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WSU track and field eliminating all field events, limiting sprints and hurdles in future

Track is on its own at Washington State University — and in abridged form, too. The school has announced that field events will be eliminated from the program’s offerings, and that sprints and hurdles will be scaled back in favor of a “distance-focused approach.” “This change gives the WSU Track and Field program the best […]

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Track is on its own at Washington State University — and in abridged form, too.

The school has announced that field events will be eliminated from the program’s offerings, and that sprints and hurdles will be scaled back in favor of a “distance-focused approach.”

“This change gives the WSU Track and Field program the best opportunity to remain competitive at the conference and national levels in distance events in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field,” read a statement issued by the school Monday afternoon.

WSU athletic director Anne McCoy and director of track and field and cross country Wayne Phipps refused to make themselves available Monday to provide details on the cuts to the program — historically, if not recently, one of the school’s most successful athletic endeavors. The two met with track and field athletes earlier in the day.

The terse, two-paragraph release said that any impacted athletes “will have their scholarships honored should they choose to remain at WSU.

“WSU understands the significant impact this decision has on Cougar student-athletes, coaches and fans.”

What it does is gut a program that’s responsible for one of two NCAA team championships won by the school — indoor track and field in 1977 and boxing in 1937.

It’s also the first announced cut to scholarship offerings — and possibly coaching staff — since 10 members of the Pac-12 departed in August 2024 and the conference television money for the remaining schools, WSU and Oregon State, took a massive hit. A reconstituted Pac-12 is in the process of negotiating a television deal to begin in the 2026-27 school year, with what will be a significantly reduced payout.

The school’s statement did not address how many track/cross country scholarships the school will offer in the future, how much in savings will be realized, whether other sports will face scholarship or roster hits and the status of assistant coaches.

Previously, NCAA schools were allowed to award track and field rides in the equivalent of 12.6 men and 18 women. Under the recent House vs. NCAA settlement, caps will only exist on roster size — 45 for each gender — and scholarships can be awarded to all, though how many will be dependent on a school’s financial muscle.

Sources indicated WSU track was already facing a scholarship reduction even before the Monday announcement.

The House settlement is expected to cut deeply into Olympic and non-revenue sports on campuses, as direct payments to athletes figure to come mostly in football and basketball.

For WSU’s 2025 season, field event athletes accounted for 31 of 89 roster spots, with sprinters and hurdlers another 18. Among the 30 Cougars who qualified for NCAA regional competition, there were nine distance runners, 10 sprinters and hurdlers and 11 field event athletes.

But before the breakup of the Pac-12, five of WSU’s last seven men’s champions and seven of the last eight women’s champs came from the field events. Twenty of the school’s 45 track Olympians have been jumpers, throwers and multi-event athletes.

The school’s track tradition has always been heavily invested in the distance races, beginning with the arrival of Spokane’s Gerry Lindgren on campus in 1964 and the eight NCAA championships he won. Coach John Chaplin’s Kenyan pipeline brought the likes of world record setter Henry Rono, Olympic gold medalist Julius Korir and multiple-medalist Bernard Lagat.

Phipps has revived that connection in the last few years, notably with Evans Kurui, who recently finished fifth in the NCAA 10,000 and won the West Coast Conference title last fall. Even so, the Cougars finished third in both WCC men’s and women’s races behind Portland and Gonzaga.

WSU’s last top-half finish in Pac-12 track — since the 2011 expansion — was in 2015 for women and 2009 for the men.



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Why Barbara Kendall backs women’s Olympic water polo campaign

Kendall competed at five Olympic Games, winning gold, silver and bronze medals in windsurfing. She is now the White Caps’ performance coach and was introduced to water polo through her two daughters. “They started playing at school and just loved it,” she said. “There was no one at the school really managing it, so I […]

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Winter Park Volleyball Club loses heartbreaker in AAU volleyball nationals | Varsity Report

The Winter Park Volleyball Club 18 Armour Black team, arguably the best in Florida club boys volleyball history, fell short of its ultimate goal with a gut-wrenching quarterfinal loss on the final day of the AAU 18U national tournament on Thursday. WPVC, playing close to home, won the first set against Southern California powerhouse Balboa […]

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The Winter Park Volleyball Club 18 Armour Black team, arguably the best in Florida club boys volleyball history, fell short of its ultimate goal with a gut-wrenching quarterfinal loss on the final day of the AAU 18U national tournament on Thursday.

WPVC, playing close to home, won the first set against Southern California powerhouse Balboa Bay but could not finish the match and lost 25-27, 25-19, 19-17 in an epic match Thursday morning at the Orange County Convention Center. Third sets in best-of-three matches are first to 15 points, but must win by 2.

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The Armour Black team had won nine of its previous 11 tournaments and was seeking a championship that outgoing coach Jordan Little said would have been “unprecedented” for a Florida squad facing California teams.

Winter Park Volleyball Club seeks ‘unprecedented’ title in AAU Nationals | Varsity Weekly

“I’m gutted. It just didn’t go our way,” Little said after the loss. “It’s what we all wanted and worked so hard for.”

The defeat left WPVC with an 8-2 record in four days of play at the Orange County Convention Center and brought an end to a banner season. The Armour Black team came in as the second seed behind Manhattan Beach Surf of California, which met Balboa Bay in Thursday afternoon’s championship match.

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“It was an amazing season,” Little said. “The guys are going to be in my heart forever.”

Jacob-Little Phillips, a Stanford signee who led Winter Park High to back-to-back state titles, was the centerpiece of a WPVC roster that included two of his WPHS teammates, Mason Barbaree and Tristan Guitton. They were joined by members of Lake Howell’s 2A state title team, Tyler Windt and Lukas Christman.

WPVC ran through its first six AAU matches before suffering a 25-23, 25-21 loss against Adversity South 18 Adidas of Illinois on Wednesday morning. Armour Black bounced back with a straight set victory over High Performance of St. Louis, then outlasted Pulse 18 of Anaheim, California, 26-24, 20-25, 15-11 to stay alive and advance to Thursday’s elite eight bracket.

Thursday’s match ended a memorable eight-year coaching stint with the Winter Park Volleyball Club for Little, a former Winter Park High player. Friday is his first day in a new position as an assistant coach for Northern Kentucky University’s fledgling men’s volleyball program. NKU plays its first Division I season in 2025-26.

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The WPVC’s final day appearance came a week after the club’s 17 Armour Black girls team was crowned as the AAU national champion in the 17 Open division.

The mammoth AAU tournament continues with its final wave of play Friday through Thursday of next week. That includes 14, 15 and 17 age group play. WPVC is a top 12 seeded team in the 17 Open division.

DP basketball

Dr. Phillips, with 2021 state champ coach Ben Witherspoon back in the drivers seat and some transfer talent on board, shined in NCAA scholastic events the past two weeks.

The Panthers traveled to Philadelphia for the PhillyHSLive scholastic showcase and scored an overtime win against Don Bosco Prep, a top 10 New Jersey squad, on a 3-point buzzer-beater by rising senior sharpshooter London Hatch.

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DP also scored a 46-42 win against a reigning state champ, Stranahan of Fort Lauderdale, in the FABC live showcase event in Gainesville.

Brothers Isaiah and Josiah Gillard, who have bounced around and played for separate schools last season, are reunited as impact transfers to DP.

Isaiah played for Windermere Prep as a junior last season while Josiah played for Lake Minneola. Both played previously for West Oaks and Foundation Academy.

The AAU boys basketball “World Championships” age group tournaments tipped off Thursday and run through July 10 at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

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A number of other travel team events are also being played in Orlando and elsewhere in Florida this holiday weekend.

Double play

Max Simmons, a standout for The First Academy’s state championship baseball team, switched back to basketball for the summer circuit and caught the eye of more college coaches. The honors student made 9-of-10 3 point shot attempts while totaling 31 points for the Royals in a win against Clarke Central of Georgia.

Back on track

Lake County speedster Vanessa Waite, who was slowed by injury during her freshman season for Lake Minneola, is back on track.

She ran a personal best 55.13-second time for first place in an AAU District qualifier meet on June 7 and backed that up later that month with a record-setting performance at the New Balance Nationals meet in Philadelphia in June. She set a ninth grade meet record of 23.28 to win.

Among freshman girls, Waite ranks No. 2 nationally in the 200 and No. 8 in the 400.

Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.



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Boys volleyball will lead off The Sun’s spring all-star teams

Who made the team will remain a secret until Sunday morning. But The Sun’s spring all-star teams will kick off that day with the unveiling of the boys volleyball squad. One hint: The team will feature athletes from Chelmsford, Billerica, Dracut, Greater Lowell Tech, Lowell and Lowell Catholic. Set to follow all next week will […]

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Who made the team will remain a secret until Sunday morning. But The Sun’s spring all-star teams will kick off that day with the unveiling of the boys volleyball squad. One hint: The team will feature athletes from Chelmsford, Billerica, Dracut, Greater Lowell Tech, Lowell and Lowell Catholic. Set to follow all next week will […]

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Coach Steve Curtis Receives Dave Borelli Leadership Award

Fairfax — Head Women’s Tennis Coach Steve Curtis was honored with the prestigious Dave Borelli Leadership Award this past weekend at the Annual OCCTA Tennis Conference. The award is named in honor of Dave Borelli, a legendary coach, mentor, and leader in the tennis world. Inducted into the ITA Collegiate Hall of Fame in […]

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Fairfax — Head Women’s Tennis Coach Steve Curtis was honored with the prestigious Dave Borelli Leadership Award this past weekend at the Annual OCCTA Tennis Conference.


The award is named in honor of Dave Borelli, a legendary coach, mentor, and leader in the tennis world. Inducted into the ITA Collegiate Hall of Fame in 2010, Borelli led the University of Southern California women’s team to seven NCAA National Championships and earned multiple NCAA National Coach of the Year honors. Beyond collegiate coaching, he also worked with professional tour players and served as a mentor to many in the tennis community. Prior to his passing in 2023, Borelli served as the Tennis Director for the City of Mission Viejo.


“I am beyond honored to have my name spoken in the same sentence as Dave Borelli, much less win this prestigious award,” said Coach Curtis. “Dave was an incredible coach, person, and friend. The legacy he leaves behind is a testament to his dedication and unwavering commitment to our sport and our athletes.”


Coach Curtis was also a featured speaker at the 14th Annual OCCTA Conference, which brought together more than 175 tennis coaches at The Great Tennis Park in Irvine, California. This marked Curtis’s second invitation to speak at the event. His presentation, titled “The Changing Landscape of College Tennis” addressed evolving challenges and opportunities in the collegiate game.


This fall, Coach Curtis enters his 22nd season leading the George Mason Women’s Tennis program, continuing to shape and inspire student-athletes on and off the court.






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79 UH Mānoa student athletes named to Academic All-Big West list

Reading time: < 1 minute A total of 79 University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa student athletes were recognized with Academic All-Big West honors for the 2024 spring season. Honorees represented 10 teams across eight sports: baseball, beach volleyball, men’s and women’s golf, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s track and field, men’s volleyball and women’s […]

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Banner of UH academic honors list

A total of 79 University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa student athletes were recognized with Academic All-Big West honors for the 2024 spring season.

Honorees represented 10 teams across eight sports: baseball, beach volleyball, men’s and women’s golf, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s track and field, men’s volleyball and women’s water polo.

Rainbow Wahine track and field led all UH Mānoa teams with 14 honorees, followed by softball (13), baseball (10) and women’s water polo (10).

To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA, complete at least one full academic year at their institution and participate in at least 50% of their team’s competitions (with some exceptions based on sport).

To see the full list of athletes, visit Hawaiiathletics.com.



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2 Detroit Tigers prospects land monthly top honors in minor leagues

Two Detroit Tigers prospects have been named June player of the month in their respective leagues: infielder Kevin McGonigle of High-A West Michigan and utility player Chris Meyers of Double-A Erie. Meyers slashed .400/.442/.638 in 86 plate appearances over 19 games for the SeaWolves in June, recording 32 hits and a league-high 22 RBIs. The […]

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2 Detroit Tigers prospects land monthly top honors in minor leagues


Two Detroit Tigers prospects have been named June player of the month in their respective leagues: infielder Kevin McGonigle of High-A West Michigan and utility player Chris Meyers of Double-A Erie.

Meyers slashed .400/.442/.638 in 86 plate appearances over 19 games for the SeaWolves in June, recording 32 hits and a league-high 22 RBIs. The 26-year-old Meyers is in his third season at Erie and is batting .300 over 57 games with the SeaWolves in 2025.

The Tigers selected Meyers in the 13th round of the 2021 draft out of Toledo, and he made his professional debut with the organization at 22.

McGonigle, the organization’s No. 1 prospect (according to MLB Pipeline), won the Midwest League’s Player of the Month award after slashing .340/.400/.649 with six home runs and 27 RBI in 105 plate appearances over 22 games in June.

The 20-year-old is in his third professional season after the Tigers selected him with the No. 37 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. The top prospect was also named to the American League’s roster for the All-Star Futures Game, which takes place at 4 p.m. Saturday, July 12 (MLB Network) at Truist Park in Atlanta.

You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com

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