MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men’s track and field team had four first-place finishes at the season-opening M City Classic on Friday and Saturday at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse.

Senior Lance Nemecek, sophomore Jackson Bullock, and senior Kevin Turlington won individual events on the track for St. Olaf, which also had a first-place performance in the 4×400-meter relay. The Oles put recorded five performances that ranked on their all-time top-10 performers’ list at the first indoor meet of the season.

Nemecek, senior Cullen Moore, first year Paxon Myers, and junior Christian Fells all ran top-12 times in NCAA Division III this season in the 800-meter run to post the four fastest times of the day. Nemecek won the event in 1:54.02, followed closely by Moore in 1:54.16, which rank second and third in the country and third and fourth, respectively, on the Oles’ all-time list. Myers edged Fells at the line by one one-hundredth of a second in 1:55.73, as the pair posted the No. 10 and No. 11 times nationally.

Nemecek, Moore, and Myers were joined by sophomore Austin McInturff on the winning 4×400-meter relay, which compiled a time of 3:21.77 to rank second on St. Olaf’s all-time list. That time is just seven one-hundredths of a second off the program record set in 2016 and ranks fifth in the country.

St. Olaf logged the top-three times of the meet in the one-mile run, led by Bullock’s first-place time of 4:23.01. Senior Eli Doran (4:23.04) and junior Alex Bjork (4:23.37) were within half a second of Bullock, with all three Oles posting top-20 times in NCAA Division III to date.

Senior Kevin Turlington added a win in the 5,000-meter run with the fifth-fastest time in NCAA Division III (14:35.39). Fellow senior Gael Manzur Strandlund was third in 15:19.86 as well.

Sophomore Cristian Escobar Pearson bettered his No. 2 time on St. Olaf’s all-time list in the 60-meter dash in both the prelims (7.07) and finals (7.05) to finish eighth in the event. Junior Jesse Olson recorded the No. 8 score on the Oles’ list in the heptathlon (4,153) by registering four personal-bests in the seven-event, two-day competition to take fourth. Olson’s highest finish came in the high jump, where he placed third after clearing 182 meters (5′ 11 ½”).

St. Olaf will be back in 2026 at the Ole Opener at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17 at Tostrud Center.

 

Minnesota volleyball is in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022, and they now have a chance to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 2021.

After sweeping Fairfield University 3-0 in the first round of the tourney on Friday night at Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis, the Gophers dominated Iowa State in a sweep Saturday night to advance to the Sweet 16.

The Gophers took the first set 25-22 before securing the second set 25-21. They crushed the Cyclones 25-14 in the third set to roll into the regional semifinal, where they will face No. 1 Pittsburgh on Thursday for a chance to reach the regional final, which would come with a spot in the Final Four on the line.

The Gophers were seeded fourth in their region, while Iowa State was the No. 5 seed.

Minnesota finished the regular season 22-9 and ranked No. 17 in the AVCA poll. Pittsburgh is ranked No. 4 in the nation, sporting a 28-4 record.

The Minnesota-Pitt regional semifinal will happen at 6 p.m. CT Thursday, and the Panthers will be hosting the match at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.

The match will be televised on ESPN2.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Sha’Nard Walker set an event record in the 300m to highlight the start of indoor season, Saturday at the Birmingham Indoor Icebreaker at the Birmingham Crossplex.

Walker finished first in the 300m with an event-record 33.56, followed by Jancent Wallace who placed fifth with a 34.07.

In the 400m, Jonathan Gaines finished fifth with a time of 49.52 to lead the Cats, while Dashawn Buist grabbed a top-fiver finish in the 800m with a fourth-place 1:58.05.

For the jumpes, Michael Carter’s 7.27m earned him second in the long jump – he also took home fifth in the triple jump at 14.56m.

On the women’s side Betina Jean took two top-10 finishes -eighth in the 200m with a 25.13 and seventh in the 400m at 58.23.

As for jumps, Darryn Hough finished fifth with a 1.55m in the high jump, while Ay’Keelah Green finished fourth in the long jump with a 5.84m. LaNeeya Garrison finished thrid in the triple jump with an 11.81m.

Kasie Ugeh picked up where she left off a season ago with a fourth-place finish in the shot put at 13.19m.

The full list of B-CU times and finishes is listed below:

Men’s 200m

29. Jemari Sanders    22.98

Men’s 300m

1. Sha’Nard Walker    33.56

5. Jancent Wallace    34.07

10. Ethan Sharpe    35.04

Men’s 400m

5. Jonathan Gaines    49.52

9. Donavan Walker-Collins    49.99

16. Makhii Fleming    50.65

Men’s 800m

4. Dashawn Buist    1:58.05

8. Andre Swewl    20:01.42

Men’s Mile

17. Jalen Jackson    4:43.55

Men’s 3000m

35. Gerrard Griffin    9:32.40

41. Dashon Gill    9:53.49

Men’s High Jump

9. Ashton Matthews    1.95m

Men’s Pole Vault

15. Jabari Armant    4.00m

Men’s Long Jump

2. Michael Carter    7.27m

11. Amarrion Grant    6.84m

17. Bari Willimas    6.53m

Men’s Triple Jump

5. Michael Carter    14.56m

7. Farai Mhende    14.48m

Men’s Shot Put

9. William Rothmiller    14.62m

19. Tyler Washing    12.96m

Men’s Weight Throw

10. Anton Holland    15.64m

Women’s 200m

8. Betina Jean    25.13

18. Haely Grant    25.62

19. Quiaundra Brown    25.69

23. Mariana Morillo    25.76

Women’s 300m

10. Zion Harvey    40.84

11. Amani Jones    40.92

Women’s 400m

7. Betina Jean    58.21

9. Haely Grant    59.10

18. Kavay Johnson    1:01.04

Women’s 1000m

18. Morgan Middleton    3:14.02

Women’s 3000m

14. Valencia Butler    11:20.82

23. Shelvany Goin    12:19.12

Women’s High Jump

5. Darryn Hough    1.55m

10. Selena Rutland    1.50m

21. Soukaina Davis    1.50m

Women’s Long Jump

4. Ay’Keelah Green    5.84m

10. Zion Harvey    5.55m

36. Darryn Hough    4.90m

Women’s Triple Jump

3. LaNeeya Garrison    11.81m

5. Selena Rutland    11.74m

Women’s Shot Put

4. Kasie Ugeh    13.19m

25. Raziyah Ware    10.63m

Women’s Weight Throw

29. Raziyah Ware    10.13m

Follow Bethune-Cookman Cross Country/Track & Field on Twitter and Instagram (BCUXCTF) for all of the latest news and updates. For all Bethune-Cookman Athletics news, follow us on Twitter (@BCUAthletics), Instagram (@BCU_Athletics) TikTok (@BCUAthletics) and www.bcuathletics.com. 

–#HailWildcats–

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Women’s Track and Field | 12/6/2025 7:16:00 PM

Springfield, Ohio – Sophomore Mira Renaldi, senior Emily Brennan and first-year Stevie Combs all showed out in the first meet of the indoor season, as three records were broken by the trio at the Tiger Opener hosted by Wittenberg University. Renaldi broke the record in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.16, just barely edging out the time of 9.17 set by Caliyah Bennett back in 2023. Two records were broken in the same event, as Brennan broke the record in the 300 meter dash with a time of 41.75 in heat one, beating the record of 42.01 which was held by Jill Westerfield since 1998. The record would not last long though, as in heat two Combs would break the record with a time of 41.15 seconds, making Brennan’s short-lived. Sydney Flores was first in shot put, and multiple Big Red delivered top-five performances.

Distance/Sprints

In the 60-meter hurdles, sophomore Mira Renaldi ran a career-best and Denison record 9.16 to earn first place. Her previous best was 9.20. Coming in second-place was senior Sydney Brown with a time of 9.39. The Big Red stuffed the top-10 in the 300-meter dash, as first-year Stevie Combs got second with a time of 41.15 for a school record, and Emily Brennan followed right behind with a time of 41.75 for third-place. Renaldi added on to her impressive day with a sixth-place finish with a mark of 43.65. In the 200-meter dash, Brennan showcased another top-10 finish, this time notching eighth with a time of 26.39. Lulu Visocky-O’Grady placed seventh in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:39.98.

Field Events

Sydney Flores won the shot put with a mark of 12.14, .45 more than the second-place finisher. Gabrielle Turner also competed in the event, as she placed in the top-10 with Turner grabbing 10th with a throw of 10.44m. Mariel Drost earned fifth-place in the weight throw with a mark of 13.38m. In the long jump, first-year Marisa Bianchi placed in the top-five with a jump of 4.96m to start her Big Red career. Sophomore Eno-Yaa Kissi grabbed ninth with a career-best mark of 4.85m. Julia Schena placed eighth in the high jump with a mark of 1.48.

Up Next for the Big Red

The Big Red will take a holiday break, then head out to Muskingum University for Muskie Meet #1 in New Concord, Ohio on Saturday, January 17, 2026.

Pitt women’s volleyball coach Dan Fisher would love more preparation between the first and second round of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament.

All 32 coaches who advanced to the second round felt like that to some degree about the 24-hour or so turnaround they face. The Panthers found ways to stabilize themselves after a hot start from Michigan to win 25-23, 25-23, 25-18 to advance to the regional semifinals for the sixth consecutive season.

“I’ll start by acknowledging how tough Michigan was tonight,” Fisher said. “We tried early in the week to have them look at both Xavier and Michigan and their style of play. It is certainly nice to have a date or two to feel that you’ve had a few times to train against it. But everyone has the same advantage, and they had the same deal against us.”

Pitt right-side hitter Olivia Babcock was happy with how the Panthers adjusted. Babcock finished with a match-high 24 kills.

The Panthers (24-7) will host Minnesota on Thursday.

“I feel like we were struggling to execute what we wanted to do in the beginning of each set,” Babcock said. “I feel like at the end, once we got to those last points, we told each other this is when we need to play our best. I feel like we were able to slow down Michigan and just control our side.”

Michigan didn’t give away many opportunities to the Panthers.

The Wolverines held a 17-13 lead in the first set after a service ace from Allison Jacobs.

Michigan coach Erin Virtue was happy her team wasn’t intimidated by the moment.

“The moment wasn’t too big for this team,” Virtue said. “I think there’s a lot of reasons that you could have or excuses we could have leaned back on. But they were ready. Our team was ready.”

Pitt surged back with a 6-2 run that included two kills from Babcock and one from Marina Pezelj.

The Panthers went ahead for good, 22-21, on a block by Abbey Emch and Babcock on a Jacobs kill attempt.

Pezelj finished second on the team with 12 kills. Pezelj, a freshman outside hitter, has enjoyed her first tournament experience.

“For me, it’s really the first time, so I was kind of stressed a little bit in the beginning,” Pezelj said. “I’m pretty good with this, and I’m just so grateful to be here with this team.”

During the second set, the timing of Michigan’s mistakes hurt them. The Wolverines (22-11) twice committed service errors after cutting the lead to one point, 19-18 and 20-19, respectively.

Cymarah Gordon led Michigan with 11 kills.

Brooke Mosher led Pitt with 34 passists, and Emery Dupes and Babcock tied for a team-high eight digs.

Fisher said he is hoping the Panthers can continue their march.

“We, obviously, have big goals and aspirations as a program,” Fisher said. “But I think the reality of it is that there’s more parity now than ever, and the sport of volleyball is growing and the level gets higher every year. Being one of the last 16 teams left is a good year. We would like to keep winning and make it a great year.”