College Sports
University of Utah Athletics
SALT LAKE CITY— Utah Athletics will be able to retain the talents of former women’s basketball star Jenna Johnson and gymnastics phenom Maile O’Keefe in post-graduate roles with their respective programs, thanks to the Anne Osborn Post-Graduate Internship Award. The department announced today that Johnson and O’Keefe are the award recipients for 2025-26. This is […]

This is the second year the prestigious award has been available to former female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility, but show the potential to be leaders within athletics careers.
Dasia Young of women’s basketball was the first recipient of the award for the 2024-25 competition season.
Johnson, who graduated in May with her bachelor’s degree in operations and supply chain and a minor in strategic communication, is slated to fill Young’s role from last year with women’s basketball as an assistant graduate coach.
O’Keefe, who graduated in 2023 with her degree in kinesiology, and has since added a certificate of applied positive psychology (2024) and an MRED certificate (2025) while working as a graduate assistant coach for gymnastics, will now move over to an operations specialist role as Grace McCallum takes over as the graduate assistant coach.
ABOUT THE ANNE OSBORN POST-GRADUATE INTERNSHIP AWARD
The Anne Osborn Post-Graduate Internship Award was created with the intent to invest in Utah female student-athletes who have expired their eligibility, but possess extraordinary potential to become leaders of their generation through careers in college athletics.
Endowed by University of Utah Distinguished Professor Emeritus Anne G. Osborn, MD, the award provides financial support for a full academic year as the recipients gain valuable insight, development, and real-world experience working in athletics. Osborn was a two-sport athlete herself, competing in swimming and basketball while completing her undergraduate degree at Stanford University.
“Even at the highest levels, only a few student-athletes will ever have a realistic chance to compete professionally in the sport they love,” stated Dr. Osborn. “This post-graduate internship will allow recipients the opportunity to explore the ever-growing spectrum of careers in collegiate athletics.”
All candidates for the award must be former female student-athletes who possess leadership potential, character, academic achievement, and athletic excellence.
Through the year, all recipients must be fully engaged with their assigned roles and mentorship programs through the Utah Athletics Department and its EmpowHer program, and be actively involved in professional development sessions and departmental duties. Recipients will also be asked to provide periodic updates on their experiences and achievements that will culminate in a final reflection to be given to the EmpowHer Board of Directors.
MORE ABOUT JENNA JOHNSON, UTAH WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (2021-25)
Johnson came to Salt Lake City in 2021 as the No. 7 forward in the nation according to ESPN, and immediately made her impact known, earning Pac-12 Freshman of the Week three times in her debut season while being a key cog in leading the Utes to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years.
That was only the start of Johnson’s journey, earning Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mentions in 2023 and 2024 while pushing Utah to new heights winning a Pac-12 Championship and earning a Sweet 16 berth in 2023.
“Jenna has cemented her legacy here at Utah as a WBB player,” said Utah Women’s Basketball coach Gavin Petersen. “As a team leader who always led by example, she was always prepared, dependable and was a fierce competitor on the floor. More than that, Jenna is an amazing human being that connected with people beyond basketball. Her maturity, spiritual faith and sense of humor are just some of the things that I am so thrilled to have stick around for another season with our program.”
Johnson finished her time at Utah ranked ninth in school history in career field goal percentage and a two-time team captain.
“The U gave me a platform to chase down my athletic dreams and develop me into a better student, woman, and member of our Salt Lake community,” said Johnson. “As I look forward to the future, my next goal is to be a Division I basketball coach. This position will help me gain experience, confidence, and a space to continue to pursue my dreams. I think collegiate coaching is a difficult industry to break into, and this opportunity will allow me a ‘foot in the door’ to gain incredibly valuable experience while learning from a premier coaching staff, working with talented players, and being in an environment where I’m comfortable developing my skill-set as a coach.”
MORE ABOUT MAILE O’KEEFE, UTAH GYMNASTICS (2020-24)
O’Keefe established herself as one of the most decorated Red Rocks in program history, being crowned a national champion four times, a 2023 and 2024 finalist for the AAI award, a two-time NCAA Regional beam champion (2021, 2023), and earning 19 All-American nods throughout her career.
Additionally, O’Keefe smashed the record books for Utah Gymnastics, holding the school record for career 10.0s, (15), career 10.0s on beam (14), and single-season 10.0s on beam.
“Having been both her coach and now working alongside Maile, I can attest to her exceptional work ethic, leadership qualities, and unwavering commitment to this team,” said Utah Gymnastics head coach Carly Dockendorf. “Maile has consistently demonstrated maturity beyond her years, balancing her academic and athletic responsibilities with professionalism and enthusiasm. She has a natural ability to connect with others, making her a highly effective mentor to younger Red Rocks. Her approach is supportive, empathetic, and rooted in a genuine desire to help others grow.”
O’Keefe proved to be a force in the Pac-12, earning Gymnast of the Year in 2021, two Specialist of the Year awards (2021, 2023), 10 All-Pac-12 Conference honors, and a five-time Pac-12 Champion (2021, all-around, bars, beam, and floor; 2024, beam).
“I believe I bring a unique and valuable perspective to the program, having been in the athletes’ shoes just a year ago,” said O’Keefe. “As a former peer, I can relate to their experiences and provide guidance in a way that fosters trust and positivity. My ability to connect with athletes allows me to serve as a liaison between them and the coaches, helping to bridge any gaps and support their growth. I love Utah Gymnastics with my whole heart and I’m excited for the opportunity to contribute to their success in a different manner.”
College Sports
Inside Gymnastics Magazine | Claire Pease Captures 2025 U.S. Classic Senior Women’s All-Around Championship
Next Stop, New Orleans By Nate Salsman and Christy Sandmaier Claire Pease won the All-Around title with a score of 54.600 at the 2025 U.S. Classic to set the stage for next month’s Xfinity U.S. Championships in New Orleans. Pease, who came into the competition a bit under the radar, competed through each event with […]

Next Stop, New Orleans
By Nate Salsman and Christy Sandmaier
Claire Pease won the All-Around title with a score of 54.600 at the 2025 U.S. Classic to set the stage for next month’s Xfinity U.S. Championships in New Orleans. Pease, who came into the competition a bit under the radar, competed through each event with ease! She recorded a 14.050 on vault and took home gold with a 13.575 average.
Simone Rose finished second in the All-Around with a 54.200. Rose led after three events and brought her unique skills into the spotlight tonight, including incredible artistry on floor! Rose is one to watch this quad, and her confidence will only up from here.
2024 Olympic alternate Joscelyn Roberson returned to Elite competition for the first time since the Olympic Trials, finishing with the All-Around bronze and earning a 53.250 total! After her freshman year at Arkansas, Roberson is grateful to be back and competing with her eyes perhaps on the World Championships later this year. Roberson brought the huge skills, including a double-double layout on floor! Expect her to build even more heading into the Xfinity U.S. Championships!
Fellow Paris alternate Leanne Wong also returned to the Elite scene after graduating from the University of Florida. She competed two hit routines on bars and beam tonight and is looking forward to competing in the All-Around at the Xfinity U.S. Championships next month.
Myli Lew took home the bar title with a 14.050 after performing a crisp and difficult routine. Ashlee Sullivan won gold on beam with a 13.550. Sullivan exudes confidence on the event and even though she had a rough go on floor and bars, we expect she’ll be back strong at Championships. Reese Esponda, who competed in Session 1 for the seniors, won the floor title with a 13.950 in just her first major competition of the season!
2025 Pan American Championships All-Around Champion Jayla Hang, an early favorite for the title here, competed on bars and beam only tonight.
2024 Olympic Champion Hezly Rivera finished second on floor with a fun and energetic routine we’re excited to see develop even more. She had falls on both bars and beam, but will be one to watch as she builds towards the Xfinity U.S. Championships!
Expect for all of these incredible athletes as well as Skye Blakely, whose petition to Championships has been accepted, along Tiana Sumanasekera, who sat out tonight to allow an injury a little more time to heal, to contend for multiple titles in New Orleans!
Stay tuned for more on InsideGym.com and new interviews across our social media @InsideGym!
College Sports
Claire Pease wins Saatva U.S. Classic gymnastics title
Many U.S. gymnasts have gone from junior all-around national champions to stars on the senior level. Claire Pease may have taken an early step to joining that list on Saturday. Pease, a 16-year-old Texan, won the Saatva U.S. Classic, the primary tune-up meet for the U.S. Championships in three weeks. Pease overtook Simone Rose on […]

Many U.S. gymnasts have gone from junior all-around national champions to stars on the senior level. Claire Pease may have taken an early step to joining that list on Saturday.
Pease, a 16-year-old Texan, won the Saatva U.S. Classic, the primary tune-up meet for the U.S. Championships in three weeks.
Pease overtook Simone Rose on the last rotation, totaling 54.6 points to prevail by four tenths over Rose. Joscelyn Roberson, a Paris Olympic alternate, was third in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Gymnasts use Classic as a building block for nationals (Aug. 7-10 in New Orleans).
U.S. CLASSIC: Results
After nationals, the four-woman team for the World Championships in October in Indonesia will be named after a two-day selection competition in early autumn. This year’s worlds include individual events only and no team competition.
Pease, the second senior rookie to win Classic in the last 17 years (Alyona Shchennikova, 2017), can join the list of U.S. junior all-around champions to make global championship teams on the senior level.
Over the years, that’s included Olympic all-around champions Carly Patterson and Nastia Liukin (whose parents coach Pease) and world all-around champions Shawn Johnson and Jordyn Wieber.
Plus Hezly Rivera, the 2023 U.S. junior all-around champ who made the 2024 Olympic team as the youngest American competing in Paris in any sport.
Rivera, the lone Olympian competing at Classic, tied for 12th on Saturday after falling on her first two routines — bars and beam. She trains at World Olympic Gymnastics Academy outside Dallas, just like Pease.
Paris Olympic alternate Leanne Wong competed on two events at Classic, tying for fifth on beam and tying for 11th on bars.
One gymnast not at Classic who is expected at nationals is Skye Blakely. She was second to Simone Biles at the 2024 U.S. Championships, then ruptured her right Achilles in practice two days before Olympic Trials began.
2025 Saatva U.S. Classic Gymnastics Results
1. Claire Pease — 54.6
2. Simone Rose — 54.2
3. Joscelyn Roberson — 53.25
4. Brooke Pierson — 52.6
5. Reese Esponda — 52.35
6. Ally Damelio — 52.05
7. Ashlee Sullivan — 52
7. Alicia Zhou — 52
7. Harlow Buddendeck — 52
10. Jordis Eichman — 51.9
Olympians took home the biggest awards at the 2025 ESPYs, including best female and male athletes.
College Sports
Franchise first
PROVO — Utah United never set out to win a league title in its first year in franchise history. But that’s exactly what they did Saturday night. McKenzie Evans-Tostado, Seven Castain, Lilliah Blum and Ruby Hladek all scored as Utah won a USL W League championship with a 4-0 win over defending champion North Carolina […]

PROVO — Utah United never set out to win a league title in its first year in franchise history.
But that’s exactly what they did Saturday night.
McKenzie Evans-Tostado, Seven Castain, Lilliah Blum and Ruby Hladek all scored as Utah won a USL W League championship with a 4-0 win over defending champion North Carolina Courage U23 at BYU’s South Field.
The loss was the first of the year for the Courage (13-1-3), which was playing in its third consecutive W League final.
But for Utah United (13-1), it was the chance to make history in going from an expansion team in the 93-team pre-professional W League scattered across the continental United States in four conferences and 15 divisions.
“There aren’t a lot of people who get to compete for national championships at any level,” said Castain, who set a Utah high school record with 71 goals en route to 2A MVP honors at Waterford. “To get this opportunity, and to do it at home with all of our family and friends surrounding us was amazing.”
For Utah United head coach Scott Halasz, the former Utah and Washington State assistant who is heavily involved in local club soccer, the initial aim for a group that had never played together before tryouts in January was more simple: provide a high-quality training environment for dozens of returning college soccer players who just wanted to be home for the summer (and a few local college players who stuck around the Beehive State).
Quality training, and several strong friendships were a championship-winning formula.
“The girls just love being around each other,” Halasz said. “It started from day one, and we just had to foster it and keep it going. But I was blessed to work with these young women.”
The group included several names that local college soccer fans know, like BYU’s Ellie Walbruch, who was named championship final MVP after contributing to Utah’s first two goals; Castain, the All-Big 12 striker at TCU who grew up in Draper; and Hladek, the former American Fork and BYU standout who will be a senior at Utah Valley in the fall.
It also combined a few names that only the most die-hard fans might know, like Utah State goalkeeper Taylor Rath, a graduate transfer from Las Vegas via Pepperdine; starting center back Kaitlyn Richins, the Layton native who was a star at Utah State and will transfer to Connecticut for her final NCAA season; and Evans-Tostado — the former Lone Peak and BYU-Hawaii standout who moved from striker to outside back with the team after the birth of her third child.
Through training sessions and road trips to Colorado, the only USL W team in Utah bonded quickly, Walbruch noted — both on and off the field.
“Growing off the field made us that much better on the field. We’ve known each other since I was little, and just being familiar with each other really helped us.
“Utah homegrowns; that’s all I have to say.”
It was the former Kenzie Evans who gave United a 1-0 lead at halftime, lacing a screamer into the top shelf after Walbruch’s initial attempt on frame was deflected to her feet just outside the penalty box in the 37th minute.
Castain doubled the advantage in the 53rd minute with a tap-in from Walbruch for her 21st goal of the season.
A few moments later, Blum — the Utah rising senior who had as second assist on Castain’s goal — then converted off a defensive error to stretch the host’s lead to 3-0 in the 55th minute.
By the 60th minute when Hladek finished a corner kick from Lucy Kesler, the rout was on for Utah United.
“I think we’ve got a lot of depth, and we were able to come in after they prepared for a team that they played in the first half — and we had a different team in the second half, with fresh legs and new energy,” Castain said. “We came out really strong, and they weren’t ready for it.
“We did a really good job of utilizing our depth to our advantage.”
With limited training opportunities due to travel schedules — Utah United’s playoff run moved from the Western Conference finals in Stockton, California, to Eagan, Minnesota in last week’s USL W semifinals — the club bonded even closer.
“I think the results speak for themselves,” Rath said. “Our chemistry from day one and our first game, we’ve carried ourselves so well throughout.
“Every person played their part, and that was really important for getting the result tonight.”

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
College Sports
Dr. Eugene F. Orbaker Obituary
Dr. Eugene F. Orbaker, age 95, of Brockport, New York, passed away peacefully on July 17, 2025. A devoted educator, coach, veteran, and mentor, he left behind a legacy of service, scholarship, and sport that profoundly shaped generations of students and athletes. Born on April 21, 1930, Dr. Orbaker dedicated much of his life to […]

Dr. Eugene F. Orbaker, age 95, of Brockport, New York, passed away peacefully on July 17, 2025. A devoted educator, coach, veteran, and mentor, he left behind a legacy of service, scholarship, and sport that profoundly shaped generations of students and athletes.
Born on April 21, 1930, Dr. Orbaker dedicated much of his life to education and athletics. He served with distinction as a member of the faculty at SUNY College at Brockport from 1958 until his retirement in 1995. As Associate Professor of Physical Education and Sport, he played a foundational role in the development of both the academic and athletic programs at the college. Upon retirement, he was honored with the title of Associate Professor Emeritus.
Dr. Orbaker was a standout athlete in his own right. As a student at Brockport, he was recognized as an All-New York State soccer player in 1950, 1951, and 1952, and an All-American in 1951 and 1952. He competed in the 1951 Olympic Trials and earned spots on the All-North and All-South teams. His leadership was evident early on, serving as treasurer of the Student Faculty Association and being elected to Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities.
A proud veteran, Dr. Orbaker served in the U.S. Army from 1953 to 1962, both in active duty and the reserves. During his military service, he played international soccer throughout Latin and South America as part of the Military Team.
Before and during his tenure at Brockport, Dr. Orbaker shared his love of sport and education as a teacher and coach. He taught health and physical education and coached soccer, wrestling, and track and field in the East Meadow Public Schools on Long Island. At Brockport, he coached varsity lacrosse, women’s varsity soccer, varsity tennis, and the freshman men’s soccer team. He also served as director of intramurals and the College Camp, and as co-adviser to the college’s ice hockey club.
Dr. Orbaker was predeceased by his beloved wife, Mary. He is survived by his sister Betty Eaton; sons, Daniel (Darlene) and Thomas (Brandy); grandchildren Colton (Kayla), Caleb (Margaret), Jacob, and Molly; and five great-grandchildren, who carry on his values of commitment, education, and community.
Family will receive friends on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, from 4-6 pm at Fowler Funeral Home Inc., 340 West Ave., Brockport where a funeral service will follow at 6 pm. Interment will be held privately in Lakeview Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, those wishing may contribute to your favorite charity in Eugene’s memory.
A life so richly lived leaves a lasting imprint. Dr. Orbaker will be remembered for his integrity, mentorship, and the enduring impact he made on the lives of his students, colleagues, friends, and family.
Posted online on July 20, 2025
Published in Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
College Sports
USC Trojans’ Lincoln Riley Buying Time With NIL?
USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley joined the program ahead of the 2022 college football season with high expectations. The program has yet to make the College Football Playoff under Riley, and are coming off a disappointing season. In 2024, the Trojans finished with a 7-6 record, going 4-5 in Big Ten conference play. Though the […]

USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley joined the program ahead of the 2022 college football season with high expectations. The program has yet to make the College Football Playoff under Riley, and are coming off a disappointing season.
In 2024, the Trojans finished with a 7-6 record, going 4-5 in Big Ten conference play. Though the team did earn and win a bowl game, it was Riley’s worst season with USC. Only winning four conference matchups and going on a three-game losing streak was not a good look for Riley, leading to the belief that he is on the hot seat.
College Sports
Can video game ratings affect NIL valuations for college players?
With college sports video games making a return, players may have a valid reason for being concerned about their ratings. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe plays the new EA Sports College Football 25 video game at the McDonald Hughes Center in Tuscaloosa. Milroe is one of the players featured on the game’s cover. | Gary Cosby […]

With college sports video games making a return, players may have a valid reason for being concerned about their ratings.
EA Sports’ new College Football 26 game has altered the way college players are compensated. Not only will players receive a check for being in the video game, but their schools will also see revenue depending on how often their university is featured in the game.
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