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In this edition of Talon Talk, North Florida men's track and field's Aidan O'Gorman speaks on his hard work to get him to the 10,000m NCAA Finals as well as the detailed preparation that goes into it. Tune in to ESPN2/ESPNU tonight, June 7 to catch him compete against the top 24 runners in the country in the 10,000m.

UNF Women's Soccer's Ariana Munoz shares her experience playing for Peru during COPA America competition this past summer in our latest edition of Talon Talk.

In this edition of "Talking Title IX" we sit down with Khadijah Rushdan, assistant women's basketball coach, and Eric Faulconer, head women's soccer coach, to touch on a variety of topics around women's sports. Both Rushdan and Faulconer share their experiences coming up in the athletics field, the changes to women's sports over the years and the unique roles that women's basketball and women's soccer have had on elevating opportunity and notoriety for women in sports.

In the fourth edition of Talking Title IX, we speak with Senior Associate AD for Compliance & Administration/SWA, Donna Kirk. Kirk has been at North Florida for nine years and was previously at Jacksonville University for 13 years. She discusses her influences in getting involved in working in college athletics, as well as some of her favorite moments while working in college athletics.

In the third edition of our Talking Title IX series, we speak with Sabrina Ceniza. After serving as a student assistant in UNF ESPN+ broadcasts while enrolled at North Florida, Ceniza has become an essential part of North Florida's productions after graduation. Ceniza has served in nearly every role there is to speak of in a broadcast, helping with replay, graphics, audio, all camera positions and directing. With this experience, Ceniza has grown to make connections in the field throughout Florida. With broadcasting, and particularly production, being a largely male field, Ceniza speaks on breaking into the field as a female. She also shares advice and insight into what goes in to make a quality broadcast.

June 23, 1972, Title IX was passed as a law as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. The law prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or other education program that receives funding from the federal government.  Over the next few months, North Florida Athletics will feature former and current student-athletes, staff and coaches, discussing their careers and the role that women's sports have played in their lives.  In this edition, we with former UNF women's soccer head coach, Linda Hamilton (07-13) on her career as a student-athlete, professional soccer player and collegiate head coach. Currently the head coach at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Hamilton was recently inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Having shared the pitch with other greats such as Mia Hamm, Michelle Akers and more, Hamilton helped pave the way for US Women's Soccer and the sports world as whole for women in the United States. Hamilton was a member of the first Women's World Cup in 1991 and was a four-time all-american in college among other achievements.

Talking Title IX - Navia Penrod (UNF Softball 2016-19) June 23, 1972, Title IX was passed as a law as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. The law prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or other education program that receives funding from the federal government.  Over the next few months, North Florida Athletics will feature former and current student-athletes, staff and coaches, discussing their careers and the role that women’s sports have played in their lives.  In this edition, we spoke with one of the greatest to play for UNF softball, Navia Penrod. Penrod currently works as a special education teacher in the Atlanta, Georgia, area. While at North Florida, Penrod achieved five different career statistical records and was the conference’s NCAA Woman of the Year nominee.  Growing up in Naples, Florida, Penrod was always involved in athletics, being signed up for soccer, ballet, softball and more. Being raised predominately by her grandparents, Penrod’s pursuit of softball came even before elementary school.  “My grandfather got me involved in softball,” Penrod said. “He got my first glove for me and get me out in the yard throwing every day. He saw something in me and decided to sign me up for little league at six years old. From there, it was really a wrap, so I owe it all to him.” Growing up in Naples, Fla., Penrod’s talent pushed her to have to look harder and harder for the right fit as she pursued travel softball. She tried out for teams in Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.  Penrod recalls having to drive multiple hours for practices as she found her niche in the sport of softball.  “As a child, you don’t see how crazy that is,” Penrod said. “But, my grandparents drove me to and from practices between their responsibilities.” The sacrifice was worth it. Penrod knew it was her passion to continue playing past high school.  “Watching it [softball] on TV and seeing it, I knew I wanted to do that [play Division I softball],” Penrod said. “I told my grandparents every day and said, that’s what I want to do.” Penrod recalls Jacksonville, Fla., native and Florida Gators softball great, Michelle Moultrie, as one of her biggest inspirations growing up.  “The person I was inspired the most by was Michelle Moultrie,” Penrod said. “Her story as a walk-on, how good she got, how hard she worked and representation of an African-American in the sport; I wanted to do everything she did.” As college approached, North Florida emerged as a favorite for Penrod, being enthralled by the special education program, the campus and the influence of head coach Marcie Higgs.  The fit became apparent with her illustrious career as she was a two-time conference scholar-athlete of the year, three-time first team all-league pick, NFCA All-Region selection and career record holder in career batting average at a staggering .404. She also set program records in: On-base percentage (.451) At-bats (705) Hits (285) Stolen bases (83) Double plays turned (39) After graduating, Penrod entered the working world as a special education teacher in the Atlanta, Ga., area where she has grown quite the fan base.  “My students are hilarious,” Penrod said. “For some reason they googled me and found UNF softball. They are so funny. They come up to me with chrome books and find pictures of me playing and think it’s the coolest thing. Because of me, they want to play sports, they want to play baseball and softball during recess. That’s fun to see. “ This past month, the viewership of the NCAA Division I Women’s College World Series, and postseason as a whole, was at an all-time high. All NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals were broadcasted on ESPN+ or a linear network. The WCWS Championship Series between Oklahoma and Texas brought in an average of 1.6 million viewers.  “It’s changed [coverage] tremendously,” Penrod said

In the latest episode of Talon Talk, former UNF women's basketball student-athlete, Keonna Farmer, discusses the honorary doctorate that she recently received. At just age 27, Farmer became the youngest such recipient in the history of the Tinity International University of Ambassadors School of Business to earn the honorary doctorate.  Farmer also discusses her current career goals, life after college and advice for soon to be graduates. The Birmingham, Ala., native was named ASUN Newcomer of the Year and was a six-time recipient of the ASUN Newcomer of the Week honor in her lone year in the Navy and Gray.

In a special edition of Talon Talk we speak with Jazz Bond after she was drafted in the 2022 WNBA Draft, becoming the first UNF women's basketball player to do so. The accolades are endless for Jazz and they led her to a life-changing day April 11 when she found out she was headed to the Dallas Wings of the WNBA. Enjoy the interview with this Osprey great!

In episode 59 of Talon Talk we get to know UNF women's tennis standout, Kit Gulihur. Gulihur is ranked No. 32 in the ITA singles rankings and No. 9 in doubles with Ana Paula Melilo, and is fresh off a Jan. 25 ASUN Women's Tennis Player of the Week honor.

In episode 56 of Talon Talk we sit down with Jay Bolt, one of the best to play for the UNF men's soccer program. After an accolade-filled career that included a conference championship, Bolt went on to play for the Charleston Battery before returning to Jacksonville to take over as head coach at Episcopal High School.