The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.

After practice earlier this week, Long Beach Poly softball coach Elizabeth Sanches was getting her steps in on the campus’ tennis courts. As she walked, she stopped occasionally to bend down and pick up softballs. This is part of her daily routine–patrolling the tennis courts to pick up homerun balls from her Jackrabbits’ batting practice.

“(Poly tennis coach) Monty hates us,” she said with a laugh.

The Jackrabbits’ big bats have powered them to the brink of history, and the tight-knit squad is hoping to make history Saturday morning at 10am when they face Warren in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 championship.

Poly has never won a CIF-SS title in softball–one of just four sports at the school to have not won a title (along with boys’ volleyball and the newly-added lacrosse teams). This year’s squad has battled significant injuries this year, but has packed a rare power in these playoffs with bats like Ki’ele Ho-Ching, Emoni Lam Sam, Kween Tauala and many others.

Poly has scored 38 runs in their four playoff games, including 33 in the last three rounds. The Jackrabbits defense and pitching have come through in big moments as well, but it’s the bats that have brought them to this point.

“I live, eat, and breathe for offense, I do,” said Sanches. “They say a team can be a reflection of the coach, and I have always had a big bat mentality, I was raised on that. My coaches rarely gave bunt signs, my coaches would give us a green light at three and oh, because they had confidence in us. Oftentimes for young ladies, when you know that somebody believes in you, that’s all it takes.”

For Poly’s stars like Ho-Ching and Lam Sam, this opportunity to make history can’t be passed up.

“It’s an honor,” said Ho-Ching, an Oklahoma commit and the top-ranked recruit in the junior class. “No Poly team has made it further than us, we set that standard for ourselves. This year we’re all strong and we have a lot of great chemistry.”

Lam Sam stressed that the team’s chemistry is what’s driven this historic playoff run.

“These are my cousins and even the girls who aren’t related to me feel like family,” she said. “We have a sisterhood here, and we can make history and put a banner up–that would be amazing, knowing we’d be the first to do it.”

Ho-Ching agreed with her teammate and said the Jackrabbits are going into the game as a true team.

“We all love each other, that’s what this team is,” she said. “We love each other like sisters–we fight like sisters and argue like sisters too. But we also hang out outside of school all the time. I feel like girls, when they’re around each other so much, sometimes they end up not liking each other. But we have such a healthy team it’s easy to be around each other.”The Jackrabbits will face the Bears at 10am Saturday in Irvine at Deanna Manning Stadium. Tickets are available by clicking here: https://gofan.co/event/3439804?schoolId=CIFSS.

A transgender high school athlete was preparing to compete at California’s state championships on Friday after drawing criticism from President Donald Trump and reigniting debate about trans athletes in sport.

AB Hernandez, 16, is due to compete in the long jump, triple jump and high jump during preliminary rounds of the California State Track & Field Championships in Clovis, outside of Fresno.

Hernandez’s participation at the meeting has been the subject of intense controversy, with the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) scrambling to adjust competition rules this week as anger grew on all sides.

On Tuesday, CIF officials announced that entry rules had been modified so that biological females were not excluded from competition due to the participation of trans athletes.

A day later, the CIF issued another rule change — specifically targeting events in which Hernandez is competing — which mandates that any athlete who misses out on a podium finish behind a trans athlete would still receive a medal.

“If necessary, in the high jump, triple jump and long jump events at the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships, a biological female student-athlete who would have earned a specific placement on the podium will also be awarded the medal for that place and the results will be reflected in the recording of the event,” the federation announced in a statement.

The last-minute rules changes came after days of controversy which have included Hernandez being targeted by Trump on social media. 

The US President, who did not mention Hernandez by name, threatened to withhold federal funding from California in future if she was allowed to compete in this week’s championships, which got under way on Friday with finals due on Saturday.

“As a female, this transitioned person is practically unbeatable. THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS,” Trump wrote.

“Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to…This is a totally ridiculous situation!!!”

Trump’s comment was followed by an announcement from the US Department of Justice that it had launched an investigation into whether California had violated Title IX, the law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding.

“The investigation is to determine whether California, its senior legal, educational, and athletic organizations, and the school district are engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of sex,” the DOJ said in a statement.

Local and state officials have also criticised Hernandez’s participation, calling for the teenager to be prevented from competing.

At a press conference on Thursday, Clovis mayor Diane Pearce called for CIF to block Hernandez’s participation following their rule amendments earlier in the week.

“Today, I call on CIF to do the right thing. Updates one and two were not enough, but the third time can be the charm,” Pearce said. 

“CIF still has a chance to make it right by removing biological males from girls’ sports.”

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© Agence France-Presse

COLLEGE STATION, Texas  – Colorado State track and field saw two athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships on Thursday as Mya Lesnar dominated the shot put field while Kajsa Borrman activated her clutch gene to advance in the hammer throw at the West Regional in College Station.
 
Lesnar entered Thursday’s shot put competition as the national leader in the event by a solid margin, and she proved to be the best competitor out of the West Region with her results. Entering in the fourth flight, Lesnar wasted no time vaulting herself to the top of the standings as logged 18.50 meters/60-feet-8.5 on her first attempt. Her throw stood the test as the Ram finished atop the field with nearly two feet of cushion.
 
The former indoor national champion will be making her third-straight trip to outdoor nationals and seeks to build upon a fifth-place finish at last year’s installment.
 
Borrman wrote a slightly different story as her first-career trip to nationals hung in the balance up until her final throw. Sitting outside of the top-12 qualifying spots entering her third attempt, Borrman unleashed a clutch 62.93/206-5 throw that moved her into 12th place; safe but not certain as other competitors had yet to finish. As the final three throws came through, the Loveland native held onto her place among the qualifiers and will join Lesnar on the trip to Eugene, Ore.
 
Also competing in the shot put field was CSU’s Makayla Long, who logged a 15.55m/51-1.25 throw to finish in 26th. Away from the throwing pit, Maria Kimpson cleared a height of 4.02m/13-2.25 to finish 33rd in the pole vault, while Neya Jamison ran a time of 1:00.05 to finish 38th in the 400 hurdles.
 
Day Three of the NCAA West Regionals picks up tomorrow morning as the CSU men’s team returns to action. The Flight Crew will take on the triple jump (1:30 p.m.) and the high jump (2:30 p.m.), while Michael Mooney will compete in the 5k at 7:10 p.m.
 

LOS ANGELES – The USC women’s volleyball team will add transfer middle blocker Mia Tvrdy (La Vista, Neb./Papillion-La Vista HS) to its 2025 roster head coach Brad Keller announced on Friday, May 30.
 
“Mia is a phenomenal athlete with great instincts at the net,” said Keller. “Adding her to our roster was a priority for us in this offseason and we expect her to be a major contributor in the gym right away. Mia brings a balance of offense and defense that will boost the productivity of our middle position greatly.” 
 
Tvrdy—who played at Oregon as a freshman in 2024—saw action in 14 matches with three starts for the Ducks. She collected 18 kills, 14 blocks, and four digs, to total 14.5 points. In a match at Iowa on October 20, Tvrdy notched career marks of 10.5 points with seven kills and six blocks. Tvrdy was a 2023 AVCA Girls High School All-America first-team choice and was among the top 35 athletes in Nebraska in total blocks (102), hitting percentage (.332) and kills (395). She earned an invitation to the 2024 Under Armour Next All-America game after averaging 3.73 kills per set as a senior. She had 19 matches in double-digit kills including a season-high 21 against Millard West (Sept. 5). Tvrdy helped PLVHS to a runner-up finish in the 2023 Nebraska State AA Class A playoffs—a run that featured an upset of top-seeded Papillion-La Vista South in the quarterfinals. In the victory, Tvrdy had 19 kills while hitting .400 to go with three blocks. During her prep career, Tvrdy totaled 1,169 kills, 299 blocks, and 75 service aces.
 
Tvrdy is the fourth Trojan to hail from the Cornhusker State and joins sophomore defender Paisley Douglas (Omaha, Neb./Skutt Catholic HS) on the 2025 roster. Previously, defender Reagan LeGrand (Papillion/Papillion-La Vista South HS) played for the Cardinal and Gold for four seasons (2016-19) and setter Elle Glock(Wahoo, Neb./Wahoo HS) was a Trojan for one season (2021) before transferring to Louisville.
 
Last season, the Women of Troy were awarded the sixth seed and made their 40th all-time appearance in the NCAA tournament. USC (22-10) defeated UT Arlington in a three-set sweep in the first round to advance to the second round for the 35th time. There, the Trojans were eliminated by third-seeded and 13th-ranked site host Texas in straight sets. USC reached 20 wins for the second time under Keller to earn its third consecutive berth in the tourney. Setter Mia Tuaniga set a new school record for career assists and was named to the AVCA All-America third team. She and outside hitter Ally Batenhorst were each AVCA All-Region choices and were taken with picks in the PVF Draft.
 
For more information on the USC women’s volleyball team, please visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on X, Facebook, and Instagram.
 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Graduate student Marcus Johnson has qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 400 hurdles. The Bearcat standout punched his ticket by placing eighth overall at the NCAA East Region Meet on Friday evening at the Jax Track at Hodges Stadium.

Running in the first of three heats, Johnson was fourth overall with a personal-best and school-record time of 49.93. The top three finishers in each of the heats – plus the next three fastest times – advanced to the NCAA Championships, which will be held June 11-14 at the University of Oregon. Johnson was the fastest time of the finishers outside of the top three in their heat and posted the eighth-fastest time overall.

Johnson is the first Binghamton men’s track & field athlete to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships since Dan Schaffer in the 5,000 in 2022. He is also the fifth male Bearcat ever to qualify for a NCAA Division I Track & Field Meet, joining Rory Quller, Cazal Arnett, Erik van Ingen, Jesse Garn and Schaffer. 

More details to follow ….

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Volleyball has officially announced its 2025 schedule. The Huskies’ 29-match regular season slate features a nonconference trip to Canada and Washington for the Western Washington Invitational before returning to St. Cloud to host the 2025 UP North Tournament at Halenbeck Hall. Opening its season on Sept. 4 in British Columbia, SCSU will play eight nonconference matches before beginning Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play Sept. 19 at home.

 

The Huskies begin their 2025 season with a trip to Burnaby, British Columbia and Bellingham, Washington for the Western Washington Invitational, hosted by Western Washington and Simon Fraser (B.C.) from Sept. 4-6. SCSU will play at Simon Fraser (British Columbia) before traveling to Bellingham to play San Francisco State (Calif.), the host Western Washington and Central Washington to wrap up the four-match slate. The Huskies have played Simon Fraser three times (1-2, last in 2021), San Francisco State twice (2-0, last in 1990) and Central Washington twice (0-2, last in 2023). SCSU and Western Washington have never met on the volleyball court before. Three of the four teams, and SCSU, ended the 2024 season in the top-25 or were receiving votes.

 

St. Cloud State returns home the following weekend to host the 2025 UP North Tournament at Halenbeck Hall. The Huskies will play matches against Adelphi (N.Y.), Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan and Barry (Fla.). SCSU has played Adelphi once (1-0, last in 2017), Michigan Tech 22 times (16-6, last in 2024), Northern Michigan 28 times (10-18, last in 2024) and Barry once (0-1, last in 1995 NCAA Elite 8). The Huskies split against MTU and NMU in the 2024 UP North Tournament which was hosted by Michigan Tech in Houghton, Mich.

 

Northern Sun play starts Sept. 19-20 when Minot State and UMary come to St. Cloud for the Huskies 2025 conference home opener weekend. The following Tuesday, Sept. 23, SCSU makes its first conference road trip of the season when it travels to Mankato to play Minnesota State. St. Cloud State will play its first ever road Northern Sun match against league newcomer, Jamestown with a trip to Jamestown, N.D. on Sept. 26 and will welcome the Jimmies to St. Cloud on Oct. 25. SCSU is 4-0 all-time against Jamestown, but the teams last met in 1988. Towards the end of the NSIC slate, the Huskies will play rival Concordia-St. Paul in a nonconference matchup at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul on Nov. 4.

 

In total, the Huskies will play 14 home regular season matches (10 conference matches). The NSIC Tournament will run from Nov. 18-Nov. 21 and the NCAA Tournament will begin on Dec. 4 with regional play and conclude with the championship match on Dec. 13.

 

Eight teams on St. Cloud State’s 2025 schedule finished last season ranked in the Final American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) DII national poll – San Francisco State (No. 2), Concordia-St. Paul (No. 13), Southwest Minnesota State (No. 16), Wayne State (No. 19), Barry (No. 20), Northern State (No. 22), Central Washington (RV), Simon Fraser (RV), while the Huskies finished ranked No. 5, which tied their best final ranking in program history.

2025 SCHEDULE

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Volleyball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.