NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Spring isn’t the show in college volleyball. Spring is rehearsal season for fall’s curtain raising, complete with dress rehearsals in as many as four exhibition matches. Spring isn’t supposed to be the destination. But darned if Nashville’s Brentwood High School didn’t feel like the place to be to Kati Berezowitz on the evening […]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Spring isn’t the show in college volleyball. Spring is rehearsal season for fall’s curtain raising, complete with dress rehearsals in as many as four exhibition matches. Spring isn’t supposed to be the destination. But darned if Nashville’s Brentwood High School didn’t feel like the place to be to Kati Berezowitz on the evening of March 21.
Berezowitz was supposed to be in high school gyms this spring. But not this high school gym, as Vanderbilt took the court in any sort of varsity match for the first time since 1980. A midyear enrollee from Wisconsin who completed high school in December, she spent the fall playing against rivals with names like Wetosha Central. In Brentwood’s full-to-capacity gym, the rival on the other side of the net was the University of Tennessee.
“It was honestly nothing like what I was expecting,” Berezowitz marveled some weeks later. “I was expecting maybe a half full gym—I don’t even know what I was expecting. All I know is it wasn’t that. There were so many people. The energy was amazing. The support we’ve seen around being the first team to bring volleyball back is crazy.”
Berezowitz is the youngest of three Division I volleyball-playing sisters, along with former Kentucky national champion Maddie and current Wildcat Molly. She’s also the smallest of the sisters—and most anyone else on a Division I court. Being tall isn’t a requirement for a libero/defensive specialist. Still, at 5-foot-3, she’s used to the looks that greet her when she and teammates enter a room or she wears her Vandy Volleyball gear around town. The looks that suggests someone is wondering if she’s a player or manager.
It’s tempting to define Berezowitz in comparison to others, by the sisters she has or the height she doesn’t. She’s more interested in establishing who she is and discovering what she can be. It’s why she gladly traded her senior prom for a freshman college writing seminar. And it’s why she welcomed the nervous energy, even the stage fright, bubbling up in the moments before the exhibition against the Lady Vols. She isn’t yet a starter, let alone a star. But at Vanderbilt, she isn’t following in anyone’s footsteps. With her teammates, she gets to define a program and set the standard against which others will be compared.
For Berezowitz and more than a dozen women like her, Vanderbilt was the place to be this spring. And there was no chance she was going to miss it.
“I was happy that I was still able to be the player I know how to be—I didn’t change who I am. I think the best things I bring to the court are my communication and my ability to lead. Not losing that when I got to college was a big thing for me.”
Kati Berezowitz
Shaped by a Volleyball Family
Somewhere in her family’s Burlington, Wisconsin home, there are photos of Berezowitz, not much more than 10 years old and probably stretching to reach 4 feet, standing next to Anders Nelson, still very much 6-foot-9. There is some history here.
Long before he was Vanderbilt’s head coach, Nelson encountered a family’s passion for volleyball. Some years ago, when he was still a Kentucky assistant coach, Berezowitz’s grandparents approached him in an airport. He does stand out in such settings. After reminiscing about their shared Wisconsin roots, they confided that their granddaughter Maddie wanted to play for the Wildcats. It was hardly the first time someone lobbied him on behalf of a family member. Most efforts came to nothing. But Maddie Berezowitz proved persistent, a decorated high school player who always seemed at the hub of teams that maximized their potential—winning two state titles and reaching three finals.
Maddie became an integral part of the culture at Kentucky, even without playing extensively for much of her time in Lexington. She won the NCAA Elite 90 Award for volleyball, recognizing academic achievement among student-athletes competing at the top level. She co-hosted a popular podcast with then-teammate and current Vanderbilt assistant coach Azhani Tealer. And sure enough, she was part of another championship.
“The whole family understands what it means to be on a team,” Nelson said. “Probably better than any family I’ve been able to interact with. They understand that hard work is how they get what they want—they have a really clear understanding that is how you get rewards. That’s a very cool thing and just speaks to parents who have done a terrific job.”
Maddie, Molly and Kati argued as regularly as expected of siblings—about who was the best volleyball player or athlete or a hundred other things. Also like many siblings (and including Kati’s older brother Joey, now a college basketball player), they wanted each other to succeed against everyone else. If Kati is these days determined to forge her own path, it’s because she so badly wanted to be like her sisters when she was younger. Trying to keep up with them—and get a word in edgewise—explains why, by her own admission, she’s now the loudest of the bunch. But they also taught her to be strong and selfless.
The age difference meant that was particularly true in the case of Maddie, whose entire collegiate journey played out while Kati was still in middle and high school.
“She was a good example of what it means to be a team player, and that definitely shaped my understanding of the game and college volleyball,” Berezowitz said. “Not everybody is going to be the star. Not everybody can be the star. But everybody has a role. For me, coming into Vanderbilt a semester early, it was going to be hard. But I think having her example in the back of my mind was calming.”
But there was also particular appeal to a part of the Vanderbilt opportunity that Nelson stressed with everyone he and his staff recruited—something that no other school could. Rather than being next in line elsewhere, they could be first at Vanderbilt.
Kati was a freshman in high school when Vanderbilt reinstated volleyball as its 17th varsity sport and a sophomore when Nelson was introduced as head coach. Early in the recruiting process, she recalled him saying that as much as he enjoyed coaching Maddie, this wasn’t about continuing a story. This had to be her journey.
“That was really reassuring because I know he’s not going to make me be my sister,” Berezowitz said. “He’s not going to compare me to Maddie because we’re two different people. He sees that, which is something that I really respect about him.”
Getting an Early Start
She liked everything about Vanderbilt. She connected with the coaching staff Nelson assembled, first Lauren Plum and Russell Corbelli and then, of course, a very familiar face in Tealer. Looking for a place where she could envision spending four years, volleyball aside, she loved Nashville. She just had one question for Nelson: Could she enroll early?
Midyear enrollment is an increasingly common phenomenon for student-athletes in fall sports who are looking to ease their transition to college. From early in her own high school days, Kati worked with her parents, both educators, as well as Burlington school counselors to work ahead and keep her options open.
When Nelson confirmed it was possible, she scrapped her remaining visits and committed.
In addition to Berezowitz, Kayla Dunlap, Taylor Porter and Maya Witherspoon enrolled at midyear, giving all four valuable time to adjust to college academically and socially and giving the volleyball program the necessary quorum to accelerate growth on the court.
“Our administration was really open and helpful with me wanting to get as much of our team here as possible,” said Nelson, also praising the bridge programming for midyear students put on by the Ingram Center for Student-Athlete Success. “They understood why it was so important for this group, particularly, just knowing that we were going to rely on a lot of young players in a lot of different ways.”
A Spring Unlike Any Other
Berezowitz also played softball into her high school years, but there was never much doubt as to which sport was pastime and which was passion. Both involved teamwork and camaraderie. Both provided the competitive adrenaline of winning and losing. But where softball forced her to wait innings before getting another chance after a bad at-bat or an error in the field, redemption awaited on the next point in volleyball. If you were humble enough to embrace your stumbles, you could see yourself growing from them in real time.
The deserved fuss and fanfare around the opening exhibition notwithstanding, that’s what spring volleyball is all about. It isn’t glamorous. It’s also where Berezowitz was at her most influential for a program doing everything for the first time. For all the information she had gleaned from watching her sisters, and for all the planning she put into enrolling early, college wasn’t a breeze. Still, she set the tone for a group of midyear enrollees who were anything but timid or hesitant to speak up—and not just when things were going well.
The team has weekly “intention” meetings intended to help individuals sharpen their focus on what they want to get out of the days ahead and just generally where they’re at. In one, Nelson opened the floor to discussion, and instead of the usual awkward silence familiar in such settings the world over, Berezowitz jumped in with unflinching self-criticism.
“She was very open and honest about some of her struggles and wanting to learn and grow faster than she was,” Nelson said. “She’ll look back on that and think ‘Well, yeah, everyone goes through that.’ But when you are going through it, you don’t see it like that. She was really transparent and vulnerable with her teammates about those struggles. It’s pretty mature to acknowledge those feelings, but then sharing them is another level.”
Vanderbilt’s first spring was constantly useful and occasionally revelatory. It highlighted how much of a gem the program has in Dunlap, a Nashville native and perhaps the most improved player over the course of her first semester on campus. It showcased Reese Animashaun, an integral part of the program’s original signing class, as a standout who could pass against elite serving opposition and whose skills grew across the board.
Early enrollee and Nashville native Kayla Dunlap earned rave reviews in her first spring (Vanderbilt Athletics).
But as much as the highlight-reel moments and star turns, Vanderbilt had to find out if the culture seeded over a short period of time had taken root. The Commodores had to show they could learn from the sometimes humbling tests that come with competing for playing time and facing another team across the net, even in matches that don’t count.
They needed to embrace all those things that Berezowitz has always loved about the sport and the rewards it affords those humble enough to learn.
Berezowitz and her teammates sign autographs following Vanderbilt’s spring match against Purdue in Fishers, Ind. (Vanderbilt Athletics).
By the end of the semester, she started to see the gains for her perseverance, her passing skills and strong platform coming to the fore. Now it’s up to her to continue working on her own before the team reconvenes for a summer trip to Asia.
“I was happy that I was still able to be the player I know how to be—I didn’t change who I am,” Berezowitz said. “I think the best things I bring to the court are my communication and my ability to lead. Not losing that when I got to college was a big thing for me. If anything, I grew because I played with different players, different situations, different roles.”
The Place to Be First
Berezowitz’s past few months were a whirlwind. There was the first day on her own after her parents departed and her first volleyball practice. There was her first college class—English composition. There was the first midterm that didn’t go quite as well as she hoped—and the first final that did. There was also, of course, the first match against Tennessee.
Amid it all, there was also the first night when it all felt like it made sense.
Initially, she tried hard to fit in and be what a college student-athlete was supposed to be. Whatever that was. Mostly, it was exhausting. Then a teammate texted her one evening that a bunch of them were hanging out in one of their rooms. She should come by. They had practice the next morning, but as the hours crept past, no one moved to call it a night.
She could have been at home in Wisconsin, with someone else to do the laundry and an easy senior spring to coast through in school. But it wouldn’t have felt like this.
“I think that that’s when I really started to feel like I belonged,” Berezowitz said. “I started to connect with the girls on a deeper level. Honestly, that was my favorite memory, which is weird because we weren’t even doing anything fun or crazy. We were sitting in a dorm talking, But I think that’s where I became friends with all of them.”
The first official match looms in August. And there will be more firsts for Vanderbilt volleyball in the years to come—the first SEC victory, the first postseason match, maybe even the first national championship somewhere down the road. They will be earned by women who dare to lead the program forward, following in the footsteps of a group who came through the first spring and walked onto that Brentwood court.
“One of the coolest parts of the experience was the little girls wearing Vandy volleyball shirts—I had a lot of girls come up to me after the game asking for pictures,” Berezowitz said. “I never expected it to be like this. It was super, super cool. I’m looking forward to kids in Nashville being able to look up to us and try to play for Vandy volleyball one day. I think it’s really cool that we can pave the way for Nashville volleyball.”
Photos by Alondra Munoz Sandoval, Joe Howell and Pilar Ballough.
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EUGENE, Ore. – The TCU men wrapped up their 2025 season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Wednesday at Hayward Field. TCU senior Kashie Crockett led the way, securing Second Team All-American honors in the 200m to end his collegiate career. The Horned Frogs competed in six events on […]
EUGENE, Ore. – The TCU men wrapped up their 2025 season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Wednesday at Hayward Field. TCU senior Kashie Crockett led the way, securing Second Team All-American honors in the 200m to end his collegiate career.
The Horned Frogs competed in six events on day one of the championship meet; however, none advanced to the finals of their respective events.
TCU’s 4x100m relay turned in a season best 39.35 to start off the meet. Freshman Justin Frater stepped in as an alternate and didn’t disappoint running the opening leg before passing off the baton to Crocket. Jordan Parker and Sanjay Slamon ran the final two legs to help the Frogs finish 18th overall and earn Honorable Mention All-American honors.
In the javelin throw, freshman Preston Kuznof closed out his rookie campaign. The Big 12 Champion threw 64.62m (214-10) to place 20th and earn Honorable Mention All-America status.
Running in the 800m, Lloyd Frilot went down on the final turn as he attempted to make a move to the outside. Although he was tripped up, the senior got back on his feet and crossed the finish line as an Honorable Mention All-American in Hayward Field.
Sophomore Jayden Douglas made his debut at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He competed in the 400m hurdles, turning in a time of 54.16 for his first career All-American nod (Honorable Mention honors).
Back at the championship meet for the second straight season in the 200m, Crockett ran a 20.48 (+0.4 m/s), finishing fifth in his heat. His time was good for 12th overall, officially making him a two-time All-American in the event (2025 Second Team Indoor and Outdoor).
The Frogs closed out the meet with a 17th place finish in the 4x400m relay (3:05.16). Ronnie Kendrick, Douglas, Destin Drummond and Frilot finished just over half a second behind Georgia adding Honorable Mention All-American honors to their name.
The TCU women are up next, competing on Thursday, June 12. They will be represented with 11 entries and look to advance to Saturday’s finals.
For all the latest TCU track and field news, follow the Frogs on X at @TCUTrackField, on Instagram at @tcu_track_xc and on Facebook at TCU Track and Field.
McManus advances to steeplechase finals at NCAA Championships | Montana State
Montana State senior Rob McManus took a tumble during the final lap but was still able to finish fourth in his heat and advance to the men’s 3000 meter steeplechase finals at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Wednesday in Eugene, Oregon. McManus finished in 8:34.54, taking fourth in his heat and 9th overall […]
Montana State senior Rob McManus took a tumble during the final lap but was still able to finish fourth in his heat and advance to the men’s 3000 meter steeplechase finals at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Wednesday in Eugene, Oregon.
McManus finished in 8:34.54, taking fourth in his heat and 9th overall out of 24 racers. He held the sixth fastest time in the field heading into Thursday’s action. His career-best time of 8:26.83 was set earlier this season at the Bryan Clay Invitational in April.
The Cashmere, Washington native was leading the race during the final lap but took a spill getting through the final water jump, allowing three competitors to pass him down the finishing stretch.
McManus recovered from a fall during the final water jump to finish fourth in his heat and earn an automatic qualifier to Friday’s finals.
Video Courtesy of the NCAA and ESPN
McManus has now advanced to finals for the first time in his career after making his third straight appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The steeplechase finals will take place on Friday at 6:24 p.m. MST.
Earlier on Thursday’s opening fay action, Bobcats sophomore Harvey Cramb competed in the 1500 meter semifinals. The Australian product was in the top half of the pack midway through the race but faded down the stretch to a last place finish in his heat, crossing the finish line in 3:44.57. Cramb’s heat was the faster of the two, so his time ended up ranking 12th out of 24 total runners between the two semifinal races.
Cramb faded during the final lap, taking last in his heat during the 1500 meter semifinals at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Video Courtesy of the NCAA and ESPN
Still to come at this week’s national championships meet will be several more Bobcat competitors.
On Thursday, Billings native Hailey Coey will compete in the women’s long jump finals, scheduled for 6:40 p.m. MST.
Also on Thursday, the Montana State women’s 4×400 relay team will be in action for a semifinals race at 8:36 p.m. MST.
On Saturday, Seeley Lake native and Colorado State junior Klaire Kovatch will compete in the women’s discus, set to get underway at 1:30 p.m. MST.
Hofstee, Machu Lace Up for NCAA Outdoor Championships
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2025 NCAA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS THURSDAY, JUNE 12 | HAYWARD FIELD | EUGENE, ORE. ESPN LIVE STREAM | LIVE RESULTS 6:56 p.m. | 10,000m National Final | Logan Hofstee, Rosina Machu EUGENE, Ore. – Gonzaga women’s track will make program history Thursday evening at […]
2025 NCAA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
THURSDAY, JUNE 12 | HAYWARD FIELD | EUGENE, ORE.
ESPN
LIVE STREAM | LIVE RESULTS
6:56 p.m. | 10,000m National Final | Logan Hofstee, Rosina Machu
EUGENE, Ore. – Gonzaga women’s track will make program history Thursday evening at Hayward Field, racing two athletes in the same National Final event for the first time ever. This will also mark the first time two Bulldog women have qualified for the NCAA Championship week, as Logan Hofstee and Rosina Machu will compete in the 10,000-meter final at 6:56 p.m. on ESPN.
For Hofstee, she becomes the first true freshman to reach the NCAA Championships after a gritty 11th place finish at the NCAA West Prelims in College Station on May 29. Her time of 34:30.82 in College Station came amidst the chase pack, working her way into the Top 12 before crossing just one second ahead of the final qualifying mark. She reached the qualifying round with a time of 33:17.80 at the Stanford Invitational in April.
Machu makes her second consecutive 10,000-meter Final appearance, placing 15th to earn Second Team All-America honors last spring in Eugene. Two weeks ago, she finished third at the West Prelims in 33:50.76 after running a qualifying time of 32:33.18 at Stanford in April. Machu is just the third-ever repeat finals qualifier and first since James Mwaura in 2023, and she’ll look to become the first female two-time All-American on the track in GU history.
Including Gonzaga’s first appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2015, the Zags will send at least one athlete to the final week of NCAA competition for the eighth time in the last ten championship meets (2020 canceled due to COVID-19). In five of the previous seven instances, GU has walked away with an All-American. Fraley was the first Zag to earn the honor in 2017 before Mwaura earned five over the span of three years in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
CU Buffs’ Kole Mathison finishes 21st in steeplechase at NCAA finals – Boulder Daily Camera
With the future of the Colorado track and field program in transition, a small contingent of Buffaloes hit the track on Wednesday in Oregon for the NCAA outdoor track and field championships. Assistant coach Lindsey Malone’s final appearance for the Buffaloes won’t be an extended one. Kole Mathison was unable to advance out of the […]
With the future of the Colorado track and field program in transition, a small contingent of Buffaloes hit the track on Wednesday in Oregon for the NCAA outdoor track and field championships.
Assistant coach Lindsey Malone’s final appearance for the Buffaloes won’t be an extended one.
OUTLOOK ON NEW FOOTHILL AREA RELEAGUING: Artesia could see more sports fighting for playoff spots in future new conference
June 11, 2025 By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X This is the first in a series of area schools involved in the upcoming Foothill Area releaguing that will begin for the 2026-2027 school year. The 20 schools involved, in what will be a new conference are from the current 605 League, Del Rio League, […]
This is the first in a series of area schools involved in the upcoming Foothill Area releaguing that will begin for the 2026-2027 school year. The 20 schools involved, in what will be a new conference are from the current 605 League, Del Rio League, Gateway League and Mid-Cities League. The name of the new conference and potential leagues will be determined during the 2025-2026 school year. This is the third time since the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year that area schools have been involved in releaguing.
When Artesia High, and two other area schools, broke off from the old Suburban League after the 2017-2018 school year to form the 605 League with the addition of three other schools, it was meant to create more competitive equity in its athletic program. In the past seven years, the Pioneers have seen some success while other sports continued to struggle.
Now, those struggling sports will have a chance to do something that was not possible in the former Suburban League, or even the 605 League-compete for a CIF-Southern Section playoff berth.
Artesia athletic director Matt Soriano, who hasn’t been in his position as long as the other athletic directors, wasn’t as skeptical when the process began leading up to the May 1 Foothill Area releaguing vote.
“To be honest, I don’t think I had the most positive favoritism towards a 20-team league”, said Soriano. “As a new A.D., I just heard, ‘oh, it’s time to revote for bylaws and see if anyone’s open to releaguing’”.
The initial buzz amongst the athletic directors was to simply keep the 605 League together and not add other schools. But all six proposals which were brought to the table last month involved a 20-school conference.
“We kind of sat down as A.D.’s and said, ‘hey, we like the six of us staying together in most sports’ even though we would get killed by Cerritos and Whitney in some tennis events or golf events,” said Soriano. “We’re competitive in every other sport, and I like the six of us about it.”
The 2018-2019 school year had mixed feelings around the 605 League with Artesia winning two league titles and sharing one of the major sports in the inaugural year. The most notable one was the football team where the Pioneers won all three league games and advanced to the Division 12 championship game. Since then, the program has finished in second place and earned a playoff spot.
Boys soccer won its first 605 League title in 2019 and the softball team tied Cerritos High for first place that spring. Since then, the Pioneers have won 11 league titles, six coming from boys soccer, three from boys basketball, and one each from girls flag football and girls soccer.
Soriano went to the first meeting with the plan of just moving for football only because he thought that’s how Orange County schools did their releaguing.
“We sat down as A.D.’s and said if we’re going to support something, I need to know number one, we’re all in this, or if we’re going to be against this, we’re all against it,” said Soriano. “The one commitment we couldn’t have was that Glenn would still field a football team.”
With the new 20-school conference, Artesia may not face ABC Unified School District rival Cerritos in league competition, but the program figures to be in a desirable place for playoff contention every season.
“We were not the best team in [the 605 League], but every school had a chance to qualify for the playoffs every year,” said Soriano. “And I think that’ s the way we wanted it to be. There were years where we won on the last play on a double reverse against Pioneer to qualify for the playoffs. There were years that Glenn was up there in the top two; there were years where they weren’t in the top two. Pioneer didn’t get an automatic bid this [past season] but they went to the [CIF-Southern Section] finals. The 605 League gave people what they wanted out of it, football-wise.”
Soriano says other than boys basketball and some of the other major sports, which has been near or at the top of the league consistently, the other sports aren’t nowhere near the other schools. Part of that reason, which the league has looked at and voted together as a league, is some schools in certain sports have a lower level team.
Since the 605 League was formed, the Artesia girls volleyball program has finished no higher than third place while the other two fall sports, boys water polo and girls tennis have finished in fourth place or below. In fact, of the major sports, the Pioneers have finished in fourth place 18 times, fifth place 10 times and last place nine times.
Boys basketball and the two soccer programs have done quite well as has the softball program and should be grouped in with the upper to ‘middle of the pack’ schools once the new conference begins. Sports like boys tennis, boys volleyball, boys water polo, girls basketball and girls tennis are projected to be situated in the last of the three or four leagues in two years and be with other fifth and sixth place teams from the Del Rio League, Gateway League and Mid-Cities League. It should be noted that in a six-team league, the top three get an automatic playoff berth.
“It is going to be every sport on a per sport basis,” said Soriano. “So, just like in Orange County, your football team may be in this league, but your basketball teams will be in a different league. The model, I think, that makes the most sense…is if there are 20 teams in every place but football, you do four leagues of five [teams]. That would make the top three all get an [automatic] berth. Technically, you would get 12 automatic spots out of your 20 teams.”
Soriano believes that the new conference will benefit Artesia in a lot of the sports that aren’t mentioned on an everyday basis. For example, Artesia’s girls basketball team most likely wouldn’t have to play Cerritos, Pioneer or Whitney twice every season in league competition.
“I’m not even saying it will help us get wins, it will just help the games be more competitive,” said Soriano. “The big part about it is we have to sit down as a group and decide…I guarantee the first year is going to be based on CIF rankings. But they talk about some relegation or promotion. If you’re in the middle league, hey, you won and you get to move up to the top league. I would prefer to see two teams [go] up and down every time.”
He continued to add that since this will be a conference, divided into three or four leagues, technically by the rules, the conference can do whatever it wants regarding the movement of teams to other leagues every year instead of going off power rankings.
This upcoming school year will be a stressful one for the athletic directors and principals for the 20 schools. When the 605 League was formed, there were four school districts involved and transportation, while difficult at times, wasn’t as big as an issue as it will be in two years. The scheduling of sporting events will be a nightmare, especially during the winter season as your traditional girls-boys basketball doubleheaders could be compromised.
“When we started meeting as the 20 schools, that was the whole 605 League’s contention; is how do you guys do it,” asked Soriano. “La Mirada kind of looked at me and was like, ‘well, when we ask for a bus, my district gives us a bus’. Well, my district doesn’t. Every bus that we took as a sports team was an overtime payment to a bus driver. My transportation [bill] is huge, and that’s with me sending boys and girls basketball to the same place.”
Another issue that schools will have to navigate through is the splitting up of cheerleaders during basketball games or other school functions. Soriano was quick to mention that Artesia decided to have its senior prom on a Thursday night in the middle of league. He worked with the other five athletic directors to have the games off that Thursday so the players could go to the prom and admitted he doesn’t know if he can get that same commitment from the other 14 schools that will be part of the new conference.
One bright area of the new conference will be schools reuniting with old rivals from previous leagues. It’s a fact that Artesia will face Bellflower High, La Mirada High, Mayfair High and Norwalk High in many sports. Those four schools were in the Suburban League prior to 2018.
“I don’t come from a time when all the rivalries [happened],” said Soriano. “I know I can just look up scores and see the main ones; the football, the soccer and basketball. We had some battles with Mayfair, but some of it is if we wanted to renew rivalries and things like that, we would have called them earlier and played non-league [games].
“We, as a 605 League, didn’t even want to play Gahr in anything anymore, even though they’re a part of a school district that had three of us in it,” he continued. “It took a long time for Cerritos football to say [they’ll] play Gahr. When we were playing Gahr and the scores weren’t very close…if Gahr is with us, then it should say that we should be competitive with them, and I think that’s the point of a conference.”
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Murphy Finishes Sixth in Semifinal Heat of 1500 Meters at NCAA Championships Get Underway
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EUGENE, Ore.—Villanova kicked off four days of competition at the 2025 NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships with national semifinal heats of the 1500 meters on Wednesday afternoon. Fifth year distance runner Liam Murphy (Millstone, N.J.) finished sixth in his heat and showed elite speed with a final lap […]
EUGENE, Ore.—Villanova kicked off four days of competition at the 2025 NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships with national semifinal heats of the 1500 meters on Wednesday afternoon. Fifth year distance runner Liam Murphy (Millstone, N.J.) finished sixth in his heat and showed elite speed with a final lap of 51.13. It is the third straight year that Murphy has been an outdoor qualifier for the NCAA Championships in the 1500 meters.
Murphy was an automatic qualifier for the semifinal round after two races at the NCAA East Preliminary in Jacksonville, Fla. two weeks ago. He raced in the first of two heats at Hayward Field on Wednesday and produced a closing 400 meters which shows why he has been on the cusp of a World Athletics Championship qualifying mark this season. Murphy’s final lap of 51.13 in his semifinal heat is just over three seconds faster than his bell lap of 54.18 at the Raleigh Relays earlier this year when he set the collegiate record of 3:33.02 in the 1500 meters.
By this point of the season any section of an event is going to be a strong one filled with competitors capable of winning a national title. That was true of the first heat in the 1500 meters, which featured nine runners (out of 12) who had run faster than 3:40 this season and five who were under 3:35 during their collegiate careers. The race went out slow for two-plus laps and the entire field came through the first seven meters in just over two minutes. Less than three-quarters of a second separated one through twelve in the ranks with both 800 meters left and at the bell.
It was almost as crowded at the finish line and Murphy was less than one-tenth of a second behind the runners who came in fourth and fifth in the race. Murphy wound up 18th overall in the semifinal round and will earn honorable mention All-America honors when those accolades are officially announced next week.
Murphy set the collegiate record of 3:33.02 at the Raleigh Relays on March 27 and is a qualifier for the USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene from July 31-August 3. The top athletes coming out of that meet will be selected for the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo in September. Murphy’s PR and collegiate record is just two-hundredths of a second off the World Championship qualifying time of 3:33 flat.
Villanova continues competition at the NCAA Championships on Thursday night when senior women’s distance runner Sadie Sigfstead (Edmonton, Alta.) runs in the championship race of the 10000 meters. It is the second straight year that Sigfstead is running in this race. She came in 12th in her outdoor NCAA Championships debut last season and has run a PR of 32:39.54 this season.
Berezowitz was supposed to be in high school gyms this spring. But not this high school gym, as Vanderbilt took the court in any sort of varsity match for the first time since 1980. A midyear enrollee from Wisconsin who completed high school in December, she spent the fall playing against rivals with names like Wetosha Central. In Brentwood’s full-to-capacity gym, the rival on the other side of the net was the University of Tennessee.
The age difference meant that was particularly true in the case of Maddie, whose entire collegiate journey played out while Kati was still in middle and high school.
Berezowitz’s past few months were a whirlwind. There was the first day on her own after her parents departed and her first volleyball practice. There was her first college class—English composition. There was the first midterm that didn’t go quite as well as she hoped—and the first final that did. There was also, of course, the first match against Tennessee.
She could have been at home in Wisconsin, with someone else to do the laundry and an easy senior spring to coast through in school. But it wouldn’t have felt like this.
