COUGS AT
NCAA WEST REGION TRACK & FIELD PRELIMS AT SACRAMENTO
From WSU
Sports Info
The
Washington State University track and field program has 21 individuals in 24
events and one relay squad accepted as participants into the preliminary rounds
of the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships being held
May 24-26, at Hornet Stadium on the Sacramento State campus...field events
begin every day at Noon...running events begin at 4:30 p.m. Thursday and
Friday, and at 6 p.m. Saturday...top 12 in each event advance to the NCAA
Championships June 6-9 in Eugene...Alissa Brooks-Johnson’s mark has already
qualified her into the 24-competitor heptathlon at the NCAA
Championships...Live Results link can be found on the Track & Field
Schedule page at wsucougars.com.
:::::::::::::::::::::
Matt
Woodley, Drake assistant (former WSU basketball assistant coach) seeks
lifesaving treatment for 6-year-old daughter
May 21,
2018
By Andrea
Adelson ESPN Staff Writer
Drake
assistant men's basketball coach Matt Woodley follows the same routine every
night. Just before he goes to bed, he checks on his 6-year-old daughter, Molly,
and places his hand on her heart.
Just to
make sure she is breathing.
When he
wakes up, the first thing he does is check on Molly.
Just to
make sure she is breathing.
He has
done this for four years, ever since debilitating seizures forced the Woodley
family into a silent reckoning. They know Molly as a fighter. She was born
premature at 24 weeks, and she has fought all her life. But doctors say that
brain bleeds she suffered at birth have led to the constant seizures, and that
the only real hope to stop them is brain surgery.
Until that
happens, the Woodleys must live with a horrible truth: Each seizure could kill
Molly.
"It's
like ..." Matt starts.
"Russian
roulette," his wife, Jennifer, finishes.
"It's
very real," Matt said. "Everyone's like, 'Oh, she'll be OK.' No, she
won't."
Not
everyone understands what Molly goes through each time a seizure happens. She
can feel them coming on. She finds her mom. Then she throws up. Her body
stiffens. Her teeth clench. Her mouth foams. Her eyes focus off into the
distance.
Jennifer
administers one dose of medicine while monitoring her breathing. If her
breathing slows or stops, Jennifer calls 911. It goes this way for 45 minutes
or an hour, often longer. They end the same way, with Molly falling asleep.
Then they repeat every few weeks, just as intense and terrifying.
Going
through all this for so many years has changed everything for the Woodley
family. Matt, who always wanted to coach, has shifted his priorities, because
living his dream has only complicated matters. Since Molly was born, Matt has
held four different jobs. Each move means a new hospital, new doctors and often
the same litany of invasive tests and procedures.
Take his
job as a special assistant to Kevin Stallings at Pittsburgh last year: Matt
went to Pitt, in part, because the family believed the University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center could offer Molly the treatment she needed.
"We
don't want to go through another year like this year. This is the trickle-down
effect. It ain't just about Kevin. It's about other people. I know what this
profession is. But I'm 41. I chased this Division I deal. I got into the pros
trying to get into the NBA. I had some unfortunate circumstances that were out
of my hands, and now it's like, wait a second, what are we doing here? This
isn't about me. I don't want to be painted as that father that was
selfish."
They did
their homework on the doctors; they thought they had done their homework on the
Pitt job itself. But Pitt was historically bad in 2017-18, and Stallings was
fired after going 8-24, including 0-18 in ACC play.
Though
head coaches get the headlines when they lose their jobs, assistant coaches
must deal with the same uncertainty, doubt, anxiety and insecurity in the
aftermath. Matt and Jennifer felt increasingly desperate during their final
months in Pittsburgh, faced with the prospect of once again uprooting Molly
from her care. Molly just wants to be a kid and do everything her two brothers
and little sister get to do. But when Matt takes them all to the park and Molly
can't keep up and falls down, his heart breaks a little more.
Then the
guilt sets in.
"We
don't want to go through another year like this year," Matt said.
"This is the trickle-down effect. It ain't just about Kevin. It's about
other people. I know what this profession is. But I'm 41. I chased this
Division I deal. I got into the pros trying to get into the NBA. I had some
unfortunate circumstances that were out of my hands, and now it's like, wait a
second, what are we doing here? This isn't about me. I don't want to be painted
as that father that was selfish.
"We're
changing care, changing doctors. We're sitting in the hospital in Pittsburgh
this fall when they're doing all this to her head and I'm like, we've already
done this. If we hadn't taken this job, maybe we'd be further along. Maybe not,
but maybe. I don't think so. But that's what goes through your mind."
Jennifer
offered her sentiment.
"It's
crushing to hear him say those things," she said, "because you think
'what have the last 10 years been for,' and you know he's settling, and we don't
want it to be on account of Molly."
Matt took
the job at Drake in Des Moines, Iowa, to partner with one of his closest
friends, new head coach Darian DeVries, and to move his family back home to
Iowa, where Matt and Jennifer grew up. Later this month, Matt will take Molly
to the Cleveland Clinic, which they felt has the best pediatric epilepsy
treatment, for an inpatient stay. Molly will go through another round of
invasive tests, during which doctors will try to record the seizures in order
to pinpoint precisely where they are occurring.
Based on
the results, doctors will try to answer three questions: Is brain surgery
needed? Will it work? Is it safe? Molly's doctor, Ahsan Moosa Naduvil Valappil,
said her case is "extremely unique" because of the struggles Molly
and her family had to go through during pregnancy.
That is
why Molly is a miracle.
Molly was
born 1 pound, 1 ounce at about 24 weeks. Courtesy of Woodley family
In 2011,
Jennifer found out she was pregnant with twin girls, Molly and Melanie. At the
time, Matt was in his first season as the head coach at Division II Truman
State in Kirksville, Missouri. Jennifer went in for her 20-week ultrasound and
doctors discovered the babies had twin-twin transfusion syndrome, a rare
condition in which identical twins share a placenta and their blood vessels are
connected.
Essentially,
one twin receives more blood than the other, causing uneven growth and
development. Molly was the twin who was not receiving enough blood. After three
failed procedures to fix the problem, doctors decided to try once more.
Jennifer was at about 24 weeks, right around the time babies are viable outside
the womb.
The night
before the surgery, the head of the neonatal unit asked Jennifer a series of
questions. One replayed over and over in her mind: "If you had to choose
one baby to save, which one would it be?"
"There
are questions you never think about," Jennifer said, her voice trailing
off through tears. "I chose Melanie. Because she was healthier."
As doctors
finished up the procedure, Melanie went into cardiac arrest. Doctors rushed to
deliver the babies. Jennifer was knocked out for surgery. She woke up to her
mother and seven doctors in white coats in her room.
"Was
it Melanie who survived?" Jennifer asked.
"Molly
made it," they told her.
Melanie,
born 1 pound, 1 ounce, had survived just a few minutes. Molly, also born 1
pound, 1 ounce, was fighting for her life. Her eyes were not fully developed,
so they remained sealed. She had two brain bleeds. Her lungs were filled with
fluid. Her kidneys didn't work properly. Jennifer briefly saw her, but doctors
had to transport Molly to a different hospital so she could receive the proper
treatment in a neonatal intensive care unit.
They did
not expect Molly to survive the ride.
Jennifer
stayed in her hospital room, mourning the baby girl she lost. She held Melanie
and said her goodbyes. The family made arrangements for a funeral, but Jennifer
could not go through with it. They cremated Melanie. She rests in a silver urn
with a pink bow on Jennifer's dresser, with butterflies next to her. Jennifer
has the funeral dress hanging in her closest, the tags still on.
Molly's
twin, Melanie, did not survive. Her remains rest in a silver urn with a pink
bow on Jennifer's dresser. Andrea Adelson/ESPN
Molly made
progress, though it was slow and unsteady. On three occasions, doctors told
Jennifer and Matt there was nothing more they could do for Molly. Each time,
Molly fought harder.
At 5
months, she was discharged from the hospital with oxygen and an apnea monitor.
Molly ripped those oxygen tubes out of her nose every chance she got. Slowly,
she made strides. At 18 months, she learned to walk. She played with her big
brother, Michael. She did gymnastics and loved music. Molly was developmentally
behind other kids her age, but not by much.
Then, at
2½, Molly had her first seizure, lasting more than two hours. Molly was
intubated in the hospital and placed in a medically induced coma to help assist
in her recovery. After her second seizure also left her in a medically induced
coma, she was diagnosed with epilepsy.
It was not
until after her third seizure, at age 3, that Molly began to see a team of
neurologists at the children's hospital in Iowa City, Iowa. The physicians
determined that the brain bleeds Molly had as a newborn left behind scarring,
which was the most likely cause of her seizures.
Doctors
treated her with anti-epilepsy drugs, but they quickly discovered the
medications didn't do anything to stop the seizures. Generally speaking, most
seizures last less than five minutes. But Molly suffers from status
epilepticus, a condition in which seizures last much, much longer.
"If
you and I were to have a seizure for about two minutes, it's the equivalent of
running a marathon," Jennifer said. "Can you imagine a little girl
that weighs 30 pounds having a 30- to 45-minute seizure? It's the most awful
thing you can go through."
Jennifer
is on constant guard for seizures. Molly is not. On a recent day in Pittsburgh,
Molly played with Michael inside their enormous playroom. Legos, dolls and
trucks were scattered wherever they had stopped playing with them. Their
younger siblings, Mackenzie and Miles, were staying with their grandmother, so
the room was all theirs.
Molly with
her older brother, Michael. Andrea Adelson/ESPN
Molly wore
a zip-up onesie with penguins on them. She had her short hair dyed blue because
that is her favorite color. Her eyesight is so poor that the thick black
glasses she wears help her see only slightly better. But that did not stop her
from playacting with her princesses while Michael built a train around her.
"Oh
my goodness, Michael!" Molly said with a short giggle as he circled around
her. When it came time for medicine, they went down to the kitchen. Jennifer
filled two large syringes with an anti-epileptic drug. "Put these in your
mouth," she said. Molly opened wide. "Down the chute!"
Molly
swallowed with big gulps, then drank soda to wash it all down.
"What
does it taste like?" Jennifer asked.
"Diet
Coke!" Molly said proudly.
Molly
wiped her mouth. She and Michael were given popsicles.
Molly's
hands have white, crisscrossing scars from all the IVs that have pierced her
skin. The switch to the Cleveland Clinic has Matt and Jennifer newly
optimistic. Same with Molly. She already loves her new doctor.
"From
the preliminary data I have evaluated and looked at, I'm pretty confident that
we'll make a significant dent in the seizures, and hopefully completely stop
the seizures," Moosa said. "But we need more data to be certain about
it."
There are
risks involved with surgery. Molly could lose peripheral vision in her right
eye. But Jennifer and Matt believe they are worth taking. They've always spoken
openly with Molly. She knows she needs brain surgery. She very much wants brain
surgery, even though she hates needles and shots.
When the
seizures are gone, the family will work on fixing her kidneys, and her lungs
and her eyes. Their determination is strong because Molly is strong.
Matt and
Jennifer each wear a pink bracelet with Melanie's name and birthdate on it.
Molly often talks about her sister. Sometimes she will say out of nowhere,
"I miss Melanie." They remain connected somehow. When it comes time
to go to the hospital in Cleveland, she will make one small request.
"Can
I take one of Melanie's blankets with me?"
:::::::::::::::::
FOOTBALL Time for Bill Connelly’s annual breakdown
Every year
Bill Connelly breaks down the 130 college football teams. On Monday it was the
Cougars turn
By Nick
Nordi, Coug Center.com May 22, 2018
In his
yearly 130-team breakdown, Bill Connelly has projected that Washington State
will finish the 2018 season 7-5 with an S&P+ ranking of 41st. After
finishing last season 9-4 and ranked 39th in S&P+, Connelly goes in depth
at why the Cougars will have a tough season.
One of
Connelly’s biggest reasons as to why it will be a tough season is because there
will be a lot of new faces this year on both the field and on the sidelines
with coaches. The Cougars lost the Pac-12 record holder in every major passing
category, their top two outside receivers, an All-American offensive lineman,
and an All-American defensive lineman. Eight new assistant coaches will be on
the sidelines or in the coaches box this season after losing a lot of key minds
to other teams.
Replacing
those lost to graduation currently seems like one that Cougar fans should worry
the least about. Gardner Minshew, Trey Tinsley, Anthony Gordon, Connor Neville,
and Cammon Cooper all have the ability to take over the quarterback spot. The
problem here is: who steps up to take the lead.
While
losing their top two outside receivers, they return a lot of their main inside
receivers. Kyle Sweet, Renard Bell, and Jamire Calvin all combined for 7.1
yards per target at the slot position and return this year. Even those
returning on the outside have had success. Dezmon Patton and Tay Martin combined
for 7.5 yards per target last season.
Due to the
success of the years past, young talented receivers have been waiting for their
chance to take over at the receiver position. Five new freshman receivers and a
junior college transfer all have the ability to break out this year as well.
Most of
the defense returns this year and the Cougars will return Peyton Pelluer who
was granted a sixth year of eligibility this past winter. The problem here is
the Cougars losing their genius defensive coordinator in Alex Grinch. Tracy
Claeys will have a veteran defense to work his magic with, but new coaches
bring new schemes.
As for the
schedule, Connelly has the Cougars going 4-2 in their first six games before
finishing the second half of the season .500. Of the five losses that he
projects, two are one possession games with two more being losses by 10-points
or more (USC by 11.1 and Washington by 16.1.) The one that falls in the middle
is a 9-point loss at Stanford who is on a two-game losing streak to the
Cougars.
So, how
close has Connelly’s projections come the past few years?
In 2014
their win probability record was 4-8 and the Cougars finished 3-9. In 2015 they
were projected to go 7-6 and they finished 9-4. in 2016 they were projected to
go 6-6 and finished 8-5. last season they were projected to go 6-6 again and
finished 9-4. this season they are projected to go 7-5. How will the new faces
start their careers at Washington State this season?
#
