American Gold Sports Alliance

Archives for February 2024

ARIZONA TEEN AUDREY JIMENEZ IS 1ST GIRL TO WIN STATE HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING TITLE IN BOYS DIVISION

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GRACE FISHER | HER Sport

18-year-old Audrey Jimenez made history last week by becoming the first girl to win an Arizona state high school wrestling title while competing against boys.

Though she regularly competes with boys during the ordinary season, after three straight girls’ individual titles, the teen had to petition the Arizona Interscholastic Association to compete in the boys’ division in the state championships.

She won her appeal and the Division 1 title at 106 pounds, defeating four male opponents on her way to the final 7-5 win, a victory over Carson Miles.

“For me, wrestling against the boys is going to test me a little bit more,” Jimenez had said in December after winning the AIA appeal.

“Either way, wrestling against the boys of the girls, I’m happy to represent Sunnyside [High School].”

Jimenez said that after her historic win, “The crowd was just super crazy. So that’s what made it seem more of like, ‘Oh wow, I just won state.'”

Jimenez hopes her example will inspire others. “Once you see it done, you know it’s possible,” she said.

Just a few days later Jimenez followed up her victory at the Pan American Championships, winning a bronze medal after defeating Canadian Katie Dutchak.

Paris 2024: History-maker Mariana Zuniga’s training keeps her on target

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By AMP Media | For the IPC

Chilean Paralympic archer Mariana Zuniga was 10 years old when she watched the animated movie “Brave”, where the main character, a young Scottish princess named Merida, uses a bow and arrow.  

“There was this iconic scene where Merida puts one arrow after the other like Robin Hood, and that scene made me fall in love. I told my mom that I wanted to experience that,” Zuniga, 21, said. 

She had tried out wheelchair tennis before but not really fallen for it. Archery was love at first sight, and Zuniga was good. When she was 19 years old, she won the individual compound W2 silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. 

Para archer Mariana Zuniga holding up her silver medal on the podium
Zuniga celebrates her historic silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics © Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images


She was the first Chilean archer to compete at the Paralympics. Her medal was the first won by an archer from the Americas in the compound open women’s category. 

“Tokyo was a surprise,” Zuniga said. “We weren’t going to Tokyo expecting a medal. We were looking to gain experience, just living the experience of having qualified for the Paralympic Game And then the medal came.” 

Balancing act  

Today she combines psychology studies at a university in Chile’s capital Santiago with training five to six times a week and preparations for Paris 2024. 

Every day looks a little bit different as she is trying to fit those two sides of her life together.

“This semester I am studying in the mornings, so when I get up, I prepare things for the university and also for training because after studying I go to train,” she said. 

It always, though, starts with an alarm clock.

“I would love to be able to wake up with my biological clock. But that’s impossible because I really like to sleep.”  

Where many people get over that morning tiredness with a cup of coffee, Zuniga does not. “I feel like it makes me shiver. My pulse goes up, and of course, especially on training days, that’s not good for the precision,” she said, adding that her breakfasts are usually rather all about eggs. 

When she is not training, she can allow herself some caffeine. “If I’m at home on the weekend and have nothing to do, then I might have a cup of coffee.” 

She likes to cook but she prefers it when it is simple. She either prepares something to eat at home – “usually something Latin” – or eats at the university after her morning classes are over. 

“They always sell good dishes there, for example salads that are very complete and dishes with carbohydrates, with proteins. There I also buy some snacks for the afternoon. After that I start with my bow assembly.” 

Before she arrives at the training ground, she has already put together her archery gear. She lives 45 minutes from the range, so every minute saved between practice and university is valuable. Assembling the equipment takes about five minutes. 

“I get to the field and start the warm-up, beginning with a joint movement, moving the arms, in different directions,” Zuniga said. 

“Then I do a little warm-up with an elastic band, and then I start the training.” 

Perfecting technique  

She admits she does not have a stretching programme, but always does the same movements including stretching the shoulder blades, neck and torso. 

And it works. Zuniga says she has never had any serious injuries. She only feels a little pain in her chest and in the trapezius muscle in her upper back when she gets a massage at the end of the week. 

Female Para archer Mariana Zuniga smiling while holding her bow
Zuniga trains five to six times a week while also studying at university © Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images


What she does in training depends on where in the season she is, and in what stage of competition she is in. 

“If we were closer to an event, we are only polishing details of the technique. It depends a lot,” she said. 

“When I for example need to polish a very specific technical aspect, I stay short, usually three metres from the target. There are times when I spend a whole week shooting from three metres.” 

“Archery is a sport in which one is always learning and unlearning. One can return to a technical aspect or improve something that I worked on, for example, three years ago.” 

A general training session lasts for three to four hours. Zuniga likes to train shooting from 70 metres.  

“It is a challenge to hit the target from further away and it is also part of the exercise to polish the timing of the shot,” she said. 

“I like it a lot, that exercise feels like a very different sensation. It’s like that thing of wanting to be more accurate when shooting.” 

Some training days she has been shooting at 18 metres, another competition distance.  

“I generally tend to be more slick when shooting at close range than at long range. Yes, there I don’t know what the principle is, but I think that maybe when one is closer all the movements become a little smaller,” she said. 

Para archer Mariana Zuniga pulls back her arrow ready to shoot
Zuniga’s training session last for between three and four hours per day © OIS


Zuniga also goes to the gym about twice a week. “There my physical coach does different exercises with dumbbells, with a ball, elastic, and co-ordination exercises. I’m terrible at co-ordination exercises,” she said. 

“We increase the load, depending on the period. And there we also work with specific muscle groups, depending on what my coaches see in the actual shooting practice.”  

In archery it is important to be physically strong:  “The main muscles that one – hopefully I – should have super good all the time are the triceps,” she explained. 

“The triceps give us a lot of stability in the arm that supports the bow, and that means an improvement in aiming.” 

But working on her strength has not always been a favourite activity for the young archer.  

“At first I hated it because I didn’t train with the gym coach but my coach who watches over my archery. He did the exercises for me and they were only elastic band exercises,” she said. 

Feeling like she was getting nowhere, she started training at a gym with her teammates, and loved it. ”Especially those days when, for example, I’m more stressed about university or things like that. I get to the gym and throw out all my energy and it’s clearing up a little,” she said. 

Dreaming of Paris 

After training, Zuniga goes back home to take care of the homework from university and other housekeeping. She has dinner – “usually something Latin” – and spends some time with her family and boyfriend. The same goes for Sundays, which are usually training-free. Zuniga’s boyfriend is also an athlete, so they also get to see each other at training, to which her parents drive her. 

Her close connection to her family is also something that made her recognise herself in Merida in “Brave”. 

“The movie shows a lot about the protagonist’s relationship with her mother. My mother has also been fundamental in my personal and sporting process, she has always been the one who has supported me in everything,” she said. 

At around 11pm she goes to sleep, ready to repeat it all the next day, over again until this summer’s Games. That is where her focus is right now. After that alarm clock rings, her dreams are about winning another medal, perhaps one in gold. 

“I think that whenever an athlete goes to a mega event or tournament in general, he or she always dreams of reaching the podium. If not, I wouldn’t be there,” Zuniga said. 

Laureus World Sports Awards 2024 Nominees Announced

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The nominations for the 25th Laureus World Sports Awards have been announced, marking the countdown to the most prestigious night in sport, to be staged in Madrid on April 22. ‘The Laureus’ is recognised as the ‘Ultimate Global Athletes’ Award’ and remains the gold standard for the stars of world sport, who each year hope to see their names added to a list of winners that includes all-time greats. 

The official Nominations announcement was staged at the historic Casa de Correos in Madrid, headquarters of the Presidency of the Community of Madrid, attended by representatives of Awards Host Partners, including the President of the Madrid Region, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and the Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida. Also in attendance at the announcement were global sporting legends and Laureus Academy Members Luís Figo, Ruud Gullit, Nawal El Moutawakel and Alessandro Del Piero.

Six Nominees have been selected in each of the traditional seven Award categories by the 1,300 members of the Laureus Global Media Panel and, in the case of the Award for Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability, a vote by the International Paralympic Committee. Alongside the elite categories, the Laureus Sport for Good Award will go to a programme which reflects the inspirational words of Laureus’ first Patron, Nelson Mandela, who said that “Sport had the power to change the world”.

But what makes these awards unique is the final stage of the judging process: a vote by the 69 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy – Olympic champions, world-record breakers, athletes who redefined their sports and who now make up the ultimate jury on sporting greatness. 

2024 Laureus World Sports Awards - All Nominees



Following his show-stopping win in Paris last year, Lionel Messi is again nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award, after a year in which he won a record eighth Ballon d’Or and led Inter Miami CF to victory in the Leagues Cup – his 44th trophy, another record.

Novak Djokovic, a four-time winner of this Award, won in Melbourne, New York and Paris to move to 24 major titles, matching Margaret Court for the all-time mark in tennis. Max Verstappen won this Award in 2022 and last year set records with ten consecutive Grand Prix wins and 19 victories in one season as he became the fifth Formula One driver to record a hat-trick of championship wins.

Mondo Duplantis raised his own pole vault world record on two further occasions, either side of a second world title. No sprinter had swept the board at a World Championship since Usain Bolt in 2015, until Noah Lyles took gold in the 100, 200 and 4 x 100 metres relay. Erling Haaland scored 52 goals as Manchester City won the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.

2024 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Nominees

Four-time Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Novak Djokovic said: “I am thrilled to be nominated once again for Laureus World Sportsman of the Year.

“I have won this Award four times, and each one has been very special and unforgettable in its own way. It’s an honour unlike any other because it’s the Laureus Academy who make the decision, and they know what it’s like to reach the summit of their sport, and what it takes to stay there.”

“This year, as ever, I’m overwhelmed by the quality of the athletes I am nominated alongside. This is what makes the Laureus Awards so special for us, and why we want to win as much as we do when we are competing.”

NOVAK DJOKOVIC

Three of our Nominees for the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award starred at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. 

Faith Kipyegon of Kenya became the first woman to win the double of 1,500 and 5,000 metres. Sha’Carri Richardson won a classic 100 metres from lane nine in her first global final and added 4×100 metres gold. Shericka Jackson’s winning time of 21.41 seconds in the 200 metres was the second fastest all-time, seven hundredths of a second short of Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 35-year-old mark.

In tennis, Poland’s Iga Świątek won her third French Open title in 2023, and regained her No.1 spot in the world rankings with victory at the WTA Finals in Cancun. The footballer of the year was Aitana Bonmatí: she won the World Cup – and the Golden Ball for the tournament’s best player – with Spain, Liga F and the UEFA Women’s Champions League with FC Barcelona Femení plus the Ballon d’Or Feminin.

2024 Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Nominees

Finally, 2023 was the year Mikaela Shiffrin passed the all-time mark of 86 World Cup wins set by Ingemar Stenmark, and the American also won her seventh World Championship gold in giant slalom.

Shiffrin said: “2023 was an absolutely incredible year for me—and was even more special after what I’ve experienced in the last few years.

“Since I reset the record last season, I’ve thought a lot about why a record is actually important to an athlete…and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not important to merely break records or reset records.

“It’s important to set the tone for the next generation and inspire them. That’s why I’m honoured to be nominated for the Sportswoman Award once more alongside such an inspirational group of fellow athletes.”

“There is nothing like the Laureus Awards when it comes to bringing athletes together to celebrate not just what we’ve all achieved, but the impact sport has globally. Laureus gives us a unique platform to interact with each other and make a difference.”

MIKAELA SHIFFRIN

2024 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Nominees

The Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award spotlights athletes who took a giant step forward in 2023.

Jude Bellingham moved to Real Madrid for €103 million just before his 20th birthday and was the worthy winner of the Golden Boy award as the best under-21 footballer in Europe – his Bernabeu career began with 10 goals in his first 10 starts. Coco Gauff won her first Grand Slam title at the age of 19, beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the US Open.

Qin Haiyang became the first swimmer in history to win all three breaststroke events (50/100/200 metres) at the World Championships. Josh Kerr defeated the favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen to win gold in the 1,500 metres with the run of his life at the World Athletics Championships.

At the football World Cup in Australia, Salma Paralluelo’s goals helped Spain to the title and she became the only footballer to win the World Cup at Under-17, Under-20 and senior levels. Linda Caicedo of Colombia played in all three iterations of the tournament in the same year – three years after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

2024 Laureus World Team of the Year Nominees

The Nominees for the Laureus World Team of the Year Award feature winning groups who achieved new levels of success in 2023. 

Spain Women’s Football Team beat England to win their first World Cup, after a tournament that elevated the women’s game to new levels of popularity. Germany Men’s Basketball Team, powered by tournament MVP Dennis Schroder, won a thrilling FIBA Basketball World Cup semi-final over USA before clinching the title against Serbia.

For Manchester City, the Champions League was finally conquered in an unforgettable season that also brought glory in the Premier League and FA Cup. The Springboks won a record fourth men’s Rugby World Cup in dramatic fashion, defeating New Zealand by a single point in a memorable final.

Oracle Red Bull Racing came close to perfection, with wins in all but one race on the way to a second straight Constructors’ World Championship. The European Ryder Cup Team steamrollered the USA 16 ½ to 11 ½ in Rome, starting with a statement 4-0 win in the first foursomes session. 

“We are really proud for our club to have been nominated for the Laureus World Team of the Year Award. Of course we are nominated because we won so much last season and the credit must go to all our players, all our staff who worked so hard throughout the season to compete in England and across Europe. It is an honour to be included in such an illustrious list of teams who also achieved success at the elite level of sport last year.”

PEP GUARDIOLA – MANCHESTER CITY

Laureus Sport for Good is the beating heart of the Laureus movement and supports over 300 programmes across the world – since its inception it has positively impacted the lives of over six and a half million young people. Each year, at the discretion of the Laureus Academy, the Laureus Sport for Good Award goes to one such programme. 

2024 Laureus Sport for Good Shorlist

The 2023 shortlist includes: Bola Pra Frente, a programme using sport to develop life skills and empower youth in communities in Rio de Janeiro; Fundación Rafa Nadal, which uses sport and education to empower over 1,000 vulnerable young people in Spain and India; ISF Cambodia, which aims to provide a route out of poverty for young people in the urban slums and rural communities of that nation; Dancing Grounds, based in New Orleans, USA, an inspirational programme that connects dance and creativity with social justice issues; Justice Desk Africa, which uses sport to empower youth in South Africa to understand and defend their human rights; and finally, Obiettivo Napoli works with over 100 boys and girls facing social exclusion and economic difficulties in Naples, Italy. 

2024 Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Nominees

The Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award is for the daredevils and risk-takers who we watch from the edge of our seats. In 2023 they included two young skateboarders: 13-year-old Arisa Trew became the first female competitor to land a 720 in competition and won two golds at the X-Games; two years older, Rayssa Leal won street gold at the World Street Skateboarding Championships, the X-Games and the Pan American Games.

Two world champion surfers make the list: Filipe Toledo defended his title after an epic duel with Ethan Ewing; five-time champion Carissa Moore fell to 21-year-old Caroline Marks as a new name emerged at the top of the women’s event.

Bethany Shriever won this Award in 2022 and is nominated again after a year in which she regained her world BMX championship crown. Finally, Kirsten Neuschȁfer became the first woman to win a solo sailing round-the-world race via the three great capes after victory in The Golden Globe Race. 

2024 Laureus World Comeback of the Year Nominees

Some of the greatest sports stories centre not on the destination, but the journey. Nominees for Laureus World Comeback of the Year begin with Simone Biles, who returned to gymnastics after a two-year absence undertaken to focus on her mental health and won four golds at the World Championships.

Sébastien Haller was diagnosed with testicular cancer shortly after joining Borussia Dortmund, but made his debut after six months of treatment and surgery. Siya Kolisi returned to action just 119 days after sustaining a partial tear of his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and captained the Springboks to victory at the Rugby World Cup.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson left the Tokyo Olympics in a wheelchair during the heptathlon competition. Two years later she returned to the global stage to win her second world title. Markéta Vondroušová watched Wimbledon 2022 as a spectator after injuries had derailed her career, but in 2023 she became the first unseeded woman in the Open Era to win at SW19. When the Denver Nuggets won their first ever NBA Championship, it marked the end of an incredible comeback for Jamal Murray, who had missed 18 months due to a torn ACL.

2024 Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Nominees

The shortlist for the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award features athletes whose achievements illuminated 2023.

Danylo Chufarov won three gold medals and one silver, and set two world records, at the Allianz Para Swimming World Championships in Manchester – 14 years after his last major title, at the 2009 World Para Swimming European Championships. Staying in Manchester, Italy’s Simone Barlaam dominated the S9 category, winning an incredible six golds, which included a world record in the 50m freestyle.

At the Para Athletics World Championships in Paris, Luca Ekler won the 200 and 400 metre titles, plus long jump gold, in T38, and she took silver in the 100 metres. Markus Rehm specialises in the long jump, and with incomparable results. The German won a sixth world title, to go with four Paralympic golds, and claimed a 14th world record in the process.

New Zealand’s Nicole Murray had success on the track and the road, winning two gold and two silver medals at the Road Para Cycling World Cup series, and then winning gold, silver and bronze at the UCI Cycling World Championships. Diede de Groot extended her winning streak in wheelchair tennis to 127 matches, claiming a third successive calendar Grand Slam – a feat unmatched in the history of tennis.

Laureus Academy Members - Madrid 2024



As Madrid prepares for the Laureus World Sports Awards in April, a sporting icon of that city – and Laureus World Sports Academy Member – is eagerly anticipating one of the most significant dates on the global sporting calendar. 

Former captain of Real Madrid and Spain, Raúl González Blanco, said: “We are in a special moment for sports around the world and the timing could not be better for the Laureus World Sports Awards to come to my city, Madrid.

“With these nominations we are not only celebrating the best athletes competing today, but also those who have a claim to be among the greatest of all time. That list has to include Simone Biles after her amazing comeback, and Mikaela Shiffrin, who became the most successful World Cup skier of all time. It must also include Novak Djokovic after his latest Grand Slam wins. But there are many other athletes nominated who I believe are on their way to becoming all-time greats.  

“They are all champions, and as elite athletes they share something very special. And that is why the Laureus Awards that mean the most to them, they’re the best of the best across all sports. To be nominated for a Laureus is already something to celebrate!” 

Melanie Barcenas: U.S. Soccer’s Rising Star

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By Mia Newman | Girl’s Soccer Network

Growing Up

Barcenas grew up in San Diego, California, playing for San Diego Surf since U-7’s. At nine, she was on the cover of TIME Magazine, featuring an article about youth sports. She played club soccer in the ECNL until her high school years when she shocked the soccer community by signing a contract with the San Diego Wave.

Professional Career

What was especially unique about her decision to go pro was her age. At 15 years old, Barcenas was the youngest player ever to sign professionally. Following Olivia Moultrie’s precedent, Barcenas did so through the NWSL U-18 Mechanism that allows players under 18 to play professionally given certain qualifications. During this time, Barcenas additionally signed an NIL deal with Nike.

Across the 2023 regular season and Challenge Cup, Melanie Barcenas appeared in twelve matches with the San Diego Wave, where she made two starts and assisted one goal. She is a standout player who can keep composure on the ball when the pressure is high and find her way out of difficult scenarios. Additionally, her ball distribution is super accurate, and her shots have proven dangerous on goal, recording eight shots on target.

U.S. Youth National Team

Barcenas has played as a forward for both Mexico and the United States youth national teams. In 2022, Barcenas attended a training camp for the Mexico U-17 national team. She has made 11 appearances with the USYNT and has recently been a part of the U-17 CONCACAF roster, where the team won the championship. Barcenas scored a goal against Canada in the group stage.

Melanie Barcenas has a promising future with the USYNT and San Diego Wave, as she will be playing with them for the next three years per her contract. As the off-season has ended and training has recently begun, we are excited to see Melanie Barcenas’ second season as a professional player.

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark breaks NCAA women’s hoops scoring record

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Michael Voepel, ESPN.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Caitlin Clark had no specific plan for how she hoped to break the NCAA women’s basketball scoring record Thursday. But after doing so while also setting the Iowa Hawkeyes‘ single-game scoring record, Clark had to grin.

“You all knew I was going to shoot a logo 3 for the record,” said Clark, who now has 3,569 career points, 49 of them coming Thursday. And indeed, every aspect of the night seemed storybook perfect for the senior star.

Clark came into No. 4 Iowa’s game against Michigan with 3,520 points, needing eight to break the mark previously set by Washington‘s Kelsey Plum (3,527) from 2013 to 2017. Clark did it about as quickly as she possibly could.

She got the ball off the opening tip and drove in for a layup. Then she hit a deep 3-pointer from her favorite spot on the court, the left side. An even deeper 3-pointer from the same side — one of Clark’s signature shots from the logo — produced pandemonium from the packed house at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

It took Clark just 2 minutes and 12 seconds to become the NCAA record holder. By the end of Iowa’s 106-89 victory over the Wolverines, she had also bested Megan Gustafson’s school record of 48.

“I don’t know if you can really script it any better,” Clark said. “Just to do it in this fashion, I’m very grateful. Very thankful to be surrounded by so many people that have been my foundation.”

EDITOR’S PICKS

This was Clark’s fourth career game scoring 45 points or more, and she had 13 assists. In total, she scored or assisted on 79 of Iowa’s 106 points (74.5%).

“It really is hard to stop Caitlin Clark,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said.

“I think she does enjoy it,” she added of how Clark seems to shine the brightest in the biggest moments. “If you work that hard at your craft, don’t you want to share it with everybody? Don’t you want to express it?”

Both Clark and Bluder had said coming into the game that they didn’t anticipate a stoppage of play when the record came. However, Iowa took a timeout, and Clark’s teammates gathered with her in a joyous group hug on the court. Clark’s broad smile told the story of the night: the chase record she said never felt like a burden was now hers to celebrate.

She was far from done, though. Clark went 8-of-10 from the field — 5-of-7 from 3-point range — in the first quarter, scoring 23 points. It was the most points she has scored in any first quarter in her Iowa career, and the second most of any quarter. She had 25 in the fourth quarter of a loss to Michigan on Feb. 6, 2022.

From there, it was just a matter of how high she would go Thursday.

“Honestly, warming up, my shot just felt good,” Clark said. “So I knew it was going to be one of those nights, and I kind of played with a little bit more pep in my step. I knew that’s what this team needed coming off a loss.”

Clark had 31 points Sunday at Nebraska as the Hawkeyes were upset 82-79. But there was nothing the Wolverines could do to prevent Clark from taking over Thursday. Bluder praised Michigan, saying that as hard as the Wolverines battled in the game, they also gave Clark a gift and wrote congratulatory notes to her.

Not Done Yet

Iowa has four regular-season games remaining before an anticipated postseason run, giving Caitlin Clark more shots at history. She is:

• 81 points shy of passing Hall of Famer Lynette Woodard. Woodard (3,649) set the AIAW major-college record at Kansas from 1978 to 1981 before the NCAA began governing women’s athletics.

• 99 points shy of passing Hall of Famer Pete Maravich (3,667) for the most points in Division I history (men’s and women’s).

• 316 points shy of passing Hall of Famer Pearl Moore. Moore (3,884) set the overall AIAW record at Francis Marion from 1975 to 1979.

• 258 points shy of passing Kelsey Plum (1,109 in 2016-17) for the most points in a season in Division I history.

• On pace to be the first player in Division I history to lead the nation in scoring in three different seasons (already done in 2020-21 and 2021-22).

— ESPN Stats & Information

Clark could reach even more scoring milestones this season. The AIAW large-school women’s record — set just before the NCAA era by Kansas‘ Lynette Woodard from 1977 to 1981 — is 3,649 points. The NCAA men’s record is 3,667 by LSU‘s Pete Maravich from 1967 to 1970, before freshman eligibility in college basketball.

There also is a chance the AIAW overall record — 3,884 points, set by Francis Marion’s Pearl Moore from 1975 to 1979 — could be in play for Clark, depending on how far Iowa advances in the postseason. Clark is currently averaging 32.8 points for the 23-3 Hawkeyes, who have four regular-season games left.

Clark is already the first Division I women’s player to reach 3,000 points and 1,000 assists. But records and milestones are just part of her story. She is a generational talent who is growing her sport’s popularity.

“My favorite athletes are those who are champions in sports and champions in life, and Caitlin Clark is one of those athletes,” tennis champion and women’s sports advocate Billie Jean King told ESPN.

“She is the hottest star in basketball — all of basketball, and not just women’s basketball — and with that comes a heavy responsibility to be a leader on and off the court. She gets it, and that is part of the reason she will have an opportunity to be one of the best in her sport and a role model for future generations.”

There is a lot on the shoulders of the just-turned-22-year-old, but Clark looks as if she’s having the time of her life. She plays with the same passion, confidence and joyful flair she first brought to the court as a college freshman in 2020, when games were mostly played in near-empty arenas because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, the “Caitlin Clark Show” is one of the most sought-after tickets in sports. Fans of all ages call out her name and wear her No. 22 jersey. Parents drive their children hundreds of miles to watch Clark. Police escort her to and from the arena on game days, and on and off the court.

NCAA rule changes regarding name, image and likeness have allowed Clark to appear in national advertising campaigns. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes complimented her game while talking to media in the lead-up to the Super Bowl. Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, widely considered the best shooter in NBA history, has praised Clark’s shooting form and poise.

“Caitlin’s special,” said Curry, one of the players — along with the WNBA’s Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Plum and Sabrina Ionescu — after whom Clark has modeled her game. “The record speaks for itself, and it’s cool. From a scoring perspective, from a shooting perspective, just doing what she’s doing — she could pick anybody that she talks about in terms of being an inspiration. If she models something of her game after me, I don’t take that for granted.”

ESPN analyst, 1995 UConn national champion and 1996 Olympian Rebecca Lobo said Clark and Curry have similar qualities that make them both successful and appeal to a wide range of fans.

“Caitlin is the whole package,” Lobo said. “She’s playing the game a way we haven’t seen before by a woman. We’ve not seen someone take that many shots from quite that distance and hit them at such [a high percentage].

“And she’s like Steph Curry — he’s charismatic and he’s not a physical giant. So every kid can visualize themselves as Caitlin Clark. It’s not like, ‘Well, to play like her I’d have to be 6-4 or 6-5.’ Caitlin is 6-0, but you actually don’t have to be that tall to try to do the things she does.”

The West Des Moines, Iowa, native opted to stay in her home state for college, leading Iowa to the past two Big Ten tournament titles and the 2023 women’s Final Four. Last season, she broke the record for scoring in an NCAA tournament (191 points), had the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA postseason history and led Iowa to an upset of undefeated No. 1 overall seed and defending champion South Carolina in the national semifinals.

Iowa fell to LSU in the championship game, which drew a record 9.9 million viewers on ABC. The 2023 NCAA tournament catapulted Clark to another level of popularity. That has continued to build since the Hawkeyes’ preseason game in October at Iowa’s football stadium, which drew 55,646 fans, a single-game attendance record for women’s basketball.

“You need superstars in sports,” Julie Foudy, an Olympic and Women’s World Cup soccer champion, told ESPN. “Mia [Hamm] was our superstar. She was shy and introverted. Caitlin seems more comfortable dealing with all the attention.

“But Mia then, as Caitlin does now, also recognized the significance and importance of her popularity. The value of it, not just individually but collectively, and how so many other women could benefit from her stardom.”

Clark could stay another season at Iowa, because of the COVID-19 waiver from 2020-21, or she could declare for the 2024 WNBA draft, where she is certain to be the No. 1 pick. Clark said she will wait to make that decision until after this season.

The Carver-Hawkeye crowd chanted, “One more year!” at the conclusion of Thursday’s game.

“I paid them,” Bluder joked. “I thought it was a pretty good chant.”

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For now, Clark is focused on trying to win Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships for Iowa, and making a return trip to the Final Four. And with every additional point she scores, she will add to her own NCAA record.

Clark said that what made her the most emotional after the game was the congratulatory messages that were played on the arena’s video screen from her coaches, teammates and family.

“They’ve seen me go through some really hard losses and some really great wins,” Clark said of her parents and two brothers. “They’ve been there pushing me to be my very best and allowing me to dream ever since I was a young girl. I didn’t plan on crying tonight, but it got me a little bit.

“I’m so thankful every single day, because I’m playing in front of 15,000 people. I get to do it with my best friends. I get to play the game that I absolutely love more than anything.”

RM Girls Wrestling Team takes 2nd in the 61st Annual MCPS Wrestling Tournament

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Sid Caesar | AGSA

President’s Day 2024 became a historic day for Girls Wrestling at Richard Montgomery High School, as the RM Girls Wrestling Team battled in the snowstorm-delayed 61st Annual Montgomery County Wrestling Tournament.

Using the power of 3 County Champions and 2 more finalists, the RM Girls Wrestling Team earned 2nd place in the MCPS County Wrestling tournament, which features wrestlers from the 26 Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) High Schools.

Led by RM Wrestling Captain Junior Cielo Prieto, the RM Girls Wrestling Team battled the best girls wrestlers in Montgomery County. Prieto was victorious by pin in the Finals. By winning another MCPS championship, Prieto is the first girls wrestler in MCPS history to be a two-time MCPS wrestling champion. Prieto was a regional champion last year, while also placing 6th in the State meet. This season, Prieto earned two other wrestling tournament championships, one at the Vic Blue tournament in Virginia this past December and the other at the Davison Invitational Tournament, in Randallstown, MD in January.

Freshman wrestler Estrella Edwards captured her first MCPS Championship, after bringing home two other championships during the regular season. Estrella was the champion at the Vic Blue and Davison tournaments this season.

Rounding out the RM Wrestling trifecta, Sophomore Emma Higgs earned valuable team points for RM, taking her first-ever MCPS Championship. She is a first-year wrestler who enjoys the friendships that she has made this season with other new girls wrestlers from numerous teams throughout the area. Emma placed 2nd at the Davison Tournament.

Junior Julianna Wong and Senior Rabia Sall were extremely successful on President’s Day, both earning 2nd place in the MCPS Girls Wrestling tournament. Wong was a champion at the Davison tournament.

All five RM wrestlers have earned their next spots in the State wrestling series, traveling to the MPSSAA 3A/4A Regional tournament at Aberdeen High School on February 23 and 24, 2024. The top three wrestlers in each weight class from the regional tournament move on to the State Tournament.

Summer McIntosh ends Katie Ledecky’s 13-year reign in 800m

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  • Reuters | ESPN

DOHA, Qatar — Canadian wunderkind Summer McIntosh has ended Katie Ledecky’s 13-year unbeaten streak in the 800-meter freestyle in a major upset in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics.

McIntosh clocked 8 minutes, 11.39 seconds at a sectionals meeting in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday to finish nearly six seconds faster than Ledecky.

Ledecky suffered her first defeat in the 800 since 2010, while 17-year-old McIntosh’s swim made her the second-fastest woman in the distance behind the American world-record holder.

Ledecky still owns the 16 fastest times in history, including her 8:04.79 world record.

The 26-year-old has dominated the 800 like no other, winning successive gold medals at the London, Rio and Tokyo Olympics. She is expected to defend her 800 gold in Paris and bid to become the first woman to win four successive titles in Olympic swimming.

She won her sixth consecutive world title in the 800 at last year’s championships in Fukuoka, Japan.

McIntosh has rapidly established herself as one of the world’s top swimmers, winning back-to-back world titles in the 200-meter butterfly and 400-meter medley.

She has focused on middle-distance events since missing the 800 final in Tokyo as a 14-year-old, but the result in Florida might encourage her to return the 800 to her Olympic program.

Both McIntosh and Ledecky have elected to skip the world championships, which start in Doha on Sunday, but Ledecky’s upset was a hot topic among the entrants in Qatar.

“I have some friends of the Canadian team, and I know Summer pretty well,” said American Hunter Armstrong, who will defend his 50-meter backstroke world title in Doha. “I’ll have to shoot her a text and congratulate her.”

Pawol to be first woman to umpire MLB Spring Training games since 2007

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Julia Kreuz | MLB

Jen Pawol has been steadily moving up the umpires ranks over the course of her eight-year career, and she is now one step closer to the Majors with the Monday announcement that she will be the first woman since 2007 to work in Major League Spring Training games. This is a crucial step in Pawol’s effort to become the first female umpire in the Majors, a goal that’s significantly closer today than yesterday.

Whenever MLB needs fill-in or additional umpires during the regular season, it draws from the group of Triple-A umpires that are named to the MLB Call-Up list that is made up exclusively of umpires that had been invited to MLB Spring Training. After firmly standing her ground while the pool of candidates narrowed around her, Pawol’s odds have never been more favorable.

She’s had nearly a decade to build up to this moment.

Pawol started her career on June 24, 2016, in the Gulf Coast League. At the time, Pawol was the seventh woman to umpire in a Minor League game, following in the footsteps of Bernice Gera (1972), Christine Wren (1975-77), Pam Postema (1977-89), Theresa Cox Fairlady (1989-91), Ria Cortesio (1999-2007) and Shanna Kook (2003-04). Cortesio was the most recent female umpire to work a Spring Training game.

Not since Postema, though, has there been this much momentum in a woman’s quest to officiate in the Major Leagues.

The 47-year-old Pawol is one of nine women scheduled to work on-field roles in the Minor Leagues this season. Yet, the list of female umps who have made it as far as Triple-A is significantly shorter: Postema, who was also the first woman assigned to Major League Spring Training games, and Pawol. The league has put a real effort into growing those numbers in recent years. If you open the testimonial page of MLB’s umpire camp website, two of the first four videos you’ll see feature women. One of them is Pawol, and the other is Isabella Robb, who became a professional umpire in 2022.

Pawol first attended an MLB/MiLB tryout camp in 2015 in Cincinnati, at the suggestion of long-time umpires Ted Barrett and Paul Nauert, whom she’d met at an ump clinic in Atlanta the year prior. Pawol was among 38 people invited to the league’s Umpire Training Academy in Vero Beach, Fla. That led to her Minors assignment in ’16.

Pawol kept rising from there. From the GCL, she moved through the ranks all the way to Double-A in 2022 and Triple-A in ’23.

But she and the game go back way further than that.

A New Jersey native, Pawol was inducted into the West Milford High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022 after graduating in 1995 as a three-year all-state athlete in softball and soccer. That earned her a softball scholarship with Hofstra University, where she played in Division I as a catcher. Around that same time, a young Pawol also began umpiring softball games, a practice not uncommon for college backstops looking to get a better feel for the strike zone.

She added a World Championship with the U.S. Women’s softball team in Toronto in 2001 before converting into an NCAA umpire for both softball and baseball.

Becoming a reference for the generations after her is a fortunate bonus for Pawol en route to the main goal. But that’s usually how it goes for pioneers. Like the women who paved the way before her, Pawol is forging a path that’s wider than herself.

Women’s wrestling moves toward NCAA championship status, projected for winter 2026

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by Corbin McGuire, NCAA

Women’s wrestling on Wednesday took a big step toward becoming the 91st NCAA championship sport, with its projected first NCAA championship occurring in winter 2026. 

The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics voted at its meeting Wednesday to recommend Divisions I, II and III sponsor legislation to add a national collegiate women’s wrestling championship. The Association-wide committee oversees the Emerging Sports for Women program, which includes women’s wrestling. 
“We are excited to recommend women’s wrestling as the 91st NCAA championship sport,” said Ragean Hill, chair of the Committee on Women’s Athletics and executive associate athletics director/senior woman administrator at Charlotte. “We are extremely proud of the work that USA Wrestling has done to make this a reality in such a short period of time. Also, a special thank you to the men’s wrestling community for believing in our young women and championing this process.” 

Following the committee’s recommendation, the projected timeline to add a women’s wrestling championship is:

  • Each division is expected to review the recommendation and sponsor a proposal by its respective 2024-25 legislative cycle deadline.
  • The recommendation also includes establishing a Women’s Wrestling Committee, which would begin its work in January 2025, to allow time to prepare for a championship in winter 2026. 
  • If sponsored, the divisions are expected to vote on the proposals during the 2025 NCAA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, Jan. 15-18. 
  • If adopted on that timeline, the first women’s wrestling championship would be held in winter 2026. 

Before a women’s wrestling national collegiate championship can be established, funding must be considered by the appropriate financial oversight committees among other competing priorities during the relevant annual budget development cycle.

These required next steps and timeline are consistent with past sports added as national collegiate championships through the Emerging Sports for Women program.

“USA Wrestling is excited that the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics has recommended women’s wrestling to become an official NCAA championship,” said Rich Bender, executive director of USA Wrestling, one of the national governing bodies of women’s wrestling. “As part of the coalition of wrestling organizations that has supported women’s wrestling through the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women process, this is a huge milestone for our sport and for our NCAA women student-athletes. We look forward to working with the NCAA leadership in the coming months during the approval process, with the goal of having the first NCAA Women’s Wrestling National Championships in the 2025-26 season.” 

If approved by NCAA members, women’s wrestling will become the sixth sport to earn NCAA championship status through the Emerging Sports for Women program, established in 1994 based on a recommendation from the NCAA Gender Equity Task Force. It would join rowing (1996), ice hockey (2000), water polo (2000), bowling (2003) and beach volleyball (2015).

“Wrestle Like a Girl is thrilled that the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics has recommended women’s wrestling to become an official NCAA championship sport,” said Sally Roberts, CEO of Wrestle Like a Girl, one of the national governing bodies of women’s wrestling. “This momentous occasion further empowers women in sports and brings us closer to fulfilling the promise made 51 years ago with the passage of Title IX. With the many battles won, women’s wrestling will be rightfully enshrined with dignity and recognition as an NCAA championship sport for women. It is a victory for all the athletes, supporters and allies who have worked passionately to make this dream a reality. The tireless efforts have paid off, and we are proud to stand with our sisters in sports to celebrate this accomplishment. This is a significant step forward in women’s empowerment, and we are honored to be part of it.”

Before the committee can make a recommendation to add a championship for an emerging sport, 40 schools must sponsor it at a varsity level and meet the sport’s minimum competition and participant requirements. Women’s wrestling, which became an emerging sport in 2020, eclipsed that number in the 2022-23 academic year. 

“The rise in sponsorship and participation numbers for women’s wrestling is yet another proof point of the rapid growth of women’s sports. The sport is also a growing Olympic pipeline, helping produce multiple medalists at the 2020 Games,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said. “The NCAA is excited to continue investing in the sport to help it grow and provide more opportunities for student-athletes.” 

Added Maddie Avila, a sophomore women’s wrestler at North Central (Illinois): “I think it represents our hard work — all the blood, sweat and tears that we’ve put into this sport. We have to put countless hours into this sport, and we are working just as hard as the men, so it will be really awesome, for women’s sports in general, to have women’s wrestling represented by the NCAA at the championship level.”

According to the latest sports sponsorship and participation data, nearly 800 student-athletes competed in women’s wrestling across 51 teams in 2022-23. More than 70 schools reported that they intended to sponsor the sport for the 2023-24 academic year. 

College women’s wrestling also boasts a diverse student-athlete population. Per NCAA demographics research, 43% of the student-athletes on women’s wrestling rosters are minorities, which is tied for the fourth-highest percentage among NCAA women’s sports. 

Current NCAA women’s wrestlers compete in a season-ending national competition that is organized by the coalition of wrestling organizations. The National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships are set for March 8-9 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

Five other sports are currently in the Emerging Sports for Women program: acrobatics and tumbling, equestrian, rugby, stunt and triathlon. Learn more about them and the program here. 

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