Category: Other Sports

Penn State volleyball wins five set thriller to advance to NCAA National Championship

Penn State volleyball reverse sweeps Nebraska in NCAA Tournament Semifinals

Penn State women’s volleyball rallied back from a 0-2 set deficit and fought off two match points to beat Nebraska 3-2 (23-25, 18-25, 25-23, 28-26, 15-13) in five sets and advance to the national title game.

With their comeback, the Nittany Lions became the sixth team in NCAA Tournament history to reverse sweep a semifinal or final. It was also the first reverse sweep in the semifinals since 2018. Penn State last accomplished the feat in the NCAA Tournament when they came back to beat Texas in the 2009 National Championship.

The Cornhuskers looked poised to advance to the final after taking a commanding 2-0 set lead over the Nittany Lions. But Penn State staged an epic rally, winning the third set 25-23 and the fourth 28-26 to force a winner-take-all fifth set. Camryn Hannah’s kill sealed a 15-13 set five victory for the Nittany Lions early Friday morning.

Senior [autotag]Jess Mruzik[/autotag] led the Nittany Lions with 26 kills, and former Cornhusker [autotag]Caroline Jurevicius[/autotag] added 20 to power Penn State to its 11th NCAA championship and its first since 2017.

Mruzik was dominant in the fifth set, racking up six kills on eight swings while willing Penn State to the win, keeping the Nittany Lions’ season and her collegiate career alive for one more match.

The win marked Penn State’s second victory over Nebraska after beating them earlier this season. PSU snapped Nebraska’s 103-match winning streak in the postseason when leading 2-0.

Penn State will play the hosts, the Lousiville Cardinals, on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. The national championship will air on ABC. A win for the Nittany Lions would mark the eighth title in program history.

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Former Penn State gymnast clinches Olympic medal for Team USA

Former Penn State gymnast uses his signature routine to clinch a medal for the United States

Penn State alumnus Stephen Nedoroscik is known for one thing in gymnastics: his stellar pommel horse routine.

That routine was on full display Monday afternoon when the United States clinched the bronze medal in the men’s gymnastics team final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The bronze medal marked the first time since the 2008 Beijing Olympics that the U.S. men won a medal in team gymnastics.

The Worchester, Massachusetts native made Team USA for one reason: to be a dominant force in the pommel horse. He was just that on Monday.

Team USA placed third with a core of 257.793, following China (259.062) and first place Japan (259.594).

At Penn State, Nedoroscik was a two-time NCAA National Champion in the pommel horse, including winning his first during his freshman season.

Nedoroscik will now look forward to competing in the individual event finals on Saturday after narrowly missing being the top-ranked gymnast due to a lower execution score. As a former world champion in the pommel horse, he should be considered one of the favorites for the gold medal in the event.

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Nine Nittany Lions to compete at USATF Olympic Trials

Nine Penn State athletes heading to Eugene in hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Nine current and former Penn State track and field athletes are set to compete for the United States in this month’s USATF Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon in their counties road to Paris. The meet will take place at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field from June 21-30.

Hammer throw school record holder Samaria McDonald, as well as 800-meter runner Darius Smallwood, will represent the 2023-24 Nittany Lions in Eugene, with competition set to begin Friday. The duo joins Penn State track & field legends [autotag]Joe Kovacs[/autotag] (Shot Put), Isaiah Harris (800m), Tyler Merkley (Hammer), Morgan Shigo (Hammer), Rachel Fatherly (Shot Put), Brannon Kidder (800m, 1500m), and Rachel Gearing (800m) in competition at the Olympic Trials.

Penn State will also be represented on the coaching side with throws assistant Nathan Ott guiding McDonald and Merkley in their quest for Paris. Ott will also coach 2024 World No. 1 women’s hammer thrower Brooke Andersen.

In a most events at the Olympic Trials, athletes who finish in the top three of their respective events and also achieved the Olympic standard in their event during the qualifying period, will advance to the Olympic Games this summer. Special circumstances arise where this is not the only way to qualify, however, achieving the standard and placing in the top three at the trials is a U.S. athlete’s best shot to be named to the Olympic team. Track & field events at the Paris games are slated to take place August 1-11 and will include nearly 50 medal events.

Kovacs, one of the greatest shot putters in world competition, aims for his third-straight Olympic berth, having won silver medals in the shot put at both the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. His 23.13m throw is this year’s No. 1 mark and the No. 7 mark all-time.

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Watch the group of current and former Nittany Lions, compete in Eugene over the next ten days using the info below.

  • Dates: June 21-30
  • Time: Begins at 1 p.m. on Friday
  • TV Channel: NBC, USA Network, Peacock (Full TV schedule)

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Romaine Beckford wins high jump title for Arkansas

Someone showed up to Eugene, anyway.

Romaine Beckford did it again.

The Arkansas high jumper won the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships high jump event Friday, his fourth straight NCAA title in the event.

Beckford, a senior in his first season at Arkansas, jumped 7 feet, 5 inches in Eugene, Oregon, to capture the crown. He won the indoors high-jump title over the winter and won both the indoors and outdoors high-jump crowns last year when he was an athlete at South Florida.

By clearing 7-5, Beckford moved to sixth all-time in Arkansas outdoors history. It was also a season best for him, though he came up short of clearing 7-7.75, which is the height needed to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

Arkansas Pine-Bluff athlete Caleb Snowden finished third and Nebraska’s Tyus Wilson was second. They both jumped 7-3.75

Beckford’s win was the highlight of an otherwise lackluster week for the Arkansas men’s track team. They entered the Championships ranked first in the nation, but finished seventh, as Florida won its third straight Outdoors title.

No. 1 Arkansas finishes seventh at NCAA Outdoors

Good comeback after a disasterous start, but it was just too much and the disappointment remains for Hogs sports.

The Arkansas men’s track and field team was hoping for something more in Oregon.

But three days of events concluded at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with the top-ranked team in the country in seventh place. Florida won the national championship with 41 points.

What’s more, is Arkansas was fifth in the SEC, even, just a few short weeks after winning the SEC Championship.

Auburn finished in second, one point behind Florida. USC was third with 33 points,  Alabama was fourth with 32 points and Texas A&M finished fifth with 31 points. Georgia (25 points) also finished in the top 10.

The good news for the Razorbacks is that the finish was good enough, combined with the fall’s fourth-place cross country finish and the winter’s second-place Indoors finish to make Arkansas the USTFCCCA Program of the Year. Or, the best track-and-field/cross country team in the country.

Arkansas women doing what men couldn’t at NCAA Championships

The Arkansas women had a solid start, at least.

One day after the Arkansas men’s track and field team disappointed at the NCAA Championships, the women’s team carried the Razorbacks flag high.

For the first time in NCAA history, a single school is responsible for sending four runners to the 400-meter dash final. Arkansas had the four fastest times in preliminaries as Kaylyn Brown, Nickisha Pryce, Rosey Effiong and Amber Anning all qualified for the final.

Brown, a freshman, had the fastest time of the bunch, running the dash in 49.82 seconds. Pryce crossed in 49.87, Effiong at 50:42 and Anning at 50.67. At the indoor championships in Fayetteville over the winter, Anning, Pryce and Effiong finished first, second and third – in that order – to help Arkansas capture the national title.

In the mile relay, the event that ends most NCAA track meets, Pryce, Effiong, Anning and Aaliyah Pyatt finished with the top time in preliminaries, as well, at 3:25.51.

Rachel Glenn had a great day for the Hogs, as well, qualifying for the finals in the 400-meter hurdles. She ran a 53.80 to make the field on Saturday. Before she runs in that final, though, she will compete in the high jump, an event she won the national title during the indoor season.

After the first day, Florida is the overall leader with 26 points through six events. Arkansas is tied for 26th, but it’s not indicative of where things could stand by the time the weekend is finished as the Razorbacks have multiples chances at individual titles with several qualifiers.

Arkansas’ struggles continue as men’s track-and-field disappoints on Day 1

Arkansas men’s track is No. 1 in the nation, but 19th in the standings after the first day.

That could have gone better.

The Arkansas men’s track and field team entered this week’s NCAA Outdoor Championships in Oregon as the No. 1 team in the nation, favored to win the team title and with a few athletes favored to win individual crowns. Day One didn’t start in the best of ways.

Wayne Pinnock, who was going for his fourth NCAA title in long jump, was strongly favored to win a fifth. Instead, he finished fifth, jumping 26 feet, 2 1/4 inches. That finish marked the first time he had ever finished lower than fourth in an NCAA meet.

In the 10,000-meter run and 110-meter hurdles also yielded Razorbacks disappointments.

Patrick Kiprop tripped and fell while he was in second-place with three laps remaining in the run. He ultimately finished eighth. And Phillip Lemonious, who won the 110-meter hurdles at the NCAAs last year, did not make the final round, finishing 13th out of 24 participants.

After the first day, during which five of 21 events finished, Arkansas is tied for 18th with five points. USC leads with 19.

Events continue Friday and the Arkansas women’s team will get their beginning Friday, as well.

Bucknam named SEC Coach of the Year

Chris Bucknam has now been named SEC Coach of the Year 32 times. Thirty-two!

Thirty-two.

That’s how many times now Arkansas men’s track-and-field coach Chris Bucknam has been named SEC Coach of the Year. The total was upped by one this week when the league’s coaches voted him as SEC Outdoor Coach of the Year days after Arkansas won its fourth straight SEC Outdoor team championship.

Bucknam is finishing up his 16th season running the program as the Razorbacks head to the NCAA Championships from June 5-8 in Oregon. He has won 12 awards in the indoors season and 11 during cross country season.

His Razorbacks set a school record in the 4×400-meter relay at the conference championships in Fayetteville over the weekend. Arkansas finished with 110 points, six points ahead of second-place Alabama.

That victory marked the second time the Hogs have won straight conference titles in the outdoor season. The last came from 2003 to 2006. Arkansas also won the triple crown, taking home indoor and cross-country titles during the academic year, as well.

Arkansas men’s and women’s Track and Field ranked No. 1 entering NCAA Championships

Both the Arkansas men’s and women’s track and field teams are No. 1 in the poll ahead of the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

The Arkansas men’s and women’s Track & Field teams are No. 1 in the coaches polls ahead of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, scheduled for June 5-8 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

The Razorbacks’ women’s team overtook LSU for the top spot in the coaches poll after being ranked at No. 2 for five consecutive weeks. Three SEC teams make up the top five with LSU slipping to No. 2 and Florida at No. 5. Texas was No. 3 with Oregon at No. 4.

Per Arkansas Athletic Communications:

Arkansas will have 18 entries in the NCAA Championships, with 12 of the entries ranked among the top 10. LSU leads with 22 entries while Texas and Texas A&M follow with 15 each. A trio of teams — Georgia, Oregon, and Texas Tech — have 14 entries apiece.

The Razorbacks have three collegiate leaders in Nickisha Pryce (49.32 400m), Rachel Glenn (53.94 400m hurdles), and the 4 x 400m relay, which set a collegiate outdoor record of 3:21.92 with a quartet of Rosey Effiong, Pryce, Kaylyn Brown, and Amber Anning.

In the men’s Track & Field rankings, Arkansas stayed at No. 1 for the third consecutive week. The Razorbacks are one of four SEC teams that make up the top five. Alabama moved up to No. 2 with Florida at No. 3 and Texas A&M at No. 5. USC (Southern Cal) is ranked No. 4.

Also from Arkansas Athletic Communications:

“The Razorbacks have 13 entries for the NCAA Championships led by its world-leading 4 x 400m relay (2:59.03) and includes a pair of 2024 NCAA Indoor champions in Romaine Beckford (7-3.75 | 2.23 high jump) and Wayne Pinnock (27-0.75w | 8.25 long jump).”

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Maria José Marin earns first-team All-American honors as a freshman

Stacy Lewis the best golfer in Arkansas history. But she’s gonna have some company sooner rather than later.

Stacy Lewis is unquestionably the greatest golfer in Arkansas women’s golf history. Maybe in school history regardless of gender.

But if Maria Jose Marin keeps up what she accomplished in his freshman season, a legitimate debate can be had in three more years.

José Marin was named first-team All-American by the Division I Women’s Golf Coaches Association on Friday. She is just the 10th Razorbacks women’s golfer to earn first-team honors and the first since 2018-19

Only 11 golfers in the country were named to the first team. José Marin had previously been named to the All-SEC First Team and the All-Freshman Team. She was also previously named SEC Freshman of the Year. Her first season of college golf ended with her ranked sixth in the country and 20th among all amateurs in the world.

Next year, José Marin could become only fifth Arkansas women’s golfer in history to earn first-team honors twice. She would join Lewis, who is the only Razorbacks athlete to do three times, Maria Fassi (2017-18, 18-19), Gaby Lopez (2013-14, 14-15) and Emily Tubert (2010-11, 11-12).

In the the meantime, José Marin will play for Team International at the Arnold Palmer Cup in Ireland in early July and she has also been invited to play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships in Tulsa in early August.

The Razorbacks capped the 2023-24 season as the No. 10-ranked team in the country after finishing 10th at the NCAA Championships.

Arkansas WGCA All-Americans

Kaylee Benton (Second Team – 2018-19)
Maria Fassi (First Team – 2017-18, 2018-19 and Honorable Mention – 2015-16)
Dylan Kim (Second Team – 2017-18)
Stacy Lewis (First Team – 2004-05, 2006-07, 2007-08, Honorable Mention – 2005-06)
Gaby Lopez (First Team – 2013-14, 2014-15)
Amanda McCurdy (Honorable Mention – 2005-06)
Kelli Shean (Second Team – 2009-10 and Honorable Mention – 2010-11)
Emily Tubert (First Team – 2010-11, 2011-12 and Honorable Mention – 2012-13)
Alana Uriell (Second Team – 2017-18)