COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Marquette University track & field student-athletes Danny Olsen and Annika Bynum competed in the NCAA West First Round this week.

Olsen competed in the first round of the 400m on Wednesday night with a 46.48 second performance. Olsen had the 47th best time coming into the first round and finished 25th.

“It was a fantastic year for Danny,” Rogers said. “I’m super proud of his drive and perseverance this year. Our athletic trainer Matt Martin deserves a huge shout out. He did a great job with Danny working through a couple tough injuries this season. We are all excited for what the future holds.”

Olsen qualified for the NCAA first round after he won gold and broke his own program record with a time of 46.21 seconds in the 400-meter at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships on May 17, becoming Marquette’s first ever conference champion in the event.

Bynum competed in the semifinals of the high jump for the second year in a row and no heighted on Saturday.

“It was a terrific season for Annika,” Rogers said. “Unfortunately, today wasn’t her day. She has been a tremendous leader on our team and made quite an impact on the program these past four years.”

Bynum qualified for the semifinals after tying the program record in the high jump, clearing 1.80 meters at the Uncaged Eagle Open on May 9.

Keep up with the Marquette men’s and women’s track and field programs through social media by following on X (@MUTFXC) and Instagram (@MUTFXC) and ‘liking’ on Facebook (/MUTFXC).

ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. – With the regatta limited to one day of racing and only seven rotations Tulane University landed 15th out of 18 teams in the ICSA Open Fleet Race National Championship on Friday in St. Mary’s City, Maryland.
 
The Green Wave ended the championship regatta with 161 total points through 14 total races across two divisions.
 
Skippers Christian Ebbin and Hamilton Barclay teamed with crews Sabrina Anderson and CJ Ricci to pace the Wave on the water from the B Division. The Tulane quartet finished 10th in their division with 69 total points in seven races. Ebbin and Anderson paired together for three races and posted their best performance in the final rotation finishing fifth. Barclay and Ricci hit the water for four races together including a sixth-place performance in the duo’s best race.
 
In the A Division, skipper Kelly Holthus teamed with crew Taylor Bartell to finish 16th in the division. The Green Wave duo ended with 92 points across seven races on the waters of the St. Mary’s River. Holthus and Bartell combined for the best finish of the regatta for Tulane landing in fourth in their third race.
 
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Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, All-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.
 

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Central Arkansas track and field teams spend four days competing down at Texas A&M’s campus in the first round of the NCAA Championship. And though none of the Bears’ athletes advanced to Eugene, those that competed continued to add to the rising stock of the track program at Central Arkansas.
 
“I’d be lying if we didn’t leave College Station wanting more this week. That being said, we had some great performances and competed well across the board,” Head coach Josey Weaver said of his team. “The experience we gained this week will be a building block for what’s to come.”
 
The men’s throwers started the week on Wednesday with the hammer toss, and Jaden Schneeberger led the way with a 63.53m toss, just .05 meters from tying his personal-best. Treavor Green was a short ways away with a 61.60m throw, and Aiden Patton registered a 58.59m toss. Jeff King took on the javelin in the early afternoon on Wednesday, and as one of nine freshmen in the competition, gave it a good effort, finishing with a distance of 57.36m. Jeremiah Boudreaux ran his heat of the 400m hurdles on Wednesday as well, and placed third in his heat with a 50.68 to qualify for Friday’s final.
 
Thursday, the women got started. Joia Perry opened competition in the hammer throw, and after what appeared to be a clinching distance of 62.22m, was edged out at the end, finishing 14^th out of 48 throwers. Raghan Allen was next, competing in the 100m dash. She set a school record with a blazing time of 11.38, but came up .05 seconds away from moving on to Saturday’s finals.
 
Friday’s action had Pete Johnson competing in the 3000m steeplechase. And in an event that saw the top-nine finishers break the facility record, the Bears’ senior ran an 8:57.59, two seconds faster than his time at the ASUN Championships, finishing in 25^th place. Later on in the evening, Boudreaux had his quarterfinal run in the 400m hurdles, but clipped one during his heat, unfortunately becoming disqualified.
 
Saturday, the women’s 4×100 team of Troynelle Miller, Raghan Allen, Baleigh Cashion and Brenae Allen had their second-best time of the season, clocking in at 45.35, but couldn’t secure a spot in Eugene.
 
“This has been an amazing ride with a remarkable group. I am very thankful for all of those who have contributed to building our program to the top of the ASUN Conference,” Weaver added. “We realize that we will have a target on our backs next year, and I’m looking forward to watching how our team responds.”
 

College Station, Texas — Laura Pellicoro is headed to Eugene. The senior earned her spot at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a strong performance in the 800m quarterfinal on Saturday evening at the West Regional.

Pellicoro placed second in her heat and third overall with a time of 2:01.44. She earned an automatic qualifying spot by finishing among the top three in her heat. She will compete on the national stage at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on June 11–14.

Pellicoro will be joined in Eugene by Matt Strangio, who qualified yesterday in the men’s 5,000m after winning his semifinal in a facility record time. 

2025 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships West First Round

College Station, Texas (E.B. Cushing Stadium)

May 28-31, 2025

Wednesday, May 28

Men’s 1,500m First Round

8. Mark Milner, 3:46.65

44. Jonas Price, 3:58.32

 

Men’s 10,000m Semifinals

32. Jona Bodirsky, 29:23.75

46. Bradley Peloquin, 31:12.92

Thursday, May 29

Women’s 800m First Round

3. Laura Pellicoro, 2:03.55

 

Women’s 10,000m Semifinals

24. Juliette Forstrom, 35:09.34

Friday, May 30

Men’s 1,500m Quarterfinal

20. Mark Milner, 3:50.34

Men’s 3,000m Steeplechase Quarterfinals

33. Giuliano Scasso, 9:07.72

Men’s 5,000m Semifinals

1. Matt Strangio, 13:25.98 (Facility Record)

Saturday, May 31

Women’s 800 Quarterfinal, 5:05 PM (PT)

3. Laura Pellicoro, 2:01.44

TEMPE – The Collegiate Water Polo Association has announced the 2025 ACWPC All-American teams and Sun Devils’ junior Millie Quin made the third team and freshman Itziar Almeda earned an honorable mention nod.

The pair of attackers are the second duo in Sun Devil history to each record 100+ points in a season after leading Sun Devil Water Polo to a 19-9 record. This marks back-to-back years for a Sun Devil pair to each record 100+ points in a season.

The selections were picked by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) and are selected based on nominations and voted on by the head coaches of each varsity program.

Quin collects a third team nod after she posted career highs in all offensive categories with 89 goals for 116 points. Her 89 goals ranks her tied second in program history and her 116 points are the fifth-most in a season in ASU history. This is the second award she has earned this season after she also received a spot on the 2025 MPSF All-Third Team. For the Sun Devils, she had 23 multi-goal games and tallied 17 hat tricks on the year. Defensively she led the team with 37 steals and 15 field blocks.

Almeda caps off her freshman year by earning her  All-American Honorable Mention recognition. This past season, she cemented her name all over the record books, tying for third in assists with 46, as well as notching the fourth-most points recorded in a season with 117. Ultimately, the freshman led the team this season in both categories. She finished second on the team with goals scored, finding the back of the net 71 times. Defensively, she finished the season with 15 steals and six field blocks, ranking her third and fifth on the team, respectively.

HOW TO FOLLOW:

Continue following Sun Devil Water Polo on Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook all offseason long on @SunDevilWP for coverage of the team, alumnae and Olympic updates. Stats can be found on 6-8 sports and TheFosh along with other MPSF Conference teams.

• Georgia high jumper Riyon Rankin qualified for nationals despite a knee injury.
• UNF runner Smilla Kolbe won her 800m heat, securing her spot at nationals.
• Multiple Hodges Stadium records were broken during the meet.

Leader in the NCAA high jump standings, ranked inside the top 10 in the world, Riyon Rankin had a problem to face for the biggest college meet of his season.

As jumper after jumper took aim at the bar, Rankin was stretching his right knee. Flexing it. Rubbing it. Trying to keep his sophomore track campaign at Georgia going.

Back on familiar turf just over an hour south of his Georgia hometown, Rankin fought through the pain and punched his ticket to nationals at the NCAA Track and Field East First Round inside the University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium.

“I’m hurting a little bit out there,” he said, “but I was able to put everything together and get the job done.”

Through four days of competition among the leading Division I track athletes from the eastern half of the United States, Rankin’s gritty effort highlighted the Jacksonville-area success stories.

A Georgia High School Association champion at Brunswick High School, Rankin had cleared 7 feet, 5 1/4 inches during an April meet to climb to ninth in the World Athletics rankings.

But this time, his face showed the aching with every step, caused by a nagging injury to knee cartilage. Still, through three rounds, he battled on. On the third, his pained approach to the bar evoked memories of Kirk Gibson’s limp around the bases in his 1988 World Series home run — yet for Rankin, he still found enough to clear 7 feet, 1/2 inch.

That was all he needed. After missing on his first attempt at 7 feet, 1 3/4 inches, Rankin elected to call off his remaining attempts. If the other 12 remaining athletes had all cleared that height, Rankin would have missed out on nationals. As it turned out, they didn’t.

Now owner of one of the East’s 12 qualifying berths in front of friends and family, Rankin has nearly two weeks to recuperate until the next challenge from June 11-14 in Eugene, Ore. He placed second at the NCAA indoor finals in March.

“The support helped me to break through that mental stage of my knee hurting,” he said. “So I was able to jump well.”

KOLBE SWOOPS TO NATIONALS

Rankin wasn’t the only athlete with First Coast ties celebrating over the weekend in the NCAA’s eighth visit in 14 years to UNF and the distinctive blue Hodges Stadium track.

Already a national qualifier in 2024 at the outdoor finals and in March of this year at the NCAA indoor meet, University of North Florida middle distance runner Smilla Kolbe entered her May 31 quarterfinal with one simple approach in the women’s 800 meters.

Run fast. Get to the front. And don’t let anybody pass.

“I’ve been until now racing all these races in a similar way from the front, and I’m confident in my abilities,” said Kolbe, a senior from Hanover, Germany.

She achieved that flawlessly, setting the pace early and leading wire to wire. Janet Jepkemboi Amimo of Kentucky pressed hard in the final stretch, but Kolbe crossed first in 2:00.09 to win her second heat of the 800.

Ranked third in the NCAA standings at the distance, she continued a season of perfection in the 800 on her home track. The only thing Kolbe lost was her Hodges Stadium record in the 800, edged by LSU’s Michaela Rose at 1:58.91 in the first quarterfinal.

“I’ve had pretty good races, all wins on my home track, so it’s amazing,” Kolbe said. “I’m really happy.”

Jacksonville University’s Julia Sue-Kam-Ling had already qualified in the long jump on May 29, but other locals’ quests in weekend individual events turned out less favorably.

Navy senior Jacques Guillaume, a Mandarin graduate, ran a personal-best 50.58 in the men’s 400 hurdles but placed only 17th, a third of a second outside the last qualifying time.

Tennessee’s Ka’Myya Haywood (Bishop Kenny) completed the first lap in third place in her 800 heat but finished with the 24th time, and Yale’s Nathan Lebowitz (Ponte Vedra) ended 38th in the men’s discus.

RECORDS KEEP ON FALLING

The parade of Hodges Stadium broken records didn’t slow down: In one case, facility marks tumbled barely 10 minutes apart.

Louisville freshman Geoffrey Kirwa started the ball rolling with his time of 8:26.25 in the first heat of the men’s 3,000 steeplechase, surpassing the facility-record 8:29.54 set by Mason Ferlic of Michigan in 2016. In the next heat, it was the turn of Kentucky’s Collins Kiprop Kipngok, crossing the line in 8:24.91.

Alabama sophomore Samuel Ogazi also achieved a facility record in the men’s 400, running 44.43 to top the 44.52 of Trevor Stewart from North Carolina A&T in 2021.

South Florida also had plenty to celebrate. The Bulls set a facility record of 38.05 in the men’s 4×100 relay, and senior Abdul-Rasheed Saminu followed with a blistering 9.86 for first place in the men’s 100, breaking the previous stadium mark of 9.88 set by Olympian Trayvon Bromell in 2021.

The women’s distance races continued the trend: Providence’s Shannon Flockhart won the 1,500 quarterfinals in 4:04.97 as the top eight finishers all broke the stadium-record 4:09.48 of Alabama’s Amaris Tyynismaa from 2021; Alabama’s NCAA record holder Doris Lemngole ran 9:13.12 to shatter Leah O’Connor’s steeplechase mark by 22 seconds; and N.C. State’s Grace Hartman was fastest in the 5,000 at 15:23.52, one of 10 runners to beat the 2023 stadium record of Katelyn Tuohy at 15:31.00.

Savannah Sutherland of Michigan also broke the stadium mark with 54.39 in the women’s 400 hurdles, beating the 2022 mark of British Olympian Lina Nielsen, and Georgia’s women’s 4×400 team capped the meet with a facility-record 3:25.80 in the meet’s final event.

The NCAA in October designated UNF as the East First Round host for 2027 as well.