Athletes In-Issue. https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/v1746383055/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_swimsuit/01jte8n89em29qehznfz.jpg. https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/v1746140503/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_swimsuit/01jt71b5k632thzr7s6f.jpg. Editor’s Letter 2025. Meet All 2025 Models. https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/v1746922665/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_swimsuit/01jtyb8mw936sj39xv37.jpg. Every 2025 Location It used to be that women athletes were exceptions. In order to exist at all they had to prove they were good enough to be the one woman who could train with the men. They had to sue for opportunities […]
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It used to be that women athletes were exceptions.
In order to exist at all they had to prove they were good enough to be the one woman who could train with the men. They had to sue for opportunities to play. They had to practice in old jerseys and in run-down gyms. They had to work full-time jobs on top of their full-time jobs to pay for the sport that defined them. They had to let the jokes about their bodies and their talent on sitcoms and Saturday Night Live and in school hallways roll off their backs. They had to sneak into men’s only races, or start their own sports leagues, or file lawsuits against federations that paid them less just because of their gender.
But none of the powerhouse athletes in this issue knew a time when women’s sports were nonexistent, or against the rules, or banned altogether. Title IX and the Battle of the Sexes were ancient history by the time they were all joining their first toddler gym classes. Serena and Venus Williams were already household names and the ’99ers had proven that women’s soccer could pack stadiums and make Sports Illustrated covers in time for these girls to hang their posters on their childhood bedroom walls.
Today, all of those exceptions have made way for a generation of women athletes to come pouring through that shattered glass ceiling—and these women are pushing the sports world, and culture in general, forward with abandon.
Just having women athletes to look up to was enough for some of these women to pursue sports themselves. When Suni Lee was 6, she watched clips of the 2008 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team endlessly, then tried to mimic the moves she saw at home. “I started breaking stuff and doing flips on the bed, and finally my mom got sick of it and just put me in gymnastics,” says Lee. Today she has six Olympic medals, including an all-around gold in Tokyo.
Suni Lee was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by OYE Swimwear. Swimsuit embroidered by Abbode. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
Those same ’08 Games are a vivid memory for heptathlete Anna Hall. Since her dad coached track and field, Hall and her sisters gathered around excitedly to watch every event. They saw a young Allyson Felix shine, but another moment caught her attention, too: when Lolo Jones, the favorite for the 100-meter hurdles, clipped a hurdle and lost her lead, missing out on the podium altogether. “I think seeing everyone’s reaction to something bad happening at the Olympics made me realize how big it was,” Hall says.
And that bigness called to her. “That was when I was first like, O.K., this is what I want to do. I’m gonna go there. It just felt really important.” She was only 7 at the time, but this past summer, at 23, Hall made that dream come true in Paris, representing Team USA in the heptathlon.
When Jordan Chiles was first starting in gymnastics, she idolized Shawn Johnson and was told she could be the next Gabby Douglas. Before long, she was competing alongside some of her idols. “I was the youngest national team member, so I was able to see the dedication and passion they brought to the sport,” Chiles says. She has been embraced by the older generation and pushed the new generation forward, as a two-time Olympic medalist with a flair for tattoos and pop music. Her collegiate floor routines have become consistently viral videos, and in March she was named one of Time’s Women of the Year.
Ali Truwit was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by HAUS OF PINKLEMONAID. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
While earlier generations of women athletes often had to hide their love for sports or their burgeoning athleticism because even their own families would call it unladylike, Gen Z athletes were often raised by parents who wanted to enjoy sports with their kids. Freestyle skier Eileen Gu’s mom first put her in ski school at Lake Tahoe when she was 3. “Mom really loved to ski, so she would drive four hours away to Tahoe,” says Gu. “And I’m an only child, so she thought ski school was better than babysitting, because I got to be athletic and socialize with other kids.” Her mom gets to ski a lot more now, because she accompanies Gu, 21, around the world while she competes. This year, Gu, who has two Olympic gold medals, added to her haul by capturing her 18th World Cup event, making her the winningest free skier ever—woman or man.
Eileen Gu was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by MBM Swim. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
Cameron Brink, the No. 2 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, knew basketball was a possible career path long before she started playing at age 12. Brink’s mother worked at Nike, bringing in the first era of female basketball players to the brand. “You can feel a shift, when you have those women to look up to,” says the Los Angeles Sparks forward. “Playing basketball for a living is a huge privilege, but none of this would have happened without the women before us.”
As the children of two professional tennis players, Nelly Korda and her two older siblings were encouraged to be athletic. “I started playing sports when I started walking, it’s just always something I’ve done. But our parents didn’t want us to feel like we had to play tennis, they wanted us to find what we were passionate about,” Korda says. It was her older sister Jessica’s interest in golf that got Korda and the rest of the family on the green. “Golf was a game we could all do together. You can be chill and have fun, and then if you are serious it can be intense,” she says. Soon enough, Korda followed in her sister’s footsteps and took golf very seriously, joining the LPGA tour at age 18. Today, she’s the top-ranked women’s golfer in the world.
Caroline Marks was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by It’s Now Cool. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
Becoming an elite athlete wasn’t on Gabby Thomas’s radar as a child. But she was encouraged by her mom to try any sport she wanted: horseback riding, basketball, tennis, gymnastics and soccer. “Sports became a strong part of my identity and shaped who I am,” Thomas says. Ultimately her speed got her a scholarship to Harvard, and ultimately a professional and Olympic career.
Raised in Florida, Caroline Marks was most comfortable in the ocean. She also loved to hang out with her older brothers. So when they learned to surf, she followed. She won her first big trophy at an amateur competition in California. “I just remember getting this big trophy and thinking, This is the best thing ever. I just did what I love to do the most and regardless of where this is going to go, I just never want to stop doing this. Surfing is gonna be a part of my life forever,” she says. So far, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist has continued to find that joy and success on the waves.
Ali Truwit grew up in the water, too. But for her, it was a pool in Connecticut. She was a swim team kid who was constantly surrounded by competitive swimmers, some of whom would become Olympians. “I would always use them as inspiration,” Truwit says. The joy she felt in the water is what kept her training, which ultimately secured her a spot on Yale’s swim team. Just days after her college graduation, though, a shark attacked her and a friend while they were snorkeling and Truwit became a lower-leg amputee. But the empowerment and joy she’d found in the pool helped her embrace her body. “There were all these unknowns about what life without a limb is like, but swimming was such a valuable tool for me, because it was something that I could reclaim,” she says. Just a year after her accident Truwit was competing at the highest level—winning two medals at the 2024 Paralympics.
Gabby Thomas was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by GIGI C. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
When Toni Breidinger was a kid in northern California, she tried gymnastics, piano and a bunch of other activities, but nothing really stuck. When her dad saw a billboard on the side of the road in Sonoma advertising a racetrack, he thought he would take Toni and her twin sister, Annie, to try a go-kart class. She was immediately hooked. They raced go-karts until Toni was 15, when she started to get opportunities to try out race cars. The thrill of driving, and winning, kept her moving up through the sport. Today, Breidinger holds the record for the most top-10 finishes in any NASCAR circuit by a woman, with 27.
The women athletes coming up today are fully cognizant of how far the sports world has come, and how far there still is to go toward gender equality.
In the traditionally male-dominated world of professional surfing, Marks got to compete in the first event to offer equal prize money for the men’s and women’s winners, at the 2019 Boost Mobile Pro in Australia. “I used to go out and there used to be hardly any girls just surfing, but now it’s like just as many girls are out there as guys,” she says.
Anna Hall was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
The same thing is happening in other sports, as women’s purses catch up to men’s. But these athletes are anything but content, and it’s about more than money. Korda wants to see women’s golf on prime-time TV. Breidinger is hosting events for girls to get more women drivers to join her in NASCAR—she’s the only one in the Craftsman Truck Series this year, out of 35 drivers. And Truwit hopes the representation for amputee athletes increases with the explosion in coverage of women athletes in general. “The more you see people with differences doing these amazing things, the more you can see yourself in those places, too,” she says. “There’s still so much room to grow.”
Toni Breidinger was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
Last June, Brink tore her ACL, ending her rookie season early. But undergoing surgery and doing rehab for the better part of a year gave her time to think about the WNBA in a big-picture way. “None of this would have happened without Sheryl Swoopes and all those women who came before. My rookie class, we say the same thing: We want the girls after us to have it even better,” says Brink.
How? Brink has her eye on salary increases and better benefits. And since endorsements are where most players make significant money, she hopes more diverse players get the kind of recognition she and her peers have. “Where are the endorsements for [the vets]?” says Brink. “Especially my teammates that are Black, that are gay, that use they/them pronouns. There’s a privilege that some of the rookies have in being younger and coming in at a good time, and a privilege of looking a certain way. There are women in the league that deserve more recognition, it’s just that simple: They deserve more.”
Jordan Chiles was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by I.AM.GIA. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
Women athletes dominated headlines and medal podiums last summer in Paris, a trend that has been brewing for the past several Olympics. In 2024, women made up 50% of the athletes at the Games for the first time in history. But the gymnasts and track stars there, who usually get their moment on a Wheaties box once every four years, also started to notice a more sustained interest than before.
Cameron Brink was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Tinye Swim. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
Thomas, who was featured heavily in Netflix’s docuseries Sprint in the lead-up to the Games and then went on to win three gold medals in Paris, sees this momentum as fuel (a public health professional, she also works part-time at a volunteer health clinic in Austin, Texas, where she trains). “It’s so helpful and motivating for me to be in an era of sport like this, where women have so much purpose and we’re fighting for so much more than just what’s on the field or the track,” Thomas says. “It’s about making a difference to increase access and equity in our sport. That’s such a great moment to be part of.”
Lee and Chiles embody the change in what it means to be a gymnast today. When Lee was first starting out, she was shocked by how serious competitions were. Strict, abusive coaching styles were all too common, and the athletes were forced into harmfully rigid ideas about their bodies and how they should look. Few gymnasts had careers once they went through puberty. “Being a gymnast in a lot of people’s eyes was a white girl with a ponytail and I didn’t look like any of them,” says Chiles.
Nelly Korda was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Laquan Smith. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
In the past decade, however, national team members have bravely spoken out about the abusive coaching and environments they experienced, and the U.S. team has gotten older, stronger, healthier and more competitive. “I’m definitely stronger now than I was when I was younger,” Chiles says. “And I’ve accepted the fact it’s O.K. to be older in this sport.” Fans certainly have embraced that. At the Paris Games Lee says she felt like a rock star. “It was just the best feeling in the world to see that people actually cared about it,” she says.
The freedom, joy, and support enjoyed by today’s U.S. gymnasts has undeniably made the sport more fun to watch, and Lee wants that for all women athletes. “I feel like right now women are dominating in sports,” she says. “It’s such an amazing thing to see and it’s so exciting to watch. I feel like it can only get better from here.”
North water polo wins state | Possible indoor park space referendum | Neuqua teacher honored
Naperville North boys water polo team wins state Naperville North boys water polo won the IHSA state championship for the first time in program history on Saturday night. The Huskies trailed New Trier 6-2 at halftime, but the defense shut out the Trevians in the second half to win the 2025 state title by the […]
Naperville North boys water polo won the IHSA state championship for the first time in program history on Saturday night. The Huskies trailed New Trier 6-2 at halftime, but the defense shut out the Trevians in the second half to win the 2025 state title by the score of 7-6.
The Naperville North girls water polo team brought home the third-place trophy. The Huskies sent retiring head coach Andy McWhirter out a winner in his final game with a 12-9 victory over York in the third-place matchup.
Naperville Park Board approves deals to prepare for possible indoor space referendum
Two consultants will help the Naperville Park District prepare for a possible bond referendum to generate funds for new indoor recreation space under contracts the park board approved at its most recent meeting.
The board approved spending a total of $129,000 on planning, public engagement, and architectural services to prepare for a potential ballot question related to funding a new indoor facility.
Find out what prompted their decision.
Neuqua Valley instructor named Health Education Teacher of the Year
Neuqua Valley High School teacher Laura Walan was recently named as the 2025 Health Education Teacher of the Year.
She was awarded the honor by the Illinois Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
Read more about what earned her this recognition.
District 203 continues budget review
Naperville School District 203 officials continue to review the proposed 2025-26 school year budget, with a targeted adoption date of June 16 in mind.
Administrators first unveiled the budget proposal in early May, and several workshops are on the docket before a public hearing and potential adoption next month.
Learn more about the budget proposal, and the review processes that have been taking place.
Granger Middle School student competing in Scripps National Spelling Bee
Shruthi Ayyagari, a seventh-grader at Granger Middle School is one of 243 students taking part in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Find out more about how she earned her spot in the competition, which kicks off today.
Southern Illinois Salukis – Official Athletics Website
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois Track and Field will head to the NCAA West Preliminary round on Wednesday, May 28 in College Station, Tex. The men will compete on Wednesday and Friday, and the women will compete on Thursday and Saturday. The Salukis will send nine athletes to the first round: Darrione Williams, Andre Jackson […]
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois Track and Field will head to the NCAA West Preliminary round on Wednesday, May 28 in College Station, Tex. The men will compete on Wednesday and Friday, and the women will compete on Thursday and Saturday.
The Salukis will send nine athletes to the first round: Darrione Williams, Andre Jackson II, Leah Thames, Teanna Bell, Shane Ashton, Trinity Cleaver, KeyAnn Wilson, Xavier Preston, and Josh Delgado.
RELAYS
The women’s 4×100 relay team, made up of Leah Thames, Teanna Bell, KeyAnn Wilson, and Trinity Cleaver will compete on Saturday, May 31, at 5 p.m. They won the event at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships with a time of 44.62 seconds.
The men’s 4×400 Relay team, made up of Shane Ashton, Xavier Preston, Josh Delgado, and Andre Jackson II will compete on Friday, May 30, at 8:45 p.m. They won the event at the MVC Championship with a time of 3:06.17.
JUMPS
Darrione Williams will compete in the long jump starting on Wednesday, May 28, at 4:30 p.m. Williams is coming off a stellar weekend at the MVC Championship, where he won the gold medal in the long jump with a jump of 7.55M and the silver medal in the triple jump with a jump of 14.94 meters.
INDIVIDUAL TRACK EVENTS
Leah Thames will pull triple duty this week, competing in the 4×100 relay, as well as the 200M and 400M dashes. Thames dominated at the MVC Championship, claiming four gold medals and the MVC Most Valuable Female Athlete. She set personal best times in the 200M dash (23.38 seconds), and the 400M dash (53.04 Seconds). The 200M dash will take place on Thursday, May 29 at 8:45 p.m.
Teanna Bell will join Thames in the 400M dash. Bell claimed second in the 400M dash at the MVC Championship; she was on the heels of Thames the entire race, finishing with a personal best time of 53.15 seconds. The first round of the 400M dash is on Thursday, May 29 at 7:25 p.m.
Andre Jackson II will look to continue a strong freshman campaign, racing in the 400M dash. Jackson has only gotten faster with every race and will look to continue that trend on Wednesday at 7:25 p.m. At the MVC Championship, he took home the first-place finish with a time of 45.75 seconds, this time set an MVC Record, Facility Record, and a personal best mark in the event.
Shane Ashton will compete in the 400M Hurdles on Wednesday at 8:20 p.m. Ashton defended his crown at the MVC Championship, winning the event with a time of 50.54 seconds.
Follow along with Live Results.
The NCAA West First Round Championship Central page can be found here.
The NCAA West Preliminary Round will be streamed live on ESPN+, and each day can be found below.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
For the latest updates on the Salukis, follow the team on Twitter (@SIUTrackXC), Instagram (@SIUTrackXC) and Facebook (@SalukiTrackAndField).
PRINCETON, N.J. – Preparing to compete in 14 events, the Princeton men’s track and field team will head to Jacksonville, Fla. for the NCAA East First Round to be held Wednesday, May 28th through Saturday, May 31st. 16 Tigers were individually selected to compete in 13 events, with Princeton sending a squad for the 4×400 […]
PRINCETON, N.J. – Preparing to compete in 14 events, the Princeton men’s track and field team will head to Jacksonville, Fla. for the NCAA East First Round to be held Wednesday, May 28th through Saturday, May 31st.
16 Tigers were individually selected to compete in 13 events, with Princeton sending a squad for the 4×400 relay as well.
The selections continue an impressive year for Princeton, as the Tigers won the Ivy Outdoor Heptagonal Championship to complete their second-consecutive and 12th all-time Triple Crown earlier this month.
At Outdoor Heps, Princeton boasted five individual championships as Greg Foster won the long jump and the 110 hurdles, while Jackson Clarke won the 200, Harrison Witt won the 1500, and Casey Helm won the discus.
Just this season, the Tigers have rewritten the school record books, setting new records in six events while making the top-10 leaderboards with 22 other performances.
A pair of Tigers qualified for regionals with top-5 marks. Foster ranks first on the NCAA East Qualifying List and third nationally in the long jump with a mark of 8.10m/26-7″ from the Virginia Challenge on April 18. Helm ranks third regionally in the discus after throwing 63.37m/207′ 11″ at the Penn Relays for a new program record. His mark puts him at seventh in the nation.
Witt, a 2025 Second Team All-American in the indoor mile, ranks 12th in the East and 22nd in the country in the 1500m after running 3:37.22 at the Larry Ellis Invitational. His time set a new program record.
Seb Clatworthy also ranks 12th regionally in the high jump after clearing 2.16m/7′ 1″ at Outdoor Heps, while Joe Licata ranks 12th in the shot put with a throw of 19.24m/63′ 1.5″ at Penn Relays.
Rounding out the Tigers in the region’s top 20, Jackson Shorten comes in at 13th in the 3000m steeplechase. Sam Rodman’s school record-breaking 800m performance of 1:46.85 put him at 14th in the region.
First-year distance phenom Jacob Nenow ranks 19th in the 10000m after running 28:23.60 at the Sam Howell Invitational, breaking Princeton’s record in his first collegiate competition in the event.
After a dominant outdoor season, the Tigers head to Jacksonville ready to compete for punched tickets to the NCAA finals in Eugene, Ore. next month.
Full list of Tigers competing at the NCAA East First Round:
Story Links
Euro Cup (Final Round, Second Leg) May 24 Pro Recco 12, Radnicki 9 Team USA captain Ben Hallock scored one to help Pro Recco win the club’s first Euro Cup in team history. The Italian giants upended Radnicki 12-9 in the second leg to claim victory over the Serbian […]
Team USA captain Ben Hallock scored one to help Pro Recco win the club’s first Euro Cup in team history. The Italian giants upended Radnicki 12-9 in the second leg to claim victory over the Serbian squad.
Hallock and Pro Recco claimed the club’s 37th Scudetto with a 9-5 win over Brescia and Max Irving, who scored twice in defeat. Quinn Woodhead and Roma Vis Nova earned a seventh place Serie A1 finish after a 10-8 victory over Ortigia.
A1 Ethniki (Final Round) May 21
Olympiacos 13, Vouliagmeni 12
Olympiacos 18, Vouliagmeni 14
Dylan Woodhead and Vouliagmeni lost 13-12 and 18-14 to Olympiacos in the A1 Ethniki championship round to finish the season in second place. Woodhead scored one goal in the final game of the series.
Women’s División De Honor (Final Round, Second Leg) May 25
Sabadell 12, Sant Andreu 10
Maggie Steffens and Tara Prentice’s Sabadell based side won the second game of the Women’s Division de Honor Final against Sant Andreu, 12-10. The two teams will now face off in a decisive third game to determine a champion.
Women’s A1 Ethniki (Third Place) May 21, 24
Alimos 13, Glyfada 12
Alimos 10, Glyfada 7
Isabel Williams and Glyfada lost the Women’s A1 Ethniki third place series to Alimos after a pair of losses to conclude the year in fourth place of Women’s A1 Ethniki.
Here’s a look ahead at some important matches featuring Team USA athletes:
Women’s División De Honor (Final Round, Third Leg) May 28
The California track & field team’s 26 qualifiers will throw down against hundreds of the best athletes in the nation this week, each ready to put their best effort forward at the NCAA West Regionals in College Station, Texas, to earn a coveted spot at next month’s NCAA Outdoor Championships. The four-day meet at […]
The California track & field team’s 26 qualifiers will throw down against hundreds of the best athletes in the nation this week, each ready to put their best effort forward at the NCAA West Regionals in College Station, Texas, to earn a coveted spot at next month’s NCAA Outdoor Championships. The four-day meet at Texas A&M’s E.B. Cushing Stadium runs Wednesday-Saturday, with each day’s evening events streamed on ESPN+. Live results will be available at Flash Results.
Track athletes will need to advance past two rounds (first rounds and quarterfinals) to book their spots at Oregon’s Hayward Field, where the NCAA Championships will be contested. Field athletes have just one round (a semifinal) to pass. Only 12 individuals per event will move on to Eugene.
The men’s events are scheduled for Wednesday and Friday while the women will compete on Thursday and Saturday.
Eighteen of the Golden Bears’ entries have posted at least one outdoor program top-10 mark this season, which includes a world record from discus thrower Mykolas Alekna. He, along with fellow discus thrower and Olympian Caisa-Marie Lindfors, will look to qualify for their third NCAA Championships (Alekna – 2022-23; Lindfors – 2021, 23).
Hammer thrower Giavonna Meeks and pole vaulter Tyler Burns each competed at this year’s NCAA Indoor Championships, with Meeks finishing fourth in the weight throw and Burns 12th in the indoor pole vault. Distance runner Garrett MacQuiddy and hammer thrower Audrey Jacobs both reached the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2023, with Jacobs earning Second-Team All-American status.
Trevor Rogers (long jump) and Valentina Savva (hammer) are Cal’s only two freshmen set to compete this week, following silver-medal performances at the ACC Outdoor Championships earlier this month. Savva is just one of three first-years appearing in the women’s hammer throw and the only one listed in the final flight.
WORLD RECORD RETURNER
Discus thrower Mykolas Alekna is competing for the Bears once again after taking the 2024 season off to prepare for his debut Olympic Games, where he surpassed the previous Olympic record on the way to a silver medal. The 22-year-old phenom stunned the athletics world by breaking track & field’s oldest standing men’s record last April, posting a throw of 74.35m (243-11) at the Oklahoma Throws World Invitational to surpass a mark that had stood since 1986. He then broke it again last month, becoming the first man in history to surpass the 75-meter barrier with a mark of 75.56m (247-10) that also reset his own collegiate and ACC records.
Since enrolling at Berkeley in Fall 2021, Alekna has compiled an eye-popping résumé that has already elevated him into one of the sport’s legendary figures. The two-time World medalist, three-time Lithuanian Male Athlete of the Year and two-time semifinalist for The Bowerman set his first collegiate record as a freshman, later becoming the youngest-ever European discus champion and youngest World discus medalist in history at just 19 years of age; that year, he was also named a semifinalist for the AAU James E. Sullivan Award and the USTFCCCA West Region and Pac-12 Men’s Field Athlete of the Year.
Alekna has claimed a total of five facility records and nine meet records over the past four years, as well as two Pac-12 titles and two First-Team All-American nods. Most recently, he was named the top discus thrower in the world by Track & Field News and recorded his 22nd appearance on The Bowerman Watch List – third-most by any man and more than any thrower in history.
PODIUM POWERHOUSES
Cal athletes collected a total of 12 medals at the ACC Outdoor Championships. Mykolas Alekna (discus) and Giavonna Meeks (hammer) led the way with titles in their respective events, while Caisa-Marie Lindfors earned podium spots in two events (discus – silver; shot put – bronze). Both Lucija Leko (shot put – silver) and Johnny Goode (400m – bronze) broke school records on the way to their first conference medals, while Trevor Rogers posted a massive personal best in the long jump on the way to a second-place finish. Garrett MacQuiddy (1500m), Tyler Burns (pole vault) and Valentina Savva (hammer) added to Cal’s group of silver medalists, while Nick Godbehere (shot put) and Jared Freeman (hammer) clinched bronze.
ALL-ACC HONOREES
In addition to the medalists listed above, an additional six Bears picked up All-ACC honors as Cal finished with 18 all-conference athletes in a combined 22 events. Riley Knott placed fourth in both the high jump and the long jump while Jared Freeman took fourth in the discus for his second All-ACC selection and Lucija Leko did the same with a sixth-place finish in the women’s contest. Hurdlers Asjah Atkinson (100m hurdles) and Donovan Bradley (110m hurdles) each placed fourth, while teammate Loreal Wilson took sixth in the 400m hurdles. One more trio of throwers – hammer specialists Audrey Jacobs (fifth) and Adrianna Coleman (sixth) as well as discus thrower Charlie Dang (fifth) – rounded out the All-ACC squad.
THROW LOUD AND PROUD
Cal’s throws squad – which has set six indoor and 11 outdoor program top-10 marks this season – is putting up another elite year, led by returning Olympic discus throwers Mykolas Alekna and Caisa-Marie Lindfors. Hammer thrower Audrey Jacobs owns the Dutch U23 record and earned All-America status as a freshman in 2023, while Adrianna Coleman, a sophomore, has also reached the USATF U20 Championships in each of the past two years, taking bronze in the hammer in 2023.
The Bears also welcomed several top newcomers to the team this year. Cal’s throwing transfer class is headlined by two-time All-American Giavonna Meeks, who won Cal’s first ACC title (weight throw) in March and claimed the ACC hammer title two months later. Other new members of the squad include 2024 World U20 hammer silver medalist Valentina Savva, 2024 European Championships two-way competitor Lucija Leko (discus and shot put) and 2023 European U20 hammer medalist Kai Barham. Meeks (No. 2 weight throw, No. 4 hammer, No. 6 indoor shot put, No. 10 outdoor shot put), Savva (No. 3 hammer, No. 4 weight throw) and Leko (No. 1 outdoor shot put, No. 4 discus, No. 5 indoor shot put) have already recorded marks on Cal’s all-time top-10 lists, while UC Santa Barbara transfer Jared Freeman also now owns program top 10s in the indoor weight throw (No. 2), hammer (No. 7) and discus (No. 10).
HERE COME THE HURDLERS
The Golden Bear hurdlers have posted a breakthrough season in 2025, collecting six program top-10 times and four All-ACC nods between the indoor and outdoor campaigns. Asjah Atkinson, who was named All-ACC both indoors and outdoors, now ranks second all-time at Cal in the 60m hurdles and fourth in the 100m hurdles. She is joined on both lists by teammate Mari Testa, who moved into a tie for the program’s No. 5 time in the former and shares the No. 7 time in the latter with teammate Saqqara Ruffin. Donovan Bradley (110m hurdles) and Loreal Wilson (400m hurdles) each made the Outdoor All-ACC team, each posting Cal’s fifth-best time in their respective events at the ACC Outdoor Championships.
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal track & field, follow the Bears on X/Twitter (@CalTFXC), Instagram (@caltfxc) and Facebook (@Cal Cross Country/Track and Field).
Nine from Men’s Track & Field named to NEWMAC Academic All-Conference Team
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MARLBOROUGH, Mass.—Nine members of the Babson College men’s track and field program were honored for their hard work in the classroom when they were named to the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Academic All-Conference team on Tuesday. Graduate student Matthew Campbell (South Easton, Mass.) and seniors Will […]
MARLBOROUGH, Mass.—Nine members of the Babson College men’s track and field program were honored for their hard work in the classroom when they were named to the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Academic All-Conference team on Tuesday.
Graduate student Matthew Campbell (South Easton, Mass.) and seniors Will Dean (Belmont, Mass.), Julian Ivarra (Plano, Texas), and Jack Reynolds (Fairfield, Conn.) were named to the Academic All-Conference team for the third time in their careers, and graduate student Ryan Wilson (Mount Sinai, N.Y.), senior Harrison Prucher (Hopkinton, Mass.), and sophomores Jonathan Hanscom (Hadley, Mass.), Coleman Hayes (New York, N.Y.) and Stratton Seymour (Merrimac, Mass.) were honored for the first time.
Academic All-Conference honorees must have met the following criteria: earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5/4.0 scale after the 2024 fall semester, achieved second-year academic status, and been a member of the varsity team for the entire semester.
Campbell, a Strategic Management major, competed for Babson for the first time since 2022 and registered career-best times in his last two races. He placed 13th in the 1500 meters in a personal PR time of 4:09.40 at the NEWMAC Championships on April 26, and he finished seventh in the 10,000 meters at the New England Division III Championships with a PR time of 32:44.85. He made his Babson debut with two appearances back in 2019 and also competed in 10 meets in 2021 and 2022.
Dean, a Business major, competed in four meets this spring and finished his career with a ninth-place performance in the long jump at the NEWMAC Championships with a mark of 19-feet, 5.25-inches. He earned All-NEWMAC honors in 2024 with a second-place finish in the conference meet in the decathlon, scoring 4,331 points. His javelin throw of 149-feet, 6-inches at the MIT Sean Collier Invitational on April 19, 2024, ranked 29th in the NCAA Division III East Region.
Ivarra, a Business Administration major, ran in six track meets this spring after competing in the NCAA Division III cross country championships last fall. He ran a personal-best time in the 5000 meters with a 14:53.27 at the Bryant Black & Gold Invitational in late March and a PR 31:01.28 in the 10,000 meters at the MIT Sean Collier Invitational on April 19. He went on to place third in the 10,000 at the NEWMAC Championships and 13th in the 5000. His career-best time of 14:53.26 in the 5000 ranks seventh-fastest in program history, and his 31:01.28 in the 10K ranks fifth-fastest in program history.
Reynolds, a Business Analytics major, competed in 25 meets in his first three seasons at Babson but did not appear in any meets this spring. He placed fourth in the triple jump at the 2024 NEWMAC Championships with a career-best mark of 42-feet, 8-inches, eighth in the high jump with a leap of 6-feet, 1.5-inches, and 12th in the javelin throw with a mark of 135-feet, 8-inches. He placed third in the high jump (6-feet, 0.75-inches) at the NEWMAC meet in 2022 and fifth in 2023 (6-feet, 2.75-inches).
Wilson, a Finance major, returned for his final year of eligibility for the Beavers as a middle-distance runner. He finished 11th in the 1500 meters in a time of 4:08.54 at the NEWMAC Championships and finished in 16th place in the 800 meters in 2:05.02. He ran a career-best 15:41.84 to place sixth in the 5000 meters at the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational back on March 21 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Wilson previously placed eighth in the 1500 meters at the NEWMAC Championships back in 2022 and fifth in the 1500 in 2023.
Prucher, a Finance major, competed in the high hurdle events in 18 meets in his first three seasons at Babson but did not appear in any meets this spring. He finished 11th in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.76 at the NEWMAC Championships in 2023, and placed fifth in the event with a career-best time of 15.53 at the NEWMAC meet in 2024.
Hansom, a Finance major, appeared in two meets this spring as a distance runner. He ran a career-best time of 32:43.11 in the 10,000 meters to take ninth place at the Bryant Black & Gold Invitational on March 28, and finished seventh with a time of 33:17.85 in the 10K at the NEWMAC Championships on April 25. He was also 11th in the 10,000 meters at the 2024 NEWMAC meet in 34:15.89.
Hayes, a Finance major, competed in five events this spring as a thrower for the Beavers. He placed seventh in the shot put at the NEWMAC Championships with a career-best mark of 42-feet, 6-inches; finished 13th at the NEWMAC meet in the discus with a mark of 109-feet, 6-inches; and placed 14th in the hammer throw with a career-best mark of 117-feet, 7-inches. He was also seventh in the discus (career-best 119-feet, 2-inches) at the 2024 NEWMAC meet and eighth in the shot put (39-feet, 8.75-inches).
Seymour, a Business Administration major, competed in four events this spring for the Beavers. He finished 11th in the 400-meter hurdles at the NEWMAC Championships this spring in a time of 59.70 seconds. He set the program record in the 400 hurdles three times in 2024, the third time coming at the MIT Final qualifier with a clocking of 56.52 seconds.
The Beavers finished in fifth place at the conference championships with 79 points, third-most in program history.
