Kentucky Kernel: February 24, 2022

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Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

news

UK students dance the night away at sixth annual Underground Formal

By Amy Oakley news@kykernel.com

UK’s annual Underground Formal took place on Friday, Feb. 18 from 8 to 11 p.m. in the Gatton Student Center Ballroom. Students had the opportunity to put on their best formal attire and dancing shoes for an event considered similar to prom.

The Student Activities Board, Underground Perspective, the UK MLK Center and LGBTQ* Resources met for the sixth consecutive year to give students the chance to attend a prom while in college.

This event was even more special for younger students who missed their opportunity to have high school prom due to COVID. The event allowed students from a variety of backgrounds to come together to experience a relaxing, formal event in a college environment. Students were able to express themselves through fashion, music and photographs.

“I wanted to dress up in my prom dress and have a prom since I didn’t attend any proms at my high school,” said sophomore Cori Simpson.

Planning for the event started in fall 2021 with the goal of providing a prom some never had.

During planning, COVID regulations were changing day by day, causing plans to be carefully thought out and executed even on the day of the event. From themes and decorations to food planning and other smaller details, the members of each organization had much to discuss and organize.

“COVID was the biggest thing we were worried about changing,” said Emily Schneck, SAB co-director of traditions.

“What kind of requirements or would we be able to have the same capacity, so that was some things we were worried about

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MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF Students socialize and dance during the SAB Underground Formal on Friday, Feb. 18, 2022, at the Gatton Student Center in Lexington, Kentucky.

that would change a lot.”

After the formal was canceled last year due to COVID, SAB and Underground Perspective had to find ways to get students attention.

The formal was mainly advertised on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Yard signs and posters were placed around campus to draw attention from on- and off-campus students as well.

“I went to an Underground Formal once before,” said senior Jasmine Kesht-

varz. “My boyfriend and I don’t go to a lot of formal events together, so we wanted to attend this event.”

The Underground Formal began in spring 2016 and was hosted at Commonwealth Stadium, now named Kroger Field, for three years before the venue became too small.

“Unfortunately and fortunately, we just grew so large that it could just no longer hold us,” Shneck said. “We were hitting attendance of 800 in 2020 before it

was canceled. Now that the student center is built, we have plenty of space.”

Students can attend the Underground Formal to promote diversity and meet new people. It is an event that previous and current UK students will always remember.

“It’s grown beyond our beliefs,” Schneck said. “We outgrew our Kroger Field location and now it has just become one of those things that we look forward to having every single year.”

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

Humans of UK:

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Nigel Taylor creates Underground Formal

By Abbey Cutrer features@kykernel.com

This is Humans of UK, inspired by the Humans of New York Instagram series by photographer and author Brandon Stanton. This series dives into the individuals of UK as well as their stories, strifes and passions.

In 2012, a freshman communication major came up with the idea to redo prom in college.

Now, 10 years later, this college prom is a reality through Underground Formal.

Nigel Taylor is a current graduate student studying communication at the University of Kentucky. Taylor, originally from Boston, did not want to come to UK for college, but his family was convincing.

When Taylor got to UK, he made friends and created lasting relationships.

“I talked to a lot of my friends and one day we were just reminiscing about proms. There were people who had great proms, there were people who had terrible proms, but I think the one commonality that I realized through the conversations we had is regardless of people's prom experiences, how we felt about each other as friends was amazing,”

ABBEY CUTRER | STAFF Nigel Taylor poses for a portrait on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, at the Lucille Little Library in Lexington, Kentucky.

Taylor said.

Taylor said his main passion behind the idea was the power in being able to re-live one’s prom experience, or do it over again and get that second opportunity.

Taylor intended to create a space for students to relive their prom with better friends and a better community. He created this space alongside his friends through the creation of the organization Underground Perspective.

“Underground Perspective started in 2013, and its mission is to

build a social community through diversity,” he said. “The goal was to create a home away from home for students and make this huge campus a bit smaller.”

UGP was a launching pad for Underground Formal, and because of the organization's actions, the idea for a formal became reality.

“By the time we got to my senior year, plans were in motion, we were able to find funding and collaborate with SAB, the MLK Center, the LGBTQ Center and others. The first dance was at the

football stadium and we had 900 people show up,” Taylor said.

Underground Formal has been around every year since, excluding 2020 and 2021, when it was canceled due to COVID. “It was a long time coming,” Taylor said. “It was a lot of, ‘How do we make this happen?

Where do we go for resources?’ and it took a couple of years.”

Taylor has seen the organization grow over the past decade.

“As a Ph.D. student, seeing UGP still here, Underground Formal still here, and seeing I played a part in that is like … ‘Oh wow, that’s crazy,’” Taylor said. “It’s incredible that it’s self-sustained.”

As for Taylor himself, he plans to finish his Ph.D. and be a talk show host one day. He has future plans that involve creativity in television or film. He aspires to be wealthy, not to have money for himself, but to create different community service projects and be able to donate to different causes.

“I care about women's sports, homeless charities, prison reform and additional things that people don’t really talk about,” he said. “At the end of the day, I just want to have an impact.”

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JACK WEAVER | STAFF Kentucky head coach Kyra Elzy celebrates with her team during a timeout in the UK vs.

Vanderbilt womens basketball game on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky.

spring 2022 | 3

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

news

Red Bull hosts paper plane contest

By Alexa Caponigro news@kykernel.com

On Sunday, Feb. 20, the Red Bull Paper Wings competition took place at the Central Bank Center, where contestants competed for a chance to attend the World Final in Salzburg, Austria.

The event is broken up into three different competitions: Distance, airtime and aerobatics. In order to compete, all paper planes must be created from one piece of A4 paper, not more than 100 grams and only be modified through folding. Therefore, “no ripping, gluing, cutting, stapling or ballasting is allowed,” according to Red Bull.

All paper planes were constructed at the event before the competition.

“Determining the best design and making one that flew stably over a long distance was a challenge,” freshman Brandon Edwards said.

Once the paper plane is constructed, the contestants are allowed to practice throwing to test out their planes before they compete.

Edwards said after throwing for the first

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few times, it started to feel more natural, thus easing his nerves before competing.

The event organizers created a light-hearted, fun environment for competitors. Contestants enjoyed free refreshments, including Red Bull drinks and snacks, listened to a DJ play music and watched the competition.

Michaela Winfree, a University of Kentucky freshman, said she came to support Edwards and also enjoy the free Red Bull.

She said they heard about the event after UK advertised it in an email. “[The university] suggested it and said it would be a fun thing,” Winfree said.

Edwards and Winfree then signed up and came for their first time. They both enjoyed the competition and made plans to attend next year.

Winfree said she thought the event was much more entertaining than expected since professionals attended the event. In particular, she explained how a man at the

event has a YouTube channel for creating planes.

Once the contestants are ready to compete, they are allowed two attempts at their throw. After the first attempt, a contestant is allowed to use a different plane for their second if they would like.

To qualify as a solid attempt, Red Bull states, “the plane must be launched by one person throwing it unaided from behind a straight launch line marked on the floor.

Passing over the launch line results in disqualification. Touching the launch line or any point beyond during the launch is considered an invalid attempt. After completion of the launch, the thrower may move beyond the launch line.”

Freshman Ethan Smith, now ranked

third globally in the distance competition, offered insight into his process of creating the paper plane and design.

“I did some research yesterday and built six planes,” he said.

In the end, he chose his final construction from googling designs and picked one because “it was the world record design.”

Smith said he was surprised at how far his plane went (34.84m) since he never really built one before. Smith plans to compete again next year.

The results of each competition are uploaded to Red Bull’s website.

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

news

Tips and tricks for student discounts

By Sophia Shoemaker news@kykernel.com

Ever heard of the stereotypical “broke college student?” Fortunately for them, brick-and-mortar retailers, restaurants, online stores and subscriptions offer student discounts to help college kids everywhere save a little money.

Many local locations on and near the University of Kentucky provide such discounts with merely showing a student ID. Qdoba Mexican Eats is a chain restaurant that offers students across the country discounts on their meal. With a Wildcard, students can get a free drink or a $5 burrito meal at any location, not just the store on Avenue of Champions.

For students that are looking to support local restaurants, girlsgirlsgirls Burritos on South Upper Street has a student menu.

Customers can order a quesadilla or nachos for as little as $6 with any current student ID or library card. girlsgirlsgirls Burritos is also known for its vegan options and happy hour deals.

Valvoline Instant Oil Change offers discounts on oil changes with any current University of Kentucky parking pass. There is a promo code on the back of all student parking passes for 20% off at Valvoline.

The shop also has coupons on their website available to all customers.

STAFF FILE PHOTO girlsgirlsgirls Burritos on the corner of South Limestone and Avenue of Champions in Lexington, Kentucky.

When shopping for clothing in-store, a few retailers will offer a discount with a valid student ID. “I used to work at J.Crew, and if someone showed us their ID, they would get 15% off,” junior Chris Lucas said. “Ever since I worked there, I ask everywhere I go if they offer a student discount. It never hurts to ask, and you can end up saving a little

money here and there.”

Like J.Crew, Loft offers a student discount, as well as a teacher discount with any valid school ID. Loft has locations in Lexington Green and Hamburg.

Many popular retailers will not offer student discounts at brick-and-mortar locations, but they will accept them online. By creating an account with the website UNiDays, stu-

dents can find offers for almost any store, including ASOS, American Eagle and Pacsun, although most retailers will only accept UNiDays offers when they are being applied online.

By creating an Amazon Prime account with a valid student email, a Prime Student subscription is free for six months and then only $6.49. Amazon Prime Student includes access to

their movie and TV show streaming, Prime Photo and two-day Prime shipping.

“One of the first things that I did after activating my LinkBlue account was create an Amazon Prime Student account and a new Hulu account with my student email,” sophomore Avery Maty said.

Some companies have chosen to “bundle” subscriptions for students. Spo-

tify Premium, Showtime and Hulu can be bought together for only $4.99 a month with an active student email account. A standalone student Hulu account is only $1.99, saving students $4 off a standard subscription each month.

With an Apple Music student subscription, which costs $4.99 a month, students can access Apple TV+ for free.

spring 2022 | 5

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

features

Important or unnecessary:

A look at advising appointments

By Lindsey Davis and Emily Girard features@kykernel.com

Once a semester, every student gets an advising hold on their account, which requires them to meet with their adviser before they can schedule their classes for the following semester.

For some students, this meeting is helpful, and they actually talk to their adviser frequently. Others consider it unnecessary and only speak with their adviser when it is required. Carly Jones, a sophomore communication major, finds herself right in the middle of the spectrum. Jones said that she communicates with her adviser fairly often outside of the mandatory meetings to get her hold lifted.

“I meet with my adviser about two times a year, but I email him whenever I have questions, and he’s quick to respond,” she said.

Jill Stowe, a research and teaching professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, said she does not usually communicate with her advisees outside of the required registration meetings. However, she appreciates that “that door can be opened easily.”

“Getting to know the students outside of the classroom is probably one of the best things, and I think the way that our department and probably our college do academic advising helps the students feel like they have a little bit more of a family on campus,” she said.

Sophomore equine science major Michael Ciccolella said he finds meetings with his adviser to be helpful. He meets with this adviser once or twice a semester to discuss his future classes as he works towards his degree in equine science and management. He said that his adviser is

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one of his professors, as well as his coach on the University of Kentucky Western Team, so he has more opportunities to check in with him.

His advisor, Dr. Bob Coleman, is an associate professor in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment’s Equine Programs department. He said his goal as an advisor is to direct students to required courses and potential careers. Coleman specifically brought up the variety of elective courses offered in the Equine Science and Management program; his job is to make sure that students choose courses that align with both their degrees and their goals.

The effects of these goals can be seen

Getting to know the students outside of the classroom is probably one of the best things, and I think the way that our department and probably our college do academic advising helps the students feel like they have a little bit more of a family on campus.

- Jill Stowe, research and teaching professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics

in Heath Maynard, a senior economics major. Maynard said he finds the meetings with his adviser to be beneficial. He has only ever met with his adviser when he needed to schedule his classes, but he still thinks that the meetings are useful.

“We usually talk about the classes I have to take and what other steps I need to do next in order to graduate,” he said.

For other students, though, this is not the case. Junior accounting major Cooper Johnson said he only meets with his adviser when he has to.

“The only reason I meet with them is to get my hold lifted. I just kind of already know what classes I need to take from previous appointments,” Johnson said.

Though advising holds can be annoying to some students, especially those who already have a solid idea of what their future schedules will look like, Coleman said these holds and the subsequent required advising appointments are “a must.”

“There needs to be a conversation to make sure the plan is going the way it needs to and things don’t get left out.

Nothing worse than getting to the end and being a credit hour short,” he said.

How many students an adviser mentors depends on the size of their college.

Some small programs, like Agricultural Economics, have about 20 faculty members, who all advise the program’s approximately 160 students. Other advisors, like Miller, can have between 250 and 300 students assigned to him at one time.

These large advisee volumes can make it difficult for some advisers to achieve the connections with students they strive for. Trey Morris, a junior mechanical engineering major, said the advising system has made it difficult for him and his advi-

My adviser, in particular, seems to have a large number of students assigned to him and seems uninterested in my specific circumstances. My degree path is pretty intuitive anyway, so it doesn’t make much of a difference.

- Trey Morris, junior mechanical engineering major sor to establish a relationship.

“My adviser, in particular, seems to have a large number of students assigned to him and seems uninterested in my specific circumstances,” Morris said. “My degree path is pretty intuitive anyway, so it doesn’t make much of a difference.”

Haley Kallberg, a junior in the communication sciences and disorders undergraduate program, said that she has difficulty meeting with her adviser because they have such a busy schedule.

“I have to book my appointments months in advance, which means I have unanswered questions for a long time,” Kallberg said. “I email her if it is something that I need to be answered quickly, but I would rather be able to meet with her See ADVISING on page 7

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

features ADVISING CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

virtually or in-person more frequently.”

However, a busy schedule does not necessarily mean that advisers do not maintain contact with students. Andrew Fast, for example, advises students in several departments such as biology, psychology and neuroscience. While this seems like a heavy load that individual students could get lost in, Fast still maintains an “open and friendly” rapport with his advisees.

“I just had a student for an hour today, and since I didn't have a back to back, he just stayed in, had a little water, and just kind of like, decompressed some things, and we looked at two semesters out,” Fast said. “Me personally, if they have the time and they want to go more than just like, what do you need now for summer [and] fall? I'm all about, like, yeah, let's look at everything down the road.”

Chris Miller, an academic advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences, said that having a large number of advisees makes it harder to maintain relationships with students. However, he said that he himself has never encountered this difficulty. He

There needs to be a conversation to make sure the plan is going the way it needs to and things don’t get left out. Nothing worse than getting to the end and being a credit hour short.

- Bob Coleman, associate professor in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment’s Equine Programs department

JACK WEAVER I STAFF Tricia Henry, an academic advisor in the Gatton College of Business, works in her office on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.

said he tries to maintain as much contact as possible with his students from the moment they enter campus.

“We really try and get them in for some type of freshman or first semester advising appointment where we could just get to know them, where they're from, why they chose their major, what are their career goals, what do they want to do before they graduate,” he said. “After that, at a minimum, we're going to be seeing them at least once a semester for priority registration, but advisors regularly contact our students by email … so that students are more comfortable reaching out back to us if they have questions.”

Despite the difficulties she has encountered, Kallberg thinks that the meetings are helpful. She said that she discusses her

current classes with her adviser and plans out her future classes. They also talk about graduate school applications and requirements to plan out her future after leaving UK. Coleman said he discusses both classes and life goals with his students. He also emphasized that building relationships between students and advisors is a two-way street.

“If you are just helping pick courses, that is not much advising for the student,” he said. “To be a good advisor, you need to manage your time and set your schedule so it is effective for all. That said, students need to be engaged in the process and book appointments in reasonable time and not leave it to the last minute.”

Miller said that a student’s connection

to their adviser depends on what they need from their college career. Some students are very self-sufficient, he said, while others have second majors, minors, study abroad programs and internships that they cannot juggle by themselves.

“The university is such a large place and has so many policies and so many opportunities; it's really difficult for even a very successful student to be aware of all of the opportunities and things out there that they might be able to take advantage of,” he said. “I'm sure there's going to be students out there who see advising as kind of pointless, but I'm sure there's plenty of students out there who feel like they have really good relationships with their adviser and whose adviser has really been able to help them.”

spring 2022 | 7

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

features

Service learning at UK

By Laurie Jonhatan and Emily Girard features@kykernel.com

At UK, there are a great number of ways students can get involved with service learning. This type of experiential education provides for a variety of benefits for students. Whether they’re participating in a service club or completing hours for a class requirement, students have the chance to gain experience, skills and can do so while giving back to their local community.

UK offers multiple classes that connect students with their communities through service learning. One of these is CIS 112, a freshman-level communications class. CIS 112 allows students to both develop their service learning experience and hone their communication skills by requiring students to dedicate a certain numbers of hours at a few organizations in Lexington and write papers or create multimedia projects about their experiences.

Alyssa Harkness, a junior media arts and studies major, took the class last year where she worked with the Allegro Dance

Project. Led by Jeana Klevene, the project hosts adaptive dance classes at its two locations, as well as outreach programs so that children with disabilities can participate in dance classes. “[I] chose to work with them because of their mission to reach special needs students, as well as their needed roles of inclass instructors and help with marketing efforts through photography and videography,” Harkness said. “As a MAS major, I was really interested in working with an organization with values that I believed in as well as positions that fit my skills and interests.”

The class was structured in a way that allowed students to work on assignments, such as podcasts and essays, and with service organizations that were tailored to each student’s areas of interest. Harkness worked with her classmates to create a podcast where they described the organization’s efforts, interviewed parents and staff involved with the program and reflected on their own volunteer experience.

“The range of organizations that we could work with, as well as the roles that

we could perform with them, allowed for every student to find something they were interested in,” Harkness said.

Students can also get involved with service organizations like Alpha Phi Omega, a national co-ed service fraternity. The BBNVolved page for UK’s branch, the Alpha Zeta chapter, states that the fraternity “strives to help each individual member develop leadership skills, experience friendship on many levels and provide service to others.”

Jackie Tierney, a junior mechanical engineering major, joined APO in 2020 after her sister Ellie told her about the program.

Tierney had occasionally worked as an interpreter in high school for their English as a Second Language (ESL) program.

“That was my first experience of service, and I found it was something I wanted to continue,” she said. “It made me realize that volunteering at different things is a great way to try something I might be interested in.”

During her time at UK and with APO, Tierney has been able to volunteer at numerous events including 5K races, engi-

neering outreach, food prep at the Campus Kitchen and more. And although college requires her to have a more regular schedule, Tierney likes to “take what opportunities arise.”

“When I volunteer, it makes me realize that there’s a whole world outside of exams and homework, and that it’s what I can do out here that really matters, not just the classroom,” she said.

Instilling a sense of care for matters that are beyond the classroom is one of the effects that service learning can have on students. Three years after her experience with Allegro Dance Project, Harkness still has an interest in helping out her community.

“I definitely think I will get more involved in more service experiences in the future,” she said.

This is an impact that Tierney said she has also experienced through her service fraternity. “There are going to be moments when you’re volunteering and you see whoever you’re helping’s face light up,” Tierney said. “And it’s those moments that are going to keep you going.”

UK Board of Trustees approves budget that affects athletics, healthcare and academics

By Sophia Shoemaker news@kykernel.com

The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees met on Feb. 18 to approve budgetary changes to campus, ranging from athletics to UK Healthcare.

A $30 million budget was granted towards three UK Athletics projects within the Nutter Field House and Kroger Field, as well as the implementation of a

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new indoor track-and-field facility.

The Nutter Field House will be receiving $5 million of the budget to undergo upgrades to the facility. Kroger Field is also expected to receive $5 million to replace the video boards that were installed in 2011.

The remaining $20 million will be allocated to building a new indoor track-and-field facility. New features include a hydraulic track and a 2,500 square

feet, air-conditioned storage space for the University of Kentucky Band.

In addition to athletics, university president Eli Capilouto announced that UK Healthcare will be accepting a $10 million donation to the Markey Cancer Center from Central Bank. It will be the largest donation in UK Healthcare history.

As far as gifts for academics go, Bill Gatton donated $5 million for scholarships for first-

generation medical students.

Jacqueline Cain also gave over $1 million for scholarships to the College of Medicine.

A donation of $11 million from Karen and Stanley Pigman’s Lighthouse Beacon Foundation is going towards renovations in Funkhouser, as well as College of Engineering scholarships.

Michael Marberry also gave $5 million to support the renovation and expansion of Funkhouser.

In an email to the campus

community, Capilouto listed these donations and discussed the Kentucky Can philanthropy effort, a plan focused on leveraging money to better the university.

“In the remaining $400 million to be raised as part of Kentucky Can, we will continue to focus on student scholarships as well as faculty, infrastructure and program needs that support our priorities of advancing Kentucky,” Capilouto said.

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

JACK WEAVER I STAFF Devynne Charlton poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022, at the Nutter Field House in Lexington, Kentucky.

From Tokyo to Lexington: The Olympic experience of four Wildcats Story by Sarah Michels | Continued on page 10 spring 2022 |9

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022 Mary Tucker: No pressure

The bullet-pointed list of Mary Tucker’s accomplishments during her first two years at UK is long enough to fill several pages.

But while it’s doubtful that many people outside of the relatively small sport of rifle would understand the significance of Tucker’s plethora of awards, everyone can appreciate the silver Olympic medal she came home with this summer.

Tucker competed in three events in Tokyo for Team USA — women’s air rifle, smallbore and mixed team air rifle, the event that earned her and her partner a silver medal. For Tucker, who has extensive experience competing at international rifle events, the Olympics seemed like just another competition.

“I actually often tell people that that was one of the easiest matches I've ever shot, and I didn't really feel any pressure,” Tucker said. “I don't know if it was just because of COVID that made it so chill, but there really wasn't any pressure at all.”

When Tucker decided to attend Sarasota Military Academy for high school, her mother told her she had to pick a sport to play — any sport but rifle. Naturally, Tucker joined the rifle team. She was only on the team for one semester, though, before quitting and finding a personal coach.

Her shooting improved rapidly; upon Tucker’s graduation at 16, she moved out to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado to train. She competed in her first World Cup in May 2018 and began working toward a kinesiology degree at UK in fall 2019.

More people and events generally make the World Cups more difficult than the Olympics, although this cycle’s level of competition was pretty high, Tucker said. The same competitors are at both — Tucker said there were only about five people she’d never seen before — and the goal is the same: to win.

With COVID restrictions in

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place, the main difference was the number of rules and the intensity of media presence in Tokyo.

While she’s grateful for the experience she did have, Tucker feels a little ripped off after watching the 2022 Winter Olympics. Unlike in Tokyo, the athletes in Beijing had a media day, could pick out their own uniform to make sure it fit and could watch each other compete.

“They're having such a dramatically different experience than we did. And I'm very happy for them because they're pretty much having a normal Olympic experience. Nothing is changed for them,” Tucker said. “We weren't allowed to go see anything else. We weren't allowed to go do anything. So, I definitely feel like we missed out a little bit.”

Now that she’s back in Lexington, Tucker is almost exclusively focused on Paris 2024, where she hopes to medal in all three of her events. The selection process for Paris 2024 began the first week of January with a competition to decide the World Cup qualifiers.

In between the collegiate conference championships and NCAAs, Tucker will compete in the World Cup, whose results typically determine who makes the Olympic roster.

“There's a lot of things that I would like to do differently, just leading up because obviously in Tokyo I didn't have necessarily the results that I wanted,” she said. “So, I think there's a lot to prepare for Paris.”

Tucker hasn’t outgrown the NCAA. She said that the U.S. competition has risen with the tide, and she’s not completely dominating like she has during her collegiate career. But her focus is still definitely more international, she said, and the added weight of an Olympic medal hasn’t added any pressure.

“Nothing's changed. I mean, it's the same sport, the same people, same department and everything,” Tucker said. “So, I mean, I've gone the last … five years of

ELLIOTT HESS | UK ATHLETICS Mary Tucker, left, and Will Shaner, right, pose for portraits.

expecting to get a medal. So then when I came back, it was like, ‘Okay, well, she did what she said she was going to do.’”

Devynne Charlton: The Olympian from the Bahamas

Devynne Charlton was supposed to hurdle at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Instead, she studied her competitors. She watched their process, preparation and performances to learn as much as possible for the next cycle.

After qualifying to represent the Bahamas in the 100-meter hurdles in 2016, Charlton got a stress fracture in her lower back that prevented her from competing. She still went to Rio with the access of an Olympic athlete, but the experience was bittersweet, she said.

Her recovery wasn’t linear, or as straightforward as she would have liked, Charlton said. She eventually found her way to Lexington, to Lonnie Greene, who coached her at Purdue University

before taking a job as the University of Kentucky head track and field coach.

Greene helped Charlton return to an Olympic level of competition. To qualify for Tokyo, Charlton had to meet the Olympic standard — 12.84 — and be one of the three fastest 100-meter hurdlers from the Bahamas.

She did it just two months before the Games’ opening ceremonies, on May 9, 2021, with a Bahamian record of 12.16 (She also holds the Bahamian indoor 60-meter hurdle record).

“I think at that point, that was the fastest time I'd run in maybe two or three years,” Charlton said. “It was at a point where I thought I had already hit my peak and then just to realize I've still got some fight left in me felt really good.”

In Tokyo, Charlton’s Rio study session paid off. She made it to the final round after automatically advancing from the first round with “subpar” time and finishing second in her semi-final heat.

Only the top two in each of

the three semi-final heats automatically advance to the Olympic final. The remaining two spots are determined by the next two fastest times across heats, so placing third is a huge gamble. In Charlton’s semi-final, it took the officials a while to distinguish between the second and third place finishers.

“It took maybe two or three minutes for it to come up on the board. I felt the world stop in that time,” Charlton said. “Seeing my name flash on the board for second place was the best feeling.”

In the final, Charlton placed sixth with a time of 12.74, the same time she ran as runner-up at the 2018 NCAA championships.

But the time didn’t really matter — Charlton had reached the top of the sport, the “pinnacle of any athlete’s career,” she said.

Charlton hasn’t experienced a post-Olympics slump, she said. If anything, the experience ignited a fire to want more, to work hard to perform even better the next time around. There’s always room for improvement, and every year,

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022 Charlton said she can get better by doing small things that add up, like eating right, sleeping enough and tightening up her technique.

“None of those things happen overnight,” she said. “And sometimes it takes years to achieve, and so I think with more experience, I'll definitely be that much better next time around.”

Finding motivation between now and the Paris Games won’t be too difficult for Charlton, with a major international competition every year in between — the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, delayed from their scheduled 2021 date, and the 2023 edition of the same event in Budapest, Hungary.

Charlton said breaking the seasons and years up to focus on one competition at a time makes the gap between Olympics seemingly close faster. But despite her focus on the present, Charlton can’t help but be excited to have a true, COVID-free Olympic experience in Paris, as opposed to Tokyo’s toned down “business trip.”

In the meantime, Charlton is training every day in the same facilities where the Tokyo’s 100-meter hurdles gold and silver medalists, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and Kendra Harrison, used to train as UK athletes. And when she competes, she’s now announced as Devynne Charlton,

GRACE BRADLEY | UK ATHLETICS Alexia Lacatena poses for a portrait.

the Olympian from the Bahamas.

“I like that title,” Charlton said. “It commands a little bit more respect.”

Alexia Lacatena: First, the Olympics. Then, college

A month after pitching softball for Team Italy at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, Alexia Lacatena entered her freshman year at UK. Lacatena, 18, said the quick transition was difficult, but competition keeps moving. So far, she’s loving the UK softball experience.

“I love the whole team, the whole environment,” she said.

“It's constantly a good time, especially now that we get to play.

I'm just super excited to be on the field.”

Softball has always been part of Lacatena’s life. She grew up watching her older sisters play and joined a T-ball team at 8.

Lacatena was only 15 when she committed to play softball for UK, which is no longer allowed under the current NCAA rules.

Although it was early, Lacatena knew UK was right for her, she said. That same year, Lacatena’s sister Maria made the Italian softball national team.

Her sister’s success inspired Lacatena to try out for Italy’s

junior national team, which includes athletes 19 and younger.

While the sisters are from New Jersey, their mother was born in Italy, giving them eligibility to represent the nation in international competitions. Lacatena made the squad, but her stint on the junior national team was short.

Less than two years later, Lacatena was called up to the senior national team, intended for athletes 22 or older. Lacatena was 17.

“That was kind of a big deal,” she said. “It's definitely different — I will say that. It's actually kind of one of the best experiences I've ever had, because everyone has more experience than you, and if you ever need any help, you have someone there to guide you.”

Team Italy was the sixth and final team to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. Lacatena was one of its two pitchers. She said her first time pitching at the Games, against Team USA, was surreal.

Her entire softball life had been about getting to that moment, that peak. She was competing against players she’d grown up watching, including Team Mexico’s Brittany Cervantes, who she later got to know as the director of softball operations at UK. “Being able to play on the same field as them was absolutely amazing,” Lacatena said.

The only hindrance to Lacatena’s Olympic experience was the inability of her family to come watch due to COVID restrictions.

She said the lack of fans made for a strange environment. Unfortunately, Lacatena won’t have a chance for a full Olympics experience until at least 2028.

Softball was introduced as a Summer Olympics sport in 1996 and continued to appear on the program until 2012. It was added for the 2020 Olympics, where Team Italy made its first appearance, but it will not return for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. Its status beyond 2024 is currently unknown.

Despite the uncertainty of

softball’s Olympic future, Lacatena plans to continue training as long and far as her body will take her. After all, she’s still young, she’s never experienced burnout, and there are other goals beyond the Olympics, like this summer’s World Series in Oklahoma City.

But Lacatena is hopeful. She thinks that since the 2028 Games are in Los Angeles, which has a strong softball and baseball culture, it will likely make a return then. If so, she plans to be there.

“I want to try to go to as many as I can,” she said. “It’s just something that I want to do.”

Will Shaner: Not a dream

Being back on UK’s campus feels pretty normal to Will Shaner, a senior economics and finance major. That is, until someone on his walk to class recognizes him as an Olympic gold medalist, and he realizes it wasn’t all some weird dream.

Last summer, Shaner not only became the first American to win gold in the men’s 10-meter air rifle, but he also broke an Olympic record in the process. He said it was a “finally” moment, after growing up watching Team USA consistently struggle in the Olympic air rifle competition. Finally, U.S. men were performing well on the international stage.

Since then, the American competition has grown even stronger, Shaner said. He just happened to be the man who got the ball rolling.

Going to the Olympics has always been a dream of Shaner’s, in the same way it is for millions of young kids competing in their respective sports — just a dream.

Until it suddenly became a reality, when Shaner won the final qualifier to make Team USA. Going into the competition, he hadn’t set any expectations for himself.

“The realization that you're actually going is much different than wanting to go because you always want to go, but you never feel like it's really going to happen,” he said.

The gravity of representing Team USA set in during the Olympics opening ceremony, which was a highlight for Shaner.

“It's always built up in your mind. You have opening ceremonies, it’s all these great athletes moving around, then you kind of get there and realize that they're all just people too,” Shaner said.

“And they go through the same stuff and they're all just trying to do their best too.”

The actual competition was similar to the World Cups in which Shaner has competed, except that the pressure was up a notch. COVID restrictions also replaced fans with filtered crowd noise and speakers and halved the number of U.S. athletes walking in the opening ceremony. “[COVID] kind of put a damper on things, but at the end of the day, we're there to compete,” Shaner said. “We're not there for all the fame and glory.”

Shaner said he’s felt a bit of the infamous post-Olympics slump, but he is taking it day by day. He was lucky enough to have a few competitions to distract him immediately after his return from Tokyo before decompressing at home during winter break.

While Paris 2024 is the main goal, Shaner’s secondary focus is this season’s NCAA championships. As much as his gold medal means, he said there is always someone to push him on the collegiate level. Right now, there are three or four teams going back and forth in the rankings each week.

Shaner has also been trying to elevate his teammates, so that they might have some of the same experiences he’s had, as well as searching for sources of motivation outside of the Olympics.

“It is tough trying to find that motivation again and get back into it and keep going with it because you've already won like the highest competition you can,” Shaner said. “Finding new ways to motivate yourself is really key.”

fall 2021 | 11

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

opinions

Growth vs. fixed mindset

Glass half empty? Then add more water

By Morgan Luster opinions@kykernel.com

The mind is the most powerful tool a human being has. It is the control center that is behind all thoughts, emotions and desires. Since this built-in instrument carries a great deal of information tailored to each individual, it is valuable to possess a growth mindset over a fixed one.

Over the years, there have been a plethora of discussions about whether people should maintain a growth or fixed mindset. While those with a growth mindset believe that skills, talents and intelligence can progress and develop through practice and hard work, others with a fixed mindset feel that these abilities are unchangeable.

A new trial or obstacle awaits college students every day as they are trying to navigate this ever-changing world. Given that these tribulations may seem impossible to defeat, they contribute to increasing wisdom that one can apply in the long run.

For example, almost every college student has suffered through a strenuous course where the material seems impossible to understand and the professor never makes an ounce of sense. If they utilize a fixed mindset, a student may not even try because they believe that they are incapable of grasping the material.

By way of this mindset, a student thinks that the material is far beyond their natural ability, so they refuse to even give one question a shot. However, a student with a growth mindset may embrace this newfound challenge and view it as an opportunity, whether they are naturally gifted in the subject or not.

An article by Mindsetworks discussed a study in which Dr. Carol Dweck and her colleagues conducted research on how a growth mindset can contribute to a student’s success. In Dweck’s research, she

12 | kentucky kernel

STAFF FILE PHOTO Flowers outside Maxwell Place, the university president's house, begin to bloom on Friday, April 10, 2020, at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.

found that students who put in more time and effort because they believed that they had the ability to get smarter earned higher achievements.

Dweck eventually coined the terms “growth and fixed mindset” after studying thousands of children. According to recent research studies on brain plasticity, the brain’s neural networks have the ability to grow and strengthen new connections.

Through constant practice and developing new learning strategies, individuals are

capable of increasing their neural growth.

In college, failure is inevitable, and setbacks are indefinite. Despite these losses, students hold the power of whether or not they can, and want, to be better in school.

Nevertheless, it boils down to how much motivation and desire one maintains.

By developing a growth mindset, individuals can break pre-existing limitations and expand their skills beyond their natural capability. It is important to recognize that this type of mentality is a choice that

one chooses to make everyday. Regardless, overcoming the fear of failure is not a simple task as it is a lifelong battle that is fought almost every day.

Though humans are born with innate talents, it would be an injustice to refuse to exercise these God-given abilities. No one is exempt from enduring the headaches that life may bring; however, one is more than capable of shifting their mindset. At the end of the day, life is a mental game that everyone is forced to play.

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

opinions

Testing knowledge versus testing memory

By Jessica Kinsella opinions@kykernel.com

Students sit in a silent room, their phones tucked away in bags at their feet as they squint down at the pages of questions in front of them. Weeks of studying have prepared them to regurgitate the facts they’ve been given in class, but the week following exams, they might not remember this information. What’s more, they might not truly understand it in the first place.

When students complete projects or write papers instead of taking exams, they are able to better understand what it is that they are learning. Papers allow students to explain things, and projects help them to actively work on the subject. In this way, projects and papers assist with later recollection of what they’ve learned.

Personally, I would rather do a project or write a paper than take an exam.

Papers and projects allow students to showcase what they’ve learned rather than just spitting out the facts.

Anyone can memorize a set of facts, but multiple choice questions don’t really show that students can put these ideas into context.

UK sophomore Jazmin Huarta and senior Lindsay Roesel agree. “I just feel

KAITLYN SKAGGS | STAFF Alex Droth, a freshman at the University of Kentucky, studies on her laptop on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021, at William T. Young Library in Lexington, Kentucky.

like if I take an exam, I’m going to worry about studying about … the content that we learned throughout the semester, and I feel like it’s kinda different with a research paper or like a project … we put in everything that we learned throughout the semester,” Huarta said.

Roesel brought up the issue with exams being a lot of information that students have “to gather in such a

short period of time.” “[With] exams it’s kind of like recall questions but I guess, it’s just easier to kind of put that knowledge into something else rather than just an exam,” Roesel said.

In the real world, once students leave college, they are expected to put these ideas and concepts that they have learned into play.

For example, a journalism major does not just have to

know that journalists have to find sources and verify information — they are expected to actually do this if they want to be successful in their career.

Similarly, science isn’t just about the facts; the experiments are equally as important. A student’s science grade should be based just as much on projects — including lab reports, which are written explanations proving that not only

can they properly follow a procedure but that they also have a solid understanding of the results — as it is from exams.

Papers and projects shouldn’t replace exams; instead, they should be included in exam grades. It’s not helpful to memorize facts if you can’t put them to good use.

Some students prefer a paper or project over taking an exam because of their

individual strengths and weaknesses.

“I’m just not a very good test taker. I excel in writing … so I prefer papers,” Hannah Ewing, a senior at UK, said.

Professors will also know how to help struggling students if they know where and how the students have gone wrong, something that is difficult to discern when looking at pages of multiple choice answers. Papers show students’ thought patterns and explain how they reached their conclusion; whether the answer is right or wrong, this will be a major help to the instructor grading them.

Students are also able to receive partial credit for written-out answers on projects and papers, while with exams, it is often more of a hit-or-miss. Either a student circles the right answer or they get no points for that question.

Exams are undeniably important in higher education, but papers and projects are just as significant.

If projects and papers are included in students’ midterm grades, we will be showing that we are capable of proving what we’ve learned in action, not just repeating facts. And as Huarta pointed out, projects and papers are just “more fun.”

fall 2021 | 13

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

sports

Kentucky womens basketball demands your attention

By Cole Parke sports@kykernel.com

After dropping below .500 in early February, Kentucky womens basketball was written off by most as a broken team beyond repair. Checking in around two weeks later, that is far from the case.

The Wildcats entered the season ranked No. 13 in the preseason AP Poll, looking to rebound after a second-round upset in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

Kentucky started the season as expected, blowing out the likes of North Alabama, Presbyterian and Lee University in an exhibition, but the first slash to the team’s resume came on Nov. 15, as the Cats fell by 20 points at then No. 8 Indiana.

Rebounding from the loss, Kentucky blew out West Virginia, who, at the time, was supposed to be a quality win for the Cats.

Kentucky went on to drop back-to-back games against DePaul and then No. 7 Louisville, but followed it up with its best win of the season, knocking off then No. 15 Georgia inside Memorial Coliseum.

What followed after the win can only be described as a disaster, as the Cats went on to lose eight of their next nine games, in-

14 | kentucky kernel

MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF Kentucky Wildcats guard Rhyne Howard (10) passes the ball during the UK vs. South Carolina womens basketball game on Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky.

cluding three losses by 20 or more points.

The skid was bad enough that Kentucky even fell below .500 following a loss to Texas A&M on Feb. 6, despite still being ranked as a top-25 team initially.

While the Cats played some tough competition during that period, the skid could mostly be blamed on a plethora of injuries to several key pieces, as well as a multi-game suspension

to junior forward Dre’una Edwards.

Despite the losses, Kentucky head coach Kyra Elzy refused to give up confidence in her team.

“Being short-handed has shown that we have a lot of resilience,” Elzy said after Kentucky’s loss to LSU on Jan. 30. “Yes, we have come up short, but I can see their confidence continue to grow. I told them, ‘We are going to be

a dangerous team when we have our pieces in place.’”

Elzy’s confidence proved not to be misplaced; in its first game back with a full roster, Kentucky battled close with No. 1 South Carolina, losing by single-digits after having been blown out by 20 points by the Gamecocks to start the skid.

Since that loss, Kentucky has gone on a fourgame winning streak, in-

cluding recording its largest fourth quarter comeback since 2014 to defeat Mississippi State.

The injuries to the team that sometimes forced Elzy to travel with only six players available seems to have built character for several athletes who had formerly been primarily bench players.

Most notably, sophomore Nyah Leveretter saw her minutes increase

from eight per game, when she even saw the court to roughly 25 minutes per game as well as earning a starting role in all three of Kentucky’s recent matchups.

Junior guard Emma King earned similar treatment, seeing her minutes increase as the Kentucky native developed a reputation as a scrappy and aggressive player, even if her contributions didn’t show up on the box score.

“Emma has been solid in what we need,” Elzy said after Kentucky defeated Alabama on Feb. 13 to start its four game win streak.

“Obviously it’s not filling up a stat sheet, but it's the intangibles. She’s done everything I’ve asked of her.”

The team has also thrived with the return of Edwards, who put up three consecutive 20-plus point performances as well as two double-doubles in the win streak.

“Dre is just so versatile,” Elzy said after Kentucky defeated Vanderbilt on Feb. 17. “Inserting Dre makes us a different team, I like her on the floor [as often as possible]. Whether she starts or comes off the bench, she’s playing.”

Most recently, Kentucky earned a statement See WBB on page 20

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

sports

UK mens tennis exits ITA National Indoor Championship in quarterfinals

By Ian Alvano sports@kykernel.com

Kentucky mens tennis traveled to Seattle to compete in the 2022 ITA Division I Men’s National Team Indoor Championship. The team played three matches over the weekend, winning one and dropping two.

All the Wildcats’ matches were at the Seattle Tennis Center, with their first one taking place on Friday, Feb. 18. The tournament consisted of 16 teams across the country, all of whom were seeded in a 16-team bracket before the tournament began. The Wildcats received the No. 7 seed going into the tournament.

Kentucky went up against Southern California in the opening round. The Trojans entered the tournament as the No. 10 seed.

UK opened its time in Seattle with a dominant win, sweeping USC. Kentucky’s victory saw No. 37 Joshua Lapadat’s first ranked singles win of the year, along with wins from No. 5 Gabriel Diallo and Yasha Zemel in singles action.

Kentucky went on to play the No. 2 seed Baylor

in the quarterfinals, with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

The Bears would prove to be a tough opponent, besting Kentucky 4-3. Baylor had to fight off Kentucky after leading 1-0, taking the doubles point.

Diallo and Francois Musitelli gave UK a 2-1 lead after their consecutive straight-set victories. Baylor would answer quickly and reclaimed the lead 3-2 after Millen Hurrion and JJ Mercer were both defeated in straight sets.

Lapadat would proceed to tie the match up after he was victorious 6-2, 7-6(3).

Tied at three, Zemel was the last Wildcat in action.

After winning the first set, he was defeated 6-3, 3-6, 2-6 in a three-set thriller that knocked out the Cats from championship contention.

Baylor’s 4-3 win would force Kentucky to move into the consolation bracket of the tournament, where they would face SEC rival South Carolina in its final game of the weekend.

The No. 11 Gamecocks would prove to be too much for the Wildcats after an impressive 4-1 win.

Kentucky trailed early after once again failing to

JACK WEAVER | STAFF Gabriel Diallo tracks down a ball during the UK vs. Louisiana State mens tennis meet on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, Kentucky.

get the doubles point.

After Hurrion lost the first match in singles play, Mercer would grab a point for the Wildcats winning 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets.

Down 2-1, UK wasn’t not able to find an answer, and the Gamecocks would go on to win 4-1.

Kentucky would end its West Coast trip with a losing weekend against a loaded field. UK leaves Seattle with a 9-3 record on the year, with one match remaining before SEC action gets underway.

The Wildcats will be at home in the Hilary J.

Boone Tennis Center for their next three matches, and will not see a road opponent for more than two weeks until they travel to Fayetteville to face Arkansas on Sunday, March 13.

UK will play eight ranked opponents in the conference and will also

take on the No. 7 Virginia Cavaliers in a match that was postponed on Friday, Feb. 4.

Northwestern comes to Lexington on Friday, Feb. 25, to face Kentucky in one last tune up before the rigorous SEC schedule begins.

fall 2021 | 15

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

sports

Kentucky baseball sweeps season-opening series at Jacksonville State

By Cole Parke

sports@kykernel.com

Kentucky baseball (3-0) swept Jacksonville State (0-3) in its season opening series, starting 2022 3-0 as the team heads back to Lexington.

The three-win road trip was the first of what Kentucky hopes will be many series sweeps this season, and UK’s first since sweeping Auburn on the road in March 2021.

Starting on the mound in Kentucky’s season opener, junior Cole Stupp pitched four innings, recording seven strikeouts.

Unfortunately for Stupp, it would not be the flawless start he had hoped for as the right-handed starter also allowed nine hits for six Gamecock runs.

Graduate student Daniel Harper entered in Stupp’s relief, though he struggled as well, pitching just 1.2 innings, giving up a home run.

Finally, the duo of Tyler Guilfoil and Ryan Hagenow pitched a combined 3.1 innings, putting the game away with a combined six strikeouts and no hits allowed, shutting down JSU offensively.

On offense, two Wildcats managed to hit one out of the park, while seven Wildcats recorded at least one RBI to secure the win.

Graduate student Oraj Anu was Kentucky’s best offensive weapon in the win, going 3-5 from the batter’s box with a home run to right field and three RBIs. Junior infielder Chase Estep also hit one deep, homering down the right field line for a one-run home run, finishing the game 3-4 from the box with two RBIs and the homerun.

When the dust settled, Kentucky found themselves victorious, winning the season opener 10-8, with the first game being the closest of the series.

Back out for game two, Kentucky started sophomore Magdiel Cotto on the mound, with the transfer earning the win in his first game on the mound as a Wild-

16 | kentucky kernel

MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF Kentucky Wildcat Oraj Anu prepares for a pitch during the UK vs. Eastern Kentucky University baseball game on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington, Kentucky.

cat.

Cotto threw 76 pitches over the course of four innings, recording six strikeouts while allowing three hits and two runs.

In relief, the trio of Hagenow, Darren Williams and Austin Strickland kept JSU scoreless for the remainder of the game.

Four Wildcats recorded RBIs in the winning effort, though nobody recorded more than two hits in the game.

Leading the series 2-0, the floodgates opened for the Wildcats in game three, which saw Kentucky pull out a 15-1 win after scoring 12 runs in the final two in-

nings alone.

Kentucky starting pitcher Tyler Bosma earned the win, pitching five innings and notching three strikeouts while allowing three hits for JSU’s lone run.

The Wildcats led just 3-1 entering the eighth inning, but a combined five Gamecock pitchers gave up 12 runs with only one of those five pitchers remaining in the game for at least a full inning.

Redshirt freshman Nolan McCarthy notched a grand slam in the top of the ninth, bringing the outfielder to five RBIs on the day with just one hit in the ball-

game.

Despite having the most impactful hit of the night, McCarthy was not the only Wildcat to hit a homer in the winning effort, with senior infielder Jacob Plastiak also going yard to center field in the top of the eighth for two runs.

Heading back to its home at Kentucky Proud Park, UK looks to remain undefeated on the season against Bellarmine on Wednesday, Feb. 23.

Kentucky’s home opener against the Knights is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

EST.

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

sports

Kentucky aims to hogtie second place in SEC against Arkansas

By Hunter Shelton sports@kykernel.com

One final ranked opponent awaits No. 6 Kentucky on Saturday, Feb. 26.

The Wildcats will head to Bud Walton Arena for a weekend tilt against the surging No. 18 Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville.

After losing its first three conference games of the season, the Razorbacks have gone on a tear in SEC play, winning 10 of its last 11 games.

Some of Arkansas’ finer work includes wins over then No. 12 LSU in Baton Rouge, an overtime stunner against then No. 1 Auburn at home, followed by a defensive masterclass one week after against then No. 16 Tennessee. The Razorbacks hold victories over all three of the conference opponents who have defeated Kentucky this season.

Head coach Eric Musselman, who is in his third year at Arkansas, has propelled the Razorbacks to the upper echelon of the SEC. The 2021 team finished the season 257, bowing out of the NCAA Tournament in the Elite Eight, its first trip that far in the tourney since 1995.

Behind a team filled with depth, experience and physicality, Arkansas has once again separated itself from the middle of the pack in the conference.

JD Notae is the engine to the Razorbacks’ offense. Averaging 18.5 points per game, second in the SEC to Vanderbilt’s Scotty Pippen Jr., Notae is who Musselman wants with the ball in late-game situations.

The senior guard shoots 42% from the floor, including 32% from 3-point range.

Playing every game this season for Arkansas, he is yet to be held below 10 points in a game. Notae has scored over 20 points on eight occasions in the 2021-22 season.

Fellow senior Stanley Umude follows

MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF Kentucky Wildcats forward Jacob Toppin hugs guard Davion Mintz after the UK vs. Alabama mens basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, at Rupp Arena.

the lead of Notae, averaging 11.1 points a night. The San Antonio, Texas native has taken a backseat to his backcourt mate, as he averaged a whopping 21.6 points in 25 games for the Razorbacks last season.

Arkansas’ starting guards boast experience in spades, both with and without one another on the court. The defensive prowess of the senior duo has propelled their team to the 16th highest defensive efficiency rating in the nation.

As a team, Arkansas allows just 67 points per game, the eighth best in the SEC. Forward Jaylin Williams’ presence down-low is to thank for the defensive rating. The 6-foot-10 sophomore leads the Razorbacks in rebounds with 9.6 per game, second in the SEC to UK’s Oscar Tshiebwe.

Williams has also swatted 34 shots this season, good for sixth best in the confer-

ence. He carries the load in the paint for Arkansas, being one of just two forwards who play over 10 minutes a night.

A trio of guards round out the bulk of Musselman’s rotation.

Au’Diese Toney plays the third most minutes on the team, clocking in at 30.8 minutes a game. The senior meets the 10-point threshold while collecting 5.5 rebounds, the second highest on the team behind Williams.

Yet another senior in Chris Lykes is the heart of the Razorbacks as their sixth-man.

After playing four years at Miami, Lykes made the move to Fayetteville, where he too has accepted a decrease in minutes and production, all for the greater good of the team.

While Lykes hasn’t scored double-digit points since Feb. 5, he brings a level of energy off the bench that is hard to match on any given night.

Davonte Davis rounds out Arkansas’ heavy-minutes group, tallying 8.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and three assists in 27.9 minutes per game.

As the season progressed, Musselman and his staff tweaked the starting rotation on numerous occasions, searching for the right combination to provide the most efficient outcome.

With March on the horizon, he has retooled his group to reach maximum output at the right time of the year.

Part of Arkansas’ success can be attributed to Bud Walton Arena. In 18 games at home, the Razorbacks own a 16-2 record behind the backs of one of the more raucous environments in the south.

Back-to-back weekends showcased the ability of the Hogs’ fanbase, as they willed their team to season-altering wins over Auburn and Tennessee. “Woo pig sooie” reverberates throughout the arena as over 19,000 fans cheer on their Razorbacks.

With the availability of both TyTy Washington and Sahvir Wheeler in question, a tall task is awaiting the Wildcats on Saturday. Kentucky will not have the luxury of relying on Big Blue Nation like they did against Alabama.

As he did against the Tide, head coach John Calipari will insist on playing through Oscar Tshiebwe. The big man has proved to be unstoppable this season, and with not much help down low for Arkansas, Tshiebwe should once again put up his machine-like numbers.

Both UK and Arkansas will likely earn double-byes into the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, but Saturday’s ranked matchup provides an opportunity for both teams to prove a point down the stretch, especially if the two teams are to meet again in March.

Tip-off between the Cats and Hogs is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST on Saturday, Feb. 26.

fall 2021 | 17

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

sports

UK Softball sweeps 2022 Hillenbrand Invitational

By Cole Parke sports@kykernel.com

No. 16 Kentucky softball (9-1) finished the 2022 Hillenbrand Invitational undefeated, going 5-0 in the event, including a win over the host school — No. 9 Arizona.

The Hillenbrand Invitational was the second road tournament the Wildcats have attended to start their season, finishing the Northern Lights Southern Nights tournament 4-1 on Feb. 13.

From the beginning of the invitational, UK seemed poised to dominate, destroying UC Santa Barbara 23-0 to set a new record for most single-game runs scored in program history, which doubles as the largest shutout in team history.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Stephanie Schoonover threw a complete game no-hitter for Kentucky in the winning effort, striking out seven batters and only allowing two Gauchos to reach base with walks.

Three Wildcats went perfect from the batter’s box with two or more attempts, most notably senior catcher Kayla Kowalik, who finished the game 4-4 with a homerun and

18 | kentucky kernel

MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF Kentucky Wildcat freshman Erin Coffel warms up before the UK vs. University of Georgia softball game on Monday, April 12, 2021, at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.

two RBIs. Immediately following the blowout against UCSB, Kentucky once again took the field, this time to duel Loyola Marymount.

The Lions put up a fight, giving UK its toughest battle of the invitational, sending the game into extra innings.

After a clutch pitching performance by freshman Olympian Alexia Lacate-

na, Kentucky secured a 7-6 victory, scoring two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, with the winning run being driven in by junior outfielder Rylea Smith.

Kentucky earned its second shutout of the invitational in game one of its second doubleheader, beating Long Beach State 5-0.

Junior pitcher Sloan Gayan earned her first win

of the season, pitching four innings and recording one strikeout before Lacatena entered the game in her relief.

Lacatena added a strikeout to UK’s total and did not allow a hit during her time in the circle, adding to her impressive showing in Tucson, Arizona.

Despite the score, only four Wildcats recorded hits against Long Beach State,

with three RBIs coming from sophomore infielder Erin Coffel, who recorded two doubles on the night, going 2-3 from the box.

In the biggest game of the invitational, Kentucky took the field to battle No. 9 Arizona on the latter’s home field.

The game was close, but thanks to solid relief pitching from senior Kennedy Sullivan, as well as a

clutch saving performance

by Lacatena, Kentucky escaped with a 7-6 victory.

Two Cats went yard in the ranked win, including Sullivan who recorded a double and a homerun while also earning the win in the circle.

In the final game of the invitational Kentucky was given an easier task: beat UC Santa Barbara for the second time in three days.

Once again, Kentucky put on an offensive clinic, besting the Gauchos 11-1 with Lacatena earning the win as a starting pitcher.

Senior outfielder Renee Abernathy earned the biggest headline in the win, hitting a grand slam in the top of the fifth inning.

By the end of the invitational, 12 Wildcats had recorded RBIs while nine Cats recorded at least one home run.

UK improved to 9-1 on the season and will look to continue its winning streak on Thursday, Feb. 24, against Jacksonville in the FAU Strikeout Cancer Classic. The classic will see the Wildcats face five different teams in the span of three days, including two doubleheaders.

Kentucky’s duel with Jacksonville is currently scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. EST.

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

sports

Across the (By)Line: Arkansas Razorbacks

By Hunter Shelton sports@kykernel.com

The “Across the (By) Line” series will give Kentucky basketball fans an in-depth look at their opponent for this week — from the mind of the opposing school’s sports editor.

This week: Mason Choate, Arkansas Traveler, University of Arkansas.

What do you attribute to Arkansas’ season turnaround in the middle of SEC play?

Choate: Early on in SEC play, they didn't really know their identity yet.

They were trying to tinker with the lineup a lot. It was a different starting lineup every week. They settled in on this lineup where they've got two guards, three forwards, so it's a bigger, more physical lineup. It's really worked since they went on the nine-game win streak.

And then their guys off the bench. You have two main guys in Devonte Davis and Chris Lykes. Both of them, they're kind of spotty, if they're going to be good or not on any given night. But if you can get one of them to give you some good minutes, then Arkansas is

in a great position night in night out. So I think that's been the biggest thing is just going with a more physical lineup.

Just how important is JD Notae to Arkansas this season?

Choate: He's the reason that Arkansas is so good, because he's their best scorer, obviously. He's the best player at making plays happen. He creates something out of nothing all the time, and that's what makes him so good. Something that he's added that he didn't really have last year was his defensive presence. I think he still leads the conference in steals as well. So he's just a pest defensively.

Sometimes that gets him in trouble though. There's been a couple of games where he gets in foul trouble early. So when he's not on the court, because he's in foul trouble, you can really see or really notice that he's not there, and you can see it in the way that Arkansas plays offense. So his impact is just astronomical for this team. If he's not on the court, then you can feel that.

How do you see the Arkansas frontcourt

handling the challenge of trying to contain Oscar Tshiebwe?

Choate: I think Jaylin Williams has proved that he's a legit big in the SEC. And that was a question that a lot of people had coming into the season.

He's not going back down, and he's shown that he can score offensively too. On the defensive end, he's going to take charges, he's going to block, he's going to go up for rebounds.

He's not going to make it easy for you, but he's now turned it into ‘Hey, I can score on you too,’ like he'll pull up for a mid range or pull up for three. And then you look at a guy like Trey Wade. The only reason Trey Wade is in the starting lineup is because he's an elite defender. He's a big guy, but he'll probably be on the opposing team's second or third best scorer, because he's that good of a defender. He's not going to put up many points but he's a really, really physical guy.

How big of a home court advantage can Bud Walton Arena be?

Choate: Yeah, going

MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF Kentucky Wildcats forward Oscar Tshiebwe (34) celebrates a teammates 3-pointer during the UK vs. Florida mens basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, at Rupp Arena.

into the Auburn game. I was telling everybody, ‘Arkansas is gonna get at least five to 10 points just from the crowd alone.’ And sure enough, they win the game by four points. And if you look back at that Auburn game, how many points did they leave at the free throw line? It was deafeningly loud in the arena … I don't know who could have made a free throw there. So that is key for Arkansas to have those fans show up.

I know people who have been season ticket holders for 40 years, and they said

that the Auburn game was the best atmosphere they've ever seen.

What is Arkansas’ main key to victory? What is your score prediction?

Choate: Okay. I think the key to victory for Arkansas is you just have to shoot efficiently. There's been so many games where they just go really cold on offense. And we talked about it earlier, but if JD Notae is not on the court, it's hard for the offense to run when he’s not on the

court. There's not a guy who can score at will. If Notae can stay out of foul trouble, then that just opens up the floor so much. As far as Arkansas goes, you're not really worried about the defense. I feel like they're going to put pressure on Kentucky offensively.

They're gonna do what they can there, but they just got to get it done offensively, man, that's there's been so many games where it just hasn't happened. As far as the score prediction goes, I’d have to say probably Arkansas 67, Kentucky 62.

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Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022

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CORRECTION: In an article about Bruce Johnson’s lecture, published on Feb. 17, the original headline said that Johnson was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. However, he is an Emmy Award-winning journalist; the namesake of the lecture series, Angelo B. Henderson, won a Pulitzer Prize. Additionally, the article said that Henderson is the first and only Black journalist to win a Pulitzer; however, it neglected to include that he was the first and only Black journalist to receive a Pulitzer at the Wall Street Journal. Lastly, the article said that Felicia D. Henderson mentioned some of her husband’s awards, including the Detroit Press Club Award, in her speech. However, although he did win that award, Felicia D. Henderson never mentioned the DPC in her speech.

WBB CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

win on the road against Arkansas, defeating the Razorbacks 78-55 for Kentucky’s largest win since defeating SC Upstate on Dec. 19.

Elzy reflected on the team’s prior skid after the win, feeling that it was more indicative of the potential of the team than the losses were.

“I have a lot of confidence in this team, I really believe in them,” she said.

“We hit some tough roads, but it’s paying off for us now. I’ve seen what they can do in practice and now we’re seeing the fruits of our labor. I see this team and I know everybody expected something different earlier and that didn’t happen, but it’s good to see our team come out on top now. This was a signature win for our program that we needed.”

Looking ahead at what is to come, Kentucky has two games remaining in the regular season: a road game against Missouri and senior night in Lexington against Auburn.

Kentucky defeated Auburn on the road for its lone win of the losing sequence, leaving little doubt that a series sweep is in the cards if the Cats keep

20 | kentucky kernel

their feet on the gas.

Focusing on Missouri, while the Tigers do have a win over No. 1 South Carolina, they are 1-4 in their last five games, with little momentum coasting into the matchup with UK. Kentucky will then take part in the SEC Tournament in Nashville, where its NCAA Tournament dreams will hang in the balance.

Though UK’s best outcome is 8-8 in conference play, its recent stretch, notably the Arkansas win, forces one to think that Kentucky is capable of knocking off anybody in the conference.

Regardless of prior results, Kentucky is not the same team that went 1-8 from early January until mid February; this Kentucky team is one that demands attention as it desperately claws its way back into the field of 68 as an at-large candidate.

Kentucky would need a miracle to earn that spot in the big dance, but if the Mississippi State comeback was any indicator, miracles are not impossible for Elzy’s Wildcats.

UK travels to Columbia, Missouri, on Thursday, Feb. 24, in its biggest remaining test of the regular season. The game is currently scheduled to tip-off at 8 p.m. EST.

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