HBCU track power rising picks up honors, transfers
HBCU powerhouse Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) is celebrating a historic postseason after capturing the 2025 CIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship. The Rams' momentum continued on the national stage, with multiple honors for both athletes and coaches, further cementing WSSU's rise in HBCU track and field.
At the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships in Pueblo, Colorado, WSSU athletes Charnessa Reid and Brianna Benloss delivered standout performances. Benloss ran a personal-best 11.39 in the 100m prelims to qualify for the finals, finishing ninth overall and earning Second Team All-American honors. Reid, meanwhile, placed fourth nationally in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.35, securing First Team All-American status.
Reid's dominance this season-undefeated in collegiate hurdles competition and victorious at the CIAA Championships-also earned her the title of USTFCCCA Division II Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year. WSSU assistant coach Paula Salmon, in her first season, was named Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year after leading WSSU's sprinters and hurdlers to five CIAA titles, ten school records, and 23 NCAA provisional marks.
Adding to the momentum, HBCU standout Candace Morris is transferring to WSSU from West Virginia State. Morris, a First Team All-American in the 60m dash during the indoor season, also swept the 100m and 200m titles at the Mountain East Conference Outdoor Championships. Her arrival gives WSSU even more firepower heading into 2025.
WSSU continues to showcase the strength and depth of HBCU athletics on the national stage, with its women's track program earning accolades and attracting elite talent. With All-Americans, championship hardware, and elite transfers, WSSU is setting the standard for HBCU excellence in track and field.
The post HBCU track power rising picks up honors, transfers appeared first on HBCU Gameday.
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New York Times
29 minutes ago
- New York Times
White Sox All-Quarter Century Team, the South Siders' best since 2000
Editor's note: The Athletic is marking 2025 by naming MLB All-Quarter Century Teams, selected by Jayson Stark and Tyler Kepner and our readers. In addition, some of our writers are picking All-Quarter Century Teams for the teams they cover. Check this page to find all of our All-Quarter Century Team coverage. Advertisement Well, the last quarter century of White Sox baseball has certainly been eventful, hasn't it? The 2000s began with a surprise division title just three years after the infamous 'White Flag Trade.' Five years later, the franchise reached its apex with a World Series championship. Yadda yadda yadda, in 2024, the White Sox went 41-121 and eclipsed the 1962 New York Mets as the worst team in modern baseball history. It's been a long way down. You could basically put the 2005 team on this list and Sox fans would be satiated, but in the end, I included only four of its position players, the ace of the pitching staff and the closer. I tried to balance longevity with impact, and in one case, I picked a guy mostly for vibes (and two big defensive plays in the World Series). Feel free to argue among yourselves in the comments, but if you look at the team's most common players by position page on Baseball Reference, you'll get a picture of why the Sox made the playoffs only five times since 2000. Signing Pierzynski was one of GM Kenny Williams' finest decisions. He was perfect for this team and this town and no one personified that era of Sox baseball like Pierzynski, who was both brash and good. Mark Buehrle famously said he never shook him off. Pierzynski's two most famous moments of his eight years with the team were running to first on a dropped third strike with two outs in the bottom of the ninth in Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS, a heads-up play that helped propel the Sox to a win; and getting punched by Cubs catcher Michael Barrett in 2006, setting off a benches-clearing brawl. But later that season, when the crosstown series returned to Wrigley Field, he hit a three-run homer to give the Sox the lead in the ninth that led to some Cubs fans showering the outfield with garbage. Those kinds of moments are why Sox fans still wear his jerseys to games. They called him 'The King' for a reason. Konerko, who played on the South Side from 1999 through 2014, was the captain of the White Sox, an erudite student of hitting with a caustic dry wit. He hit 408 of his 439 career homers for the Sox in the 2000s while putting up a .280/.356/.490 slash line. He could go into slumps, but he was otherwise the steady presence for a rocky franchise. Advertisement Everyone thought he'd leave after 2005 for free agency riches, but he pulled a smooth negotiating maneuver when he saved the final-out ball from the World Series and presented it to chairman Jerry Reinsdorf at the parade. When Konerko finally retired in 2014, he immediately got a statue and a retired number. In two-plus seasons of the 2000s, Durham put up 10.8 bWAR for the Sox. He hit 52 homers in that span (Durham is the franchise leader for homers as a second baseman) and was an All-Star in the team's surprising run to the AL Central title in 2000. There aren't a lot of other candidates, really. Tadahito Iguchi was a 30-year-old rookie in 2005 and helped spark the 'Ozzie Ball' Sox to the World Series, but he had a 5.3 WAR in two-plus seasons. Gordon Beckham should've been the guy, but wasn't. Yoán Moncada didn't stick at second long enough. Chris Getz started one season at second base and is now the GM. From 2009 through 2023, the White Sox got consistent production from Alexei Ramirez and Tim Anderson at shortstop. Anderson personified the team's short-lived 'Change the Game' era, winning a batting title in 2019 and making a pair of All-Star Games in 2021 and 2022. His bat-flipping charisma made him a star and his homer into the corn in the 'Field of Dreams' game got the Sox a nod for the 25 best games of the quarter century. Ramirez, who started at shortstop from 2009 through 2015, put up 23.5 bWAR and hit 109 homers in his eight seasons (including one at second base) for the Sox. He finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2008 and made an All-Star team in 2014. But this is a subjective exercise and I'm going with my gut. This team needs Juan Uribe, the Winnie the Pooh-shaped shortstop who brought vibes like no one else. Advertisement 'He remains one of my favorite guys to ever put on a White Sox uniform,' Williams told me in 2016. 'He's a prince of a guy and if you get a chance to know him, he's one of the funniest guys you'll ever know.' More importantly, he made one of the iconic plays of the Sox World Series run, catching a foul ball in the stands for the second out in the ninth before helping finish off the 1-0 clincher in Game 4 with a ridiculous snag and throw to first. You wish you loved your kids as much as Hawk Harrelson loved Joe Crede. (I can only hear his name in Harrelson's bellowing voice.) Crede was only a full-time starter for the Sox from 2003 through 2008, but it seems like he was there forever, a quiet guy on a loud team. His best offensive season actually came in 2006, when the Sox failed to get back to the playoffs, but he'll forever be remembered for his walk-off hit in Game 2 of the '05 ALCS. Crede was up with two outs in a tie game just after Pierzynski reached first on the dropped third strike and hit an 0-2 pitch from Kelvim Escobar for a double to left, scoring pinch-runner Pablo Ozuna. That tied the series at 1-1, and the Sox didn't lose again in the playoffs. Crede had a .949 OPS in the 2005 playoffs with four homers and 11 RBIs. The Hawkeroo will toast to this pick. Carlos Quentin had the best single season of any left fielder in the 2000s with a 5.3 WAR in 2008 (and that's with missing the last month of the season). Scott Podsednik was the straw that stirred the Sox's drink in 2005. But it's the guy who was traded for Podsednik — in the deal that got used as an example of the 'culture change' that Ozzie Guillen wanted — who wins this honor based on actual production. (Yes, I know I used the opposite argument for Uribe.) Because from 2000-04, Lee had a .287/.344/.493 slash line, hitting 136 homers and driving in 468 runs. He was really good, if not the right person for Guillen's lineup at the time. When Theo Epstein traded Eloy Jiménez to the Sox, he comped him to 'El Caballo,' but the oft-injured Jiménez never came close to capturing Lee's production. Advertisement But I should point out that while Podsednik's value was only immeasurable in the 2005 regular season, he really raked in the playoffs with six extra-base hits, including two homers. He slugged .551 in the postseason as compared to .349 during the season. Aaron Rowand is the sentimental favorite, but even though he's having a nightmarish season, Robert is still the pick. He's a five-tool player, even if only three of those tools are showing up right now. He showed signs of stardom in his first four seasons and I have to think the woeful state of the team has had an effect on him. While the team was falling apart in 2023, Robert played 145 games and put up a 5.3 bWAR with 38 homers and an .857 OPS. But he was bad last year in the Sox's historically awful season and he's been even worse in 2025 as the team tries to peddle him for prospects. It's a shame he hasn't produced more in a Sox uniform. You want to know something depressing? Adam Eaton had a better bWAR (16.2) in four seasons with the Sox than Robert does (14.4) in five-plus seasons. Shoot, maybe Eaton should've won this honor? From 2000-04, Ordoñez made three of his four All-Star Games as a Sox (he made two more with Detroit) and put up a .313/.376/.550 slash line with 139 homers and 510 RBIs. He was a star and another White Sox inductee into the Hall of Very Good. The Sox let Ordońez go after the 2004 season and he signed a five-year, $75 million deal with Detroit that included two option years, one of which was picked up for $18 million. Nineteen years later, the Sox finally gave their own five-year, $75 million deal to a free agent outfielder. (Don't ask.) Jermaine Dye, the Sox's World Series MVP, finishes second here. You have Jim Thome, who hit 134 homers, had 369 RBIs and put up a .933 OPS in 529 games in three-plus seasons with the Sox — and also hit the solo homer in the 1-0 2008 division tiebreaker win over the Twins at The Cell — and of course you have Frank Thomas (more on him below). There's also, uh, Adam Dunn. Advertisement But while he never played more than 39 games at DH, Abreu obviously deserves to be on this team for his production over nine years in Chicago. Abreu, the regular first baseman from 2014 through 2022, made three All-Star teams, won Rookie of the Year in 2014 and the AL MVP in the shortened 2020 season. He put up 31.3 bWAR and hit 243 homers and 863 RBIs for the Sox. I'm actually surprised there aren't more pictures of him around the ballpark. When does he get his statue? You can't do an All-Sox team without Frank Thomas, the franchise's all-time best hitter. From 2000-05, after his Hall of Fame peak, he still hit 147 homers and drove in 425 runs in 588 games and he barely played in 2001 and 2005. In that last year, he started the season rehabbing from an offseason ankle surgery and then was lost to foot surgery in late July. Still, he somehow managed 12 homers in just 105 at-bats. He wasn't on the playoff roster, which was a shame, but he still enjoyed the World Series run. The next year in Oakland, he finished fourth in AL MVP voting en route to a first-ballot Hall of Fame nod. He's currently selling an eponymous vodka and appearing in those cringey Nugenix commercials. One thing the White Sox did in this era was produce pitchers. Somewhere Don Cooper is smiling. Our starting five has four left-handers. We're leaving out Lucas Giolito, José Contreras (who was basically the best pitcher in baseball from the second half of 2005 through the first half of 2006), Freddy Garcia and Jon Garland, among others. Buehrle was one of the most effective (and efficient) pitchers of his era and one of the all-time best Sox starters (48.9 bWAR, 161 wins, 3.83 ERA, nearly 2,500 innings in 12 seasons), which is why he's still getting Hall of Fame votes and a statue at The Rate this summer. Sale was the franchise's best draft pick since Thomas. He went 74-50 with an even 3.00 ERA in 228 games (148 starts) for the Sox, striking out 1,244 in 1,110 innings. He was in the top six of Cy Young Award voting for his last five seasons with the Sox, making the All-Star team each time. His trade to Boston after the 2016 season started the team's ill-fated rebuild — and it was obvious then and now that the Sox's failure to build around him and Quintana was an organizational failure. He should be Cooperstown-bound with a strong finish to his career. Advertisement You don't have to say 'What about Danks?' because he made the list. The lefty is just behind Sale in career strikeouts for the franchise. Quintana had 21.2 WAR in six seasons before being dealt in a crosstown blockbuster to the Cubs for Cease, who finished second for the AL Cy Young in 2022. Cease, the lone right-hander, had a 3.83 ERA and 792 strikeouts in 658 innings for the Sox. He pitched in 346 games with the Sox and 209 of them came between 2000-02. Foulke had a 2.74 ERA and 87 saves, striking out 224 in 246 2/3 innings. He wasn't a setup guy, but he'll do just fine. Who else? Jenks is second all-time in saves in Sox history at 173 (Bobby Thigpen is first with 201) and he had 334 strikeouts in 341 2/3 innings. The best closers have what the kids today call 'aura' and Jenks was thick with it. After coming up during the 2005 season as a golden ticket of a waiver claim, Jenks started pumping triple-digit fastballs in an era where that wasn't commonplace. In the post-Jordan era of Chicago sports, I'd put Jenks, despite being a heavyset dude with a goatee, among the most electric athletes we had, right up there with Javy Báez, Patrick Kane and Derrick Rose. He was like a folk hero. As you might've read, Jenks is currently battling stomach cancer in Portugal. Da Pope. The Sox fan formerly known as Robert Prevost sneaks past Donn Pall for the honor. Last year, the Sox had the milkshake as the distraction for an awful season. This season, it's the pope. I love that the White Sox, the team perennially slept on by the national media, can count a Pope and a President among its fans. Obama proudly wore his Sox gear as a Senator and as the President and gave the franchise some needed cachet after they stopped winning. Guillen was the shortstop of the 1990s, a Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star with the gift of gab. His hiring before the 2004 season was one of Williams and Reinsdorf's best moves. The White Sox went 678-617 in Guillen's eight seasons in charge, with five winning seasons. Their 11-1 romp through the 2005 playoffs looked dominant but included a host of close games. Seven of those wins were decided by one or two runs, including all four games of a World Series sweep. Advertisement Guillen should still be managing somewhere, but he's turned into the best studio analyst in the city, the Charles Barkley of White Sox games. I would love to hear Ozzie the analyst critique Ozzie the manager's moves after a game. (Photo of Mark Buehrle, A.J. Pierzynski and Paul Konerko after Buehrle pitched a complete game against the Cubs in 2006: Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images)
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Gauff to pretend crowd are 'cheering for me' against Boisson
Coco Gauff managed to grind her way past Madison Keys and into the semi-finals (ALAIN JOCARD) Coco Gauff said on Wednesday she will pretend the French crowd "are cheering for me" when she faces home favourite Lois Boisson in the Roland Garros semi-finals. The second seed battled past her fellow American Madison Keys 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-1 in a tense last-eight clash littered with 14 double-faults and a whopping 101 unforced errors. Advertisement Gauff will have to face down a raucous crowd as well as her inspired opponent when she faces world number 361 Boisson in the last four on Thursday. "I think there are two ways I have done it in the past. Either, A: just pretend they're cheering for you, and B: just using it and not letting that get to you," she told reporters. Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva appeared to be affected by the atmosphere as she crumbled in her dramatic defeat by Boisson, losing the last six games and growing visibly frustrated. But Gauff said she would be prepared for whatever reception she gets from the partisan home fans. Advertisement "I have been in crowds where they are 99 percent for me, so I don't have an issue with it," she said. "I hope everyone will be respectful and things. If not, it's cool. I think, you know, it makes sports exciting, and I can't get irritated at the fact that someone is rooting for their hometown hero, because I would do the same. "I think it's just something that I will mentally prepare for if it were to happen and expect and be ready for." - Gauff shows fighting spirit - Australian Open champion Keys came through a tense first set in a tie-break after blowing a 4-1 lead with a double-break, but Gauff upped her level enough to fight back. Advertisement The 21-year-old was the runner-up to Iga Swiatek in a one-sided showpiece match in 2022. Keys had been hoping to challenge for back-to-back Grand Slam titles, but failed in her bid to secure a second semi-final appearance in Paris. Gauff will be hoping to go at least one better than last year when she was beaten by Swiatek in the last four. She has made a habit of pulling off comeback wins in her career so far, including in the 2023 US Open final against Aryna Sabalenka. "I think just a love to win, the will to win," Gauff said when asked why she is comfortable coming from behind. "I don't think sometimes it's not something that's taught or anything. Advertisement "It's just I have always had that in me, and not just in tennis but in everything. I'm a very competitive person. "My philosophy is if I can just leave it all out there, then the loss will hurt a lot less than regrets of maybe not giving it your all." Gauff will need to improve her game, especially her serve, ahead of the semi-finals after delivering 10 double-faults against Keys, including seven in the first set alone. "It's something that I will always have to work on, but I'm glad I didn't let what happened in the tiebreaker earlier in the match affect the next two sets," added Gauff, who made three double-faults in the first-set tie-break. She will have an unknown challenge ahead of her in the shape of Boisson, who had never played a top-10 opponent before defeating Jessica Pegula and 18-year-old Andreeva this week. jc/nf
Newsweek
44 minutes ago
- Newsweek
This 280-Strikeout Pitcher Continues to Struggle After Injuries
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Just two seasons ago, a young right-hander by the name of Spencer Strider put together one of the best pitching seasons in the history of MLB. Strider went 20-5 with 281 strikeouts across 32 starts and 186 2/3 innings pitched. He was an All-Star and finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting that season. Since then, his career has been on a bit of a slide, and he looks nowhere close to the 20-game winner he was two years ago. ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JUNE 03: Spencer Strider #99 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Truist Park on June 03, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JUNE 03: Spencer Strider #99 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Truist Park on June 03, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Strider made just two starts last season before being shut down due to an elbow injury that required surgery to replace his ulnar collateral ligament. That same injury forced his season debut this year to come on April 16, when he allowed two runs and struck out five batters over five innings. Strider suffered a hamstring injury in that outing and was forced to miss over a month before making his next start. Strider allowed five runs, including three home runs, on Monday in Atlanta's 8-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He lasted five innings, the most he's pitched since his season debut in mid-April. 2 at-bats, 2 home runs for Ketel Marte! — MLB (@MLB) June 3, 2025 Strider has made three starts since coming back from the hamstring injury and has allowed 10 runs and struck out 14 across 14 innings pitched. His season ERA is now 5.68 and the Braves have lost all four games he's started. A major area of concern for Strider has been the dip in his fastball velocity. During his 20-win season, his average fastball velocity of 97.2 mph ranked in 92nd percentile. Fast forward to this year and although it is a small sample size, Strider's average fastball velocity has fallen to 95.1 mph and is in the 68th percentile. There is certainly plenty of time for Strider to regain his confidence and find that fastball velocity again, but with at least three more seasons remaining on a six-year, $75 million contract, the Braves may have quite a bit of buyer's remorse if he continues to struggle. More MLB: Yankees-Red Sox Blockbuster Trade Possibility Would Bring $120M Superstar to Bronx
