thing for our program, and also that so many of them will be back for future years.”

The Montana State relay team will compete in the semifinals of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene on Thursday at 7:36 p.m. PST. If they advance to the finals, the Bobcats will compete on Saturday, June 14 at 8:21 p.m. PST.

Friday evening was quite eventful in college sports. Judge Claudia Wilken approved the House settlement deal that will shape the future of how USC navigates the terrain of college athletics. Around the same time, Texas defeated Texas Tech during the NCAA College Softball World Series.

As shared by Arrogant Nation on X, this makes the path toward a potential Learfield Directors’ Cup victory for the Trojans narrower. It does, however, make it a two-school race now, exclusively between USC and Texas. Before the Longhorns’ victory, there was still an outside shot of Stanford being able to win the overall collegiate title. For those noticing, Learfield is also the recently announced marketing company that has now partnered with USC.

Everything will now come down to the track and field events at the NCAA championships in Eugene, Oregon, that will take place starting on Wednesday, June 11th.

It goes without saying that the Trojan athletes who have qualified for their respective events on the national stage will need to perform well and have a number of first-place finishes in Eugene in order for USC to take the lead from Texas.

If the Longhorns underperform, however, there will be a Trojan victory for the Directors’ Cup. Considering how well-rounded and how much depth this Director Quincy Watts roster has for both teams, it should not be dismissed already.

First or second will now fall on USC T&F team’s shoulders

Track and field, like any of the other sports, is something that can have athletes have an off-day or perform even above the high expectations that someone had entering into the event. Between all of the athletes who have qualified for the NCAA championships and the season of success that these two squads have already had and displayed, a Trojan T&F victory could very easily mean this additional overarching victory as well, even with this latest Texas win in softball.   

Talented young Marlburians were acknowledged and supported on Friday when the next recipients of Inspire Foundation grants were announced.

The May 2025 Grantees’ Award Ceremony saw six new grantees and seven re-grants. The gathered guests also heard from guest speaker, renowned golf caddy Steve Williams, and raised invaluable funds from the Fundraising auction run by two-time Australasian auction champion Phil McGoldrick.

New grantees announced on the night were Amber Bendell for hip hop, Ella Sowman for tennis, Neve Mckenzie for triathlon, Olivia Cooke for community work with scouts, Scott Keay for water polo and Sophia Nicholas for touch. Re-grants were awarded to Finn Mckenzie for road cycling, Kyla Thorstensen for softball, Luka van Rensburg for cornet, Alex Craig for mountain biking, Erin Green for track cycling, Gus Marfell for triathlon and Isabella Baldwin for jazz.

“We continue to be amazed at the young talented individuals that apply each year,” says Inspire Foundation Marlborough Chairman Mark Davis.

“Our Inspire family is growing and the grants sometimes mean the difference between being able to attend events or not, so it is important that we are able to support our young superstars in the pursuit of their dreams,” he says.

“This kid has been sleeping on a cement floor for five days, no access to a shower; he’s brushed his teeth twice,” said Marcelo Gomes da Silva’s immigration attorney.

• The isolation that da Silva subsequently endured made him so “desperately lonely” that he took to banging on the walls of his cell to get someone to come talk to him, his lawyer told USA TODAY.

MILFORD, MASSACHUSETTS − Sleeping on a cement floor in a windowless room. Only brushing your teeth twice in five days and never getting to shower. Being mocked by a guard.

CONWAY, S.C. — Coastal Carolina University catcher Caden Bodine was named one of three finalists for the 2025 Buster Posey Award, the Wichita Sports Commission announced.

Joining Bodine as finalists are Rylan Galvan from Texas and Carson Tinney from Notre Dame.

One of the premier catchers in college baseball, Bodine turned in an elite all-around campaign in 2025. The First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection started 60 games for the Chanticleers — 59 behind the dish, one at DH — guiding a pitching staff that ranks No. 2 nationally in both ERA and WHIP. Offensively, he hit .329 with a team-best .468 on-base percentage, drawing 45 walks and being hit by 15 pitches. He added 18 extra-base hits, drove in 38 runs and slugged .463, serving as a consistent presence atop lineup.

Behind the plate, Bodine was a defensive anchor. He threw out 16 would-be base stealers on 44 attempts and finished the regular season with a .998 fielding percentage. His leadership helped elevate Coastal to the Sun Belt Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championship, where he was named the Most Outstanding Player and also earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team. He followed that up with All-Tournament honors in the NCAA Conway Regional as the Chants advanced to the Super Regionals for the first time since 2016.

The three finalists will be invited to Wichita to take part in the Buster Posey Award Ceremony that is part of the Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on Thursday, June 26. The Greater Wichita Sports Banquet will be held at Intrust Bank Arena in downtown Wichita. Tickets went on sale to the public on May 16. For updates on the events and tickets, visit wichitasports.com.

UP NEXT: No. 13 Coastal Carolina opens up the Auburn Super Regional Friday night at 9 p.m. ET against the No. 4 Tigers. The best-of-three series will air on ESPN2, the Chanticleer Sports Network and the Chanticleer Mobile App.

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball program added another member to its 2026 signing class with the signing of Thatcher Fahlbusch of Manhattan Beach, Calif.
 
Fahlbusch is the fourth signee in the Class of 2026 along with Australian outside hitter Mitchell Croft, Norwegian setter Magnus Hettervik, and middle blocker Roman Payne of Carlsbad, Calif.
 
Fahlbusch helped Mira Costa High School capture the inaugural CIF Division I state championship with a straight-set win over Archbishop Mitty. He tallied nine kills in the title match. Fahlbusch also helped the Mustangs capture the CIF-Southern Section championship for the ninth time in school history and their third Southern California Regional title.
 

The Manhattan Beach, Calif., native began his high school career at Loyola High before moving to Mira Costa. He is a member of the USA Volleyball National Development Program and played club volleyball for Rockstar & Mizuno Long Beach.
 
2026 Signees

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