Running Sports Welcome New Director -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Joe Franklin Replaces Cowper at Helm of T&F and Cross Country

If you're like me, you would be quite surprised to see the University of Louisville announcing a new director of Track & Field and Cross Country given the recent success of the program. The introductory article was sufficiently vague regarding what the naming of Joe Franklin meant for Dale Cowper at UofL. I frantically hunted on the roster and coach pages to see if he was only being relieved of some stresses so he could focus on his preferred role of throws. 

I ultimately found a story from April that went a bit under the radar. It was then, April 5th to be exact, that Louisville announced Cowper would be departing after the 2023 season. Cowper led Louisville for 10 seasons including this one, and he had been a part of Louisville's staff for 17 years. Louisville's successes were numerous under his leadership, and he will be missed. His presence certainly remained felt for the rest of the season, as Louisville sent a large contingent to the NCAA Championships, with almost all of the qualifications coming after the announcement.

Cowper's admiration and respect for the University are represented by the early announcement of his departure, as that afforded Josh Heird and Company free rein to pursue a new coach out in the open. The Cards appear to have landed a good one, as they bring Joe Franklin back home from the University of New Mexico. Franklin has no specific ties to Louisville, but I say he's coming back home because he hails from Greencastle, Indiana. Greencastle is about an hour west of Indianapolis, and it would take about two and a half hours to drive to the city center from UofL. While that's not particularly close, it's significantly closer than UNM. It would take almost twice as long to fly from Albuquerque to Indianapolis as it would to drive from Louisville to Greencastle, and flying to Indy is only half the battle.

That's all a bit much to justify a throwaway line about Franklin's motivations in coming to Louisville, but what do you want from me? It's summer. Anyway, Franklin was a middle distance runner at Purdue, which he graduated from in 1991. Let me save you the hassle of looking it up: Purdue is an hour drive from Greencastle. You get to take one highway the whole way. Yippee, Indiana. After graduating, Franklin was immediately named the head cross country coach at DePauw (no, not DePaul) University. He stayed there for just one year, being named the conference coach of the year and then heading back to Purdue to be the assistant coach for the men's teams. After a couple of years at his alma mater, Franklin was named the head men's and women's T&F/CC coach at Butler University, where he coached from 1994 to 2007. In that 14 year span, he was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year 19 times. He earned the Great Lakes Region Men's COTY honor in 1998 and the National Men's COTY award in 2004. 

Franklin was named to the head gig in Albuquerque in 2007. He was honored for his coaching many times. It was so many times that I am sorry to the UofL intern that was forced to type them all. Here's a screenshot so you can see for yourself.

In addition to the coaching honors, Franklin led UNM to 27 Mountain West team championships. The women's cross country team won 15 straight titles from 2008-2022. He oversaw 187 individual conference titles and 13 straight top-10 finishes in the NCAA women's cross country championship. Another draw to Louisville may be that his two women's cross country titles (2015 and 2017) both came at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville. The 2017 team boasted the individual winner as well. 

All in all, Franklin looks like a wonderful addition to the Louisville ranks. Heird may be finding an under-the-radar star similar to the one Vince Tyra found in Dani Busboom Kelly. Time will tell. For now, we say welcome to Joe and his family, and we look forward to the continued success of the UofL women's cross country and track & field squads under his leadership.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

My hiatus continues this week, and Daryl will be out again as well. Fortunately, Jared is back after his wedding went off without a hitch (because they got hitched) last weekend. It's sure to be an exciting show, as Paulie and Jeff rib Jared for his love affair with a cake or something. They'll almost certainly also talk about Louisville women's athletics. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

2022 UofL Fall Sports Media Day -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Field Hockey, Cross Country, Volleyball and Women's Soccer Meet the Media

Another sports season begins at UofL and another Fall Sports Media Day, where the coaches and the players answer media questions. Back to the soccer meeting room for the 2022 "Meet and Greet" and I was glad to be back in the facility this year. A balky, stubborn train parked on Floyd Street ruined any plans I had in getting there early, so... a last-minute "turn-around" and approach to Lynn Stadium in a southward direction down Floyd Street instead of north got me in the lot at 10:59 for the 11:00 presser. 

There was actually a spot to park at the facility  -- a rarity anymore, so I maneuvered in it and walked toward the complex. Field Hockey and Softball S.I.D. Lori Harmon was waiting outside for me and mentioned that she had saved me a spot, as well. This old man's legs are really appreciative of the thoughtfulness of  Lori and the other UofL SID's

Louisville Field Hockey was the first squad to address the media and answer questions. Coach Justine Sowry was flanked by seniors Mattie Tabor and Julie Kouijzer at the teams' table. I've found over the years that the best way to cover these in an article is just to just put the link up where you can hear it -- instead of making a lot of observations and comments on it. 

LINK: FIELD HOCKEY 2022 FALL SPORTS MEDIA DAY

Cross Country went next and since Dale Cowper coaches both the men and women's squads, there was a representative for each squad at the podium table with him. Sophomore Lexie Paszkiewic represented the womens' squad student-athletes. 

LINK: CROSS COUNTRY 2022 FALL SPORTS MEDIA DAY

Volleyball was the next Fall sport to be heard from and Dani Busboom Kelly had sophomore Elena Scott and senior Amaya Tillman with her to answer questions. 

LINK: VOLLEYBALL 2022 FALL SPORTS MEDIA DAY

Women's Soccer was the last group to address the media and Coach Karen Ferguson Dayes had redshirt senior Ravin Alexander and grad student Sarah Hernandez. Since WSOC is the only sport that was there who hs actually already had a competition so far this fall, it was good to here the coach and players observations on how the team looked and performed. 

LINK: WOMENS SOCCER 2022 FALL SPORTS MEDIA DAY

                                                         *************************

Men's soccer was also there and, although we don't cover them -- here's a little bonus for you with their segment:

LINK: MEN'S SOCCER 2022 FALL MEDIA DAY

A SPECIAL THANKS TO THE COACHES, PLAYERS, SID'S, STAFFERS AND INTERNS WHO HELPED PUTTING THE FALL SPORTS MEDIADAY TOGETHER ! 

JUST A REMINDER,,,

Louisville Women's Soccer gets their regular season started tonight with a 7:30 p.m. match against UIC in Lynn Stadium. It's free admission to soccer this season and the action is fun, fast-paced and full of energy, so "c'mon in for a win in Lynn"

paulie

Leon Press Conference -- What Do We Do With Our Summer -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Gabriela Leon Press Conference

Back in "The Ville" following her national championship performance at the NCAA Track and Field Championships, Gabriela Leon sat down to talk about her title with the media. Head coach Dale Cowper and assistant coach Brooke Rasnick joined her at the media table.

The Grand Rapids native became the first women's outdoor national champion in program history following a pole vault jump of 4.60m (15 ft, 1 in).

Besides having in-person attendance media were also encouraged to attend virtually via Microsoft Teams. Paulie was there in person and got the link of the presser below from UofL associate S.I.D. Lori Korte.

LINK:  Gabi, Brooke and Dale 6/13/22

What Do We Do With Our Summer?

With no sports in season to cover and minimal news happening we always ask ourselves "What do we do with our summer?"

I can't speak for the rest of the crew but I'm staying pretty busy. Work and photography don't stop. Most of my photography work now will be portrait work as well as working with various boutique stores and fitness clothing stores. I'm also in the works with a possible event at the KFC Yum! Center featuring the cast from a popular Netflix show, so fingers crossed!

Paulie will work on getting interviews with various coaches and (hopefully) some student-athletes. It's a scenario of treading in an untested creek, since there is a new, head S.I.D. in Heird and a new women's basketball S.I.D to be named yet.  

Still, the countdown to the fall sports season will begin the moment the schedules get released.

Whether you prefer to stay home or you choose to take some time on summer vacation we hope each of you has a safe and happy summer!

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Louisville Fall Sports Media Day -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

VOLLEYBALL, FIELD HOCKEY AND CROSS COUNTRY REPRESENTED AT LOUISVILLE FALL SPORTS MEDIA DAY

Three fall sports answered questions and discussed their upcoming seasons at the Fall Sports Media, held in the first floor press conference room of the Kueber Center Planet Fitness building on Floyd Street yesterday. 

Aiko Jones

Volleyball went first and the "wide net" Cards were represented by head coach Dani Busboom Kelly, defensive setter/libero Alexis Hamilton and opp. Aiko Jones. Below you'll find (2) links for hearing the Volleyball (as well as the other two sports....one audio only and one video/audio. The questions (mostly presented by me) are hard to hear on the video version. 

Sorry that I couldn't do anything about the commercials that precede the video versions  in all three. Google and the other mega-million corporations gotta rake in them dollars, right? 

AUDIO LINK:  VOLLEYBALL AT FALL SPORTS MEDIA DAY

VIDEO LINK:  VOLLEYBALL AT FALL SPORTS MEDIA DAY

Carter Ayars

After Volleyball, Field Hockey's head coach Justine Sowry and student-athletes Bethany Russ and Carter Ayars took the chairs and answered questions on the "Stick Girls" upcoming schedule and season. 

AUDIO LINK:   FIELD HOCKEY AT FALL SPORTS MEDIA DAY

VIDEO LINK:   FIELD HOCKEY AT FALL SPORTS MEDIA DAY 

Maybe the most interesting aspect of the video link for Field Hockey is a 30 second commercial for Chromebook and only 56 seconds of an over six minute actual player and coach question and answer session. 

I guess I didn't do a very good job on this one. 



Cross Country's head coach Dale Cowper was the third speaker. Cowper coaches both men and women's cross country. He did not bring any student-athletes

AUDIO LINK:  CROSS COUNTRY AT FALL SPORTS MEDIA DAY




( I could not find any video of Cowper's remarks) 


It's always great to catch up with the coaches and student-athletes at events such as these. It is a mystery to me why more media don't attend them.


After the Media Day, I sauntered upstairs to say "Hi" to any coaches around from the Louisville women's basketball and Louisville Lacrosse programs. I hit pay-dirt in that journey...talking briefly to Jeff Walz, Sam Purcell, Jonneisha Pineda, operations director Kate Tucker, associate strength and conditioning coach Beth Burns and director of player relations Adrienne Johnson for hoops and Scott Teeter and Kay Morissette on the Lacrosse side of the building. 

No recordings on those chats. Highlights of the journey upstairs included meeting Coach J.P. for the first time (a delightful young woman!), presenting Coach Sam a bag of chips, discussing with Coach Walz his travels over the summer and reviewing the Canada trip with Kay and Teeter.  We definitely need to set up a Cardinal Couple interview with coach J.P...and have set those wheels in motion. 

Have a terrific Tuesday!

paulie
xxxxx

  

Karen Ferguson Dayes Interview -- A History of Women's Sports Chapter 11: Track and Field -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

KAREN FERGUSON DAYES INTERVIEW

Louisville Women's Soccer comes off an NCAA appearance last season, a season that was head coach Karen Ferguson Dayes 19th. at UofL. I got the chance to interview "Coach KFD" earlier this week at the Lynn Stadium offices and we bring that interview to you today. 

She returns a strong roster that has pre-season ALL-ACC selection Emina Ekic at midfield and the other top two leading scorers from last year (Maisie Whitsett and Brooklyn Rivers.).

Louisville has been picked to finish eighth in a preseason poll in the ultra-competitive ACC conference that sent 10 of their 14 squads to the NCAA Tournament last year.

Louisville's season begins on Aug 17th. with an exhibition against Butler at Lynn Stadium

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LINK:  KAREN FERGUSON DAYES INTERVIEW

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(Thanks to Louisville women's soccer S.I.D. Kim Pemberton for her work in arranging this interview.) 


A HISTORY OF LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S SPORTS -- CHAPTER 11 -- WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

We move onto the tail end of our summertime project.  Today we will look at A History of Louisville Women’s Sports Chapter 11: Track and Field.  As always, we’ll refer to women’s track and field simply as track and field unless otherwise noted.

Louisville’s records trace track and field back to 1989 for outdoor. and 1992 for indoor.  They started with the Metro Conference and remained there through 1995.  UofL transitioned to Conference USA in 1996 and enjoyed a 10-year stint there.  They went to the Big East from 2005-2013 and visited the American Athletic Conference briefly in 2013.  Since 2014, Louisville track and field has participated in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Note: The men go back to 1976, several years before their women counterparts.

The Cards had moderate success in the Metro Conference, often finishing around 3^rd or 4^th.  Their time in C-USA was not great, with subpar finishes nearly every season.  Once in the Big East, Louisville took off and had 1^st place outdoor finishes five years straight and was often top three in indoor finishes.

Throwers D’Ana McCarty and Emmonnie Henderson are the most notable track and field star for the Cards.  D'Ana won the NCAA Indoor Weight Throw Championship back-to-back years in 2009 and 2010. Emmonnie Henderson holds the school record for the shot put throw and also participated in the NCAA Championships  Dorcas Wasike, still on the squad for 2019, holds two school records for distance running and has also participated in the NCAA Championships. 

Dale Cowper is the current head coach for the track and field team at Louisville.  He holds the same position with the cross-country team as well, with several the student-athletes participating in both.  Cowper took over as head coach in 2013 after having been an assistant with the Cards from 2006-2013.  Several individuals have had breakout performances under his reins, including Edwin Kibichiy, Emmonnie Henderson, Dorcas Wasike, Makenli Forrest, Alexis Gibbons, and Gabriela Leon.

Prior to Cowper, Ron Mann was head coach.  He held that position from 2004-2013.  He was with Northern Arizona for 24 years before that.  During his time in Louisville he oversaw four student-athletes win six individual national championships.  Mann retired, resulting in Cowper’s promotion.

Cardinal Park has been home to the Cards since 2000.  Originally, the middle field was used by both soccer teams.  Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium- not to be confused with the new Lynn Family Stadium that houses Louisville City FC- opened in the fall of 2014, leaving track and field alone.  The facility can seat 2,200 people but can more than triple that with standing room early.  Cardinal Park hosts some of the largest track and field events in the country including the Lenny Lyles Invitational and the Louisville Invitational.

Most track and field events are free with some larger events charging admission.  However, there is plenty of room to grab a lawn chair and sit outside the chain link fence to watch UofL perform on campus.  If you’re lucky you might be able to climb to the top of Ulmer Stadium or Trager Stadium to get a good view. 

We strive to bring you the latest and greatest updated from Louisville Track and Field here at Cardinal Couple.  Stay tuned next week as we wrap up Chapter 12: Rowing, just in time for the start of the fall sports season!

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

Late Edition - Fall Sports Media Day -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Paulie and I have just finished up approximately an hour and a half of interviews and remarks from various members of UofL fall sports programs.  An event now three years strong that always makes for a pleasant day and a chance to catch up with Volleyball, Field Hockey, Women's Soccer, and an addition this year, Cross Country.

The remarks got started with the four coaches making opening remarks.  Dale Cowper lead the pack with remarks about the chance to host the NCAA Championships at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park.  He mentioned that they have re-arranged the course at the park this year, and expects the event to be better than ever.  In perhaps a little bit of one-upmanship, Justine Sowry went next and spoke about how strong the ACC is as a Field Hockey conference (a refrain repeated numerous times, with reason, here on Cardinal Couple), and mentioned that they get to host both the ACC Championships, as well as the NCAA championships.  Karen Ferguson-Dayes came next, talking up the experience of the senior class, as showing some excitement in the attackers, who were mostly freshmen last year, coming back with another year of experience under their belts.  Dani Busboom Kelly spoke about the move of all of the Volleyball facilities to Cardinal Arena, and how it is now a dedicated facility.  She also spoke of how much of a difference the renovation of Cardinal Arena has made and how great it is to be on-campus where they hope to get more student support, and to have a "Volleyball Compound" where they don't have to share court time and access to other facilities with other programs.

In questions from the media, we heard of the challenges that both Sowry and Ferguson-Dayes have with some number of their players not yet returning from International play over the summer.  Busboom Kelly was asked about being picked "sixth or seventh" in the conference (actually eighth) and what that meant to the team, responding that they expected to finish better than anyone expects in conference, showing some confidence that it would be better than sixth as the question alluded to.  Asked about her favorite part of the newly renovated Cardinal Arena, she said that it was the balcony seating in the end-zones, as that should be expected to up the energy level of the crowd.  She did mention that it limits their ability, due to the closeness of all of the seating to the Volleyball court, of chasing down shanked balls, so it ups the importance of digging and passing cleanly, and overall ball control.

Asked about stand-outs that maybe aren't so well known so far in practice, Busboom Kelly mentioned Wilma Rivera, a transfer setter from Penn State who will be competing for playing time with last year's main setter, Kali Eaken.  Also, freshman DS/Libero Alexis Hamilton got a shout-out for her outstanding play so far.  Karen Ferguson-Dayes mentioned some names we already know, in Inger Katrine-Bjerke, and Gabbie Vincent, both Cardinal Couple favorites from interviews in past years, she named a couple of other names, that I didn't catch (listen to the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour tomorrow to hopefully hear more of them), as well as Brooklynn Rivers.  Sowry mentioned Meg Schneider and Mercedes Pastor, both freshmen, as having contributed well so far in practice.  She also mentioned Hollyn Barr, the backup goalkeeper, as having been playing extremely well, and that she would likely be starting in the cage for the first few games due to unavailability of Ayeisha McFerran.  She also spoke of the depth of the roster, and mentioned the likelihood of going 17 deep, which is unsurprising given her penchant for rapid-fire substitutions.

After the session with the coaches broke up, the media moved into the next room to speak with representatives of the various teams.  We first got the opportunity to speak with Tess Clark and Molly Sauer, of the volleyball team.  They re-iterated coach Busboom Kelly's thoughts of Wilma Rivera and Alexis Hamilton being the stand-out newcomers to the team.  Tess confirmed that she will be playing as a left side hitter, and does have some passing and digging duties.  She mentioned that Sauer helped her out a lot by taking a lot of the passes from her.

Moving on, we spoke with Inger Katrine-Bjerke and Gabbie Vincent from the Soccer team.  Paulie asked about KB's trip to China, then her further globetrotting back home to visit with family in Norway before returning to Louisville.  They talked about the importance for the backs in the game of Soccer, how they were most responsible for communication on the pitch, and how they had the best vantage point to see the whole field of play and thus were in the best position to communicate what needed to be done.

Finally, visiting with Marigrace Ragsdale, Abby Grimes, and Taylor Stone on the Field Hockey team, we heard about their excitement for hosting both the ACC and NCAA Tournaments at Trager.  We also learned that Marigrace and Abby, both being from St. Louis, have played field hockey together since they were twelve.  We learned how the recruiting process worked to get both of them to Louisville (Abby committed first, Marigrace later asked if it was ok if she also came to play with her at Louisville, an exuberant affirmative being the answer to that.)

Paulie will have much of the audio from these interviews tomorrow on The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour, so be sure to tune in at 11am on Crescent Hill Radio, 100.9 on the FM dial in the central area of Louisville, to hear the recorded audio.  On the plus side, you won't have to listen to us knuckleheads nearly as much as most weeks.

-- JMcA

Going the Distance -- UofL women's Cross Country adds talented freshmen -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

NINE FRESHMEN, EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHT CARDS CROSS COUNTRY ROSTER

From all intents and purposes, Louisville cross country head coach Dale Cowper is taking the 2016 women's Cross Country season very seriously. The sport is one that we haven't given a whole lot of coverage to here at CARDINAL COUPLE over the years...they only run in four meets in a 45 day span before the Pre-Nationals, ACC Championship, NCAA Southeast Regional and NCAA Championship and only one of those is in Louisville. They were not a part of the Fall women's sports Media Day we recently attended. 

Nevertheless, they are one of the 2016 Fall Sports on campus and have also added an assistant coach in Jenna Wrieden. Jenna comes to the 'Ville after serving as head coach for High Point's Cross Country squad. She finished 14th in the NCAA Championships in her college days at Arizona State. 

Cowper notes: 

"Jenna is a proven recruiter with a strong sports science background. She has been mentored by some of the top distance in the NCAA and her presence will have a huge impact upon our program." 

She'll work with 17 runners...nine of which are freshmen. Five of the freshmen are from Kentucky and the roster features two freshmen from Louisville in Meghan Carrico (Assumption)...who finished 36th. in the State Meet and Labreea Hill (Manual). 

Claire Noser, a senior from Highlands Ranch, CO. is the most experienced runner returning for the Cards. She won the Evansville meet last season, finished 30th. in the Pre-Nationals and 55th. in the ACC Championships.

The Cards were 13th. (out of 15) in the ACC Championships...so Cowper, Wrieden and the runners have some work cut out for them this fall in get among the ACC elite. The Cards start it off on Sept. 3rd in the Dayton Flyer 5K and will run two weeks later in Vanderbilt's Commodore Classic. The lone home meet will take place at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park on Oct 1st. with the Greater Louisville Classic. They'll travel to Wisconsin on Oct 14th. for the Wisconsin Invitational and the Pre-Nationals are the next day in Terre Haute, IN. 

Louisville was home of the 2015 NCAA Championships and got a lot of favorable press and comments for hosting the event. The New Mexico team came in and won the championship. Four ACC schools (Virginia, NC State, Notre Dame and Syracuse) were ranked in the top 20 for 2015 Cross Country. 

Here's hoping the Cards are on their way to making some national noise on the collegiate cross country scene. A nationally known running course is in place and the NCAA Championships will return to Louisville in 2017.The coaching appears to be solid. There is depth on the roster...although only two of the student-athletes are from out-of-country and none from the running hot-bed that is Kenya...

It's time for the Cards to break out of the pack and be a front-runner. 

paulie
xxxxx 

A disappointing finish for Henderson in Discus -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

E FINISHES 22nd IN NCAA DISCUS

Emmonnie Henderson finished her run in the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship with the discus throw...coming in 22nd. out of the 24 throwers. 

Her coach, Dale Cowper, was philosophical about the finish: 

"Today was a disappointment, to say the least. Emmonnie is simply better than her performances over the week represent. We'll regroup and build a different set of results next time." 

'Next time' appears most likely to be her senior season at Louisville since none of her throws in the shot put or discus over the last month match the qualifying numbers for the US Olympic team. July 1-10 will be the last chance for participants to achieve qualifying numbers for the squad...currently the qualifying standard is 57 meters in the discus and 17.6 meters in the shot put. 

Henderson threw a 49.66 in the discus yesterday and 16.37 in the shot put Thursday...so there is work to be done. Her best throw this season in the shot was 16.55 meters. 

Still arguably the best women's field performer in the history of Louisville women's track and field, we hope "E" can continue to improve and rejoin the nation's best in the events. 

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NO CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

In case you've stopped by looking for the link for this week's CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR...we did not do a show due to conflicts with the station's involvement in the MIGHTY KINDNESS EARTH DAY event yesterday at the Waterfront Park. Paulie was able to get a pre-recorded half-hour of HANDICAPPING HEROES to the station and it was broadcast at noon yesterday. 

Apologies to those who we informed it would run at 11. It is available on the Crescent Hill Radio site...www.crescenthillradio.com

We will offer to call you on the phone or stop by and discuss Louisville women's sports and give you a quiz if you missed our weekly broadcast of The CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR that much, though. It may be one of the Cardinal Couple chimps dialing or showing up...so have banana pudding at the ready. 

We'll see you on the radio on the 18th. 

paulie
xxxxx 

Louisville women's basketball -- Henderson to concentrate on track next year per Walz -- Wednesday CARDINAL COUPLE

HENDERSON TO STICK TO THE SHOT AND DISCUS

I started getting the messages and e-mails around 7:30 p.m. last night...

"Walz saying Henderson won't be back?" 

"E won't be playing hoops next year"

"Emmonnie staying with field events according to Walz." 

And, so...what a lot of people have been speculating has come to pass. Apparently. A check of a few other sites and sources confirms that:

1) Jeff Walz was on the radio last night for the Coach Walz show. 
2) He was asked a question on that show  about Emmonnie Henderson.
3) He spoke of her sticking with track and field and foregoing basketball next year.

It makes sense.

She has a chance to be in the Olympics this summer...most likely in the discus...but the shot put isn't entirely out of the question. She could very well have a successful 5-10 years after graduation throwing professionally and around the world. She definitely wasn't a WNBA candidate in hoops. You play to your strengths. 

I've never trained for throwing events in track and field but I have a friend who threw shot and discus in high school and he indicated to me that the training for basketball and training for field throwing events is different. It's also a different body physique and structure. He tried to do both one year. He told me the running killed him in hoops. He lost weight and it affected his ability to throw for awhile the following spring. 

Louisville probably could have used "E" and her strength inside and ability to score inside a few times this year. I'd rather see her "go for what she knows" though...maybe we'll see her on the podium in Rio in 2016. Hopefully, we'll see her winning a bunch of ACC and NCAA events as the sport transitions from the indoor to the outdoor season. She's already won several shot put throws during the indoor season.

Louisville women's track and field has had a long history of excellence in throwing events. One of Louisville's best, Jere Summers, a two-time All-American...is on campus as director of operations and on campus recruiting for track and field. We would also surmise that she's spending a few hours with the Cardinal throwers. Cardinal track and field head coach Dale Cowper also serves as the throws coach.

So...what exactly are "throws"? 

The classification involves five different events...the weight, hammer, shot put, discus and javelin throws. Louisville lists 11 student-athletes on the roster as throwers. You can expect to see the names Dolly Nyemah, Rachel Serafin, Caitlin Gilmore and Megan Brooks garnering high place finishes in events this year. 

Nyemah finished second in the weight throw at the Akron Invitational over the weekend. Henderson finished 4th in the shot...in the open division and facing several throwers who were either unattached or throwing for the prestigious New York Athletic Club. Summers even got into the act and finished second in the discus.

As Worldwide and I discussed on the radio last week, the discus isn't an indoor event due to space limitations. We'll continue to monitor her indoor season and we look forward to the outdoor season and watch how things go for her. 

If you're driving down Floyd Street this spring, keep an eye out when you get near the YUM! Practice Facility. The throws field is nestled behind it. Airbourne objects may be closer than they appear...and the Cards definitely have an aerial attack on campus. 

paulie
xxxxx

Henderson 16th in shot in Oregon -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

HENDERSON NAMED TO ALL-AMERICAN HONORS AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

With a throw of 15.93m (52-3) that was good for 16th. place in the NCAA Shot Put Championships, Emmonnie Henderson earned second place All-American honors Thursday night.

Her throw in the event was about four feet (or 2 meters) short of the personal best she tossed to win the ACC Championships. That 17.09m (56-1) effort would have got her seventh place yesterday...the top toss was 18.35m (60-2) by freshman Raven Saunders from Southern Illinois. ACC competitor Sarah Howard (UNC) finished 14th. with a 16.20m (53-1) throw. Henderson defeated Howard in the ACC Championships earlier this year. 

20.59 is the best recorded toss on record...achieved by Nadzeya Ostapchuk in 2011.

For Chanel Krause, a bit of disappointment in failing to clear the bar in any of her pole vaulting attempts. 

Henderson will take to the track again Saturday to compete in the finals of the discus toss. She's ranked 24th. of the 24 competitors...so winning this would truly be remarkable.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

As you might expect, the ESPN and ESPNU coverage of the women's championships Thursday revolved around the running events and field events simply got shoved aside. 

Our neighbors to the east (UK) had several runners qualify out of their heats to make the finals. UK had made significant strides in track and field. One has to hope the Cards can catch up here in the future. The dominance of LSU, Texas A&M, Clemson and Oregon over the years can be equated and compared to the upper echelon of UConn, Notre Dame, Stanford, Louisville and Maryland in women's college basketball. 

It's a nice achievement two have two Cardinal athletes qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships...but one  would hope that Dale Cowper, Louisville track and field head coach, can recruit a few "Shoni's, Asia's and Angel's" for the 'run, jump and throw' Cards in the future. 

The women's program has had decent throwers over the years. It's time to catch up in the sprints, hurdles and relay events. 

paulie
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