Mount Hood

Results of the rugby teams matches’ at nationals

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor

With both men’s and women’s+ rugby in Washington D.C. for the National 7s Tournament Collegiate Rugby Championship, each team faced formidable opponents from all over the country. Though it wasn’t an easy fight, the Western rugby program put on a good show, representing the West Coast and Oregon in the Small College division. 

First-round nerves hit both teams, dropping them to lower brackets in the first round. Women’s+ limited experience on the national stage may have manifested as they went scoreless until the third round, where they scored five tries against eighth-ranked team, Sewanee the University of the South. 

“It was a bit nerve-wracking because it was our first time going, but we all fought as hard as we could,” said junior Shabryna Herrera. “We all wanted it. It was a great learning experience, not just for me, but for the team.”

This tournament was the second time the men’s team had attended the 7s CRC, and they fared better than their counterparts. Going two and two in their matchups, their results this year were an improvement from last year. 

The teams now travel into the offseason, with many members of the men’s team playing for the Oregon Sharks Rugby Academy to hone their skills. Some players include Justice Donahoo, Isaac Bare, James Tiboni and Jacob Smith. Bare was also in a six-way tie for the most tries scored by a single player in the tournament — he scored five tries total — as well as in the top ten for most points scored all weekend — a total of 25. Smith was in the top twenty for conversions — the kick after a team scores a try, similar to a field goal in football, which offers the scoring team the opportunity to add two more points to the board. 

“It was really fun to go to a large tournament like this,” Bare said. “I think the tournament was (a) good experience for our team because most of our team is returning next year and that has me already excited.”

Bare also talked about how it was a fun opportunity to compete against players he had met at the Men’s Rugby All-Stars tournament. “In our final we played Denver and one of their players was my roommate at All-Stars and it was fun to have the opportunity to play against them,” he said.

Sophomore Micahel Hager shared similar thoughts on his experience at Nationals. “I didn’t get the chance to travel with the team to the tournament last year, so it was an entirely new experience,” he said. “It was fun. A lot of the guys had never been to (Washington) before. We’re a pretty young team, but we’ll definitely be back next year.”

The men’s team took third place in the Bowl Bracket and eleventh overall, and women’s+ took second place in the Shield Bracket and fourteenth overall. The results of the matchups are below:

Men’s: 

First round — versus Christendom College, loss 7 – 31

Second round — versus Howard University, win 29 – 10

Third round — versus Loyola University Maryland, loss 12 – 21

Fourth round — versus Denver University, win 20 – 14

Women’s+:

First round — versus Colby College, loss 0 – 50

Second round — versus Ohio Wesleyan, loss 0 – 34

Third round — versus Sewanee the University of the South, win 25 – 24 

Fourth Round —versus Baldwin Wallace University, loss 0 – 34

Both men’s and women’s+ begin practice again in the fall for their 15s seasons. 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

The 2024 NFL Draft

Written by: Michael Hager | Freelancer

The National Football League’s annual draft was held in Detroit, Michigan, which is home to the Detroit Lions. This year’s draft was in the downtown area at award-winning Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza. The NFL draft started this year on April 25, 2024, and ended April 28.

The NFL draft is comprised of seven rounds, each consisting of 32 picks. Every NFL team has the opportunity to make a selection in each round. The draft order adds an intriguing layer to the process. 

To maintain competitiveness and provide struggling teams with fresh talent, the NFL allocates the highest draft picks to teams with the poorest records. This means that the unfortunate silver lining of finishing as the worst team in a season is the privilege of acquiring the Number One Overall Draft Pick in the subsequent year. 

Conversely, the reigning Super Bowl champions are relegated to the back of the line and receive the number 32 pick in each round. The remaining teams are positioned based on their regular season records, playoff performance, and, if applicable, other relevant factors. 

The underlying principle is straightforward: by granting the most advantageous picks to struggling teams, the NFL aims to facilitate their improvement and sustain competitiveness across the league.

Nothing is set in stone in the intricate world of NFL draft picks. Teams have the flexibility to trade their picks for other selections, players or a combination of both. 

The complexity of these exchanges is exemplified by a prime example from the 2024 draft. Last year, the Chicago Bears held the coveted Number One Overall Pick in the 2023 Draft. However, they made a strategic move by trading it to the Carolina Panthers before the draft commenced. 

In exchange, they acquired wide receiver DJ Moore and a package of four draft picks spanning multiple drafts. One of these picks included the first-round selection in the 2024 draft. 

The gamble paid off handsomely for the Bears. Despite relinquishing the top pick to the Panthers, who selected quarterback Bryce Young, the Bears secured the Number One Overall Pick in the current draft season, thanks to the Panthers finishing with the league’s worst record in the previous season.

Trading draft picks is a dynamic process. It allows some teams to accumulate multiple picks in a single round, while others may have fewer or none at all due to previous trades. 

Teams strategically weigh the advantages of current and future drafts, searching for bargains in later rounds to maximize their chances of success. While the process may seem complex, adept maneuvering can yield significant rewards in the NFL draft.

For reference, offensive positions include Quarterback, Wide Receiver, Offensive Tackle, Offensive Guard, Tight End and Center. This is the first time in NFL draft history where there were no defensive players selected in the first fourteen picks — additionally, this is the first time all quarterbacks were selected in the first round. 

At the start of the draft, the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, goes on to the stage and says his famous line, “With the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft the…” 

With the first pick, the Chicago Bears — from Carolina — selected QB Caleb Williams, from the University of Southern California. This year, the Bears have the first pick and it’s been known by the sports world that Williams would become their first choice. Williams has been projected to be the first pick ever since he declared his entry for the draft at the end of the season. 

For the second pick, the Washington Commanders selected QB Jayden Daniels, from Louisiana State University — LSU. Daniels was a close second behind Williams for the first pick of the draft. The 2024 Heisman winner will likely bring great talent to the Commanders, but only time will tell.

The New England Patriots had the third pick and selected QB Drake Maye, from the University of North Carolina. The Patriots have been searching for their next Tom Brady — Maye has a shot at being just that.

In the fourth pick, the Arizona Cardinals selected WR Marvin, “Maserati Marv,” Harrison Jr, hailing from Ohio State University. The Cardinals got a true number-one receiver to help out Kyler Murry. Harrison was projected as the best receiver in this draft. 

The Los Angeles Chargers, with the fifth pick, selected OT Joe Alt, from the University of Notre Dame. Alt is expected to be a great help to Herbert and the Chargers with the offensive line. 

The sixth pick, the New York Giants, selected WR Malik Nabers, from LSU. Surprising the world, the Giants chose not to draft a QB, instead opting to bring in fresh receiving talent. Naber talks a big game and hopes that he can help QB Daniel Jones turn things around in New York.

The seventh pick, the Tennessee Titans, selected OT JC Latham, from the University of Alabama. The Titans shore up their offensive line to help out their young QB, Will Levis. 

For the eighth pick, the Atlanta Falcons selected QB Michael Penix Jr., from the University of Washington. The Falcons shocked the world by drafting Penix after they signed Kirk Cousins to a huge deal earlier in the year. Kirk Cousins said to the press, “Honestly, that might be worse than 28-3.” 

With the ninth pick, the Chicago Bears selected WR Rome Odunze, from the University of Washington. The Bears get some young help at receiver, hoping to grow with their young offensive players.  

The New York Jets swapped places with the Minnesota Vikings and, with the tenth pick, they selected QB J.J. McCarthy, from The University of Michigan. McCarthy, fresh off a National title, was swooped up by the Vikings, in the hopes that Michigan produced another Brady.

The eleventh pick, the Minnesota Vikings, swapped places with the New York Jets and selected OT Olu Fashanu from Pennsylvania State University. The Jets are hoping that this addition will help QB Aaron Rodgers last more than three and a half minutes on the field. 

The twelfth pick, the Denver Broncos, selected QB Bo Nix, from the University of Oregon. This was also a surprise to fans because, with Nix becoming the last QB in the draft, they seemed to steal it away from their division rival the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Las Vegas Raiders, with the thirteenth pick, selected TE Brock Bowers, from the University of Georgia. The Raiders were stunned that there were no more QBs left on the board at pick thirteen, taking Bowers who should make a big impact with a lackluster receiving core. 

With the fourteenth pick, the New Orleans Saints selected OT Taliese Fuaga, from Oregon State University. Fuanga has the potential to be a great help to the struggling offensive of the Saints. 

Finally, the fifteenth pick, the Indianapolis Colts, selected EDGE, Laiatu Latu, from the University of California Los Angeles. The Colts now have a defensive player off the board, making Latu the best defender in the draft. Time will tell if this proves to be the case. 

Contact the author at mhager20@wou.edu

Jason Slowey on NFL and Western

Written by: Liberty Miller | Lifestyle Editor

In a recent interview with Jason Slowey, the Howl Sports Network delves into his experience of being one of three Western players in history to be drafted into the National Football League. The exclusive interview was held on April 24, 2024 — the 12-year anniversary of Slowey’s original NFL prospect interview with KOBI-TV on NBC5. The original news story featured a 23-year-old Slowey in his senior year at Western. Slowey is now 35 years old and, among his other accomplishments, secured a position at Sacramento State University in 2023 as their newly minted rush ends coach. 

Slowey’s interview with KOBI-TV walked viewers through a regular day in the Western football program. After a short tour of his house and pre-workout routine, the video pans to the weight room beneath the football stadium and a quick clip of the track. 

During the filming of Slowey’s power cleans and single-arm dumbbell bench press, he shared that “It’s hard for a lot of people to start something when they’re not good at it, and that’s why people quit things. They start it and they’re bad, then they’re done — but you can get past that.” 

He explained that, at the time, Western didn’t have a sports performance coaching staff, so the program coaches were responsible for lift programs. “Coach Ferguson was our weights coach. We didn’t have Cori Metzgar until my senior year — she’s actually a good friend of mine now — so Coach Ferguson was in charge of the weights programs and what we did in the weight room.” 

Slowey was recruited straight out of high school in 2007 and spent his first year in the program as a redshirt, meaning that he had little to no game competition and was measured on his performance in the weight room. 

“So, the first day we came into weights, and Coach Ferguson did this challenge with the team where we had to bench press 225, as many reps as we could. I only did three reps. I was the weakest player in the program, but I just took that as an opportunity to get better. Me and a few of my friends would go in when no one else was in there, and we would teach ourselves how to lift in our off-time. I wasn’t the strongest or best player coming in from high school, so I just dedicated myself to becoming better in the weight room and on the field.”

Eventually, Slowey would become one of the strongest prospective blockers in the NFL. In an article written by Sports Illustrated reporter Tony Pauline, he described Slowey as “…one of the nastiest blockers in the draft.” Slowey attributes that to his lengthy time in the weight room and dedication to gaining weight and muscle, thinking back to the time when he could bench press 225 only three times before failure.

Slowey was in his senior year at Western when Coach Ferguson pulled him aside and told him he was being considered as an NFL prospect. “We had a bunch of recruiters and teams coming to practice, coming to lift, seeing how I was with the guys and how much weight I moved during my workouts.” Following a successful 2011 season, the following year’s NFL draft was held on April 26-28, 2012. 

“I was in my home here at Western, and I had about twenty people at my house for the three days it was being aired. My friends and family were excited, but I was trying to play it cool. By the time we got to the last day, I started getting nervous with the possibility of not getting chosen. On the third day, I got a call from my agent, and they told me I was going to be a sixth-round pick. That’s when I got selected by the 49ers,” said Slowey.

Slowey played with both the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders during his time in the NFL, then he went on to play for the BC Lions, in the Canadian Football League and spent some time playing arena football for the Portland Thunder. Due to Slowey’s lengthy struggle with a back injury, he retired from the sport in 2014. 

Slowey stated, “I was dealing with my back injury for a long time, and I ended up retiring. But I’m just like every other athlete that’s had to deal with an injury that caused them to stop playing because I still wanted to be involved in the game somehow, I wanted football to still be in my life. I came back to Western and I asked about a coaching position with the football team, but there wasn’t one at the time, so I took up a job with track and field. I was able to work with both sports at the same time and just worked my way into eventually coaching football.” 

Slowey worked at Western until 2022 and was offered a position at Sacramento State University as the rush-ends coach.

“It was a bit weird, the transition from playing offense my whole life to coaching defense. I was an offensive lineman and a center all my career, so to come in and coach defense was interesting for sure, but I’m having a good time. It’s been a journey and I’m grateful for everyone that’s been along for the ride.”

Slowey had some words of advice to players in the Western football program, having come out of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference — GNAC — himself and securing his place as one of three players to represent the Western football program on a national level. 

“Trust the coaches, trust your teammates and trust the program. It sounds like a bunch of coaches’ lingo, but it’s true. Trust the process that’s been set in front of you, and put in the work to get to where you want to be.”





Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

Western’s men and women’s rugby to Nationals

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor

For the first time in Western’s history, both men’s and women’s rugby teams are going to the Collegiate Rugby Championships — CRC — National 7s tournament. The ruggers — as rugby players are often called — stamped their tickets to Washington D.C. for the second time for the men’s team and the first 7s tournament attendance for the women’s team. Both teams have competed in the National 15s tournament at least once. 

Initially, the women’s team hadn’t even realized they could put in their bid for nationals. 

“Our coach was like, hey, did you know, like we could go to a qualifying match and go to nationals? I was like, do it, and then we did it and we went and I was like, we should have been doing this,” said senior Claire “Car” Rickis. Rickis is the club’s president and has played rugby for five years. 

A Howl representative recently had the opportunity to sit down and interview the members of the women’s rugby team. It was evident the team was a close-knit group, as they all spoke highly of each other, along with playful jabs that are common amongst friends and teammates.

When prompted with questions about zombie apocalypses and deserted islands, they shared a variety of answers but dissolved into laughter when Rickis said teammate Estela Miranda-Aguilar would be most likely to resort to cannibalism.  

“There’s a lot of high energy, and I think ambition that everybody feels. It’s like a shared goal,” said senior Ever Young. Her teammates voiced similar feelings of excitement and pride.

To qualify for Nationals, the women’s team needed to win the Fool’s Gold tournament, facing off against the College of Idaho, Willamette University and the University of Idaho. Standings in this tournament were based on the wins and losses of each team. 

In the Fool’s Gold tournament, which was hosted at Western, the women went 2-1-0, leading the qualifying tournament with 11 total points. 

Coach Nic Smith feels confident about the team’s ability to come home successful from Washington: “I truly feel great about our chances of coming back home with a trophy. The team has trained hard, they play better and better each game, they’ve learned so much about rugby, and the want is there,” Smith said. 

The men’s team shares similar positive energy on the road to Nationals.

“I think we’re pretty prepared. I think we have a good shot going in,” said sophomore Jacob Smith. “Most of us have been there before, so we’ve just got to capitalize and do what we know.”

In last year’s 7s CRC, the men were knocked out in the second round by Babson College — who went on to win the tournament — and placed tenth overall in the nation. 

Recently, they added the title of 2024 Northwest Men’s Collegiate Rugby Conference champions under their belts, accomplishing this for the second year in a row. 

After losing to the Oregon Institute of Technology — OIT — in their first match, they quickly bounced back and dominated the pitch against both the University of Puget Sound and Willamette University in the second and third matches. Gonzaga University was also supposed to participate in the tournament but ultimately dropped out due to undisclosed reasons. This meant the men would play OIT a second time to decide the conference champions. 

Western’s loss against OIT in the first match determined that Western would start the match with a seven-point deficit. 

After scoring quickly in the first half after a total of seven minutes of play, Western proved a strong opponent this second time around. The teams went try for try in the second half, but Western was able to capitalize on OIT’s weaknesses and come out victorious.

“We’re a second-half team,” said senior Sangato Letisi. “But we’re working on becoming a first-half team.” The team’s first half against OIT in the second matchup was certainly their strongest outing of the tournament. 

OIT is the strongest competitor Western faces in their conference but has struggled in recent history to make waves against Western’s strong defense. 

On April 20, the brackets for both the men’s and women’s tournaments were announced. Each bracket is split into an east and west region, with the top sixteen teams from across the nation competing for the championship. The two regions represent the three different styles of bids each team has given. 

The men’s teams can qualify in one of these three ways: by winning their national qualifying tournaments, a conference champion bid or an at-large bid. The women only have two avenues: a conference champions bid or an at-large bid. 

Western’s clubs qualified with the men winning their tournament and the women being the conference champions. 

The men will be facing off against the one-seeded team for the west, Christendom College. The Christendom men’s team were champions for their conference this year and are a part of the Cardinals Men’s Collegiate Rugby Conference. Virginia Military Institute competes in this conference as well, ranking third in the east region.

The women sit as one of the middleman teams, meaning they will play Colby College Women’s for their first match-up. Like Western’s women team, Colby was the champion of their conference — the Rugby Northeast Women’s Collegiate Conference.

The 2024 CRC will be taking on a new bracket format this year: for the first time, a Cascading Bracket will be played. 

Completely eliminating pool play and knock-out rounds, the Cascading Bracket has four brackets of play: the cup, bowl, plate and shield brackets. If you lose in the cup bracket, you will drop to the bowl bracket, rather than being eliminated from the tournament. This ensures more matches for each team, as well as more exciting brackets.

This is also good news for Western’s rugby teams, as it means they will not be knocked out if they lose. Last year’s loss against Babson eliminated the men’s team on their first day of play, meaning they did not compete on the second day of competition. This new bracket format will mean Western will face opponents on both days.  

The men travel to Washington on April 24, and the women will follow in their travel schedule tomorrow. Play for the teams will occur this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with the men’s championship game being played on Saturday and the women’s on Sunday.

For the CRC, Western’s rugby teams will also be traveling the furthest to compete: a total of 2,862 miles to Washington. Other universities from Oregon — Oregon State University men’s and the University of Oregon women’s — follow close behind Western in how far they have to travel. Oregon universities will travel a combined roundtrip of 17,010 miles. 

Matches will be live-streamed on the National Collegiate Rugby website and the Club Sports YouTube page. 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

NCAA women’s basketball champions

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor

The University of South Carolina’s women’s basketball program recently beat the University of Iowa, clinching their third national title and second title in three years. After losing to Iowa in the Final Four last season, the South Carolina Gamecocks have not lost a game since — the tenth perfect season in National Collegiate Athletic Association women’s basketball history. 

Iowa started in the lead for the game, with Caitlin Clark adding 18 points on the board for Iowa and another record to her name. Clark was the NCAA Division One all-time point scorer across both men’s and women’s basketball. 

But even Clark could not stop the powerhouse that was the Gamecocks’ basketball program. After ending the first half up by three, South Carolina paced the game and Iowa could not pull ahead. Some South Carolina players called the road to the championship a “revenge tour.”

Tess Johnson led the Gamecocks with 19 points on the night, but senior Kamilla Cardoso was truly the most valuable player of the game, boasting a double-double of 15 points and 17 rebounds. Te-Hina Paopao and Chloe Kitts both followed closely with 14 and 11 points on the night. 

Clark was not the only one who broke records — the game itself was a record breaker. Airing on network television for the first time since 1995, the game surpassed the men’s game by 4.1 million views — 18.9 million and 14.82 million views respectively. 

“You’re seeing the growth in many places: attendance records, viewership and social media engagement surrounding March Madness,” University of California, Los Angeles coach Cori Close said. “I don’t think you can attribute it just to Iowa, though. A rising tide does lift all boats. But I think all those boats have been on many different waterways. The product is really good, and the increase of exposure is getting rewarded.” UCLA lost to third-ranked Louisiana State University in the Sweet Sixteen. 

This game was also one of the most watched non-Olympic women’s sporting events on United States television, second only to the 2015 Women’s World Cup final between the USA and Japan.

This year boasts a large class of players who have amassed large followings and prospects to go professional: LSU’s Angel Reese, Cardoso and Clark are all top prospects for this year’s Women’s National Basketball Association draft. 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

The newest men’s collegiate basketball champions: University of Connecticut

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor

The University of Connecticut clinched back-to-back National Collegiate Athletic Association — NCAA — men’s basketball championships over Purdue University on April 8, 2024. 

The first half was a close match-up, but UConn went on a 15-7 run from a point deficit to pull ahead at the half. This deficit was the first time Purdue trailed after the first 20 minutes of play. 

In the second half, UConn’s run of 8-2 was used to bring their double-digit lead. But, most importantly for the team, they kept Purdue’s seven foot four inches tall center, Zach Edey, scoreless for a total of 12 minutes of play. UConn also limited Purdue at the 3-point line — the Boilermakers went one for seven in the second half. In the entire tournament, UConn only trailed for a total of five minutes and 42 seconds, never trailing by more than five points. 

“We were going to go to the well with Zach as much as we could at that point,” Purdue Head Coach Matt Painter said, talking about his team’s second-half trouble. “In a game like this, we had to be able to rebound defensively better, and then we had to have something balance that out. That was threes. They (UConn) stayed home with us. They did a really good job defensively.”

UConn is the eighth team to win back-to-back championships — the University of Florida was the last team to achieve this in 2007. This is also UConn’s sixth championship, becoming the fourth team to win six or more championships in their program’s history. This feat has been achieved by the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Kentucky and the University of North Carolina. 

All of UConn’s championship wins have occurred since 1999, which is more than any other men’s team in that same span, and are second only to UConn’s women’s team, who have won 10.

Purdue has never won a national championship, despite appearing in the Final Four three times. They have only appeared in a championship game once, which was this most recent appearance. 

However, it was not a UConn player who led the game in stats. Edey claimed a double-double — scoring 37 points and 10 rebounds in Purdue’s defeat. Four of UConn’s five starters scored in double digits: Tristen Newton scored 20, Stephon Castle scored 15, while Cam Spencer and Donovan Clingan both scored 11. 

“Credit to my teammates and coaching staff for putting me in the right positions to make plays, score, get people involved and get the win tonight,” said Newton. Newton was selected as the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. 

“You can’t even wrap your mind around it, because you just know how hard this tournament is,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said post-game. “What a special group of people.”

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Westerns women’s basketball update

Written by: Liberty Miller | Lifestyle Editor

The Howl previously covered the cancellation of the Western women’s basketball season. The article covered allegations of abuse and harassment from players at Western and also Salem University, where head coach Jessica Peatross and assistant coach Demetrius “DJ” Marlow led the women’s basketball program during the 2022-23 season. Following a legal investigation prompted by the athletic department, the administration has chosen to remove the coaches from administrative leave and reinstate both Peatross and Marlow for the 2024-25 season.

In the previous article, one anonymous source from the Western women’s basketball team went into depth on alleged National Collegiate Athletic Association — NCAA — violations, verbal abuse, sexually charged comments and a season-ending injury possibly caused by assistant Coach DJ Marlow. Multiple players from Salem University and another NCAA Division Two university located in West Virginia came forward to speak about their alleged experiences with Coaches Peatross and Marlow as well — many of the allegations followed similar patterns of verbal abuse, neglect, inappropriate behavior and a lack of response from their athletic administration. 

While the coaches have been on paid administrative leave since February, an investigation was initiated, though it is unclear who exactly hired the firm. The law firm, by the name of Littler Mendelson, specializes in employer clients and conducted the believed-to-be unbiased third-party investigation. The spokesperson for the firm released a statement saying that “the allegations against the coaches were not sustained.” The coaches were officially reinstated following the conclusion of this investigation. The Western women’s basketball players were then offered the option of entering the transfer portal, but in order to stay on the team they would need to meet with Coach Peatross individually.

The season cancellation caught the attention of sports commentator and Instagram personality Timothy Martin, who regularly posts content related to the NCAA and professional sports. Following the release of our previous article, Martin posted an update that garnered over four hundred thousand views. We reached out to Martin about the reinstatement of Peatross and Marlow, to which he said, “Based on the situations and stories from former athletes and those associated with the team — it’s shocking from an outsider’s perspective like myself to hear the results of the investigation from the university. For a Collegiate season to be cut short and nothing come of the investigation seems very odd. I’m an outsider and have no association with the university, but have been following this situation since it was announced over a month ago and honestly have more questions now than I did when the investigation started.” 

Derek Holdsworth is a Western track and field and cross-country alumni and current head coach of Growing Runners Track Club, a youth track club in Williamsburg, Virginia. During his time at Western, he broke the all-time Western record and all-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) record for the 800-meter run. Holdsworth has been keeping tabs on the status of the women’s basketball team after hearing the news about the season cancellation. “I always felt safe at (Western) with my coaches and staff around me, so it’s incredibly disappointing to hear that not only do students feel uncomfortable with their current coaches but their coaches lied about their experience to get the current positions that they have. It’s frustrating to hear this as someone who’s currently in search of a career outside of my athletic pursuits. I know the staff at WOU has the ability to do what’s best for their student-athletes, they just might need a little push,” Holdsworth stated. 

Multiple faculty and staff members at Western have expressed discontent with the decisions made by the athletic administration, but out of fear for their job security and safety, have declined to comment. One Western faculty member spoken to agreed to have their quote released under the condition that they remain anonymous. “I’ve worked with dozens of student-athletes in my time at WOU. Generally, this group of people doesn’t complain unless there are real problems. They are used to grueling schedules, high demands and hard work. They put up with a lot. Then they do it again the next day. It’s inconceivable to me that these students are being silenced and ignored. There needs to be better leadership from both athletics and WOU administrators. The least powerful and least protected people are essentially being told they don’t matter. That’s not what WOU represents.” 

Another faculty member also shared their opinion on the outlook of recruiting future athletes – “reinstatement of the women’s basketball coaching staff is a clear indicator of the absence of any wrongdoing. Recent history of the administration’s mismanagement of the situation can have detrimental consequences for recruiting down the line.”

An anonymous source from Salem University, who contributed to the previous article as one of the players in Peatross and Marlow’s 2022-2023 program, made a second statement to the Howl. “Honestly, I think it’s crazy. It just shows how bad the outside world doesn’t pay attention to athletes calling and seeking out help. In this world especially as college athletes, athletes in general — we overlook our mental health and in this situation, the staff at WOU overlooked theirs. I just hope that both coaches find it in their hearts to start off with a clean slate and allow the girls to come back and play. That school is their home.” This source was instrumental in gathering information and sources of all different opinions from Salem University.

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

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