When it comes to writing, I believe that a well-told story has the power to connect individuals across cultures and generations. Below is a selection of stories I’ve written.
Brave Face
The scoreboard shows a 6-6 tie at the bottom of the ninth inning. While most of the crowd's attention is focused on home plate where ASU freshman, Ethan Long, prepares to face Oregon State University pitcher Jake Mulholland, Long knows the Devils' secret weapon is just to his right in the home dugout.
Graduate transfer Conor Davis, who didn't play all season due to a torn ACL sustained in fall practice, stands cheering and supporting louder than anyone else.
Never Ending Spin Cycle
When the Pac-12 canceled all conference athletic competitions in the fall, it was widely regarded as a necessary decision amid a pandemic. Athletes, coaches and fans came to terms with the fact their seasons would not follow a normal timeframe. While football eventually got its chance to compete, dozens of other Division I sports were either canceled or delayed to the spring semester. This means teams like volleyball, soccer and cross country are now occupying the same space on the calendar as traditional winter and spring sports like basketball and baseball.
While the decision was hailed as the safe call for the athletes, who spend their entire lives dedicated to competing at the collegiate level, it placed a heavy burden on an oft-forgotten piece of any athletic program: the equipment staff.
All They Do Is Win
ASU's triathlon team has been making a name for itself deep in the heart of Tempe. With five consecutive national titles, the team boasts the most of any ASU program since 2015. The yearly trophy has become as much a tradition as the whitewashing of A mountain prior to football season.
"It's a lot of pressure, but at the same time, we all bring our best to our practices and to the team," graduate student Kyla Roy said. "We're confident that what we’re doing is enough, and if we all do that then maybe the outcome will be what we want."
That success, though, has largely gone unnoticed outside the ASU community. For all of its accolades, the team hasn't built the same following as other sports.
Title IX at 50: As opportunities evolved for female athletes, so did ASU
When Julie Cart arrived at Arizona State in 1975, the women’s track program was barely a blip on the radar of the athletic department. The team trained with the men, sweating and practicing on the same field and at the same time.
“It was great for us to be around them, and it was great for them to be around us,” said Cart, who would become ASU’s first female discus thrower to win a conference championship. “We enjoyed being together, and there was this huge camaraderie.”
But that’s where the similarities ended. Female athletes didn’t have access to locker rooms at the track, Cart said. She recalls biking to and from the old gym to change in facilities that she calls “glorified bathrooms.”
