A former Penn State Olympian is returning to Happy Valley.

Darrell Hill was hired to be the Nittany Lions’ throws coach, the team announced Thursday.

Thrilled to welcome three-time All-American Penn State alumnus and 2016 Olympian Darrell Hill back home to Happy Valley #WeAre | https://t.co/SzFtbABoNc pic.twitter.com/ZzsAxxFYVz

— Penn State Track & Field/Cross Country (@PennStateTFXC) July 3, 2025

“Penn State Track and Field is excited to bring one of its all-time greatest throwers back home to coach in the Blue & White,” head coach John Gondak said in a release. “Darrell will bring great energy and passion to our program, and being from PA, he will help us keep the best from PA here at home. Looking forward to having Darrell join us here in Happy Valley and continue his legacy as a Nittany Lion.”

Hill graduated from Penn State in 2015, becoming a three-time All-American and three-time Big Ten champion in the shot put during his collegiate career. He holds the indoor school record in the shot put with a 20.51-meter launch.

The Philadelphia native competed at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, placing 12th in the shot put. Other professional career highlights include being named the 2018 USA Track and Field Thrower of the Year.

As a coach, Hill was a volunteer assistant at San Diego State from 2017-19. He has been at Delaware for the past two seasons, including being the associate head coach in 2024-25.

MORE TRACK AND FIELD COVERAGE

Wave 2 of AAU Boys Nationals kicked off today at Orlando and similarly to Wave 1, there has been a lot of exciting action already.  Another reminder that open divisions in 15-18s are now 6 pools of 8 teams and top 4 finishers in each pool will have a shot at a Gold Bracket.

17 Open – Results

Top 5 teams MVVC, C2 Attack, 949, Coast, and MB Surf all took care of business early and went 3-0 and Coast, MB Surf and C2 did not drop a set yet.  One of the top seeds Balboa Bay did suffer an upset as they went 2-1 today after losing a close match to St James Boys 15-13 in the 3rd.      Other teams that are still undefeated after the first day include :  Team Rockstar 17 Rockstar, Triangle Boys 17 Black (who are playing without their star player Thomas Demps as he is training with U19 USA National Team), 630 Volleyball 17-1, The St. James Boys 17 N and Academy 17O Under Armour.  Academy team is seeded #37 in the tournament and 7th in their pool but came out swinging and is looking to be 16 Open SASCVBC-like Cinderella story of the 17s tournament.  We will follow this very closely.  We think they were under-seeded greatly but not our call!  The teams that need to turn it around in a hurry are Outrigger (1-2), NCVC (0-3), Rockstar Gold (1-2) (Playing up because someone needed to fill in the spot) and GSL Elect 17 Josh (0-3).  These teams were all seeded in top 4 in pools and need a lot of wins in their remaining pool matches to stay alive for Gold Bracket

15 Open – Results

Lots of undefeated teams in 15s Open after the first day and lots of 3 set matches.  Teams were playing from 7:30 AM until 2 PM for some of them.  These teams are still undefeated:  Team Rockstar 15 Rockstar, BVA – Lions 15-1, GVA Boys 15u Pink, Cinci Attack 15 Black, BORINQUEN COQUI 15-1M, MB Surf ASICS 15’s 1, COAST Boys 15-1 Chris, Bay to Bay 15-1, MVVC B 15 Red, Balboa Bay 15Blue, AZ Fear 15 SB. 

Of the top seeds #3 630 lost to Borinquen Coqui and in process may have lost their star outside hitter Tommy Clifford who came out with an ankle injury.  Hope its nothing serious and he can come back and help his team during nationals.   #6 HPSTL lost a tight game to AZ Fear and similarly to Balboa Bay 17s lost 15-13 in the 3rd set.  

Top half seeds that need to turn it around quickly include Legion (1-2), Excel (0-3) and Outrigger (1-2) who have their work cut out for them tomorrow to make up some ground.  However, we should remember that MOD 16s went 1-2 on the first day and ended up with a 3rd place medal at the end.  

More pleasant surprises of the day were #32 Warren Sixpack and #33 SNVF who both had upset victories and went 2-1 on the day.

14 Open – Results

Only a couple of upsets here as top seeds mostly went undefeated including, Team Rockstar 14 Rockstar, HPSTL B14 Royal, Bay to Bay 14-1, SC Legends 14-Elite, COAST Boys 14-1 Bela, INDOOR Black, SASVBC B 14 MAYA, MB Surf ASICS 14’s 1

VAQUEROS 14M Carlos, Cinci Attack 14 Black, SPVB B14 Elite, Venom Havoc 14u Boys were all top seeds who lost today and will have to start their pool play tomorrow from 2nd spot.  

Top Club of the Day

MB Surf (9 Match Wins, 0 Match Losses; 18 sets won, 0 sets lost across 14s, 15s, 17s  Open divisions, Avg Point % of 1.4)

Top Performance of the Day

TBD, lots of volleyball going on here still

Follow the nationals here!

First team

Wences Baumgartner, Beecher, jr.

Baumgartner placed first in the high jump (1.67 meters) in his first meet of the season on April 9. He finished the year strong, too, placing second at the River Valley Conference Meet (1.77) before setting a school and personal record and sectional title-winning jump of 1.80 meters.

Keegan Cooper, Bishop McNamara, sr.

A state qualifier in the discus, Cooper placed first three times this season and second three more times. He won a Chicagoland Christian Conference title, placed 21st at state and threw a personal-record 44.26 meters at the Herscher Invite on May 2, placing first.

Tyrell Berry, Bradley-Bourbonnais, so.

No one in the area threw a discus farther than Berry this season. His PR throw of 46.39 meters came in the sectionals and had him just shy of a state berth. He won an All-City title with a throw of 44.57 meters and also placed first at the Gary Haupert Invitational.

Lyzale Edmon, Bradley-Bourbonnais, jr.

An All-City champion in the 100 (11.47 seconds) and 200 meters (22.60) this season, Edmon moved into fourth in school history in both events. His PR in the 100 meters (10.94) was set at the Gary Haupert Invitational, and his PR in the 200 (22.07) came in the Blue Smoke Invitational.

Malachi Lee, Bradley-Bourbonnais, so.

Lee proved himself to be one of the top long jumpers in Illinois this season. He set the school record and then broke it twice, with his PR winding up at 7.30 meters, the sixth-best in the state regardless of class. He won 11 of his 13 meets, placed fifth at state (6.93) and was named the 2025 Daily Journal Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

Joel Morrical, Bradley-Bourbonnais, jr.

Morrical placed first or second in the shot put at 10 of his 12 meets this season. He was the All-City shot put champ with a PR throw of 14.93 meters. He finished second at the SouthWest Suburban Conference Meet (14.42), earning all-conference honors.

Julian Micetich, Coal City, jr.

Micetich won Illinois Central Eight Conference titles in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles, also qualifying for state in both events. He ran a school-record 14.74 seconds in the state prelims of the 110 hurdles, finishing seventh in the finals the following day. His 300 PR was 41.52.

Brayden Shepard, Herscher, sr.

Shepard took first in the 1,600 meters at the Manteno Invite, the ICE Conference Meet and the Herscher Relays this season. He finished second at sectionals with a PR of 4:32.37, the second-fastest in school history, to qualify for state in the 1,600.

Clifton Martin, Kankakee, sr.

Martin won an All-City title in the 300-meter hurdles and also as part of two of the Kays’ relay teams, including the 4×400 relay that later qualified for state. His PR (39.92) in the 300 hurdles at the Kankakee Co-Ed Invite is the second-fastest time in school history.

Dominic White, Kankakee, jr.

A state qualifier as part of the 4×200 relay, Martin also made the trip to Charleston in the high jump. He won an All-City high jump title with a jump of 1.85 meters. He finished second at the Southland Athletic Conference Boys Championships with a PR of 1.95 meters.

Briggs Cann, Manteno, so.

Cann finished first or second in the 400 meters in each of his meets except state this season. He won an ICE title (52.04) and two weeks later put up a PR of 50.30 to win a sectional title and advance to state. At state, he reached the finals and placed ninth overall (51.28).

Drew McTaggart, Watseka, sr.

The area’s top distance runner this season, McTaggart qualified for state in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters. He set a PR in each event at state, placing 15th in the 1,600 (4:28.94) and 16th in the 3,200 (10:18.84). His 1,600 PR also set a school record.

Bishop McNamara relays

A pair of Fightin’ Irish relay teams made the trip to state this season. Dashaun Whiters, Jackson Kirchner, Rhys Landsmann and Willie Felton took the 4×100 relay to state with a second-place sectional finish. Their fastest time of 44.67 seconds ranks fifth in school history. The 4×800 team of Sebastian Cortes, Justice Provost, David Quigley and Jack Purcell also placed second at sectionals to qualify for state, where they ran an 8:38.61 to rank fourth in school history. Quigley and Provost also ran the 4×400 relay.

Bradley-Bourbonnais relays

Seth Teague, Isaac Allison, Jordan Fitch and LyZale Edmon ran a scorching 4×100 relay, setting a school record of 42.49 seconds to finish third at the SWSC Boys Championships. They also earned an All-City title at 42.56. The group of Allison, Fitch, LyZale Edmon and Kyren Edmon also cracked the top five in school history in the 4×200. Their time of 1:29.19 at the Oswego East Invite ranks fourth all time.

Kankakee relays

The Kays had two of the top relays in school history this season. The 4×400 relay group of Clifton Martin, Zyon Turner, Phillip Turner and Dominic White won a sectional title (3:25.03) and finished 14th in the prelims at state (3:21.49), the second-best time in school history. The 4×100 relay team of Zyair Turner, Phillip Turner, Zyon Turner and White set a school record of 1:27.85 at the SAC Championships, earning a conference title.

Honorable mention

Brock Clott, Bishop McNamara; Cale Hamilton, Bishop McNamara; Jamir Burt, Bradley-Bourbonnais; Kyler Savini, Bradley-Bourbonnais; Sully Westover, Bradley-Bourbonnais; Jake Thompson, Central; Jonathan Randles, Central; Parker Jakovec, Coal City; Jackson Kruse, Herscher; David Perez, Iroquois West; Skyler Estay, Milford-Cissna Park; Michael Tincher, Momence; Aden Pinson, St. Anne; Dennis Goodman, Watseka; Billy Moore, Wilmington; Hunter Kaitschuck, Wilmington

USA Volleyball

OSIJEK, Croatia –Crestview High School graduate and University of Pittsburgh freshman Abbey Emch and Team USA did not have the greatest time on July 4 in the U19 Volleyball World Championships.

The Red, White and Blue suffered its first setback of the tournament as Poland stunned the defending champs 25-23, 23-25, 25-17, 25-27, 16-14 on Friday.

Emch played in the third, fourth and fifth sets and had six kills.

The U.S. (2-1) will return to the court at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday against Bulgaria (2-1). Poland, who brought a boisterous crowd with it, is now 3-0 in Pool C.

The match was as close statistically as the final score would indicate with Poland holding a narrow margin in kills (64-62), the U.S. leading by one in aces (6-5) and each team totaling eight blocks.

Outside hitter Cari Spears scored a team-high 21 points, 13 of which came in the fourth and fifth sets, with 16 kills, a match-best four blocks and an ace. Opposite Henley Anderson paced the team with 19 kills.

Setter Genevieve Harris was all over the court setting, playing defense and contributing seven points with two kills, three blocks and two aces. Outsider hitter Kelly Kinney (seven kills, one ace) and middle blocker Gabrielle Nichols (six kills, one block, one ace) each scored eight points.

Outside Lameen Mambu added four kills.

“Congratulations to Poland on a well-fought match,” U.S. head coach Keegan Cook said. “This is the exact match we hoped for this group to experience in pool play. We will be better for it. We will also need to learn some lessons quickly as Bulgaria and Turkey are both strong opponents. I’m looking forward to seeing our USA team respond.”

The U.S. scored five of the first seven points of the match, but Poland responded with a 7-2 run to take a lead it would not relinquish in the first set. The lead grew to seven, 22-15, before a huge U.S. rally (8-2) made it 24-23 but Poland was able to get a kill to end the set.

Nichols scored five points on four kills and a block that finished a 4-0 run to cut the deficit from seven to three. Kinney and Spears each had three kills and four points.

A Kinney kill on an overpass in set two gave the U.S. its first lead, 7-6, since leading by the same score in the opening set. A Harris block and a Poland timeout evened the score at 14 and led to a Poland timeout. Kinney scored on a kill off a block and Spears followed with two aces, the second dribbling off the tape, for a three-point U.S. lead.

Back-to-back aces by Harris gave the U.S. a 21-17 lead. Poland scored the next three points and had a swing to even the set but a great dig by Harris led to an Anderson kill. Poland did eventually tie the set at 23 but Anderson put a ball down and an opposing hitting error gave the U.S. the set to square the match at one set apiece.

Anderson scored five points on kills, while Harris scored four points on a kill, a block and her two key aces.

With the U.S. leading 8-7 in the third set, Poland scored six of the next seven points to take a 13-9 lead. The U.S. pulled within three points on another Harris block, 15-12, but Poland went on a 5-1 run lead to take control of the set. Anderson produced four kills in the set.

The fourth set was close throughout with the U.S. denying two match points. Spears scored the team’s last five points. The first tied the set at 23 and the second staved off the first match point after Poland could not convert a free ball. Her kill off the block again saved match point and this time tied the set at 25. Spears recorded a block to give the U.S. its first set point and send the match to a fifth set with her 10th point and seventh kill of the set.

An Anderson kill gave the U.S. a 3-2 lead in the deciding set but it would be its last lead of the match. Poland led 13-10 before a kill by Emch and a hitting error brought the U.S. within a point. A tough Anderson serve led to a kill by Mambu to even the set at 13 apiece. Service errors on the last two U.S. serves opened the door for Poland to seal the match. Spears recorded three more kills in the set and Emch added two.

During the first half of last summer, Nyck Harbor blazed his way through the NCAAs, to earn a spot in the US Olympic Track and Field Trials.

However, Harbor decided before the end of June that his track season was finished. He bypassed the trials – he would’ve been a long-shot to make the Olympics – and rejoined the football team at South Carolina. It’s been all football in the 12 months or since then.

The 6-foot-5 wide receiver, who turned 20 on July 5, was a steady presence at the Gamecock football facility while camps were going on during the month of June. Like several player on the team, Harbor was spotted with his position coach, helping campers run through drills.