Day One of OKC Challenge in the Books

Louisville softball's 2016 Oklahoma City Challenge is underway as the Red and Black Squads took the first steps in the Cardinals' quest to reach the Women's College World Series. The team's official blogger, freshman pitcher Sydney Warinner, provides the first of her daily updates.

An alarm sounds at 5:00 this morning, signaling that the UofL softball team is awake and ready to attack day one of the 2016 Oklahoma City Challenge. Members of the Red Team, led by captain, Megan Hensley, gear up in leggings, shorts, and red Louisville softball shirts, completing the look with red bandanas, wrist bands, and smeared eye black. Meanwhile, captain Jenna Jordan's Black Team is just waking up, as their event will commence 30 minutes later than the Red Team's.

The night before, each team hosted a dinner to fuel and strategize for the OKC Challenge. At approximately 10:00 that night, both team captains received a text from Coach Molly Binetti, reporting the time and location for the first challenge. Both teams would report to the Marshall training facility, but the Red Team was to arrive at 6 a.m., the Black Team at 6:30 a.m. So, naturally, the Red Team rolled into the locker room at 5:30 while blasting pump up music to energize them for the challenge.

After a thorough use of foam rollers and a dynamic warmup, the Red Team hustled outdoors where Coach Molly Binetti stood waiting. "How many miles does it take to get from Louisville to Oklahoma City?"

The Red Team glanced at one another, unsure of the exact distance, though it had to be extreme.

"755 miles! Are you ready to do what it takes to get there?"

An inspired, "Yes!" followed, and Megan Hensley broke out the team huddle with a resounding "Red Squad!"

Coach Binetti pulled Megan aside to quickly explain the day's challenge, and just minutes later, she rejoined her team and the OKC Challenge began. The challenge was to first, pick up a rope at the field hockey field and run it to the football stadium. The team with the fastest time to the stadium would receive 25 extra points.

Upon arrival, each team would enter through Gate 8 and complete a stadium run through the upper bowl starting on the right side of the stadium. The team to complete this stadium run in the shortest amount of time would receive 100 points.

The challenge would finish with a sprint (while still carrying the rope) to the end-zone. Throughout the challenge, any violations - the rope touching the ground, any team member losing contact with the rope, or anyone dropping - would result in a penalty of added time.

As each team climbed the stadium, dominating a task that in totality was equivalent to over 12,000 steps and 98 flights of stairs, strategy and verbal communication were essential. Each team set their pace at a brisk walk for the upward climb and relied on gravity to quicken their downward jog. To do this, each team had to use effective communication to adjust slack on the rope, slow down on major turns, and announce when the last person had rounded the turn and the downhill jog could begin.

Despite this excellent strategy, fatigue set in as the race proceeded. With each step, the stadium felt never ending. To distract from this, the Red Team, in particular, sang songs, joked, and cheered on their teammates. Raw determination, Megan Hensley's leadership, and an extraordinary effort from Celene Funke allowed the Red Team to achieve a strong finish. Incredible grit contributed to a successful finish for the Black Team as well.

The following cool down was quite a sight, with steam visibly radiating from each cluster of teammates. Cheers of pride and accomplishment echoed through the stadium, but one voice stood apart from the others.

"Welcome to OKC."

Coach Molly Binetti will reveal the results of today's competition tomorrow morning, when more is yet to come.

University of Louisville Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Megan Hensley

Jenna Jordan

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