Sports

Written by: Liberty Miller | Lifestyle Editor The Howl had the opportunity to interview seven athletes from the men’s and women’s cross-country and track and field teams. An impressive lineup of athletes from both sports were chosen to speak to the Howl about their respective programs, coaching staff, hobbies and experience at Western. The interviewees for the podcast show were Elwood Hosking, Rami Dear, Bryce Mefford, Isaiah Rodriguez, Wyatt Smith, Lindie Larson, Riley Smith and Olivia Flack.  Topics ranged from the individual successes of the athletes to a collective admiration of coach Zach Holloway, personal interests, events and entertaining stories from their time in the program. The athletes ran a variety of events, including the 800 meter, steeplechase, the distance medley relay and the mile. They each bring a wealth of knowledge on their event, how to prepare mentally and nutritionally and a few embarrassing yet entertaining storytimes on failed barrier jumps.  All of the athletes have made their mark on the program, but Rodriguez and Larson have made big waves in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 2 competitive environments. Rodriguez took an impressive second-place finish as a true freshman in the 800-meter competition during the 2024 GNAC track and field championships. Larson has quite an impressive resume with two-time appearances in three different sectors — the GNAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, GNAC cross-country Championships and the NCAA Division Two cross-country West Region Championships, as well as an appearance in the NCAA Division Two pre-nationals competition. Additionally, Smith also placed first in the Linfield Erik Anderson Icebreaker Memorial Invitational for the 800-meter...

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor Historically, fewer than two percent of National Collegiate Athletic Association — NCAA — athletes play on professional sports teams for any period of time — in professional basketball, this drops to 1.2 percent. These numbers are specific to Division I athletics; Division II drops even lower.  Western athletes going professional has happened twice before in the school’s recent history — football player Tyrell Williams was drafted to the San Diego Chargers in 2016, and basketball player Tanner Omlid signed to play professionally in the Spanish Leagues in 2018. Basketball player Elihu Cobb is now the third Western athlete to go professional.   In 2021, Cobb came to Western from the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California, an almost three-hour drive from where he went to high school. In Cobb’s sophomore season, he reached 10 double-doubles — where a player accumulates double digits in two of the five primary statistical categories — and averaged nearly a double-double every game during the season.  At Western, he continued to dominate, completing 70 of 113 field goal attempts in his first and second seasons combined as well as maintaining a strong presence on the court.  “He’s dedicated,” said Coach Wes Pifer. “He got stronger every single year on the court and off the court.” This is seen in Cobb’s stats: his points scored, free throws and blocks all increased in his second season at Western. Cobb was described by his coach as “a warrior” and “an everyday guy,” concerning his work ethic and attitude as a player. Pifer and the rest of the coaching staff had...

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor This year, the Super Bowl featured a repeated matchup from 2020: the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. When these two teams last met in the Super Bowl, the Chiefs walked away with the championship — which was repeated this year.  When fans were placing their predictions and bets, the majority of the odds were in favor of the Chiefs. The defending champions had stats and matchup history to support them. For the last 30 years, teams wearing their white jerseys have won the Superbowl, even when the odds were not in their favor. The only exception to this was the Chiefs in the 2020 Super Bowl, where they wore their red home jerseys and won — the color matchup, like everything else, was repeated this year: the Chiefs in red and the 49ers in white.  The opening ceremony included performances of “America the Beautiful” and “The Star Spangled Banner,” by Post Malone and Reba McEntire respectively, which were ASL interpreted by Anjel Piñero and Daniel Durant. The colors were presented and accompanied by members of the United States Navy.  The game itself started off with the Chiefs deferring the coin toss to the 49ers, setting the Chiefs to receive in the second half. Kickoff went off without a hitch, but on the 49ers’ drive, they fumbled, and the Chiefs recovered for their first possession barely three minutes into the game.  The first quarter was a series of possession changes and flags; the 49ers with two for a false start and holding call, and the Chiefs with an offsides call....

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor With the recent ice storm that struck campus, classes and resources usually available to students were canceled or unusable — including the weight room that athletes have for their team workouts. With their weight room being closed, this caused an influx of athletes in the Peter Courtney Health and Wellness Center. While it was not a problem they were there — as they do pay tuition to be able to fund and use the HWC — the athletes did not follow many of the building’s safety rules and lacked etiquette. One complaint from students was about the teams’ lack of spatial awareness, specifically on the weight mats. “They had their stuff strewn all over the mats and worked with several pieces of equipment at the same time,” said an anonymous student. “After I had a bench, someone was doing a plank right at my feet and someone used my bench, the bench that I was using, for rows.”  During their time in the HWC, athletes left their bags in many different places around the lifting and cardio portion of the building, including the areas behind the treadmills and in the middle of walkways. In various spaces around the lifting and cardio floor, there are cubbies for patrons to store their belongings, reducing the risk of hazards.  “We like to keep bags in cubbies, on hangers or in lockers, which is a safety thing,” an anonymous student worker said. “A lot of the athletes on the treadmills had their bags lined up along them, which was a huge thing because those bags could...