11. Ashley Kovacs - Ohio State Throws Coach - a podcast by Martin Maric

Ashley Kovacs is in her Sixth season as an assistant coach with the Ohio State track and field program. Kovacs mentors the Buckeye throwers and serves as one of the team’s recruiting coordinators. During the 2018-19 indoor and outdoor season she was responsible for the training and guidance of Sade Olatoye, a throws specialist who’s legacy will be tough to follow. During the indoor season Olatoye was placed on the Pre-NCAA Indoor Watch List for The Bowerman– collegiate track & field’s highest honor. Olatoye led the nation in both the shot put and weight throw after a stellar effort at the Indoor Big Ten Championships. The senior captured individual conference titles in both events with best marks of 17.88m (58-8) in the shot put and a 24.07m (78-11¾) in the weight throw. This stellar performance, along with her impressive ten titles in seven meets, being in Top Three of shot put and weight throw, has earned her a spot on this prestigious list. Olatoye is the first Buckeye in history to receive this honor, writing her name deep within the Ohio State record books yet again. The Ohio native secured the No. 6 spot in NCAA all-time history with her 24.07m (78-11.75) in the Big Ten Championship weight throw competition. She is only the second Buckeye in Ohio State history who is currently on the list. Olatoye was named Big Ten Field Athlete of the week five times in a row, creating another school record and Big Ten record to add to her accolades. She was named Field Athlete of the year for both the Big Ten and USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region. Sade Olatoye was also named Ohio State Athlete of the Year, one of the highest honors an athlete can receive within the University. Olatoye holds four Ohio State records, both indoor (17.88m) and outdoor (16.90m) shot put along both indoor (24.46m) and outdoor (67.49m) hammer. Due to this stellar season, Kovacs was hailed Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year for the second time in her career.

Prior to her stint at Western Kentucky, Muffet spent a year coaching throws at Murray State while working on her master’s degree. In her lone season with the Racers, Muffet coached freshman Tonia Pratt to Ohio Valley Conference titles in the weight and hammer throws, as well as OVC indoor and outdoor Freshman of the Year honors.
A four-time All-American at Kentucky from 2006-2010, Muffet was an 11-time All-Southeastern Conference selection, an SEC Most Valuable Player and Commissioner’s Cup winner, and a runner-up in the shot put at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships. Muffet participated in the U.S Olympic trials in 2008 and 2012 and holds Kentucky’s school records in the shot put and discus. She competed unattached in three meets during the 2012-13 season, winning the shot put on two occasions and placing fourth at the 2013 USA Indoor Championships.
A native Ohioan, Muffet is a graduate of North Canton Hoover High School (2001-2005), where she was a three-time state champion and former Ohio state-record holder in the shot put. Muffet earned her bachelor’s degree in telecommunications from the University of Kentucky in 2010 and added a master’s in human development and leadership from Murray State University in 2012.

Follow Ashley at : https://www.instagram.com/ashleykovacsusa/

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