After competition at the East and West Preliminary Rounds of the 2025 NCAA DI Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the final watch list update of The Bowerman had no changes in selections from the Big 12. Baylor’s Alexis Brown and Nathaniel Ezekiel, BYU’s James Corrigan and TCU’s Indya Mayberry were all named to the recent edition of the watchlist after earning selections to the post-outdoor conference championships update.

All four competed in the West Regional, which was hosted by Texas A&M in College Station, Texas.

Brown posted the season’s No. 1 wind legal mark of 6.94 meters in the women’s long jump at the West Regionals last week, along with qualifying for the national championship as a member of the Bears’ 4×100-meter relay team.

Ezekiel, the nation’s leader in the 400-meter hurdles, helped the men’s 4×400-meter relay team clinch a spot in the finals in Eugene, Oregon, next week with a season-best time of 3:05.33. Additionally, he will also compete in the 400-meter hurdles at the national championship.

Corrigan clinched a spot in the national championship in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase after recording a time of 8:31.79 at the West Regional.

Mayberry rounded out the league’s The Bowerman selections as she qualified for the national championship in the women’s 100-meter, 200-meter and the 4×100-meter relay team.

BYU’s Lexy Halladay-Lowry and Meghan Hunter, along with Texas Tech’s Temitope Adeshina received votes on the women’s ballot.

Semifinalists will be announced later in June.

 

by Mark McDermott 

Match point in the third set and final game of an epic season for the Mira Costa Mustangs Boys Volleyball team was momentarily lost to confusion. Archbishop Mitty, who were 40-2 and ranked 8th nationally going into this CIF Division I state championship match, rallied furiously, digging out several attempted kills from the Mustangs almost preposterously large and athletic front row. 

In a split second, star senior Costa setter Andrew Chapin went down in a heap under the net right as Mitty appeared to win the point on a spike that made its way through the Mustang wall. But a Mitty player had crossed the midcourt line, and the point, match, and historic, inaugural statewide championship went to Mira Costa. 

That culminating point was just about the only uncertainty in the Mustang’s dominating 25-14, 25-16, 25-21 victory. It capped off a 37-2 season that was crowned with regional, CIF-Southern Section, and state championships, and most likely a national championship (Costa was ranked first in the nation going into Saturday’s championship). The team won its final 10 matches, nine in straight sets, dropping only two sets —  those coming in a fiercely contested but satisfying five set CIF-SS championship victory over Huntington Beach. 

Coach Greg Snyder said winning the first-ever State Championship seemed fitting for this special team. 

“We just had a great collection of talent, and it came together,” Snyder said. “The fact that this was the First State Championship, with a team so physically gifted and talented — it just seemed like it was ours to lose.” 

Chapin was not seriously injured on that final play. He picked himself up gingerly from the ground and limped slightly until he picked up speed and went running to the rest of his team, who had gathered, jumping in jubilation as what they’d just accomplished sank in. 

“It was just the best feeling ever,” Chapin said. 

The stats in the final match tell part of the story of this Mustang team. Senior Alex Heins, the 6-foot-6 inch middle hitter, had 10 kills on 12 attempts and three blocks. Senior Thatcher Fahlbusch, a 6-foot-6 outside hitter, had nine kills on 15 attempts. Senior Grayson Bradford, a 6-foot-11 outside hitter, had eight kills on 13 attempts along with 6 blocks. Sophomore Mateo Fuerbringer, a 6-foot-4 outside hitter, had 8 kills on 15 attempts. Junior Wyatt Davis, a 6-foot-5 middle hitter, had three kills on three attempts. Junior Justin Warner, a 5-foot-11 libero, registered 10 digs. And Chapin, a 6-foot-2 senior, orchestrated the whole astonishing combination, recording  41 assists. 

Costa had so many weapons that no one player had to dominate, but instead, they collectively dominated. They have six players who have committed to Division I universities. Any of those players would be the best player on almost any other team in the nation. So deep were the Mustangs that they were without Cooper Keane, a 6-foot-6-inch senior who is the top-ranked outside hitter in the country, and barely missed him. Keane, who recorded 18 kills in the sectional championship against Huntington, was sidelined with injuries. 

“We were blessed with a bunch of depth, so when someone was out, or not playing well, someone else was right there ready to step in and pick up the slack,” Snyder said. “Cooper had a few minor injuries this year and ended the season injured as well, but Thatcher Fahlbusch made it hard to take him off the court …. We had that issue in a few spots but things worked themselves out. It seemed like we needed the depth this year to be as successful as we were.” 

Chapin, who along with Keane will play for USC next year, was a key catalyst. A setter is often equated with a quarterback in football or point guard in basketball in that the very best are able to raise their teammates’ games. To opponents, Costa had to be a fearsome spectacle to behold, with its collection of giants leaping and feinting, and Chapin calmly in the middle of it all, always making the right pass at precisely the right time, feeding the beasts. 

“That’s my job,” Chapin said. 

“He just has a really good feel for the game,” Snyder said. “He reads the other team’s defense, and in every spot we have someone capable of putting a ball away, and he just is really good at making the right decision of who to give that opportunity to, and when. He gets all our great hitters one-on-one matchups, and if you give any of our hitters a one-on-one matchup, it’s pretty much a done deal. Without Andrew, we would not be as efficient or as dominant as we were this season.” 

Like most historically great teams, Costa was hellbent on avenging past losses. Alongside Snyder on the bench was former head coach Mike Cook, who was Snyder’s coach in an undefeated season in ‘93 only to fall to Huntington. The coach acknowledged that settling that score “was a little sweeter.” 

But more recent losses weighed heavier. Last year’s playoff run ended with a defeat to archrival Loyola High, and that, coupled with the incentive of CIF this year christening the first true State Championship, gave this Mustang squad a different gear. 

“I think just to get to that stage last year, getting so close and not coming through with it, motivated this team,” Snyder said. 

They also added significant reinforcements. Bradford, a teammate of Chapin’s in club ball whose family lives locally, transferred from Crespi High. Fahlbusch, also a local, somewhat controversially transferred from Loyola. 

They lost once earlier this year to Loyola, and on April 5 to Marist, a powerhouse team from Chicago they’d previously defeated. The result was a stacked team entered the state tourney with a determined clarity of purpose, its eyes squarely on the highest prize ever within its reach. 

“Mira Costa’s history and just the tradition of this program and the talent we have this year, it just seemed it was meant to be ours, but that doesn’t mean it always goes that way,” Snyder said. “There’s always things that can get in the way, and Huntington was a big roadblock, especially in that Southern Section title match. That was a battle. But I was telling these guys since the beginning that no title season is ever easy. And I’m not sure if they quite believed me, but when we lost to Loyola and lost to Marist, I think they realized there’s more to it than just being talented. You have to want it more. You have to work harder than the other team. And no matter how how much better your talent is, that’s not all that you need to win a championship.” 

It also takes grit and unselfishness. The history of sports is littered with teams whose talent was undone by an overabundance of ego. And the Mustangs had, if anything, arguably too much talent. At any given moment throughout the season, a truly elite player could be found on the Costa bench, simply because there wasn’t room on the court for everyone in every match. 

Chapin said there was always a next man up mentality. 

“It’s just nice to see that, even with guys who would play on any other high school team, just to see when they got their shot they were still locked in, and they wanted to do it, not for just themselves, but also for our team,” he said. “I think that’s also what made our team so strong. We’re all good friends, and we’re all close with one another. It just made it so much easier for us to play together, because there was no selfishness. The end goal was not to be the best player on the team. Nobody wanted to play this year to be CIF Player of the Year, or Bay League MVP. Everybody wanted to win. And it was that selflessness that helped us get it done.” 

Snyder said the team’s shiny record belied the internal struggles the team had to overcome. 

“At some point, every single person that maybe did have an issue seemed to come back around and realize that it was for the betterment of the team,” he said. “I think they figured those things out as the season went on. Sometimes there was an issue briefly, but it would get ironed out. They would have an opportunity and see their chances. So yes, it wasn’t as smooth as the record suggests, in terms of keeping everyone happy. But if there was a little unhappiness or unease about their playing time, it seemed like at the right time, people put the team first.” 

Fahlbusch, who will play for Hawaii next year, told SportsStars magazine that the team’s motto all year was “strength in numbers.” Even the guys who weren’t in the playing rotation, he said, were part of this strength. 

“There are so many guys on the bench who are really gnarly players,” he said. “It’s important as a team to have that, because iron sharpens iron. We were just grinding it out every day. We all make each other so much better. We all left our egos behind this year. We are just together for this greater goal.” 

Bradford, who will play for UCLA next year, was an exhibit in unselfishness all year long. He was capable of dominating at any given point — such as the 25 kills he scored against Huntington — but he picked his spots. Snyder wasn’t sure what to expect when this gentle but forceful giant joined the team. He wasn’t even sure the team needed him. 

“He proved his worth right from the beginning,” Snyder said. “I was expecting a 6-foot-11 dominating volleyball player. But what really caught my eye was how much of a leader he was and how athletic he is. In preseason, he’s winning all of our sprints and races. That was something I did not expect. Usually when you have someone who is 6-foot-11, they aren’t fluid with their body and jumping as high as someone like Grayson does. He puts everything into it. He does everything right in terms of preparing himself and his body. He has zero ego. It’s not all about him. He wants the team to do well first.” 

Then there was the young guy. Mateo Fuerbringer comes from local volleyball royalty, so his skills are not unexpected. But the fact he’s started since arriving last year as a freshman and this year was a key cog for the best team in the nation is indicative of a superstar in the making. 

“He just does everything so well,” Snyder said. “Every aspect of the game. A lot of stuff that he does just goes unchecked by people who don’t understand the sport. But he fills all the boxes. He’s good at absolutely everything. He has a volleyball mind and a high IQ for the sport, and just seems to know where to be and how to read people, and knows what’s needed when. The fact that he was our OH1 [outside hitter in position 1, closest to the setter] on such a deep, deep squad as a sophomore is pretty astounding.”

Heins, as he did for much of this playoff run, set the tone from the beginning against Archbishop Mitty, dominating early in the first set. 

“He’s been great all year, but whatever it is, this playoff run he’s had has been amazing,” Snyder said. “He’s uber-efficient. He just takes what is given, and always has an answer for whatever teams throw at him. So setting him up early frees up everyone else, so it’s a smart move getting him going early. It makes our whole night easier. And that is pretty much what happened.” 

But what goes on outside the lines of any sport for any team also infuses what occurs between the lines. Snyder said this team endured “a lot of pain” off the court, several players suffering losses in their personal lives. Two of the players were with Braun Levi, the Loyola student and tennis star who lived in Hermosa Beach, on the night he died after being hit by an alleged drunk driver while crossing Sepulveda Boulevard in Manhattan Beach. Chapin acknowledged that what happened that night had a huge impact on the team, and that they hoped to live up to the motto that arose in the days after the tragedy — “Live Like Braun” — in part by giving their all to each moment. 

“I would like to say we did that to the best of our ability,” Chapin said. “I mean, that kid — anyone who knew him, and I bet everyone has seen the Instagram stuff — but he was one-of-one. Obviously, everybody misses him, but ever since he passed away, our team was just so much closer together. We knew he would want this for us. Obviously, he was a Loyola guy, but because Loyola lost, he would want us to win, because we were always good friends.” 

Levi died on May 4. After Costa’s May 7 win in the early rounds of the CIF playoffs, the entire team put on Loyola High jerseys in his honor. “I never thought I’d be wearing a Loyola shirt,” Chapin said. But suddenly everyone understood that the color of your jersey was just a small part of a game in the larger scheme of things.  

“I think because of his passing we all realized there was something greater than just ourselves and volleyball, and that kind of took the pressure off us, too,” Chapin said. “Because obviously everybody wants to win, but there’s bigger problems in life than winning games. I think all of that together made us relax more about what was going on in the playoffs.” 

That difference could be felt at the season’s biggest moment, when Huntington clawed back to force a fifth set and threatened to topple Costa’s championship dreams. 

“We missed 21 serves and didn’t play well, but part of the reason we were able to win it in the fifth set is because we just had that next ball mentality,” Chapin said. “Like, there’s nothing we can do about it now. We just have to focus on playing one game to 15.” 

Which is where sports can transcend just being about sports and touch on the larger questions of how to live —  to play for each other, to live in the moment, and to understand the preciousness of that moment. This historic Costa team will now scatter to different colleges and states and time will whirl on, but they will always have this moment. 

Something special happened, Chapin said, with this Costa team. 

“I’m playing volleyball at the highest level in high school, and I’m doing it with kids that I’ve grown up with and known since I was four years old,” he said. “Just being able to share all those memories together and playing the way we did — I mean, I’ve been playing with Thatcher [Fahlbusch] since I was 11, and that was the last game that I’ll ever get to play with him. I was just super happy that we were able to end on a high note. That was our last shared moment on the court.” ER 

IRVINE, Calif. – The USA Men’s Junior National Team roster has been announced for the upcoming World Aquatics Men’s Junior World Championships (U20) starting later this month in Zagreb, Croatia. Head Coach Jack Kocur will lead 15 of the top up and coming athletes from around the country into action starting on June 14. Among those selected to the team was Navy’s Kiefer Black.
 
“Having the opportunity to represent my country and my family on a global scale is a huge honor,” Black commented. “I am humbled to be able to represent our amazing country in both a military uniform and in the pool wearing the red, white, and blue on a global stage. I am very appreciative for the Naval Academy and their ongoing support in this process to allow me the opportunity to play for the USA and represent the Academy in Croatia.”
 
Team USA was drawn into Group A and will meet Croatia, Hungary, and Montenegro in group play. A champion will be crowned on June 21. Live streaming and statistics information will be available soon.
 
Black, who was named to the Cutino Award Watch List earlier in the season, finished the year by earning Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Honorable Mention All-American and First Team All-Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC), while also being selected to the First Team MAWPC All-Tournament team.
 
Black led the team with 171 points on a team-best 94 goals and 77 assists seeing action in all 32 games as a sophomore. He registered his second consecutive 100-point season, joining Luis Nicolao (118 point in 1990; 114 in 1991) and Doug Munz (113 points in 1993; 184 points in 1994) as the only players in program history with multiple 100-point seasons. In 2023, Black, who was the MAWPC Rookie of the Year, finished with 125 points. This season, his 77 helpers set the Navy single-season record for assists, topping the previous record of 57 originally set by Andrew Sause in 2000 and tied by Black in 2023.
 
For his career, Black is currently eighth in program history with 296 total points on 162 goals and 134 assists. The San Diego native enters his junior season two points back of Tom Temple (’88), who finished his career with 298 points, for seventh; five points back of Joe Donahue (’04) for sixth with 301 points; and 18 points behind Michael Mulvey (’09) for fifth with 314 points. Additionally, he is the sixth player in program history with 100 or more helpers in second place with 134. He is five assists back of Tom Popp (’89) who holds the school record with 139.
 
 
Men’s Junior National Team (Hometown / School)
1. Charles Mills (Tiburon, Calif. / USC)
2. Baxter Chelsom (Los Angeles, Calif. / UC Davis)
3. Peter Castillo (Costa Mesa, Calif. / UCLA)
4. William Schneider (San Clemente, Calif. / Stanford)
5. Jonathan Carcarey (Santa Maria, Calif. / Pepperdine)
6. Gavin Appeldorn (Newport Beach, Calif. / Princeton)
7. Ryder Dodd (Long Beach, Calif. / UCLA)
8. Ryan Ohl (Greenwich, Conn. / Stanford)
9. Landon Akerstrom (Costa Mesa, Calif. / UC San Diego)
10. Connor Ohl (Newport Beach, Calif. / Newport Harbor HS)
11. Benjamin Liechty (Newport Beach, Calif. / UCLA)
12. Bode Brinkema (San Juan Capistrano, Calif. / UCLA)
13. Kiefer Black (San Diego, Calif. / Navy)
14. Max Zelikov (Boca Raton, Fla. / Stanford)
15. Corbin Stanley (Yorba Linda, Calif. / Long Beach State)
 
Staff
Jack Kocur – Head Coach       
Felix Mercado – Assistant Coach     
Alex Rodriguez – Assistant Coach
Derek Clappis – Assistant Coach
 
 
2025 World Aquatics Men’s Junior World Championships Schedule (subject to change)
June 14 – USA at Croatia – 1:00 p.m. ET
June 15 – USA vs Hungary – 11:30 a.m. ET
June 16 – USA vs Montenegro – 11:30 a.m. ET
June 17 – TBD
June 18 – TBD
June 19 – TBD
June 20 – TBD
June 21 – TBD
 

He joins Kory Henkes who received the award on the women’s side in 2021.

Malloy guided arguably the best and most decorated Ole Miss team in program history during his 11th season. The team earned its first No. 1 ranking in program history on October 23, 2024. The team also received its first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in program history.

The Rebels finished third at the 2025 NCAA Championships at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa, in Carlsbad, California. The 3rd place finish marked the best by an Ole Miss team in program history. Ole Miss took down the top seeded Arizona State Sun Devils in the quarterfinals of match play before falling to No. 4 Oklahoma State in the semifinals.

Ole Miss finished second at the 2025 Tallahassee Regional, marking the best finish in a regional in program history. Michael La Sasso finished tied for second which marked the second-best finish in a regional by an individual.

Ole Miss claimed three team titles in 2024-25, the most wins since 2016-17. La Sasso and Tom Fischer both tallied their first individual collegiate wins, and six players finished inside the top five at least once.

The team set a program record for the most team rounds under par in a single season at 26 and the most team rounds of par or better. Ole Miss finished inside the top five nine times, the most since 1984-85.

Under Malloy’s guidance, La Sasso was named a PING & Golfweek First Team All-American, First Team All-SEC, a Haskins Award Finalist, a Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year finalist and a Ben Hogan Award semifinalist. The Raleigh, North Carolina native tallied a 69.48 scoring average which is the lowest in a single season in program history. La Sasso recorded the third most rounds under-par in single season with 25. His 30 rounds of par or better and 20 rounds in the 60s are the second most in a single season by an Ole Miss Rebel. He was selected to represent Team USA in the 2025 Arnold Palmer Cup, marking the second straight year he will compete for the United States. With his win at the National Championship, La Sasso will compete in the 125th U.S. Open, the 2025 Rocket Classic and the 2026 Masters next April.

Malloy directed Tom Fischer to Second Team All-SEC honors, Golfweek All-American Honorable Mention and SEC Community Service Team recognition. Fischer broke through for his first individual win in the team’s regular season finale at the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship. He carded a career-low 54-hole score of (203, -13) which tied the individual low-54 in tournament history.

Fischer, La Sasso, Kye Meeks and Cameron Tankersley all earned PING All-Region Southeast Team honors. Tankersley and La Sasso will compete in the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont. Five players set a career-low 54-hole score in 2024-25 with three players setting a career-low 18-hole score. Four players tallied at least 22 rounds of par or better during the season with five players tallying under par scores in 15 or more rounds.

For updates throughout the season, follow the Rebels on X at @OleMissMGolf. Additional updates and information on the team can be found on Instagram at OleMissMGolf, on Facebook at Ole Miss Men’s Golf and on OleMissSports.com.

CHELMSFORD, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts high school student who was arrested by immigration agents on his way to volleyball practice has been released from custody after a judge granted him bond Thursday.

Marcelo Gomes da Silva, 18, who came to the U.S. from Brazil at age 7, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Saturday. Authorities have said the agents were looking for the Milford High School teenager’s father, who owns the car Gomes da Silva was driving at the time and had parked in a friend’s driveway.

“It shouldn’t have happened in the first place. This is all a waste,” his lawyer, Robin Nice, told reporters after a hearing in Chelmsford. Gomes da Silva, who was expected to be released Thursday afternoon on $2,000 bond, appeared via video from elsewhere in Massachusetts.

READ MORE: Immigration authorities detain family of man charged in Boulder attack

“We disrupted a kid’s life. We just disrupted a community’s life,” Nice said. “These kids should be celebrating graduation and prom, I assume? They should be doing kid stuff, and it is a travesty and a waste of our judicial process to have to go through this.”

She said Gomes da Silva slept on the cement floor of a room holding 25 to 35 men, many twice his age, most of the time he was detained, with no windows, no time outside and no permission to shower. He was able to brush his teeth twice. Nice said that at one point Gomes da Silva asked for a Bible and was denied.

He went to the hospital Wednesday because he had concerns about a concussion he received before he was detained and was suffering from a bad cold, Nice said.

READ MORE: Top immigration official defends tactics as arrests rise nationwide

“He’s looking forward to eating Snickers and chicken nuggets when he is released,” she said.

Not ICE’s target, but detained anyway

U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said earlier this week that ICE officers were targeting a “known public safety threat” and that Gomes da Silva’s father “has a habit of reckless driving at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour through residential areas.”

“While ICE officers never intended to apprehend Gomes da Silva, he was found to be in the United States illegally and subject to removal proceedings, so officers made the arrest,” she said in a statement.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said Monday that “like any local law enforcement officer, if you encounter someone that has a warrant or … he’s here illegally, we will take action on it.”

Gomes da Silva initially entered the country on a visitor visa and was later issued a student visa that has since lapsed, Nice said. She described him as deeply rooted in his community and a dedicated member of both the school marching band and a band at his church.

The immigration judge set a placeholder hearing date for a couple of weeks from Thursday, but it might take place months from that, Nice said.

“We’re optimistic that he’ll have a future in the United States,” she said.

A federal judge considering Gomes da Silva’s request to be released while his immigration case proceeds has given the government until June 16 to respond and ordered that Gomes da Silva not be moved out of Massachusetts without 48 hours’ notice given to the court. The government sought permission Wednesday to move Gomes da Silva to a detention facility in a different New England state, Nice said. A judge quickly denied the request.

A shaken community

“I love my son. We need Marcelo back home. It’s no family without him,” João Paulo Gomes Pereira said in a video released Wednesday. “We love America. Please, bring my son back.”

The video showed the family in the teen’s bedroom. Gomes da Silva’s sister describes watching movies with her brother and enjoying food he cooks for her: “I miss everything about him.”

Students at Milford High staged a walkout Monday to protest his detainment. Other supporters wore white and packed the stands of the high school gymnasium Tuesday night, when the volleyball team dedicated a match to their missing teammate.

Hanna Ghannan, who graduated from the school the day after Gomes de Silva was detained, was among those cheering outside the courthouse as the news came that her classmate would be let out on bond.

“I’m just happy that everyone’s coming to together as a community because there is a lot of hate — and I mean a lot of hate,” she said.

Amani Jack, also a recent Milford High graduate, said her classmate’s absence loomed large over the graduation ceremony, where he was supposed to play in the band. She said if she had a chance to speak with the president, she’d ask him to ‘just put yourself in our shoes.’

“He did say he was going to deport criminals,” she said. “Marcelo is not a criminal. He’s a student. I really want him to take a step in our shoes, witnessing this. Try and understand how we feel. We’re just trying to graduate high school.”

Veronica Hernandez, a family advocate from Medford who said she works in a largely Hispanic community where ICE has had an active presence, said cases like Gomes da Silva’s show immigration enforcement is serious about taking “anybody” without legal status, not just those accused of crimes.

“I think seeing that something so simple as a child driving themselves and their friends to volleyball practice at risk struck a chord,” she said.

Associated Press reporter Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this story.