Degree Type: Bachelor of Science in Health Services Administration 
Next Steps: MBA program at Charleston Southern University, full track scholarship
Hometown: Hyattsville, Maryland

Yassine Kamara understands what it takes to succeed at a high level. As a member of the Bowie State University track and field team, she has won many events in shot put and discus and has been recognized for numerous achievements. She is graduating this winter with a Bachelor of Science in Health Services Administration and preparing to take her next step as both a scholar and an athlete. Kamara has earned multiple athletic achievements during her time at Bowie State, and she has applied the same discipline and drive that fuel her success in competition to her academic pursuits. After graduation, she plans to pursue her MBA and continue her track and field career at Charleston Southern University. 

“When I originally toured the Bowie State campus with the track coach, it just felt like home. I felt comfortable,” Kamara said. 

But being a collegiate athlete, maintaining her grades, working and finding social connections turned out to be a difficult challenge for Kamara. She struggled for her first 18 months at Bowie State to find a healthy balance. 

“At first, I didn’t really have any friends outside of track. It was a repetitive cycle of workout, practice, class, work, then go straight back to my room. I was having a hard time socially,” she said. 

In addition to sports and school, Kamara was also working two jobs at a nursing home and an assisted living facility. Her schedule didn’t leave much time for social interactions. She leaned into her time with the track team to build friendships with her teammates, who became a support system for her. 

“I’m an extreme introvert, and I didn’t really break out of that until my senior year,” she said. 

Kamara made the most of her time on the track and field team, accumulating many wins and honors. She is a three-time CIAA discus champion, a 2025 NCAA First Team All-American, the fall indoor 2024 Field Athlete of the Year, earned 11 medals across seven meets including seven gold and four silver, made history as Bowie State’s first All-American in track and field since 2010, was named to the 2025 USTFCCCA All-Region Team and recognized earlier in the season as the CIAA Female Field Athlete of the Week. 

Impact of Bowie State Experience 

In addition to her athletic achievements, Kamara has thrived academically thanks to several resources at Bowie State. She points to the Academic Advising Center, Career Development Center and tutoring services as essential to her academic success. 

“These resources helped me stay on track and maintain my spot on the Dean’s List every semester since majoring in health services administration,” Kamara said. 

She also credits the Wellness Center for helping her prioritize her physical and mental well-being while managing the demands of school and athletics. 

“Bowie State has provided me with the resources, experiences and support to grow into the person I am today,” she said. 

After graduation, Kamara plans to use her education from Bowie State University and her eventual MBA from Charleston Southern University to work in administration, human resources or management at a nursing home or senior care facility. 

“I’ve always known that I wanted to work with seniors,” Kamara said. 

Kamara leaves Bowie State University ready for what comes next, grounded in the values, preparation and confidence she gained as a Bulldog. 

NAPERVILLE — College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced its 2025–26 Academic All-District® Women’s Volleyball teams, recognizing student-athletes across NCAA and NAIA divisions for excellence both on the court and in the classroom. The NCAA Division III selections include 24 honorees from the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW).
 
Academic All-District® honorees were considered for advancement to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot.  Student-athletes selected as CSC Academic All-America® finalists are denoted with an asterisk and will advance to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced Jan. 13, 2026.
 
Augustana
Grace Gustafson
Lanah Queckboener
Katelyn Turley
 
Carroll
Bronwyn Rowse
Maggie McGough
Taylor Raley
Kylie Wittnebel
 
Illinois Wesleyan
Alex Bardouniotis*
Kannyn Boyd*
Sophia Feeney*
Hannah Tellor*
 

Millikin
Charley Condill
Delaney Higgins
Elle Richards
 
North Central
Lauren Benson
Katie Godo
Sarah Harvey
Sarah Lezon
 
North Park
Kendal Britton
Meg Rothermel
 
Wheaton
Katherine Adkison
Jordan Benford*
Lacey Higgins
Sydney Overweg
 

MINOT, N.D. – The Minot State track and field program has found its new leader in a seasoned coach with plenty of NCAA Division I experience.

Minot State’s Associate Director of Athletics for External Operations, Janna McKechnie, is pleased to introduce Erik Stevens as the Beavers’ newest head coach. Stevens takes over leadership of the Minot State track and field program, replacing former coach Jordan Aus, who stepped down to fill the role of Associate Director of Athletics for Revenue and Ticketing in November.

“We are excited to welcome Coach Stevens to Minot State University,” McKechnie said. “Coach Stevens brings a strong commitment to developing the whole student-athlete, and a clear vision for building a competitive, disciplined, and positive track and field program. We are confident his leadership will elevate our program both on and off the track.”

Coach Stevens will begin his duties as the head track and field coach for the Beavers after the start of the new year.

“I want to start by thanking President Steven Shirley and Vice President for Student Affairs and Intercollegiate Athletics, Kevin Harmon, for this opportunity to lead the next phase of Minot State University track and field,” Coach Stevens said. “I also want to thank Jordan Aus and the rest of the search committee for a great experience through the interview process.

“Minot State is a place where you can feel the support that is behind you as a coach,” he added of his decision to pursue the Beaver head coaching position. “That is an important part of building a program. And the history of excellence that Minot State has in this sport is something that I want to bring back to the University as we start this new chapter together.”

Coach Stevens steps into his role mid-season with the Beavers, who began the indoor track and field season with meets hosted by the University of Mary and North Dakota State earlier this month. The new coach will focus on quickly establishing an identity for the Minot State program moving forward in preparation for the Beavers’ next meet, the Marauders Indoor Opener on Saturday, January 17, in Bismarck.

“The most important aspect to address is to bring stability and identity to who we want to be as a program,” he said. “Bringing the student-athletes and coaches together to immediately determine that identity will be critical with me taking over the program at this time.

“Creating our identity is the most important first step,” Coach Stevens added. “Then, if we can establish what our process is, and bring the focus to trusting that process, we can get some immediate results.”

But Coach Stevens is looking beyond just leading the current Beaver student-athletes to success this season.

“We want this program to be the best track and field and cross-country program in the state of North Dakota,” he said. “That is going to take a lot of work from our staff and our student-athletes. Identifying and recruiting the right student-athletes, who will help develop our identity and establish the championship mindset and culture, will help us to realize the goal of becoming a program that can continually be in a position to finish in the top five in our conference, and bring Minot State back to the forefront of track and field.”

Coach Stevens takes over the Minot State track and field program after spending the last 3 1/2 seasons as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I North Texas, where he led the distance runners and was the head cross-country coach for four seasons.

During his time at North Texas, Coach Stevens guided two cross-country runners to the NCAA National Championship, and the women’s cross-country team finished 5^th in the American Athletic Conference in 2024, the team’s best finish since 2017. In track and field, he guided the distance runners to five new school records and four American Athletic Conference/Sun Belt Conference championships.

Prior to his time with the Mean Green, he spent one season as head cross-country coach and the assistant track and field coach for distance runners at NCAA Division I Texas State, and also served as a volunteer assistant coach at NCAA Division I Florida State for one year, spent two years as a volunteer assistant coach at NCAA Division I Georgia, and two years as a volunteer assistant coach at NCAA Division I UCLA.

A 2006 graduate of Arizona with a degree in History Education and a minor in kinesiology and coaching, Coach Stevens holds USATF Level 1 & 2 certifications and is a USTFCCCA Endurance Specialist.

 

PELLA—Recent Central College graduate Addison Parrott has been named a finalist for the American Rivers Conference’s Johana Olson Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award.
           
Parrott is among three finalists for the Johanna Olson Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, along with Nebraska Wesleyan University track and field athlete Avery Decker and  Simpson College women’s soccer/track and field athlete Madison Hays.
           
Parrott graduated with a 3.85 cumulative grade point average as a sociology and psychology major with a minor in religious studies. She is now in graduate school to achieve her master’s in clinic mental health counseling from Liberty University (Va.).
           
A distance runner at Central, Parrott tallied third All-American performances between cross country and track and field. In 2024, she became the first Central female to win the American Rivers Conference cross country title, earning league Most Valuable Performer honors. She also won the indoor 5,000-meters title at the 2025 conference meet.
           
Parrott was a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-District selection. She was a member of the American Rivers Academic All-Conference six times across track and field and cross country. She also earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors five times.
           
The league awards were established in 2000-01. Central student-athletes have received the men’s award five times and the women’s award three times. Central’s most recent winner was NCAA Today’s Top 10 Award and Gagliardi Trophy winner Blaine Hawkins in 2021-22.
 

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – The UT Arlington volleyball program welcomed two transfers, Erica Dellesky and Karisa Martin, to its 2026 signing class, Tania Schatow announced on Wednesday.
 
ABOUT THE RECRUITS
 
ERICA DELLESKY
S, 5-10, Junior
Katy, Texas/Obra D. Tompkins HS—Virginia Tech
 
Erica Dellesky, a 5’10 setter from Katy, Texas, joins UTA after an impressive start to her collegiate career at Virginia Tech. In 52 matches and 167 sets played, Dellesky has totaled 629 assists and 214 digs.
 
In high school, Dellesky was a four-year letterwinner at Obra D. Tompkins High Schol and the program’s all-time career assists leader. She totaled more than 2,000 career assists, along with 911 digs and 132 service aces. Dellesky was a two-time undefeated District 6A champion and a three-time Academic All-District selection. As a senior, she earned a spot on the 2022-23 AVCA Phenom Watch List, was named team captain and MVP and received Preseason Second Team All-America honors.
 
“We are so excited to have Erica join the team. From the first phone call we had, I had a feeling she would be a great fit with this group. She is a setter that has great location on her sets, while showing the ability to keep the tempo,” Schatow stated. “Her experience in the ACC will be great to have in our gym, while building connections with our hitters this Spring. I am looking forward to working with her as we grow and advance our offense.” 
 
 
KARISA MARTIN
RS, 6-1, Junior
Monroe, Washington/Monroe HS—Bellevue College
 
Karisa Martin, a 6’1 rightside hitter from Monroe, Wash., comes to UTA after spending two seasons at Bellevue College. In her collegiate career, Martin is a four-time NWAC Region Offensive Player of the Week, a two-time NWAC First Team selection and a 2025 NWAC All-Tournament Second Team honoree.
 
Before college, Martin competed at Monroe High School and played club volleyball for Seattle Juniors and Sudden Impact Volleyball Club.
 
“I had a very similar feeling while taking to her on the phone that she would fit in perfectly with the team we are building. She is a physical lefty, that has proven her ability to terminate at a high level,” Schatow said. “She finished her career at Bellevue College with a hitting percentage over 0.300 and over 2 kills per set. I am looking forward to integrating her into our offense this Spring.” 
 
 
 

#BuckEm

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