Two players from Hampton Roads are gaining invaluable experience — and medals, they hope — this week as part of the U.S. men’s national volleyball team.
Brett Wildman of Virginia Beach and Cole Bogner of Chesapeake, who were teammates for NCAA power Penn State, are among 14 players who are competing for the Americans at the NORCECA Pan American Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico.
David Arnette, one of the pair’s coaches at the Coastal Virginia Volleyball Club, couldn’t be more proud.
“I coached both of them their 18U year at Coastal and have stayed in touch,” Arnette wrote. “They are the most accomplished players from the area and they have done it side by side. They are both great young men and the volleyball community here is so proud of them. Both of them have come back to work with youth players and are happy to share their experiences with those who are just starting to find their love for the game.”
So far, so good. In pool play, the U.S. defeated Puerto Rico 3-0 (26-24, 25-13, 25-23) and then handled Chile 3-1 (25-14, 21-25, 25-12, 25-21). That ensured the Americans a semifinal berth against an opponent to be determined.
Wildman, from Cox High, played briefly against Puerto Rico, with his main contribution being receiving a trio of serves. Bogner, a Hickory High graduate, mostly was a supporter in that match.
Against Chile, though, Wildman provided five kills and an ace. Bogner got in off the bench to play a few points.
Wildman, a 6-foot-5 outside hitter, has been with the national team for much of the past year. Bogner, a 6-3 setter, is making his debut with the Stars and Stripes. In their final college season, they helped Penn State climb to No. 1 in the national rankings and compile a 27-4 season.
Though the Nittany Lions fell to Hawaii in a five-set NCAA semifinal in George Mason’s EagleBank Arena, they defeated the Rainbow Warriors and UCLA during the regular season. Wildman had 15 kills and seven aces and Bogner had 42 assists and five digs in the defeat to Hawaii.
The U.S. men are seeking their sixth Pan American Cup title and their first in 11 years. Last year, they placed third. Cuba won the tournament’s last two editions, in 2022 and 2019.
After this event, the former Coastal Virginia Volleyball Club teammates will play professionally in Europe: Wildman in Romania and Bogner in the Netherlands. If all goes well, fans could see them at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Lucrative bowling event: Bowling fans will find plenty of entertainment at the PBA Booster Club of Hampton Roads Chesapeake Super Regional, which finishes a three-day run Sunday at AMF Western Branch.
The bowlers rolled eight games apiece Saturday, and the best third will advance to Sunday’s “cashers round.” Sunday’s competition starts at 9 a.m., eventually culminating with the stepladder finals. The champion is expected to earn $8,000, and every bowler in the cashers round will gain at least $500.
E.J. Tackett, a 31-year-old from Indiana who is in the field, is arguably the world’s best bowler but wasn’t among Saturday’s top qualifiers. He has amassed four major championships among his 21 PBA Tour titles.
Local competitors are from Virginia Beach (Andrew Stackhouse, Caleb Reaves, Gilbert Salang, Nicholas Brown, Clifford Dietz, Clifford Stanley II, Joshua Zilk, Robert Riggle), Chesapeake (Brandon Smith, Gordon Hope III, Jeff Keller, Michael Ivers, Roscoe Pretlow), Newport News (Chris Bolosan, David Powers, Jason Aukland, Richard Thompson), Norfolk (Clyde Brown, Khaleeo Johnson, Mathew Woodall), Hampton (Gregory Boyters), Suffolk (Maurice Frazier, Phil Taiclet, Jacobi Brinkley) and Yorktown (Michael Ritz).
With play still underway Saturday, Woodall (234.4-pin average for five games), Smith (216.88 for eight games), Bolosan (213.5 for eight), Johnson (213 for five), Ritz (211.6 for five) and Pretlow (208.4 for five) were among the best performers among the locals.
Drifting back into action: There’s plenty of auto racing within easy driving distance to those of us in Hampton Roads, with Langley Speedway in Hampton, Richmond Raceway and Virginia Motor Speedway in Middlesex County.
But Saturday night, Southampton Motor Speedway held what it called a “grand reopening” in Capron with a drifting competition on the paved track. More drifting — racing while driving sideways through corners — is scheduled for September, October and December.
The original SMS opened in 1992, often featuring high-quality weekly stock car racing, but closed in 2004.
