Hope College juniors Sara Schermerhorn and Liam Danitz have qualified to sprint at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships this week: 

SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, outside of Cleveland, is hosting the three-day meet that runs Thursday-Saturday, May 22-24.

Watch the meet live on ncaa.com.

Schermerhorn (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City West HS) will race in the 200-meter prelims on Thursday at 6:55 p.m. and in the 400-meter prelims on Friday at 3:15 p.m., aiming to qualify for Saturday’s finals in both events.

The exercise science major will make her third trip to outdoor nationals. In 2024, Schermerhorn finished fifth in the nation in the 400 and earned All-America First Team accolades, and 14th in the 200 and received All-America Second Team honors.

In March, Schermerhorn placed seventh in the nation in the 400 at the NCAA Indoor Championships and ninth in the 200.

Danitz (West Branch, Michigan / Ogemaw Heights) has qualified for outdoor nationals for the first time and will compete in the men’s 200 meters.

The exercise science major will race in Thursday’s prelims at 6:45 p.m.

At this year’s NCAA Division III Indoor Championships, Danitz placed seventh in the nation in the 200 meters and claimed All-America honors.

The Mira Costa boys volleyball team is the No. 1 seed in the Southern California Regional for the CIF SoCal Regional playoffs, with a chance at winning the first CIF State championship.

The Mustangs, who won the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 championship Saturday, will host No. 8 Beckman in the first round Tuesday at 6 p.m. Mira Costa defeated Beckman in three sets in CIF-SS pool play April 30. If the Mustangs won, they would face either No. 4 Carlsbad or No. 5 Newport Harbor in the regional semifinal Thursday.

The regional final, set for Saturday, could be a rematch of the CIF-SS final, assuming both Mira Costa and No. 2 Huntington Beach win their first two matches. The Mustangs, as the top seed, would host the final.

Redondo is the No. 7 seed and will open at Huntington Beach. The Oilers swept the Sea Hawks in pool play May 6.

In Division IV, CAMS, the CIF-SS Division 9 champion, is the eighth seed and will face top-seed Mater Dei Catholic of San Diego Tuesday.

Usually, the regional final would mark the end the season, but this year for the first time, the regional final winners from Northern and Southern California will meet in the first boys CIF State Final, May 31 at Fresno City College.

An abandoned building on Highway 49 in Hattiesburg is being repurposed into the Mississippi Hub Complex.

An abandoned hotel off Highway 49 is being transformed into a community resource center for individuals experiencing homelessness and for others who are in need of support.
Reona Burnett, founder of the Mississippi Hub Complex, said the building will serve as a day center and community hub. Plans include showers, case workers, a therapist, legal services, a laundry room, pantries and a day center for those seeking assistance.
Burnett’s husband, Eric Burnett, who manages donations for the complex, found the space and purchased it with the goal of turning it into a facility that meets the needs of underserved populations.
Reona Burnett said the complex will also include an event space available for rental, and a restaurant to help fund the facility’s operations. The couple refers to the dining component as “dine-in with a cause.”
“The restaurant and the event space, we believe in thinking outside of the box, and we don’t want to depend on anyone to fund us,” Reona said. “Our whole journey has been self-funded since we started back in 2020, and so we want to continue that and not be obligated or having to depend on grants.”
The project will span three years and is divided into six phases. The first phase includes opening offices to begin offering services as soon as possible, particularly ahead of rising summer temperatures and potential storms.
Plans for the initial phase also include operating showers, installing mailboxes so individuals can use the address for benefit applications, and adding lockers for safe storage of personal belongings.
The Burnetts are encouraging involvement from University of Southern Mississippi students and the Hattiesburg community. They are seeking volunteers, sponsors, and donations, including clothing, hygiene products, undergarments and cleaning supplies.
“There are all kinds of ways the community can get involved to get it up and running,” Reona said. “They can volunteer, of course, they can donate, and they can sponsor a room.”
The couple is also asking for help with painting the building and assisting construction crews during upcoming renovations.
“We’re going to do all the painting ourselves,” Eric said. “The contractors won’t do any painting, so we want the community to come in and grab a brush and roll paint. I think that’ll be fun.”
Additional volunteers are needed to support marketing efforts and act as ambassadors to spread awareness about the project.
“You know, the biggest thing right now is that the community know what we are trying to do, but there are a lot of community members that don’t know,” Reona said. “So, we want to bridge that gap with our marketing team and get them out, and our ambassadors get them out, and just letting people know what we’re doing and how this is going to impact and benefit those in need.”
More information on how to get involved is available on the group’s Facebook page, “MS Hub Complex.”