Latest news with #Servite
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Bryce Young, Tetairoa McMillan have ties since high school; Can they help revive Panthers?
Hear this story Bryce Young lobbied for the Carolina Panthers to draft wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. 'I just wanted to share my experiences. I'm grateful for (general manager) Dan (Morgan) and coach (Dave) Canales for wanting to hear that, wanting to hear me out and hear what I have to say,' Young told reporters this offseason. 'I've been around (Tetairoa McMillan) before. I've seen him. I just had some experiences to share…We are super happy that he's here.' Young and McMillan go back since their Southern California high school playing days. Young starred at Mater Dei and McMillan played at Servite. Although, McMillan doesn't have the fondest memories of when the two squared off against each other as preps. "He whooped us his senior year on national television by 45 points," McMillan reminisced, via the team's official website. Young and Mater Dei trounced McMillan's Servite team 56-11 that night. "In my eyes, he was the best player in the country and to everybody else's eyes, but man, he was just really good. He knew how to get his teammates involved,' McMillan recalled, per the team's official website. 'He was super patient in the pocket. He threw a pretty ball, and, you know, he has swag on that field." McMillan's assessment of Young goes to show why the quarterback won USA TODAY Sports High School Offensive Player of the Year award in 2019, the 2021 Heisman Trophy and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Young has yet to find consistent success in the NFL. His sophomore season hit rock bottom when he was benched after Week 2. However, Young showed some resiliency when he returned to the starting lineup. His final three games to end the year included seven touchdown passes, zero interceptions and three straight contests of over a 100-passer rating. Can Young carry the momentum into 2025? Word out of Carolina is there's reason to be hopeful. 'I think the pace of our offensive development, evolution is growing at the pace of Bryce. 'Panthers coach Dave Canales said at minicamp. 'He's showing such great mastery of what we're doing that he's allowing us to really push the envelope and do more things.' Young appeared to lose confidence last year, which contributed to his demotion. But the quarterback looks more confident this offseason, even talking a little trash. 'He gets really animated, particularly if you're talking about sports,' Canales said of Young. 'When we're out here on the field, he just has a defiance to him, and that's just kind of his way of competing. He's not super animated with it, but he definitely thrives off of that, feeds off of that energy.' The genesis of Young's rising confidence can be traced back to the end of last season when he helped Carolina win two of its final three games. This growth was underscored when he lobbied for the Panthers to draft a playmaker who he's familiar with. Now, maybe Young and McMillan can create fond memories together as teammates. Follow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.
Los Angeles Times
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep Rally: St. John Bosco was the surprise of the baseball season
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. What a weekend it was for championships in baseball and softball. Going into the 2025 baseball season, St. John Bosco was hardly on anyone's mind as a potential Southern Section Division 1 champion. It was going to be the super team, Corona, or last season's runner-up Huntington Beach. But coach Andy Rojo built the most consistent team of all, going 27-4, eliminating Corona 2-0 in the semifinals, then enduring nine innings to defeat Santa Margarita 3-2 on a walk-off hit by Miles Clark in the Division 1 final. There were so many big moments by big-time players in the Division 1 final. Few were more impressive than St. John Bosco closer Jack Champlin, who saved the Braves' win over Corona and then threw four scoreless innings against Santa Margarita with key strikeouts in moments of pressure. He may become a starting pitcher next season, but he's got a future as a closer because of his ability to thrive under pressure and his complete confidence in being able to do the job. The Division 2 final saw West Ranch defeat Mater Dei 2-1 behind pitcher Hunter Manning. Here's the report. Manning finished 10-0 on the mound and is headed to UC Irvine. The drought is over for Granada Hills softball. After losing heartbreaking championship games to Carson the last two seasons, the Highlanders beat the Colts in the City Section Open Division final 11-2. Here's the report. Norco ended the softball season No. 1 in Southern California after a 3-0 win in the Southern Section Division 1 final over El Modena behind pitcher Coral Williams, who threw a one-hitter. Here's the report. The Southern California regional playoffs for baseball and softball begin Tuesday, continue Thursday and end Saturday. Here's the baseball pairings. Here's the softball pairings. Led by a talented group of freshmen athletes, Servite won the state championship in boys track and field in Clovis on Saturday. Long Beach Wilson won the girls title. There were terrific individual performances, from Jack Stadlman of Temecula Valley winning the 400 meters to Leo Francis of Santa Margarita going 25-feet plus to win the long jump. Jayden Rendon of Carson wion the 300 hurdles. Here are the complete results. Here's the report from Clovis on the finals. Here's a closer look at Servite's Fab Four. Jaden Soong, a freshman golfer at St. Francis, thrives under pressure. 'I will say I like pressure,' he said. Twice in the last two weeks, he's won playoffs to keep his season going. But the story of his first playoff win is comedy at its best. He had left the Temecula Creek golf course at the individual championships after concluding he had failed to qualify for the SCGA regionals and had stopped at Jack in the Box while headed home. Then he got a phone call from a friend: 'Hey dude, we're in a playoff.' He was 17 minutes away and needed to be back at the course in 10 minutes. 'We hauled it,' he said. Thankfully, there were no police cars in the vicinity as he was driven back to the course. The playoff had started when he arrived. Players were in the fairway. He had no time to change into his golf shoes, so he played in his Nike Air Force shoes. He got a par on the first hole, then a birdie to win the playoff and advance. Last weekend, he won another playoff to reach the state championships Tuesday at Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach. He's ready for anything. Brady McHenry of Buena won the SCGA Southern California regional championship with a playoff win to be the No. 1 qualifier for the state championships Tuesday at Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach. Charlie Woods, son of Tiger Woods, won his first juniors tournament. Here's the report. The Bradford family in Manhattan Beach loves volleyball and everyone is tall. Here's a look at their love for volleyball and big shoes. Mira Costa won the first state Division 1 championship with a 25-14, 25-16, 25-21 win over San Jose Archbishop Mitty. Mater Dei defeated Buchanan 3-1 to win Division 2. Sage Hill won Division 3 with a 3-0 win over International. Here's the Daily Pilot report on Mira Costa winning against Huntington Beach the previous week. With major league baseball seeking to increase Black player participation, St. John Bosco has five Black players starting on its championship team. Here's a report. Lots of SoCal players are participating in the NCAA baseball playoffs. Here's a look. Brentwood sophomore to be Shaelen Sheppard has been selected to be on the U16 USA Basketball national team. . . . Austin Maziasz, a standout basketball player at Westlake, has committed to Johns Hopkins. . . . April Schilling is the new girls basketball coach at Oak Park. . . . Capistrano Valley has begun building a new $21.5 million football stadium that is supposed to be completed by the spring of 2026. . . . Chris Allen has resigned as baseball coach at Charter Oak. . . . The JSerra doubles team of Brady Schaefgen and Riley Anson won the Southern Section championship. Freshman Andrew Johnson from Palos Verdes won the singles title. . . . Roy Walker Jr., an assistant basketball coach at Westchester, has been hired as Taft's new basketball coach. . . . Dee Pinkard is the new girls' basketball coach at St. Bonaventure. . . . Mark Bowman, the top tight end in California if not America, has committed to USC. He was supposed to be a junior this coming season at Mater Dei but changed his classification to the class of 2026. Irvine University won the state Division 1 tennis championship. Griffin Canning is the best pitcher in the history of Santa Margarita. He led the Eagles to the 2014 Southern Section Division 1 championship, went on to star at UCLA and became a starting pitcher for the Angels. But this season he's enjoying a breakthrough pitching for the New York Mets. He's 5-2 with a 3.23 ERA. Here's a story from 2014 on how Canning pitched Santa Margarita to the Division 1 title. Here's a story from 2015 on the 'Griffin Canning rule' in the Trinity League. From a story looking at a survey of parents whether their kids will become pro athletes. From the Washington Post, a story on how a gymnast ended up getting a track and field scholarship. From the Los Angeles Times, a story on three L.A. students who earned college scholarships by caddying. From Spectrum News1, a story on USA volleyball using the 2028 Olympic Games to boost the sport. From the Los Angeles Times, a look at how the state track championship was affected by the participation of a transgender athlete.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Long Beach Poly boys' 4x400 relay team shines at state track and field championships
Servite's Jorden Wells, second left, stretches across the finish line to win the boys' 4X100-meter relay at the CIF state track and field championships at Buchanan High School in Clovis, Calif., on May 31, 2025. (Steve Galluzzo / For The Times) The stars close the show and Long Beach Poly's 4x400-meter relay brought the crowd to its feet with a stunning performance in the final race of the CIF State Track & Field Finals, winning in 3 minutes 8.68 seconds for the second-fastest time ever in the state meet. The top four teams ran sub-3:10, making it the fastest four-lapper ever in the finals on depth. The Jackrabbits just missed the state meet record of 3:08.42 set in 2010 by a Gardena Serra foursome anchored by Robert Woods, running the fourth-fastest time in California history. Advertisement Central East of Fresno was second in 3:09.23, Servite took third in 3:09.46 to clinch the team title with 33 points, L.A. Cathedral took fourth in 3:09.59 and Long Beach Wilson was fifth in 3:10.55. Sprinters headlined Friday's prelims but it was the distance runners who played leading roles Saturday at Buchanan High School. Rylee Blade has made a habit of performing her best on the brightest stage and she ran her fastest girls' 3,200-meter race ever (9:50.51) but had to settle for second when she was passed on the last turn by Hanne Thomsen of Santa Rosa Montgomery, who won in 9:48.98. 'I knew this would be a kicking race and give [Thomsen] credit, she had a bit more at the end,' said Blade, the Corona Santiago standout who won the state title as a sophomore and was third last year. Santa Margarita's Leo Francis wins the boys' long jump with a leap of 25-00.75 at the CIF state track and field championships at Buchanan High School in Clovis, Calif., on May 31, 2025. (Steve Galluzzo / For The Times) In a shocking development, Stanford-bound senior Evan Noonan of Dana Hills, last year's boys' 3,200 champion, caught a stomach flu earlier in the afternoon and had to drop out of the race, distraught that he couldn't defend his title. Woodcrest Christian's Eyan Turk took advantage of the race favorite's absence, winning in 8:51.62. Advertisement Thomsen was involved in another stretch duel in the girls' 1,600 versus another Corona Santiago runner Braelyn Combe, who did not realize she won until times were posted on the scoreboard. 'We were shoulder to shoulder with 100 [meters] to go and pushed each other to the end,' said Comb, who won by five-hundredths of a second in a personal-best of 4:35.64, the second-fastest in the country this year and fifth fastest in state history. 'I've never been that close to someone at the finish line. I closed my eyes and prayed and when I looked up at the board I burst into tears. I've never wanted anything more in my life. I'm so happy. My family drove five hours up here to watch.' Combe, a junior who took second in the 1,600 last year, credits her victory to training with Blade, who she called 'unbelievable.' 'It's a blessing to have her on my team, she's the best pacing partner,' said Combe, who capped off her day by anchoring the Sharks' 4x800-meter relay, which ran 8:49.01 to establish a new state meet record. 'It's a real advantage for me.' Long Beach Wilson senior Loren Webster wins her second straight CIF state girls' long jump title with a personal-best leap of 21-00.25 at Buchanan High School in Clovis, Calif., on May 31, 2025. (Steve Galluzzo / For The Times) Looking like an Olympic gymnast, Loren Webster stuck her landing on her fifth attempt in the girls' long jump, a personal-best 21 feet, 0¼ inches that earned her first-place by three and a half inches over transgender athlete A.B. Hernandez, who beat Webster at the Southern Section Masters Meet and posted the top qualifying mark Friday. Advertisement 'I'm glad I was able to win to honor my jump coach who has worked with me since my first year jumping as a sophomore,' the teary-eyed senior said of Carl Hampton, who died of cancer May 24, the day of the Masters Meet. 'I PR'd by a couple of inches. I was injured most of the season but I knew what I was capable of and I knew today was the only day that mattered.' Hernandez went on to win the triple jump and tied for first with Lelani Laruelle of Monte Vista and Jillene Wetteland of Long Beach Poly in the high jump at 5-07. Read more: Transgender track athlete wins gold in California state championships despite Trump threat JJ Harel of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame cleared 6-09 to win the boys high jump after finishing second at the state meet last year. Advertisement 'I knew I would win but honestly, I'm not happy,' said the Knights' junior, whose personal-best was 7-0¼ last year. 'I was on fire in the lower heights, getting over easily but once it got to seven feet I forgot my form.' Giving Harel a high-five after his win was Notre Dame senior Aja Johnson, who won the girls' shot put for the second time in three years with a throw of 45-05¾. 'It's not a PR or anything but at least I won it for my school. ... I'm happy about that,' said Johnson, who is going to college at Louisville. Oaks Christian's girls repeated as 4x100 champions in 46.08, edging Long Beach Poly (46.18) for the second year in a row. Servite won the boys 4x100 relay in 40.27, one hundredth of a second faster than its prelim time. Advertisement Concord De La Salle junior Jaden Jefferson won the boys' 100 meters in 10.27, followed by Servite's Benjamin Harris (10.31), Alemany's Demare Dezeurn (10.39) and Rancho Cucamonga's RJ Sermons (10.48). Temecula Valley's Jack Stadlman won the 400 meters in 46.02 and took second in the 200 meters in 20.82. Sermons, who had to win a run-off Friday to gain the last qualifying spot, finished sixth in the 200 in 21.05. Long Beach Wilson successfully defended its 4x400 girls relay title. Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Servite's 'Fab Four' show their blazing speed at state track and field prelims
Jace Wells, right, slows up after passing the baton to Servite teammate Jaelen Hunter for the second leg of the first boys' 4x100-meter relay heat at the CIF state track and field preliminaries at Buchanan High School in Clovis on Friday. (Steve Galluzzo / For The Times) Call them the 'Fab Four.' Servite's boys' 4x100-meter relay team, consisting of freshmen Jace Wells, Jaelen Hunter, Kamil Pelovello and Jorden Wells got Friday's CIF State Track and Field Championships off to a blazing start by winning the first heat in 40.28 seconds and earning the top qualifying time — not bad for the foursome's first go around the oval. Advertisement Robert Gardner ran the anchor leg behind Jace Wells, Hunter and Pelovello six days earlier when the Friars clocked 40.40 to win the Southern Section Masters Meet and fellow sophomore Benjamin Harris joined Jorden Wells, Hunter and Gardner when Servite set a state and meet record at the Arcadia Invitational in April. Justin Hart of Granada Hills ran the 400 meters in 47.72 seconds on Friday to earn the final qualifying spot for the CIF state final. (Steve Galluzzo / For The Times) Friday was all about the 'youth movement." They left Veterans Memorial Stadium at Buchanan High believing that they could return Saturday to break the state meet record of 40.24 set by Hawthorne in 1989. 'This is the first time that all four of us have been in the same relay,' Hunter said. 'We're going after the record tomorrow.' Advertisement Sherman Oaks Notre Dame won Heat 2 in 40.83, the second-fastest time. Hunter showed why he's the fastest freshman in the country one hour later when he looked like he was saving his energy for the finals even while winning his 400-meter heat in 47.43, the third-fastest prelims time behind Temecula Valley senior Jack Stadlman (46.99) and Culver City's Duaine Mayrant (47.38). Jace Wells clocked a personal-best to win his 200 meters heat in 21.03 while Stadlman (21 flat), Antrell Harris (21.14) and Leo Francis (21.16) from Santa Margarita also advanced to the finals ahead of USC-bound RJ Sermons of Rancho Cucamonga, who raced Nicolas Obimgba of Torrance head-to-head at 11 p.m. for the last qualifying spot after they tied to the thousandth of a second for ninth. Sermons won by 20 hundredths in 21.11 with the stadium empty to secure his spot in the finals. Advertisement 'I've never been in a run-off before,' Sermons said, shaking his head. 'I had a bad start the first time. No one to blame but me." Rancho Cucamonga's RJ Sermons, right, wins a run-off against Nicolas Obimgba of Torrance to earn the last spot in the boys' 200-meter finals. (Steve Galluzzo / For The Times) Servite capped its impressive day by winning its 4x400 meters heat in 3 minutes 10.94 seconds, holding off Cathedral (3:11.13) for the second-fastest qualifying time behind Long Beach Poly (3:10.70). Maintenance crews will be working overnight trying remove the scorch marks on the track after the boys' 100 meters. All nine sprinters who advanced to Saturday's finals clocked 10.51 or under, led by De La Salle junior Jaden Jefferson, whose wind-legal 10.01 bettered the California record of 10.14 by Rodrick Pleasant of Gardena Serra in 2022. Second in the heat was Obimgba (10.20) and third was City Section champion Antrell Harris of Birmingham, giving a single heat the first, second and fourth-fastest times in the state this year. Advertisement USC-bound RJ Sermons of Rancho Cucamonga bounced back from a subpar Masters race, where he finished fourth in 10.47, to win his heat in 10.40 and Demare Dezeurn, who repeated as Masters champion in 10.35 seconds, also topped his heat Friday in 10.43. Benjamin Harris won Heat 4 in 10.49. 'Today was all about qualifying for finals, said Dezeurn, a sophomore from Alemany. 'It's great competition. I have to go hard tomorrow. If I can beat [Jefferson] at the start I can beat him in the race. He is good, though. Seeing those times just makes me love the game even more. I want to prove I belong here. I run to win!' Kyra Terry, left, receives the baton from Oaks Christian teammate Rayah Rodriguez in a girls' 4x100-meter relay heat at the state preliminaries on Friday. (Steve Galluzzo / For The Times) Christina Gray anchored Carson's girls' 4x100 relay, which posted the fastest qualifying time (46.16) while Journey Cole's late kick on the anchor leg in Heat 2 allowed Redondo Union (46.33) to clip last year's state champion Oaks Christian, which posted the same time (46.39) as Long Beach Poly. Gray followed with a personal-best 11.47 in the 100, beating Chaparral's Keelan Wright by two hundredths of a second for second in her heat. Advertisement Calabasas sophomore Malia Rainey yelled 'C'mon' after winning her heat in a personal-best 11.57 while teammate Marley Scoggins won Heat 4 in 11.67. Wright bounced back to post the best time (23.58) in the girls' 200 meters while Gray finished second in 23.71, the second-fastest time and much swifter than her 24.62 at City Finals. 'In the 100 I had a great start, now I just have to work on the finish,' Gray said. 'It's still a great time for me. I'm feeling pretty good, there was no negative wind and winning the relay gave me confidence as I was feeling doubtful before that but after the 4x100 I knew I'd do well the rest of the day. Carson 4x100-meter relay anchor runner Christina Gray crosses the finish line during a heat at the CIF state track and field preliminaries on Friday. (Steve Galluzzo / For The Times) Reigning discus champion Aja Johnson Sherman Oaks Notre Dame struggled Friday but secured the 12th and last finals spot with an effort of 139 feet 3 inches. Camarillo's Trinity Tipton was the top qualifier at 152-06. The 2023 shot put state champion, Johnson was the top qualifier Friday at 45-05, beating Aliso Niguel's Jaslene Massey by six inches. Advertisement Transgender athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley was the leading qualifier in the girls' long jump (19-11.75), triple jump (40-09.75) and high jump (5-05.00). Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
31-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Servite's ‘Fab Four' show their blazing speed at state track and field prelims
CLOVIS, Calif. — Call them the 'Fab Four.' Servite's boys' 4x100-meter relay team, consisting of freshmen Jace Wells, Jaelen Hunter, Kamil Pelovello and Jorden Wells got Friday's CIF State Track and Field Championships off to a blazing start by winning the first heat in 40.28 seconds and earning the top qualifying time — not bad for the foursome's first go around the oval. Robert Gardner ran the anchor leg behind Jace Wells, Hunter and Pelovello six days earlier when the Friars clocked 40.40 to win the Southern Section Masters Meet and fellow sophomore Benjamin Harris joined Jorden Wells, Hunter and Gardner when Servite set a state and meet record at the Arcadia Invitational in April. Friday was all about the 'youth movement.' They left Veterans Memorial Stadium at Buchanan High believing that they could return Saturday to break the state meet record of 40.24 set by Hawthorne in 1989. 'This is the first time that all four of us have been in the same relay,' Hunter said. 'We're going after the record tomorrow.' Sherman Oaks Notre Dame won Heat 2 in 40.83, the second-fastest time. Hunter showed why he's the fastest freshman in the country one hour later when he looked like he was saving his energy for the finals even while winning his 400-meter heat in 47.43, the third-fastest prelims time behind Temecula Valley senior Jack Stadlman (46.99) and Culver City's Duaine Mayrant (47.38). Jace Wells clocked a personal-best to win his 200 meters heat in 21.03 while Stadlman (21 flat), Antrell Harris (21.14) and Leo Francis (21.16) from Santa Margarita also advanced to the finals ahead of USC-bound RJ Sermons of Rancho Cucamonga, who raced Nicolas Obimga of Torrance head-to-head at 11 p.m. for the last qualifying spot after they tied to the thousandth of a second for ninth. Sermons won by 20 hundredths in 21.11 with the stadium empty to secure his spot in the finals. 'I've never been in a run-off before,' Sermons said, shaking his head. 'I had a bad start the first time. No one to blame but me.' Servite capped its impressive day by winning its 4x400 meters heat in 3 minutes 10.94 seconds, holding off Cathedral (3:11.13) for the second-fastest qualifying time behind Long Beach Poly (3:10.70). Maintenance crews will be working overnight trying remove the scorch marks on the track after the boys' 100 meters. All nine sprinters to advance to Saturday's finals clocked 10.51 or under led by De La Salle junior Jaden Jefferson, whose wind-legal 10.01 bettered the California record of 10.14 by Rodrick Pleasant of Gardena Serra in 2022. Second in the heat was Obimga (10.20) and third was City Section champion Antrell Harris of Birmingham, giving a single heat the first, second and fourth-fastest times in the state this year. USC-bound RJ Sermons of Rancho Cucamonga bounced back from a subpar Masters race, where he finished fourth in 10.47, to win his heat in 10.40 and Demare Dezeurn, who repeated as Masters champion in 10.35 seconds, also topped his heat Friday in 10.43. Benjamin Harris won Heat 4 in 10.49. 'Today was all about qualifying for finals, said Dezeurn, a 10th-grader from Alemany. 'It's great competition. I have to go hard tomorrow. If I can beat him at the start I can beat him in the race. He [Jefferson] is good, though. Seeing those times just makes me love the game even more. I want to prove I belong here. I run to win!' Carson's Christina Gray anchored the Colts' 4x100 relay, which posted the fastest qualifying time (46.16) while Journey Cole's late kick on the anchor leg in Heat 2 allowed Redondo Union (46.33) to clip last year's state champion Oaks Christian, which posted the same time (46.39) as Long Beach Poly. Gray followed with a personal-best 11.47 in the 100, beating Chaparral's Keelan Wright by two hundredths of a second for second in her heat. Calabasas sophomore Malia Rainey yelled 'C'mon' after winning her heat in a personal-best 11.57 while teammate Marley Scoggins won Heat 4 in 11.67. Wright bounced back to post the best time (23.58) in the 200 while Gray finished second in 23.71, the second-fastest time and much swifter than her 24.62 at City Finals. 'In the 100 I had a great start, now I just have to work on the finish,' Gray said. 'It's still a great time for me. I'm feeling pretty good, there was no negative wind and winning the relay gave me confidence as I was feeling doubtful before that but after the 4x100 I knew I'd do well the rest of the day. Reigning discus champion Aja Johnson Sherman Oaks Notre Dame struggled Friday but secured the 12th and last finals spot with an effort of 139 feet 3 inches. Camarillo's Trinity Tipton was the top qualifier at 152-06. The 2023 shot put state champion, Johnson was the top qualifier Friday at 45-05, beating Aliso Niguel's Jaslene Massey by six inches. Transgender athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley was the leading qualifier in the girls' long jump (19-11.75), triple jump (40-09.75) and high jump (5-05.00).
