Season 1, Episode 31- Jacquie Leone and Kendall Budlow

In this week's episode of Immaculata Athletics' "Tuesday Talk" podcast, we discuss the last few games for each of the spring teams and preview the upcoming week.

Listen to our special guests, sophomore women's cross country and track and field student-athlete Jacquie Leone and men's cross country and track and field student-athlete Kendall Budlow!

"Memories" interlude music written by Soundroll
https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/memories
License code: 1DFK7PQ3EPFYKYOJ

Release date: Tuesday, April 28, 2026

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Transcript

Introduction

Men's Lacrosse

SPEAKER_04 0:11

Welcome to episode 31 of the Tuesday Talk IU Athletics Podcast. Joined by Director of Athletic Communications Larry Dielman and student assistant Connor Kikowski. This is Sports Information Director Andy Alvarez bringing you results and news from this past week's action and previewing the upcoming week in Immaculate Athletics. The men's lacrosse team defeated Gwendon Mercy on Saturday to advance to the Atlantic East Conference Championship game. Baseball went 2-2 and earned a huge conference series win over Merrywood. Softball played four double headers this past week, went three and five overall. Women's Lacrosse tennis and flag football seasons all came to an end. They all got to the playoffs this year, which is good. Trackerfield saw solid results at King's College in the Monarch Open in preparation for the Atlantic East Conference Championships this coming weekend. So let's get started looking back at uh last week's action. Men's LaCrosse went 2-0 this past week, including a huge win on Saturday to advance to the conference championship game. On Wednesday, they took on Newman in their final regular season game. They won 14-8 on the road. Jason Smarin, Aaron Headley, and Nick Senator each scored a hat trick. Smarron, Matthew Frame, and Jude Azzarano added three assists each. Colton Rhodes had eight round balls and three clause turnovers. Brian Fukes won 11-19 face-off attempts. Matthew Ludlow made 14 saves and 60 minutes in goal, and Immaculata scoring per quarter was balanced 3-3-4-4. Fourda's efforts, Rhodes was named the uh to the AEC weekly honor roll, as was Headley, for his performance in those games, because obviously the last regular season games were the ones that counted for the weekly awards. On Saturday, for a second consecutive year, Immaculata hosted Gwynnon Mercy in the AEC semifinals, and they won 14-4. Judazarano scored three times. Four players each had two assists. Warman had a couple goals, frame had a couple goals, Brody Moore had a couple goals. Three caused turnovers each for Seth Panowitz and Guyel Avalos. Fukes was eight for 19 on face-offs. Matthew Lublow with a double-double with 17 saves and 12 ground balls. I mean, he was absolutely incredible. Six goal third quarter was really the difference maker. And you'd uh put Maculat into the championship game for a uh second consecutive year. They'll have to go to Marymount on Saturday down there for 1 p.m. in a rematch of last year's title game. And I know Macy Lot is looking forward to having another opportunity to go match up with the Saints. But you know, Matthew Ludlow was just phenomenal on Saturday. What's your guys' thoughts on Men's lacrosse?

SPEAKER_02 2:33

Yeah, Men's lacrosse definitely was a great game on Saturday, and you know, it was good to get that win on Wednesday too. Get one over Newman. Very balanced in that Newman game, too. And then Gwyn and Mercy, I mean, it was it was a little slow to start, but they pulled away in that third quarter. And as you said, Matthew Ludlow was doing his thing. 17 saves, 12 ground balls. It was the Brody Moore legacy game early on. He had two goals, so that was good to see. And you know, a 10-point win over a conference rival is always a good time. So they get that win in the semifinals. Marymount, we know they were here back in late March. That was a double overtime defeat for the Mighty Max. It was a 7-6 loss on a Friday night. I know our guys are going to be looking to get one back after that tough loss. And I know Merrymount is probably excited to get back for the championship last year. So somebody is getting revenge either side, either a playoff loss or a regular season loss. A lot to look forward to on Saturday, and we will all be there in spirit.

Baseball

SPEAKER_03 3:45

Yeah, definitely a revenge tour this weekend in the Men's Across Championship. But when we talked to Matt Frame and Danny Bray last week, they kept saying the word hungry, that they want another chance for the title and they want to bring it back home for all the money back. So it's gonna be a battle on Saturday, but good numbers all the way around in both games. I mean, Matthew Lolo just outstanding on Saturday against Gwen and Mercy, and it was a great game to watch overall.

SPEAKER_02 4:09

Let's switch over to baseball. Baseball went two and two this week, but they won 2-1 in their weekend series over Merrywood. It was a conference series. They started the week last Tuesday at Rowan, my alma mater. It was a 14-4 win and seven innings for the profs. And Rowan is number five in the D3 Baseball.com top 25 poll. The profs are always a really tough team. All their spring sports, really, but baseball, they have a really tough team over there. Logan Barn had two runs and two hits for the Mighty Max. Alex Tronowski had two RBIs. It was a bullpen game for both sides. So a lot of pitchers saw action. Sebastian McNabb got the start on the mound for Immaculata. And IU got as close as 5-3 in the third inning, but the Profess eventually pulled away in that one. Then we get to the Merrywood series, and oh man, what a series that was. It was a 2-0 shutout for Merrywood on Thursday in the single game. And then the doubleheader Immaculata won 4-0 in seven innings and 9-8 in game three. The series was moved from Friday, Saturday to Thursday, Friday because we got a heavy dose of rain on Saturday. In game one, in that 2-0 defeat, it was two hits for Matt Passerini and Josh Goulburn. Hunter Weitzel had a walk. Alex LePage won seven innings on the mound with five strikeouts in 126 pitches. The game was scoreless until Mary Wood scored in the seventh inning. Game two, which was game one on Friday. The first game was really quick. It lasted about an hour 42. I mean, it was just quick. You blink, and it was over. And we started later too. It was a 1230 start and we still got done really quick. I was I was really surprised. JT Luther had two runs, Josh Goulburn, two hits, two ribbies. Thomas DeSarno got the pitching win going seven innings with three strikeouts and eighty-seven pitches. Three of those four runs were in the second inning. And what really was awesome was that Immaculata turned three double plays on defense, including one that I don't get to insert a lot. There was one on a batter's interference, and then they got the guy out at second on a steal attempt. Usually double plays are like 6-4-3, like shortstop, second base, first base. It was weird because I had to input it like as an interference. It was a swinging strikeout. Then they called the kid out at home on the batter's interference. So I guess they just called it like that. Kid went to second, they threw him out too. It was like a bang bang play. It was really cool to see. And then in the series finale on Friday, JT Luther once again, two runs. Alex Tronowski, three hits and four RBIs, including the walk-off series clinching hit. Frankie McCartney earned the win on the mound in 3.2 innings with three strikeouts. So this one was crazy. I was here for this. Andy and Connor were at softball. Logan Barnt had an RBI double, which made it 8-3 Merrywood in the bottom of the eighth. Immaculata turned a double play to end the top of the ninth. Then things got crazy. Three straight walks to get the score to 8-4. Nick Turnage, two RBI single, trimmed it to 8-6. And then Thernowski had a walk-off series clinching, bases clearing triple. Yeah. And this sets up Immaculata for a huge series next weekend with Sentenary with the number one seed on the line. Alex Tranoski was the player of the week for the conference. Tommy DeSarno, weekly honor roll. Up next, another tough test. They go to Salisbury on Wednesday at 3 30, which they are currently number 12 in that top 25 poll. Guys, a lot of stuff happening with baseball. I mean, holy cow. But that Alex Tranoski win was definitely something to see live.

SPEAKER_04 8:06

Yeah, that was uh that was a lot of fun. I mean, we were over there at softball. Obviously, we could kind of see through the fence and through the windscreen on the fence to uh see what was going on, and we were following it. And I immediately, Cotta goes to me like right away at the game, should I go get an interview? I'm like, go, go, go. He got down there pretty quickly, got that interview. But that was uh you know a real special comeback, and it you know puts the money max in a real good spot going into this weekend.

Softball

SPEAKER_03 8:30

Yeah, we saw that happening through the fence, and we saw it was eight to six, and then we heard everyone cheering. We saw running, I'm like, I counted. There's one, there's two, there's three, and it's over and I immediately grabbed the mics and went through the back gate to grab Chanosky to interview him about that walk-off. But that was fun to see, and a huge, huge series win for the muddy max, and definitely a big series this weekend with Sentenary. The game here on Friday is gonna be huge. So everyone come out if you're able to. Switching over to Softball, who had four double headers this week, so there was a lot of softball being played. They went three and five overall. They started their week with a makeup game against Penn State Brian Line on Monday. 3-1 and 10-2 was the final for both games in favor of the Nittany Lions. Brooks' Wilkes, 2-0 was the final in favor of the Mighty Max, and 7-2 was the final in game two. Game one, Madison Formica and Carly Carter each had one run apiece. For Micah had three hits, and Carter and Jamie Green line some ribbies. Nadia Boya pitched all seven innings and threw 89 pitches. Against Rockers, Newark, 10-4 and 5-2 was your final score for both games. Game one, Kate Daly and Casey's Pasco led with two runs each. Pasco had three hits, and Green dominated with two hits and five ribies, including inside the park three-run home run. And Boya went all seven in the circle for 87 pitches. Then their attention turned to the Marymount Saints on Friday for senior day. 9-4 was the final for game one in favor of the Saints, and then a crazy game to end game two. Five to four was the final in favor of the muddy max to give Marymount their only loss in conference play this season. Four players each had a run in game one, three hits each for Carly Carter and Alexis Andrata, and two ribbies for Carter. Boya had five strikeouts in five innings. A four-run third inning gave the Saints the lead for good, so that closed out game one. In game two, Andrada had two runs. All six hits came from a different player, and two ribies for Riley Martin off the bench. That included a go-ahead two-run bomb in the bottom of the eighth. She was pinch hitting, and she came in and put the max ahead five to four, which was really something to see on the bottom of the sixth, actually. Bottom of the sixth, sorry, I'm thinking baseball. Jessica Via went four innings in a circle with two strikeouts, and then, like I said, down four-three in the bottom of the sixth. Martin hit the go-ahead home run to center field, which put the money max ahead in front and gave Marymount their only confidence loss this season. Their playoff fate will be determined with Monday's game between Gwen and Mercy playing Merrywood. A possible four-way tie if Gwen and Mercy sweeps. That's what you're hoping for. There was a lot of softball being played, but that home run by Riley Martin was something really special to see on senior day for the Money Max.

SPEAKER_04 11:18

That was something uh very special. You know, in that game, see that situation. Adrada got on base to uh, you know, start the inning, and you saw uh Lexus come down and signal for the pinch hit her, and you saw Riley come into the plate, and you know, that was one moment you knew there was a possibility and that you were hoping to see her get that opportunity. And Riley's four-year player here, been a big part of that team. And you knew when she was given the chance that something special could happen, and she hit the first pitch over the uh the center field fence. And you know, kind of an interesting part to that story was you know, when I came inside the clip to highlight, because you saw her father, I mean her father was in tears with that, and uh see the excitement of the team and everything. And Riley said that in her senior day speech about the moment she enjoyed the most with the team was after she hit a home run, and it wasn't the hit, it was the teammate celebration with her. And I came in and discovered that there was no sound to that clip. Unfortunately, the sound had been turned off on the live stream and muted. So I recorded a uh a quick live call for that to post with it, and uh, you know, I got a very nice thank you email from her, and it was uh something very special. And the these senior athletes are the athletes I began with here four years ago, so if I could do something like that. And another point I do want to make that we don't have in here is Marymount loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the seventh. Sarah Pearson induced two pop-ups and a fly out the center field to preserve the lead and the win for the Monday Max in that game. So it was a great moment for the team, great moment for Riley, and a great job by uh Sarah Pearson. And hopefully, you know, they can get some help today.

SPEAKER_02 12:42

Yeah, what a crazy ending to that Merrymount series. And I was finished covering baseball on Friday, and you know, softball got moved to Friday as well because of the rain. I did my recaps and I came outside to see what the what was going on with the game. I was just gonna help clean up and whatnot. I'm walking to the field, and literally I see as I'm walking like parallel to the softball field, here comes Riley Martin's home run over the fence. I'm like, oh, that's nice. And and it proved to be like it proved to be the the dagger, but the fact that I was just walk- I just happened to be walking right when that happened, and I was like, wow, that's a that's a shot to the moon. So uh that was pretty cool to see ends there for the ending, and yeah, loading the bases. I was a little I was a little nervous, but Sarah Pearson helped preserve that lead, and the defenders made a great made some great plays. So it's good to see. And if Gwynnon Mercy can cause this four-way tie scenario, and if we potentially get in the playoffs, you know, that would be awesome for our team. But even if it doesn't happen, it's been a great season for them, and they'll learn as Coach Alexa goes into her second season next year.

Flag Football

SPEAKER_04 13:54

Yeah, that was uh one of those special moments that we get to have in in this field, you know, when you see one of your athletes do something amazing like that and you know, see the team have an amazing and then if that proves to be the last game of the season, they went out on the right note. Hopefully today they get some help. Moving on to flag football. Flag football went one and one this week with a win over Penn State School in their Atlantic East Conference tournament first round slash quarterfinal game against Penn State School on uh last Tuesday. It was a 27-0 win for the uh the Mighty Macs first home playoff game in in program history, excluding that you know, first inaugural championships that they hosted where schools have put together teams for that one event in 2024. Uh Devin Cosgrove was 23 for 31 passing for uh 207 yards, three touchdowns. She did throw one interception. Jacqueline Molanini, four carries for 31 yards, as well as eight receptions for 77 yards and in one touchdown in the air. Uh Theresa Joppa with nine solo tackles, two picks, including uh a big about a 58-yard pick six that really put the game away for good in the uh in the second half. And uh the first play on the next possession for Schuylkill, she picked it off again. So it was back-to-back uh you know pick offs for her. Kaleia Gaines had two tackles for a loss and two two sacks, uh, Frankie Brunkel with an interception. No score on for either side in the first and fourth quarters, but uh you you know scored 13 and 14 in the second and third quarters, respectively, the pull away. On Saturday, they went over to Eastern to take on the uh defending champions Marymount in the uh semifinals. They fell 19 to nothing. They kept the game scoreless for a while. Uh Kosgro was 9 for 19, passing for 59 yards and a pick. Eliana Zakkowski, three catches for 21 yards. Joppa had eight tackles, seven solo, brunkle, two tackles for a loss, interception each for Molanini and Zakkowski. Marymount kind of broke the scores high in the second quarter and pulled away. You know, Mackie, the team finishes uh 15-4 overall, 13-3 in the AEC in the regular season, best season in program history so far. They improved by nine wins overall and seven wins in the conference place since their first year in 2025. So, all in all, a good season for our flag football team and gives us a lot of hope for the future with almost all but maybe one player scheduled to come back for next year. So a lot to look forward to in the seasons coming ahead with flag football.

SPEAKER_02 16:19

Yeah, it was a great season for flag football, and they had a lot of great players. The fact that your quarterback is a freshman and she did so well, that really shows that you know it's gonna be a great future for them. They'll they'll definitely bounce back. Marymount went back to back for the conference championship, so you know that the Mighty Max will be looking to get back at them next season. We gave them their first regular season loss in program history. A nine win improvement, seven in conference. I know this team is still young in their program history, but that's a that's a great improvement, especially with a new coach, too, with Bill Cottington getting promoted from assistant to head coach. It's a great improvement. We'll see what they can do. I think Coddington is looking to add a lot of great players for next year. So I know the girls are excited about that. And like you said, with only Sam Rivera graduating, this should relatively be the same roster next year. A lot to look forward to, and we'll see how the roster shapes up next year.

SPEAKER_03 17:18

Yeah, it was a great season for Fly, although they had a lot of memorable moments. That first tri match was definitely something special with the Merrimount game. It was a wild one, but they were able to pull it out. But you know, finishing with one of the top three teams in your conference back-to-back seasons is really good, and it shows there's a lot of growth that can happen with this team over the next couple of years under head coach Bill Coddington.

Women's Lacrosse

SPEAKER_02 17:41

It was good to see too that Immaculata was actually ranked a couple times in the women's college flag football.com rankings. I actually combed through all that to get those rankings, and hopefully we can see a couple more of those next year. Let's go over to women's lacks. Women's lacrosse fell to Newman twice this week, and their season came to a close, but there were still a couple highlights to point out. Newman game one was on Wednesday. That was the end of the regular season. It was here at DWS. It was an 18-4 win for the Knights. Elizabeth Mahmood had two goals, three cause turnovers, and three draw controls. Ciara Benoit had the lone assist. Abby Guarneri had 11 saves and seven ground balls in the cage. An 8-0 Newman run in the first quarter was the difference maker in that one. And then in game two on Saturday, that was the playoff game, and the Knights got the win once again. 16-2. It was at their place this time. Kira Benoit and Elizabeth Mahmoud won goal apiece. Morgan Barnes, Julia Pohl each had an assist. Paul Mahmoud and Gorneri, two ground balls, and a cause turnover for seven different players. Elizabeth Mahmoud, five draw controls, and Abby Gorneri, six saves and sixty minutes in the cage. Newman went on an 11-0 run in the first quarter to seal that one. So Women's La Crosse finished at 6-12 and 2-3 in conference play for 2026. Guys, it was a tough season for Women's LaCrosse, especially early on. But once Julia Pohl and Kira Benoit joined the team, the script flipped a complete 180. It was a different team. And hopefully they can make some improvements for next year. They definitely have a great player in Elizabeth Mahmoud. She was definitely the wild card this year. We didn't know how she was going to perform coming from D1, but she has definitely shown that she is one heck of a player. She surpassed 50 goals for the season. And if Kira and Julia can play like that next year, I think they'll be in a great spot. It'll be interesting though to see what they do with the goalie spot with Abby graduating.

SPEAKER_03 19:53

Yeah, um, it was a good I mean, start off rough, but they definitely found a grew. And I think they finished six and four in their last ten games. So that was that's a big improvement from where they were in the beginning of the year. But they have a lot of return players coming back this sh this year. I know my sister will be back again next year. She loved it, and like you definitely saw a lot of unity with this team, and it's good to see. And hopefully they can get some more recruits coming in that can help them out next year as well.

Men's and Women's Tennis

SPEAKER_04 20:19

Yeah, it was definitely a a good finish for the team. And one thing you you did know when you were you went down there by the field, you were down there with them. They they all really got along and they all were pushing for each other a lot of a lot of the way, even though they knew some games were going to be difficult, and they seemed to always have fun no matter what they were doing as a team, and it was great to see that. And great to see, you know, the influence that uh players like Benoit and Julia Pohl at the end of the season made for that team. And you know, seeing the improvement in all the players that you saw. And Elizabeth Mahmood, you see Alexa Marzak really have a breakout year for her, playing her first her second full season back with it. So it was good to see those players have those type of breakouts and uh and see, you know, there might be more of a future going forward. Hopefully they get some new players coming in that could really help them next year. Moving on to tennis, men's and women's tennis uh both fell on Friday in the Atlantic East Conference semifinals, hosted at Newman University. The men fell to Marymount four to one in the since they were playing the tournament all on one day. They were going to play the semifinals and finals in one day due to the weather approaching and in playoffs. As soon as somebody gets to the four wins that clenches the match, they stop everything in progress. They lost to uh Marymount, who won the championship. Alex Corsonz and Nicholas Brown, 6'2 doubles defeat. Uh Patrick Arnold won the lone singles match for Immaculata, 6'3, 6'3, number three singles. The women uh fell to Pratt, the eventual champion on the women's side, four to nothing. Each uh IU pairing fell 6'1 in doubles. Haley, LOL lost uh in in number one singles, 6 1, 6 0. Tough for the team, obviously, when you had, you know, say Delaney Brown went down for the year with an injury, so that hurt them at the end. Uh the men finished 2 15, 1 3. In the AEC. Women finished 6-10 this year overall, 1-3 in the AEC, but they did get to return to the uh the conference playoffs, which was good to see them do that again after a year outside.

SPEAKER_02 22:11

Yeah, the tennis teams had some moments. It was good to see them get to the playoffs. It was good to see that they got time in Hilton Head, South Carolina to kind of ramp up their training before the spring schedule started. They got some fall matches in, but obviously having part of your season in the fall and then part in the spring, you got to get back into the groove with that. So it's good to see them go down with baseball and softball to South Carolina and Marymount and Pratt. I mean, they're two good teams. Pratt, I think, went undefeated for the year. Marymount is good. And it's good to see the men get one win with Patrick Arnold. So hopefully they can get some new recruits and we'll see how they can do next season.

SPEAKER_03 22:52

All right. Switching to track and field, who completed their regular season at King's College Monarch Open this past Saturday. On the men's side, six of thirteen track results were personal records for the Muddy Max. Aaron Cuthbert had two top 10 finishes. In the 100 meters, 11.85. That was good for fourth place. And in the 200 meters, it was good for ninth place with a time of 24.48. Three field results were personal records. Dylan Cruz had two top three finishes. In the high jump, he placed second at 1.72 meters. And in the long jump, he placed third at 5.92 meters. Colin Curfrey won shot play at 13.01 meters. Thomas Smith in the high jump placed third at 1.67 meters. Kevin Talisford in the high jump at 1.62 meters good for sixth place. And Aaron Cuthbert had long jump at 6.10 meters, good for second place. Joseph Pierre Jax won triple jump at 12.71 meters and came in fifth in long jump 5.61 meters. Conal Corcory and Aaron Cuthbert were named to the ADC Weekly Honorable. On the women's side, Abby Grilla led the way, winning the 400 Meters in a new program record, 58.75, and placed in third in the 200 meters with a personal best of 27.09, earned the Atlantic's Conference Track Athlete of the Week honor. Jackie Leone had a strong fourth place finish in the 400 Mires. Aubrey Donahue had a second place finish in the 1500, while Brian Domick posted a personal best in the event as well. In the field, Gillian Humphreys won the high jump and took third in the javelin, while Maggie Friend placed second in the javelin or the spot on the AAC Weekly Honor. Joni Lauer and Julianne Frederick also contributed personal best in the throws. Up next for the Money Max, they're host the Atlanta Peace Conference Championships on Saturday and Sunday. We would love your support. Sunday will be the moon of the main day, starting at 9.15, I believe, that day with pretty much a lot of the other events. We'll start at 3.15 on Saturday. We'll have that long 10K race and the steeple, along with some other events. I forget which others, but this last race was definitely a rainy one, to say the least. I was there in the morning. It was wet, it was cold, it had all the elements you but a lot of good results still to close out the regular season.

Jacquie Leone and Kendall Budlow Interview

SPEAKER_04 25:06

I think uh now would be a good time to bring in our guests. When we come back, we'll be talking with Jackie Leone and Kendall Budlow of the Immaculata Track and Field Teams. So we'll be back with them after this break on the Tuesday Talk IU Athletics Podcast. And welcome back to the Tuesday Talk IU Athletic Podcast. We are joined by Jackie Leone and uh Kendall Budlow of the Immaculata Track and Field Teams. Welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00 25:35

Hi, thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 25:37

Thank you for having me as well.

SPEAKER_04 25:38

Start off, uh, what drew you to track and field? And was there a specific moment you realized you could compete at the collegiate level?

SPEAKER_00 25:45

Yes. What's drawn me the most to track and field, I would say, is the mental toughness and resilience the sport instills in all the athletes. I think that's definitely my favorite part and the way that running can serve as a metaphor for life in general, just that constant effort, that constant showing up and like continuing to accomplish your goals and like redefining what success means for you and just enjoying, yeah, just giving your reps foot forward for every race, every competition, enjoying time as a team, every workout, and also how that translates off the track as well. That's my favorite aspect of the sport.

SPEAKER_01 26:17

For me, what you mean character was my dad competed in the tracking function, I just want just hearing his stories from it. Maybe he just really wanna eat in it and be able to perform at a high level within within the sport.

SPEAKER_03 26:28

So, why did you guys both choose Immaculata, both academically and athletically? And for academics, tell us what you guys are studying. Does that relate to your future goals?

SPEAKER_00 26:37

Academically, it's music therapy here. Immaculata has the third best program in the country for music therapy. It's pretty rare to find it at the undergraduate level. So I was thankful to study music and being able to use music in a clinical setting to serve people as well as be able to continue to compete in the sport that I love. Immaculata has given me the opportunity to continue sports as well as doing music, which I think is a rarity. So I'm very grateful for that.

SPEAKER_01 27:04

For me academically, I mean, the business program with business and sports management has just been like it drew me in the most for it. And then for the athletic side, I think just being able to have the opportunity to compete at the D3 level has just been a great opportunity for me.

SPEAKER_02 27:18

Jackie, how did you get started in mid-distance running? Were you always set on doing that? Or maybe were you gonna start in other track and field events before mid-distance? How did you settle in on that?

SPEAKER_00 27:30

I would say starting back in high school, the first event that really threw me in the most was the 800. And in that as well, I was able to be on our state's four by eight team for the seasons that I competed at high school. So that just became my absolute favorite event. And I guess that's what got me started into mid-distance. And then this year, I've more recently really started enjoying 1500 as well. I think what I was saying before, too, I just love like the tactical side of the race in distance running. So yeah, I just really enjoy it. That's what I've been drawn to the most.

SPEAKER_04 28:00

Kendall, you serve as a game day worker for many of our events here at IU. What are some of the most memorable ones you've worked on so far?

SPEAKER_01 28:08

I mean, being able to see the women's basketball team win back to that championships has just been so much fun. And the success of the men's lacrosse team as well and every sport I've worked, just see being able to see what everyone's been able to do and put out onto the field in the course. It's just been a great opportunity.

SPEAKER_04 28:25

Follow-up to question to that. Uh, are you planning on to follow in Connor Kikowski's footsteps as our lead student worker?

SPEAKER_01 28:32

I would love to follow in his footsteps. I mean, there's some really big shoes to fill, and I don't think anyone can do it as good as Connor, but I would I would really love the opportunity to be able to follow in his footsteps.

SPEAKER_03 28:42

Appreciate the love, Kendall. Thank you. For both of you, this can be this season or whatever season you want to talk about. But what has been your most memorable performance so far and why does that stand out to you the most?

SPEAKER_00 28:53

My most memorable performance so far would have to be at the end of our indoor season this year at Ocean Breeze. It was my first time racing at that facility, and I thought that was really cool seeing all the amazing athletes that raced there before us and like seeing all the Olympians pictures on the walls. That was really neat. And then I was able to break my first school record by less than a second in the 800. And that was really exciting because I didn't even know what the record was. And I started being so excited. And then definitely the highlight of the day was also breaking the school record with the other girls on the four by four. So overall, great day for the team and just lots of great memories at Ocean Breeze for sure.

SPEAKER_01 29:31

For me, it had to be a conference championship last year. Just being able to compete in the discus, JE, and then the 1500 uh a championship level of the other, uh, it was just an awesome opportunity to have.

SPEAKER_03 29:44

So why don't you guys walk us through a typical training week during the season? Kendall, you obviously go back and forth between distance and throwing. So you're doing one thing one day, another thing another day. So how is that like for you? And Jackie, you're focusing on a lot more of the mid-distance, like 800, 400, 4x4. So what does typical training look like for you guys?

SPEAKER_01 30:05

For me, I mean, I start on every training day at like 130. I hit the gym Monday through Thursday for an hour at 130. And then Monday, Wednesdays, um, usually I throw running working on disc is working on job run. And then Tuesday, Thursdays, Fridays um with the mid-distance crew working on running, working on speed work.

SPEAKER_00 30:23

For me, I would say on Monday, I typically start with longer distance recovery run, kind of building that endurance base. And then on Tuesday, that's typically our key day for speed workout. So I have that. And then a Wednesday, either cross-train or take a recovery day. And then on Thursday, we do like our pre-pre-race. So that would be a little bit more speed work. Also working on some drills this year to help like develop like twick twitch muscles for me. Like the 400 is like a new event. So working on those drills and dynamics and stuff as well. And then we conclude the week on Friday with kind of recreating that moment on the line, practicing like some seven-second starts.

SPEAKER_04 31:01

How do you balance academics with the demands of being a college athlete? Since you both compete in cross-country, indoor and outdoor track. So you're kind of in season all year long. How do you balance athletics and academics?

SPEAKER_00 31:14

That's a good question. I would say it can be difficult at times, but running really does serve as an outlet for me. And I think that that's something really special about like running D3, where my coaches are really flexible and accommodating, especially with me in the music department. I also have a very demanding schedule with school. So just being able to work with my coaches, like when there were times where I would have to do workouts a little bit earlier or a little bit later, you know, playing around with scheduling and timing, depending on like the workload or the performances and stuff during the week for music and just kind of working on that balance. And I think ultimately just like giving yourself grace, being really scheduled. I keep myself really organized with a planner to make sure I get everything turned in on time. And yeah, overall, just using running not only as a sport that I love, but also as an outlet to kind of decompress and keep myself in check.

SPEAKER_01 32:01

For me, I mean, I don't have as crazy my schedule as what I mean. What I tend to do is when I wake up in the morning and when I go get breakfast, I just tend to work on any homework I have in the morning. So then by the time the afternoon comes around, I think be able to focus on athletics and then as well as having some free time at night for myself.

SPEAKER_02 32:19

What are your guys' thoughts on Immaculata hosting the AEC conference championships this year? I believe last year they were at Gwynnon Mercy. Obviously, for track and even cross country, pretty much all your meets are on the road. And the fact that I use the outdoor host this year, like what are your guys' thoughts on that? Is it gonna be fun to be in front of the home fans leading up to the the meet, like all the training and stuff? This is the final meet of the year. So, like, what's going through your mind?

SPEAKER_01 32:48

I think for me, like the anticipation just like the championship race coming up, is always exciting. And then with that whole leading into practice, it's just fuel for the fire with Immaculata hosting it, though, it's always gonna be special when you have a home meet, being able to be in front of the home fans with I mean the school right there in the background. So it's it's gonna definitely be very special, and I'm super excited for it.

SPEAKER_00 33:10

I second everything Kendall was saying, I'm really so grateful. This will be my first time ever having a home race at all, like at Immaculata. So I'm really looking forward to that. I think there's something special too about being able to have your championship race on the same track that like we've done all of our key workouts on and everything and the visualization techniques there, just being able to envision crossing that line of the championship every time we have a hard workout, and then being able to translate that over to um the big day. It's just really exciting.

SPEAKER_02 33:38

Do you guys have any pre-race rituals or superstitions, you know, stuff you might have to do, or especially this week with the conference championships, any any rituals or superstitions we're looking at?

SPEAKER_00 33:49

For me, I wouldn't say too much like rituals or superstitions, but I have for me like prayer, I'm always relying on God. And like I feel like for me, running is a place to really like yeah, strengthen my faith as well. So I'm really grateful for that. I love to pray with the team before competitions, so that would be my main thing. And then I also have bracelet that says relay that my first four by eight team in high school made me, or we all had one, and it's just a bracelet that I wear every single race. So I always enjoy putting that on. It reminds me of like my first days ever starting track.

SPEAKER_01 34:18

For me, it's I mean, not so much crazy, like, but just before every time I compete, I always just find a nice little quiet spot for myself, get my head in the game, yeah, ready to compete.

SPEAKER_04 34:27

Do you have a go-to song or something you feel like you need to listen to? Like a good vibe song before you compete?

SPEAKER_01 34:33

I mean, the song that I usually listen to before competing would be powered by Kanye West. It's always a song to get in commute. Yeah, I know it's a little bit of a basic one, but it's always gets me hyped up.

SPEAKER_02 34:45

That's the women's basketball anthem.

SPEAKER_00 34:47

Oh my goodness, there's so many. But more recently, I would say we'll stop the or legends by the score. I think that's what it's called.

SPEAKER_04 34:55

We look forward to seeing you both compete this week. And we thank you for joining us this week on the uh Tuesday talk podcast. And uh good luck and hope everything goes well with the championships this weekend.

SPEAKER_03 35:05

Please, everyone, come out and support. I've been waiting for four years to run at home, so please come out Saturday and Sunday.

Conclusion

SPEAKER_04 35:12

And we'll be back after this break on the Tuesday Talk IU Athletic Podcast. And welcome back to the Tuesday Talk IU Athletics Podcast. Well, that will about wrap things up for another week. We look forward to uh seeing the results this week coming up with how uh softball ends up, baseball ends up, you know, in their regular season. And obviously, we wish the Immaculata Men's Lacrosse team best of luck down in Merrymount on Saturday as they try to bring back the championship for a second consecutive year. And we look forward to talk about the uh track championships being hosted here at Immaculata. And we hope you all join us next week on the Tuesday Talk IU Athletic Podcast. Rollbacks,