COLLEGE STATION, Texas – University of Missouri track and field’s Claudina Diaz and Kristi Perez-Snyman qualified for the women’s high jump final while Alicia Burnett punched her ticket to the women’s 100m semifinal of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on day four of the opening round at E.B. Cushing Stadium on Saturday.

Diaz and Perez-Snyman both recorded jumps of 1.84m (6-0.5) to take fifth and seventh place, respectively, while Burnett finished the 100m in eighth in 11.10, shaving another three hundredths of a second off her school record in the event. The three will look to claim the first women’s national title in their events in school history.

Burnett, Diaz and Perez-Snyman join Callan Saldutto, Valentina Barrios and Skylar Coffey as the Tigers’ representatives at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, at the national championship meet for their respective events on June 11-15. 

Ames Burton opened the day for Mizzou in women’s discus, where she placed 30th after a throw of 52.03m (170-8). In the Tigers’ final event, the 5000m, Monica Wanjiku finished in 16:38.21 for 35th, while Rahel Broemmel took 41st in 16:44.49.

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Barrios, Burnett, Coffey, Diaz, Perez-Snyman and Saldutto will travel to Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, at the national championship meet for their respective finals on June 11-14.

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Before joining the Bears, Morais spent two years as an assistant coach at California University of Pennsylvania (VULCANS), where he played a crucial role in the team’s success.

Morais, a native of Brazil, has also served as a college assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s volleyball teams at Carlow, a NAIA program in Pittsburgh. He was an assistant coach for the inaugural season of men’s volleyball at Carlow in 2021 when the program played teams from seven different states. The following spring, the Celtics won their first intercollegiate match.

On the women’s side, Morais was a member of the coaching staff in 2021. Carlow earned seven victories at home before placing third at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Championship in Virginia Beach. The Celtics featured 12 players named to the River States Conference Scholar-Athlete Team last year.

Morais has also dedicated himself to coaching at various levels in the Pittsburgh area. His experience spans both club and scholastic settings, fostering the development of young players from 12 to 18 years old. Through his involvement with Pittsburgh Elite, Morais has guided and mentored aspiring athletes, helping them hone their skills and reach their potential.

Prior to his coaching career, Morais played for various club level teams in beach volleyball tournaments in his native Brazil. He then moved to South Africa and competed at the national club level while playing for Durban University of Technology.

Morais, who earned his degree from Durban (South Africa) in 2015, resides in Baltimore, Md.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two Kent State student-athletes punched tickets to the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships during action at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds at the University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium.

Alexandre Malanda advanced in the men’s triple jump on Friday and Svenia De Coninck advanced in the women’s high jump on Saturday. The pair will join Shelby Grover, who previously qualified in the women’s heptathlon, at the national meet in Eugene, Oregon.

Malanda finished second in the triple jump but needed an outdoor personal-best on his final attempt to punch his ticket to the NCAA Championships. The Paris native soared 52′-9.25″ on his last jump of the meet to beat his previous outdoor PR by 0.5″ and remains at the No. 4 spot on the Golden Flashes’ all-time performance list in the event.

De Coninck cleared a personal-best height of 5′-10.50″ on her second attempt at the bar to finish 12th and secure the final qualifying spot for the national meet. Her PR puts her in a tie for the third highest mark in school history.

Jaheim Jones and Aliesha Shaw recorded top-30 finishes in both events in which they competed. Jones placed 25th in the men’s 200-meter dash in 21.04 seconds and 28th in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.42 seconds. Shaw had a top mark of 158′-9″ for 27th in the women’s discus throw and placed 30th in the shot put with a top throw of 50′-2.5″.

Kristen Jay finished her freshman campaign with a top throw of 149′-0″ for 29th in the women’s javelin.

In men’s long jump action, Amare Hall soared 23′-6″ to finish 32nd and Ayden Bath placed 39th with a mark of 23′-3.25″. Bath also ran the 110-meter hurdles and finished 33rd with a time of 14.17 seconds.

In their NCAA prelims debuts, Keeli Dunaway placed 42nd in the women’s triple jump with a mark of 39′-10.75″ and Charles Pawlosky took 43rd in the men’s shot put with a throw of 54′-2″.

Donovan Crawford (men’s discus throw) and Malanda (men’s long jump) also competed but had fouls on all three attempts. Amryne Chilton was a qualifier in the women’s 200m dash but scratched prior to the start of the meet.

De Coninck, Grover and Malanda will represent the Golden Flashes at the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which will be held June 11-14 in Eugene, Oregon.

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COLLEGE STATION, Tex. — An incredible era of Saint Mary’s Outdoor Women’s Track came to an end on this Saturday evening, as Jaden DeSouza and Rayna Stanziano ran their final races as Gaels. DeSouza ran in the quarter finals of the 400m hurdles after qualifying for this race on Thursday evening, while Stanziano ran in her fourth west regional race, and her second career 5000m semi final. 

Running in the most inside lane for the second consecutive race, DeSouza again threw down a brilliant time, the second fastest of her career at 58.41, with only her run two nights ago being faster. Again, it was DeSouza’s kick in the final straightaway that helped her capture the brilliant time. Overall, she finished with the 20th fastest time in the 400m hurdles National Quarterfinals, the final running of this event in the West Region meet in College Station. 

Stanziano settled into the back half of her heat of 24 runners in the 5000m, but began making moves on the outside, moving into the middle of the pack at the two minute mark, and nearer the top-10 at the seven minute mark. The pack really began to spread out eight and a half minutes in, as Stanziano continued to battle to stay in the mix. She eventually finished at 16:43.83, her sixth fastest career 5000m, and a big improvement from her 2022 5000m run at the NCAA Regionals, when she ran 18:22.29. 

Jaden and Rayna made an incredible impact on the track and field program at Saint Mary’s. Jaden will leave as the program record holder in the 400m, 600m, 60m hurdles, 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles, high jump, javelin, and heptathlon, while running legs in the program record 4x400m, 4x800m sprint medley and distance medley relay teams. Stanziano holds the program 800m, 1500m, mile, 3000m and 5000m records, while running legs in the program record 4x400m, 4x800m and distance medley relay teams. 

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Due to high levels of bacteria in these bodies of water, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has closed them for the time being.

In total, four beaches are closed, three of which are located in Boston and one in Concord, according to the DPH.

The purpose of Concord’s Walden Pond closure is to accommodate facility repair work, according to the DPH, which noted that Red Cross Beach will remain open, weather permitting. Once the project is complete, the beach will reopen.

Constitution, Malibu, and Tenean beaches in Boston, however, are closed with the reasoning being “bacteria excess.”

Bacteria in the water can come from a variety of sources, including:

• Stormwater (rain) run-off
• Failing or malfunctioning septic systems
• Combined and sanitary sewer overflows
• Leaking sewer pipes
• Illegal sewer hookups
• Wildlife and pet waste
• Agricultural runoff

In order to ensure beaches are safe for swimming, the DPH tests the waters anywhere from daily to monthly, depending on how likely the beach is to have water quality issues and its popularity.

If a beach is used often or is prone to water quality issues, then it’s tested more often and vice versa, the DPH wrote.

Beaches remain closed until laboratory analysis shows bacteria levels are within the acceptable range for safe swimming.

“Laboratory analysis for all beach samples takes approximately 24 hours,” according to the department’s website. “So it is common for a beach closure to last a day or two following an exceedance.”

Swimming in beach water that has high levels of bacteria can be risky and can result in illnesses, including:

• Gastrointestinal symptoms- nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain
• Respiratory symptoms- sore throat, cough, runny nose and sneezing
• Dermatological symptoms- skin rash and itching
• Eye and ear symptoms- irritation, earache, itching
• Flu-like symptoms- fever and chills

Therefore, it’s important to check for any warnings or beach closures indicating that the water could be unsafe. To do this, done check the weather, avoid swimming after heavy rain, watch for signs of water pollution like discolored, fast flowing and strong smelling water, do not swim near trash or litter floating in the water, avoid swallowing the water and swim in areas designated as “swim beaches.”

Although a beach could be posted, the public can still visit the location and take part in other activities that don’t involve contact with the water. This can include anything from playing sports like volleyball or frisbee to sunbathing or collecting seashells or sea glass, the DPH said.

The public can also do its part in helping to reduce contamination and pollution at the beach by:

• Cleaning up after pets
• Not feeding the birds as it encourages them to hang around the beaches, which increases fecal matter
• Using public restrooms
• Picking up and throwing away trash using public restrooms or properly disposing of it at home
• Not entering the water when sick or feeling unwell
• Changing diapers and putting plastic or rubber pants, known as swim diapers, on diapered children before they enter the water
• Not dumping anything down storm drains, as water moving through these drains does not get treated at a wastewater facility and flows directly into lakes and streams
• Avoiding the use of fertilizers and pesticides in yards since these chemicals can easily carry into the surface of waters during rain events and snowmelt
• Use walkways and avoid walking on dunes to prevent erosion and preserve vegetation that filters out pollutants from runoff before they reach the beach

More details from the DPH can be found here.