CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois men’s and women’s track and field teams are ready for the first round of NCAA competition with the NCAA West Preliminaries in College Station, Texas on Wed.-Sat. (May 28-31). There are seven men and 15 women who qualified to this first round of NCAA Championship competition.

Four of the Illini who are competing this week will be competing as Big Ten Champions from their performances two weeks ago: Tacoria Humphrey, Cody Johnston, Viktor Morozov and Abria Smith.

Humphrey has been one of the team leaders all season and secured her second-consecutive outdoor Big Ten long jump title with a mark of 6.59m (21-7 1/2). She completed the season sweep as well as she also won the indoor Big Ten long jump title this past March in Indianapolis.

Johnston did something that hasn’t been done in 31 years by an Illinois men’s pole vaulter and that’s stand on top of the Big Ten Outdoor Championships podium. His mark he won with was 5.64m (18-6) which was a meet record and the program’s second-best vault in school history. However, hours after competition had ended it was discovered that the standards were never changed over from the high school meet a few weeks prior. The Big Ten announced that the team points and his Big Ten title still counts, but no one’s marks from the meet counted.

Morozov also had an interesting path to his first Big Ten title in the triple jump. He originally took second with his mark 15.63m (51-3 1/2) while USC jumper Jaren Holmes stood on top with a 16.20m (53-1 3/4) mark. However, after a spike double check that all champions go through it was deemed his were illegal which disqualified him from the competition making Morozov the champion, the program’s first in the event in 34 years.

Smith on the other hand left zero doubt or questions with her shot put Big Ten gold medal performance. She threw the fields best throw of 17.95m (58-10 3/4) on her very first attempt to secure her first Big Ten title.

Two Illini heptathletes have already punched their ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Lucie Kienast and Melissa Wullschleger who took second (5,851 points) and fourth (5,749 points) at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, respectively. 

WEST PRELIMINARIES QUALIFIERS

The top 48 from each the east and west regions advance to their respective preliminary rounds on May 28-31. Illinois will compete at the NCAA West Preliminaries in College Station, Texas hosted by Texas A&M. The top 12 from each east and west preliminaries advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. on June 11-14.

WOMEN (15 across 11 events)

#2 high jump – Rose Yeboah, 1.91m (6-3 1/4)

#2 shot put – Abria Smith, 18.92m (62-1)

#4 long jump – Tacoria Humphrey, 6.73m (22-1)

#6 hammer throw – Phethisang Makhethe, 68.66m (225-3)

#11 pole vault – Tori Thomas, 4.43m (14-6 1/4)

#13 long jump – Sophia Beckmon, 6.41m (21-0 1/2)

#17 pole vault – Mia Morello, 4.38m (14-4 1/2)

#18 hammer throw – Jordan Koskondy, 64.80m (212-7)

#22 200m – Sophia Beckmon, 23.06

#23 4x100m – Azariyah Bryant, Sophia Beckmon, Asia Thomas, Llyric Driscoll, 43.98

#25 1500m – Halle Hill, 4:13.99

#28 100m – Azariyah Bryant, 11.32

#29 3000m steeplechase – Sam Poglitsch, 10:10.52

#31 hammer throw – Faith Deering, 59.90m (196-6)

#35 200m – Azariyah Bryant, 23.22

#41 100m – Asia Thomas, 11.38

#45 200m – Asia Thomas, 23.29

#48 800m – Halle Hill, 2:05.83

#45 long jump – Elizabeth Ndudi, 6.16m (20-2 1/2)

MEN (seven across eight events)

#8 high jump – Kam Garrett, 2.20m (7-2 1/2)

#11 triple jump – Viktor Morozov, 15.49m (52-3 3/4)

#14 pole vault – Cody Johnston, 5.42m (17-9 1/4)

#24 shot put – Will Rezny, 18.71m (61-4 3/4)

#33 long jump – Viktor Morozov, 7.62m (25-0)

#38 400m – Jackson Gilbert, 45.92

#42 hammer throw – Javaris Ambrose, 62.99m (206-8)

#43 800m – Tadeas Placek, 1:48.13

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Jason Mansfield announced the promotion of Fletcher Larsen to director of volleyball operations Tuesday morning.
 
Larsen, who enters his fourth season on the coaching staff, was elevated to director of volleyball operations after spending the past three seasons as a student manager for the Wildcats.
 
“We are so excited to have Fletcher as our director of volleyball operations,” Mansfield said. “He’s put so much into this program the last three years as a manager, and his dedication, hard work and loyalty are exactly the qualities we want in this program.”
 
As the director of volleyball operations, Larsen will lead the program’s day-to-day operations and recruiting efforts, manage team travel and summer camps, and assist with video and analytics.
 
“He’s become really good at analytics in a very short period of time and will continue to help us with statistics in practice, scouting and matches. His attention to detail and organization will be key in day-to-day activities as well as travel during the fall. He was very fortunate to have a great mentor in Quinn Roche and I think this will be a seamless transition,” added Mansfield. 
 
Larsen steps into the role previously held by Roche, who accepted a position at the University of Colorado this spring.
 
“I couldn’t be more excited to officially join the K-State Volleyball staff,” said Larsen. “Over the past three and a half years, I’ve had the chance to be part of something that’s given me incredible opportunities and allowed me to grow in ways I never imagined. I’ve been fortunate to work with so many great people and witness the evolution of the team through each season.
 
I’m looking forward to continuing to support this program and doing everything I can to help make Manhattan a destination for top-level Division I volleyball. I’m grateful for the relationships I’ve built across the team and the university, and I’m excited to keep building on that foundation in this new role.”

During his time as a student manager, Larsen contributed to 41 team victories, including a program-record five wins over top-25 opponents in 2023. His responsibilities included scouting preparation, data analytics, recruiting visit coordination and camp operations.

A native of Valentine, Nebraska, Larsen graduated from K-State with a degree in agriculture technology management in 2025.

A planning document that’s going to guide the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission activities in the coming year ought to emphasize skateboarding, surfing and beach volleyball, Encinitas City Council members said Wednesday.

Those sports are top draws for Encinitas, and thus they ought to be prime elements in the commission’s annual work plan, but they’re not mentioned in this document, Councilmember Jim O’Hara said.

Given that the 2028 Olympics, which is being held in Los Angeles, will feature a surfing competition at Trestles Beach in San Diego County, there’s even more of a reason to emphasize these sports right now, several council members said.

Among other things, the parks commission ought to be looking into a Moonlight Beach skate bowl proposal that was put forward by a group last summer, said O’Hara, who was elected to the council in November. Don’t make this a primary focus, but do look into the idea at bit more, he said.

Russ Ridder, the chair of the parks commission, told the council that the seven-member, city-sponsored commission was quite willing to expand its proposed goals for the coming year to include the council’s new suggestions. He said the commission picks its annual goals based on community requests — that’s why an item about pickleball courts is included, he said.

He added that he personally thinks there’s a shortage of beach volleyball courts, but it isn’t something that people have asked the commission to look into. And, commissioners haven’t heard anything more about the skate bowl proposal in months, he said.

O’Hara told him that the commission shouldn’t be waiting for residents to ask for new programs or improvements to the parks, saying, “We don’t need someone to come to us to tell us something (about a need) we know is in our community.”

Encinitas has a number of citizen advisory committees that review various topics and draft recommendations to present to the City Council. The Parks and Recreation Commission offers advice to the council on public parks, recreational facilities and community services, including reviewing proposals to acquire park lands or build playgrounds. Last fiscal year, the commission participated in the city’s Holiday Parade, Movies in the Park, Cyclovia, Art Nights and Spring Egg Hunt events.

The goals in its work plan for the coming year include:

• Supporting the installation of adult fitness equipment at Orpheus and Glen parks, among other locations;
• Monitoring tennis and pickleball court use in the city and issuing recommendations on any proposed changes;
• Assisting with the updating of city trail maps;
• Advising the city on naming and possible uses for a recently purchased, coastal property on the northeast corner of Highway 101 and La Costa Avenue;
• Reviewing the feasibility of adding a pollinator garden at the Pacific View Arts Center.

Three skateboarders — all in their 60s — made a pitch for the skate bowl project at a city Parks and Recreation Commission meeting in August. Putting a skate bowl at Moonlight Beach would celebrate the city’s history as a skateboarding Mecca, they said, adding that the beach location would make a fabulous photographic background for skating events.

“This is going to be the most photographed spot in Southern California, I would guess,” project proponent Barry Blumenthal said at the time.

The chair of the parks commission told them that he could definitely see how the proposed bowl would be a “photographer’s dream,” but said the project would face many challenges, including drainage issues, beach parking shortages and permitting difficulties. Moonlight Beach is maintained by the city, but owned by the state, he noted.

Originally Published: May 27, 2025 at 6:07 AM PDT

UNI track & field at NCAA West Preliminary Meet

• May 28-31, 2025
• 2:30 p.m. / 6 p.m. / 7:05 p.m. / 3:30 p.m. CT
• E.B. Cushing Stadium | College Station, Tex.
• WATCH (ESPN+)
• LIVE RESULTS

 

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Postseason track and field continues this week for the UNI Panthers as 15 athletes look to continue their season, competing at the NCAA West Preliminary Meet in nine events in College Station, Texas beginning on Wednesday.

Live coverage of the meet can be followed on ESPN+. The full schedule of competing Panther athletes is listed below.

The NCAA Preliminary Meets serve as the first round site for the national postseason meet, which will be held in Eugene, Oregon at Hayward Field, June 11-14. The two preliminary meets this year will be held in College Station, Texas, hosted by Texas A&M University, and Jacksonville, Florida, hosted by the University of North Florida.

To qualify for the preliminary meets, athletes must rank in the top-48 in an individual event and top-24 for relays in their respective regions. Athletes competing in multi-event competitions (heptathlon and decathlon) will not compete at the preliminary site as the top-24 ranked competitors in the nation will automatically qualify for competition in Eugene. Top-12 finishers at the preliminary meets will earn qualification to the finals site in Oregon.

Among Northern Iowa’s competitors in action in Texas this week is a quartet of 2025 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) outdoor champions, including Katie Fare (women’s shot put) and Brendan Safley (men’s pole vault), the Most Outstanding Field Athletes of this year’s conference championships, as well as Justice Miller (men’s javelin) and Carlie Jo Fusco (women’s 400-meter hurdles). 

Fare, a two-time MVC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week honoree this season, led the conference with a 56 foot, 6.5 inch (17.23m) toss in the shot put this year, while Miller led all MVC javelin throwers with a career-best 214 foot, three inch thow. Fusco also led the league in the 400-meter hurdles (58.85) this season.

UNI will also see a trio of men to compete in the shot put, with Carson Lienau, who led the MVC with a career-best 61 foot, 2.75 inch toss this outdoor season, leading the way alongside David Russell and Spencer Kessel. Drake Hanson and Chase Knoche will also make their second NCAA West Preliminary appearance together in the 800 meters, each running under one minute, 49 seconds this year.

Distance standout Emma Hoins will take to the track in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase after a runner-up finish at the conference championships in a season where she broke the school record with a time of 10:15.39. Josie Moreland will also make her NCAA West Preliminary debut after a second-place showing at the MVC Championships, recording a career-best mark of five feet, ten inches at the Drake Relays in April.

The Panthers will also see one relay run next week in Texas as Zack Butcher, Hanson, Parker Kiewiet and Jake Bosch run the men’s 4×400-meter relay (Zach Fall and Knoche as alternates). UNI’s qualifying time of 3:06.79 from the Cyclone Twilight ranked second in the MVC this year.

2025 NCAA West Preliminary Meet Schedule

Wednesday, May 28

• 2:30 p.m. CT – Men’s Javelin (First Round) [Miller]
• 5:30 p.m. CT – Men’s Pole Vault (Semifinals) [Safley]
• 6 p.m. CT – Men’s Shot Put (First Round) [Russell, Kessel, Lienau)
• 7:50 p.m. CT – Men’s 800m (First Round) [Hanson, Knoche]

Thursday, May 29

• 6 p.m. CT – Women’s Shot Put (First Round) [Fare]
• 8:20 p.m. CT – Women’s 400m Hurdles (First Round) [Fusco]

Friday, May 30

• 7:05 p.m. CT – Men’s 800m (Quarterfinals)***
• 8:45 p.m. CT – Men’s 4x400m Relay (Quarterfinals) [Butcher, Hanson, Kiewiet, Bosch]

Saturday, May 31

• 3:30 p.m. CT – Women’s High Jump (Semifinal) [Moreland]
• 5:40 p.m. CT – Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase (Quarterfinals) [Hoins]
• 7:25 p.m. CT – Women’s 400m Hurdles (Quarterfinals)***

*** Pending qualification

 

UNI track and field action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Track and Field), X (@UNITrackFieldXC) and on Instagram (@uni_tf_xc). Schedules and rosters, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.

The Oak Park and River Forest High School baseball team clinched a share of the West Suburban Silver championship with a 5-3 victory over Lyons Township, May 22, the program’s first title since 2022.

“This is special,” said OPRF coach Kevin Campbell. “These seniors are the guys I had as freshmen, so seeing them come together, play how they do, and really embrace the team culture has been one of the best coaching experiences I’ve ever had.”

Although technically a road game, it was played at OPRF because of wet field conditions at LT. Peter Farren’s two-run homer in the top of the second gave the Huskies (25-10, 13-5 in WSC Silver) a 2-1 lead. OPRF tacked on three more runs in the third with a two-run double from Ethan Moore and an RBI single from Brady Green.