Cougars Win Six More Events at WSU Open Indoor Track & Field Meet
1/20/2018 from WSU Sports Info
PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State track and
field competitors tallied another six wins Saturday in the second of
two days of competition at the 16th Annual WSU Open Indoor meet in the Indoor
Facility in Pullman.
Cougars women
claiming victories Saturday included Regyn Gaffney (Jr.,
Chehalis, Wash.) in the 60m dash with a season-best time of 7.58 seconds. Adreonia Bradley
(Rs-Jr., Tacoma, Wash.) won the 400m in a time of 1 minute, .34 seconds. In the
field events, Lauren Newman (So., Union Gap, Wash.) won the long jump with a PR
leap of 18-feet 6 1/2 inches (5.65m) and Chrisshnay Brown (Jr.,
Lompoc, Calif.) won the shot put with a throw of 41-9 1/4 (12.73m).
A pair of WSU men
won their events Saturday: Ja'Maun Charles (Jr., Pleasanton,
Calif.,) finished first in the 60m dash with a time of 6.85, and Nick Johnson
(So., Spokane) won the 60m hurdles in a time of 8.00, just off his PR time of
7.98.
These Cougars
joined Friday winners Brock Eager and Aoife Martin weight throw wins
and Molly Scharmann's PR pole vault that is the sixth-best in WSU
all-time.
THEY SAID:
Wayne Phipps, WSU
Director of Cross Country/Track & Field said, "I was really impressed
by the way we competed today. We didn’t compete our full team but the people
who did compete I thought competed very, very well. We had some outstanding
performances in all event areas. It is nice to get a meet at home in the early
season to work on some things and a great opportunity for local schools to
compete as well."
Ja'Maun Charles
said, "I'm a very competitive person so I want to go in and PR every race
that you run but obviously that you run but obviously that was not the case.
For the training I've been doing recently, which includes volume and a lot more
of the longer distance drills. After this meet we'll start on the more
technical drills and I'll work on my start and drive more. Coming into the meet
I was a little hesitant but I think this is a good place to be at his point. I
would say today was a pretty good day."
Molly Scharmann said,
"Overall I'm happy with my results. I've been working toward a four-meter
bar since last year so it was a relief to get it. I was super close on the next
bar which was 4.10m and I'm excited to attempt it again next weekend."
NOTEWORTHY:
· Brock Eager (Rs-Jr., Renton) won the men's 35-pound weight throw
with a season-best throw of 65-4 1/4 (19.92m).
· Aoife Martin (Rs-So., Seattle) won the women's 20-pound weight
throw with a PR throw of 56-6 1/2 (17.23m), a slight improvement over her
season-opening throw last week and still the eighth-best throw in WSU history.
· Molly Scharmann (Rs-So., Rancho Santa Margarita,
Calif.) was the runner-up with a PR height of 13-1 1/2 (4.00m), the sixth-best
women's pole vault in WSU history.
· Coug alum Kiana Davis won the women's triple jump with a meet
record distance of 42-1 1/2 (12.84m), breaking her own 2017 WSU Open record of
41-0 1/2 (12.51m).
· Katie Nageotte, a volunteer coach for WSU who competes
professionally, won the women's pole vault with a meet record and
personal-record height of 15-feet, 7 1/4 inches (4.76m), a mark that is tied
for second-best in the United States and in the World rankings for this year.
· The only other WSU Open record broken was by Eastern
Washington's Keshun McGee who won the men's triple jump with a meet
record leap of 50-8 1/4 (15.45m), surpassing EWU's Kurt Kraemer's 2003 mark of
50-0 1/2 (15.25m).
· WSU women achieved 11 PRs and Cougars men surpassed or tied
seven PRs at the WSU Open.
· The Cougars had few if any competitors in the middle distance
and distance events.
· Next weekend the Cougars will compete at the UW Invitational in
Seattle and at the New Mexico Team Invitational in Albuquerque.
/////////////
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL COUGARS at
UW in Seattle
1 pm Sunday , Jan. 21
MEN’S BASKETBALL COUGARS AT
UTAH IN SALT LAKE CITY
5pm Sunday, Jan. 21 a
//////////
Washington State’s Mike Leach:
‘No real signs’ leading to Tyler Hilinski’s suicide
UPDATED: Sat., Jan. 20, 2018,
8:19 p.m.
By Theo Lawson Spokane S-R
PULLMAN – On the day of his
suicide, Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski went on a run and did so
“enthusiastically,” according to coach Mike Leach. That morning, Hilinski had
also sent a text message to teammates to coordinate a throwing session.
But the quarterback never made
it there and Pullman Police arrived at Hilinski’s apartment later that
afternoon to find him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, with a rifle
and suicide note resting next to the 21-year-old.
Leach, the sixth-year WSU
coach, spent countless hours with Hilinski during the football season – some of
them on the sideline at Cougars football games, some inside the quarterbacks
meeting room and plenty more at team practices in Pullman.
The coach knew someone who was
“steady” – someone who “would lift up others that were down.” Not unlike every
one of his Cougars teammates – and every WSU undergrad who he shared a learning
space with, for that matter – Hilinski experieced “some ups and downs as a
college student,” Leach said Saturday on a conference call with reporters, “but
nothing that was able to stand out or that you’d recognize as a problem.
“Everyone’s got some dark space
that they work through I’m sure, but nobody really saw anything like that,”
Leach added. “He didn’t have signs of depression, he didn’t have periods where
he was moping around or anything like that.
Furthermore, Leach
characterized his presumed 2018 starter as a “very optimistic guy.
“Tyler was one of those guys
that would always come bouncing in the room and make everyone happy and just
brought an energy to rooms and groups of people and huddles and all that,”
Leach said. … “Tyler always had a lot of energy, it felt like, around him.”
The WSU coach was at his
vacation home in Key West, Florida, when he received a phone call Tuesday to
learn about Hilinski’s death. Leach came across weather-related flight issues,
delaying his return to Pullman, but still made it back in time to attend a
somber candlelight vigil for Hilinski held Friday night in front of Martin
Stadium.
While processing the tragedy
himself, Leach has tried to provide comfort to his players by organizing
counseling sessions and holding at least one team-oriented activity every day
since Hilinski’s death.
The school will also
accommodate transportation for players who wish to attend Hilinski’s funeral in
southern California next week and Leach, who was advised that “resuming (team)
activity is healthy,” plans to offer his players that opportunity next week,
although workouts won’t be mandatory.
Leach said he’s dealt with the
loss of a player but “never like this, under these circumstances.” He said he’s
leaned on and reached out to veterans in the coaching world who’ve gone through
similar situations.
“You kind of adjust everybody,
get as many counselors as you can to help you set a course, listen to players,”
Leach said. “… The counselors set a course to help you heal and everyone does
that at a different pace and in a different way. And then you move forward.”
The last conversation the coach
had with his player came a few days after the Holiday Bowl, a game Hilinski
started, completing 39 of 50 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns in a loss
to Michigan State. Hilinski traveled to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with his family
after the game, according to Leach.
“Just talked about moving
forward and the offseason,” Leach said. “… Building and developing for the next
year.”
Hilinski’s younger brother
Ryan, a high school quarterback at southern California’s Orange Lutheran with a
WSU offer, posted a note to Tyler on his Twitter account Saturday. In it, he
wrote “there are so many questions unanswered” and added that his brother
“loved everyone.”
Fellow WSU QB Luke Falk flew to
the Palouse from California, where he’s training for the NFL, to attend
Hilinski’s vigil. Falk intends to wear his teammate’s No. 3 at the upcoming
Reese’s Senior Bowl in Florida.
Defensive lineman Hercules
Mata’afa couldn’t make the vigil, but while accepting the Polynesian College
Football Player of the Year Award Friday in Hawaii, requested a moment of
silence for Hilinski.
//////////
Part of Vince Grippi’s posting …
Grip on Sports: Last week is
now behind us and we’re probably all thankful for that
Sun., Jan. 21, 2018, 8:48 a.m.
Cutline for photo not included
with this posting: Flowers, photographs and candles are seen at the memorial
site for Tyler Hilinski around the Cougar Pride statue on Wednesday, January
17, 2018, outside Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash.
By Vince Grippi Spokane S-R
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Saturday
marked the end of a tough week in this area. We are so ready to turn the page.
Read on.
• From late Tuesday on, last
week was dominated by sorrow and angst.
It doesn’t matter whether you
are a Cougar, a Husky, an Eagle, a Vandal or whatever, Tyler Hilinski’s death
hit hard.
It was cathartic to view the
memorial held in Pullman on Friday night, as the university family came
together with the Hilinski family to celebrate his life and say goodbye. But
the pain isn’t going to go away.
That’s the way life is. Joy and
sadness. Incredible highs, unbelievable lows. Each one a learning experience.
Moving forward each day.
WSU: The week’s angst was
centered in Pullman of course, and football coach Mike Leach talked about much
of it yesterday in a conference call with reporters. Theo Lawson has this story
that tells us what he said. … The coaching staff took another hit yesterday,
with Jim Mastro leaving for Oregon. Theo has that story as well. The running
backs coach is also a key recruiter and was cited by incoming recruit Max
Borghi as a reason he picked Washington State over Stanford. So will Borghi ask
to be allowed to change his mind? … The coaching churn also means additions,
and Theo introduces us to the newest assistant and to the newest recruit. … All
of those subjects are covered in the Times while Mastro’s departure is a
well-covered subject in Eugene.
……….
Junior college offensive
lineman Keenan Forbes joins Washington State
UPDATED: Sat., Jan. 20, 2018,
3:37 p.m.
By Theo Lawson S-R of Spokane
PULLMAN – Keenan Forbes, a
junior college offensive lineman from Coffeyville Community College in Kansas,
has signed a letter of intent with Washington State, the Cougars announced
Saturday.
Forbes is a Miami, Florida,
native who spent his first college season at Iowa State, redshirting in 2016
before transferring to Coffeyville in 2017. He appeared in all 11 games for the
Red Ravens.
At Everglades High School in
Florida, Forbes earned All-State second team honors, was rated a three-star
prospect and was ranked the sixth-best offensive lineman in the state of
Florida by 247Sports.com
Forbes has already enrolled at
WSU and will practice with the Cougars this spring. He’ll have three years of
eligibility remaining at WSU.
//////////
WSU Cougars now focus on
healing after death of quarterback Tyler Hilinski
Originally published January
20, 2018 at 10:23 pm Updated January 21, 2018 at 8:22 am
The Hilinskis hope that in the
long run, their son’s death will open a dialogue about the importance of mental
health, and how colleges can best support their students in that regard, and
eliminate any stigma around the subject.
By Stefanie Loh Seattle Times
PULLMAN – The parents of Tyler
Hilinski stood before the Washington State football team at the football
facility on Thursday afternoon, looking around at their son’s distraught
teammates.
Hilinski, WSU’s sophomore
quarterback, was known to all as a cheerful, easygoing and outgoing guy. He had
a voracious appetite — among his favorites, pepperoni and bacon pizza and,
chicken wings from South Fork — was always quick to crack a joke and was
popular in the locker room. The 21-year-old came from a tight-knit family that
just vacationed together in Cabo before the semester started at WSU.
And Tyler had come back to
school knowing that with Luke Falk gone, he was the mostly likely candidate to
win the starting quarterback job once spring practice began.
But everything changed Tuesday
afternoon, when Tyler was found dead in his apartment from a self-inflicted
gunshot wound to the head.
Two days later, Tyler’s
parents, Mark and Kym stood in front of his teammates at a meeting they had
requested.
They spoke to the team, then
hugged every single player. And they did it because they want the healing to
begin.
Mark and Kym Hilinski declined
to personally speak to The Seattle Times this week because they didn’t feel
quite ready. However, they authorized the moms of several Cougars players to
speak on their behalf.
Ultimately, this is the message
Kym Hilinski wants to deliver: “She doesn’t want Tyler’s death to be in vain,”
said Jill Osur-Myers, the mother of WSU offensive lineman Noah Osur-Myers, and
the co-founder of CougFam, the Cougar football family association that was
started in 2015 to help connect the family members of WSU football players.
“If it can happen to Tyler, it
can happen to anybody,” Osur-Myers said. “Nobody saw this coming.”
That’s why Kym and Mark asked
to speak to the team Thursday afternoon.
“They care about our boys the
way we care about Tyler,” Osur-Myers said. “They were worried about each and
every one of these boys. And for them, the thought that any one of these boys
(might think) they could have prevented this or seen it coming, when (the
Hilinskis) couldn’t see it coming. That would have been a horrible thing for
(the kids) to live with. And Kym said that. They have a great relationship with
their son, and they didn’t see it.
“They wanted these boys to
remember Tyler fondly and remember the wonderful things about him.”
WSU coach Mike Leach said
Saturday that Hilinski’s death came as a shock to everyone.
“Tyler was always a very
optimistic guy. Tyler was one of those guys who would always come bouncing into
the room, and he’d make everybody happy. He brought an energy to rooms and
groups of people and huddles,” Leach said. “Just talking to really everybody on
this whole thing, there were no real signs. Everybody’s got some dark space
they work through I’m sure. But nobody really saw anything like that.
“He didn’t have signs of
depression, he didn’t have periods where he was moping around or anything like
that. He was honestly a very steady guy. The type of guy who would lift up
others who were down. He hadn’t really had any issues. Some ups and downs of
being a college student, but nothing you would stand out and recognize as a
problem.”
The Hilinskis hope that in the
long run, their son’s death will open a dialogue about the importance of mental
health, and how colleges can best support their students in that regard, and
eliminate any stigma around the subject.
But first, healing has to take
place.
Support for the players
The police were not the first
ones to find Tyler on Tuesday afternoon. Two WSU players did. Tyler had
uncharacteristically missed lunch and a workout that day, and the team had
started to worry.
Two players happened to see his
car parked outside his apartment and they found Tyler inside. WSU football
staffers and the police were alerted, and someone arrived to drive the stunned
players back to campus.
At the football operations
building, the players were met by the football athletic trainer as well as a
grief counselor and psychologist.
Led by Director of Athletic
Medicine Dr. Sunday Henry, the Cougars’ athletic department also has a clinical
psychologist and licensed counselor on staff.
That day, they immediately
mobilized to help student-athletes cope with an impossibly tough situation.
“We mobilized as a team and
developed a plan very quickly on how to tell the football team what had
happened,” Henry said.
Henry, the psychologist and the
counselor were present when the team found out about Hilinski’s death. Since
then, they’ve met with every sports team except men’s basketball, which was on
a road trip.
Henry says they’ve also tried
to be proactive about reaching out to players who they think might need help
instead of waiting for the kids to come to them.
The Cougars’ athletic training
staff has been particularly important in this process because the trainers that
work with the individual teams know the players well and can identify when
someone might be struggling.
“I would really like to take
this really sad, tragic event and make a positive in some way,” Henry said.
“When the dust settles, let’s take a look at this and say, ‘What further
education can we provide?’ Because as you know, mental health on campuses and
in college athletics is becoming a more talked-about topic. I think it’s rising
to the top and we have a unique opportunity to take this and do something with
it and make it positive.”
‘It’s OK to get help’
Nancy Swanger, the WSU faculty
athletics representative, was in Indianapolis for the NCAA’s annual convention
when she heard about Tyler’s death.
Warning signs of suicide
If you are experiencing
suicidal thoughts or have concerns about someone else who may be, call the
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You will be
routed to a local crisis center where professionals can talk you through a risk
assessment and provide resources in your community. The more of the signs below
that a person shows, the greater the risk of suicide.
Talking about wanting to die
Looking for a way to kill oneself
Talking about feeling hopeless or having no
purpose
Talking about feeling trapped or in
unbearable pain
Talking about being a burden to others
Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs
Acting anxious, agitated or recklessly
Sleeping too little or too much
Withdrawing or feeling isolated
Showing rage or talking about seeking
revenge
Displaying extreme mood swings
Source: National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline
On Thursday morning, when in a
meeting with representatives from the Pac-12, Swanger addressed the group and
talked about what had happened at WSU. That inspired a lively discussion about
how schools can better support their student-athletes in the mental health
sphere.
“In some ways, (WSU athletics
is) in a pretty good spot,” Swanger said, citing Henry, and the clinical
psychologist and counselor that work under her as steps in the right direction.
“But as we talked at the conference, it generated a 45-minute discussion.”
It can be as simple as
generating a best practices list of mental health resources for all schools to
refer to, Swanger says, citing Stanford’s practice of pairing an advanced
psychiatry grad student with each of its athletic teams as something WSU and
other schools could potentially emulate.
Another suggestion that came
up: have each Pac-12 school reach out to any student-athletes who have battled
mental health issues and are willing to talk about it, and film public service
announcements that could be aired on the Pac-12 Network.
“Kind of like a player
testimony of, ‘Hey, I’ve been there and done that, if you need to get help,
it’s OK,'” Swanger said. “How great would it be to get a couple of
student-athletes from each school and have them tell their emotional story.”
The ideas generated at that
meeting were collated and pitched directly to the Pac-12 conference office,
Swanger said.
Bottom line: “We’ve got to let
people know it’s OK to get help, or ask for help,” Swanger said.
Coming together
In the long term, Hilinski’s
death might spark advances in the way student-athletes talk about or deal with
mental health issues, but in the short term, it has already triggered that
discussion and brought the WSU community together.
The moms of the WSU football
players are a tight-knit group who’ve built close relationships after many
weekends spent tailgating on the Palouse and cheering on their sons.
Soon after they heard about
Hilinski’s passing, many got in cars or on planes to come to Pullman to be
there for their sons.
Osur-Myers was one of the first
mothers to arrive, in part because her son asked her to come be with him.
Hilinski’s death marked the
second time in two years that Noah had lost a friend to suicide, Osur-Myers
said.
Noah’s high school football
teammate killed himself about a year and a half ago, and it took Noah a lot of
time, and work with a psychologist to process his friend’s death.
However, that experience,
“enabled him to know what he needed this time,” said Osur-Myers, who also
suggests that WSU could add a sports psychologist to its athletics support
staff to help teach kids what she calls ‘life skills’ in dealing with subjects
like loss, success and failure.
Noah called his mother and said
he needed her, and his brother, to come to Pullman to support him, and
Osur-Myers flew in as early as she could, arriving in Pullman on Wednesday
afternoon.
Because of all that she went
through with Noah when his high school teammate died, Osur-Myers stressed to
the WSU football program that the counselors needed to check in with the
players.
“I called over there and said,
‘Absolutely do not wait for them to call you,’” Osur-Myers said. “This is not a
culture where kids can ask for help. It’s a ‘tough boys’ sport. You guys need
to call every guy, do an evaluation and keep calling them in.”
Over the next couple of days,
other Coug parents and former players trickled in steadily, all drawn to
Pullman by a need to be together, and to support the Hilinskis in their time of
need.
Chrisi Dotson drove over on
Wednesday from Seattle with her son, Isaac. So did Kim Pelluer, the mother of
Peyton, and Julie and Rob DeRider, Nate’s parents. Analee Falk, Luke’s mother,
flew in from Utah, Mary Ann Begg and Tracy Cracraft came in from southern
California. The Singletons, the Markoffs and the Sweets also made their way to
the Palouse. And Marianne and Mark Madison — Cole’s parents — arrived on Friday
evening just in time for the candlelight vigil.
“My priority was to get Isaac
here to be with his boys,” said Chrisi Dotson. “And being here for the boys
whose moms weren’t here. We had a couple of boys that we really took extra care
of.”
The parents worked with the WSU
coaching staff to ensure that the players were getting all the support they
needed.
Though, in some respects, the
players had already taken matters into their own hands.
Linebacker Peyton Pelluer, who
missed most of last season with a broken foot and is waiting to hear whether
the NCAA has approved his petition for a sixth year of eligibility, took
charge. He was the coaches’ conduit to the players, advising them on how the
team was feeling and whether they felt up to the idea of workouts. He helped to
ensure that everyone kept in close touch, even guys like Tyler’s former
roommate, C.J. Dimry, who exhausted his eligibility in December, but is still
in Pullman.
Being together at the vigil,
and then later, at a private CougFam-organized memorial for Tyler, was
cathartic for everyone, the moms say, and it gave the team a safe space to
express their emotions.
At the CougFam memorial Friday
night, players and coaches took turns standing up and sharing stories about
Tyler with the Hilinskis, who were seated in the front row.
“There was not one of those
boys in that room who didn’t shed a tear,” said Mary Ann Begg.
Moving on
So what happens next?
Leach says the coaches will
slowly start re-introducing team activities because “the counselors have
advised that resuming activities is healthy for them.” But, Leach also said
that anyone who needs more time away is welcome to take it.
WSU will also provide
transportation to any players and coaches who want to attend the Hilinski
family’s memorial service for Tyler next Saturday in Laverne, Calif., Leach
said.
As Leach acknowledged, and as
the moms cautioned, the recovery process will be a long one.
“People are afraid to keep
talking about it because they’re afraid to remind you of loss,” says Chrisi
Dotson. “That’s the opposite of what they should do. Don’t pretend it didn’t
happen or stop talking about it.”
Added Mary Ann Begg, “Don’t
pretend it’s not there.”
#
No comments:
Post a Comment