Marty Gordon
NRVsports@mainstreetnewspapers.com
The seedings and pairings for next week’s Air Force Reserve Big South Conference Women’s Basketball Championship at Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, Tenn., have been determined following the conclusion of the conference’s regular season, with Radford in the number two seed.
Regular-season champion High Point (13-3) is the No. 1 seed – its fourth No. 1 seed in the Big South Tournament in six years, and the first league member with back-to-back top seeds since Liberty from 2011-2013. HPU has secured the Big South’s automatic bid to the WBIT should the Panthers not win the tournament. Radford (12-4) is the No. 2 seed, followed by Longwood (11-5) at the No. 3 seed and Gardner-Webb (9-7) with the No. 4 seed.
Winthrop and UNC Asheville tied for fifth in the standings at 7-9. The teams split the season series, and the Eagles earned the No. 5 seed based on their 1-1 record vs. Longwood (AVL was 0-2 vs. LWU) to give the Bulldogs the No. 6 seed. Charleston Southern and USC Upstate tied for seventh at 6-10, and the Bucs secured the No. 7 seed due to their season sweep of the Spartans (No. 8 seed). Presbyterian finished the league slate at 1-15 for the No. 9 seed and will meet Upstate in the first round on Wednesday, March 4 at 5pm.
The Upstate/Presbyterian winner will advance to the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 5, and play No. 1 High Point at 11:30am. No. 4 Gardner-Webb vs. No. 5 Winthrop will follow at 2pm, with No. 2 Radford vs. No. 7 Charleston Southern at 6pm. No. 3 Longwood vs. No. 6 UNC Asheville will conclude quarterfinal day at 8:30pm. The semifinals will be Saturday, March 7 at 6pm and 8:30pm, with the Championship game on Sunday, March 8 scheduled for 6pm.
Radford Men #3 seed
The seedings and pairings for this week’s Air Force Reserve Big South Conference Men’s Basketball Championship at Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, Tenn., have been determined following the conclusion of the conference’s regular-season schedule.
Regular-season champion High Point (15-1) is the No. 1 seed – its third consecutive No. 1 seed in the Big South Tournament and the first league member with back-to-back-to-back top seeds since Winthrop from 2005-2007. Winthrop secured the No. 2 seed with its 13-3 Big South record, while Radford clinched the No. 3 seed with its 9-7 finish in the conference.
The Upstate-GWU winner will advance to the quarterfinals Friday, Mar. 6, and play No. 1 High Point at 12 p.m. No. 2 Winthrop vs. No. 7 Charleston Southern will follow at 2:30 p.m., with No. 4 UNC Asheville vs. No. 5 Longwood at 6 p.m. No. 3 Radford vs. No. 6 Presbyterian will conclude quarterfinal action at 8:30 p.m. The semifinals will be Saturday, Mar. 7 at 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., with the Championship game on Sunday, Mar. 8 scheduled for 12 p.m.
Men’s championship game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Marve joins Sanders staff
Former Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Chris Marve has a new job. Colorado Coach Deon Sanders has added him to his staff.
Initially, Marve was hired as Colorado’s linebacker’s coach. But after another coaching change, Sanders promoted him to DC.
RU soccer signee
The Radford University women’s soccer team has snagged a major recruit. Highland senior soccer standout Vanessa Zufall says she is headed to the New River Valley.
The 2024 Gazette MVP and three-time All-Gazette selection recently signed to play for RU after also being recruited by Eastern Michigan, Lehigh, Kansas State, Xavier, Florida Gulf Coast and several other schools. This past season, she registered 19 goals and 20 assists.
Podium for several Hokies
Virginia Tech closed out the final day of the 2026 ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships at The TRACK at New Balance with championship performances, podium finishes and multiple All-ACC honors, highlighted by a pair of individual conference titles and strong showings across distance, throws and field events.
Christian Jackson, who won the 2025 ACC outdoor men’s 800m title (1:44.83), set out to continue his reign into the indoor season — and delivered. Jackson claimed the ACC indoor 800m crown in a season-best 1:47.26, marking his fifth career All-ACC honor.
Dylan DeCambre followed closely behind, earning a podium finish in 1:47.50 for First Team All-ACC recognition, while Sam Idiens placed fifth with a personal-best 1:47.68 to secure Second Team All-ACC honors and remain seventh all-time in program history.
In the mile, Nick Plant earned silver with a 3:58.41 performance, collecting First Team All-ACC honors and the eighth All-ACC accolade of his career. Viktor Idhammar added to the Hokies’ points total with a fourth-place finish in 4:00.54 to earn Second Team honors.
The men’s 3000m saw another podium effort as George Couttie captured silver in 7:46.40, earning First Team All-ACC distinction. Garrett Winter (20th, PB 8:10.10) and Ryan Chevalier (23rd, 8:21.98) also competed in the final.
On the women’s side, Katrin Brzyszkowska captured her first ACC title with a personal-best 17.00m (55’ 9.25”) in the shot put. Her championship throw capped a dominant season in which she won nearly every competition, adding to her standing as one of the program’s all-time greats.
Chiara Sistermann earned First Team All-ACC honors in the pole vault for the third straight year, clearing 4.45m to finish second and collect her fifth career All-ACC award. Kelsey Lovercheck added a personal-best 4.00m to finish 13th.
Katie Bohlke secured bronze in the women’s 3000m, crossing in 8:56.82 to earn First Team All-ACC recognition.
