Softball Pushes Through Day Three of OKC Challenge

After a weekend of rest and recovery, the softball team was back at it early Monday morning with day three of the Oklahoma City Challenge. The Red Team entered the second half of the competition with a 572-558 lead, but it's still anybody's game. Freshman pitcher Sydney Warinner checks in with the third installment of her OKC Challenge blog.

An excerpt from Corbin Bleu's good old throwback, "Push it to the Limit," played on repeat through the stereo in my head as the UofL softball team attacked day three of the OKC Challenge. At 5 am, each team captain received a text from Coach Molly Binetti, directing the teams to report directly to the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center (KFEC). This could only mean one thing: the truck push.

The truck push involves four people at a time pushing a truck around the approximately 2.3 mile loop at KFEC (complete with its fair share of inclines and declines). Meanwhile, some team members must carry a med ball, kettlebell, and metal chain alongside the truck and any dropped item constitutes a significant time violation. During this process, Coach Sean Smith steered the car, and five people, including coaches and camera crew, sat in the truck bed to watch the show. The team's guardian angel, athletic trainer, Tiff Haub, followed closely behind.

This challenge began at 5:45 am in a parking lot at KFEC, where members of both the Red and Black Teams could be seen running around in circles to combat the crisp 26 degree air. Since only one team could push the truck at a time, Coach Binetti called captains, Jenna Jordan (Black Team) and Megan Hensley (Red Team), to the front of the crowd for a coin flip. The Red Team was assigned heads, the Black Team, tails. Seconds before the flip, Jenna hollered, "Tails never fails!" and she did not disappoint. The Black Team won the flip and chose to push first.

The Red Team braved the elements long enough to watch the Black Team take off, and then sprinted to the refuge of their heated cars. Upon sighting the Black Team making the final turn, the Red Team ran to the finish line. Several members of the Black Team, each carrying a different item, hustled past the truck and through the finish line because all team members had to cross the line before Coach Binetti would stop the clock. A steady final push from the Black Team lent them a strong finish.

The Red Team immediately lined up their starting four on the truck and shoved the kettlebell and chain into a backpack and the med ball into a duffel bag. The Black Team waited until the push commenced and then zipped to their cars as had their counterparts. The Red Team employed a strategy of starting with their four strongest on the truck, leaving four replacements jogging behind them, and their ninth member riding a bicycle and carrying the additional items parallel to the truck.

After fatigue began to slow their pace, Nicole Pufahl took charge and coordinated moments of jogging and moments of walking by counting off fifteen second and five second intervals. This greatly sped up the truck as the Red Team approached its final turn, and the truck, replacement pushers, and biker raced through the finish line over a minute faster than the Black Team.

There was no time for celebration, for day three still contained one final challenge. The bonus round was to complete 50 tire flips faster than the opposing team. The Black Team's approach consisted of forming a tight circle around the tire and flipping it from whichever direction the previous flip pushed it. The Red Team began in a line to flip the tire straight ahead, but after realizing the inefficiency of this tactic, adopted the Black Team's strategy. The Black Team dominated this challenge and won the bonus.

Last night, Coach Binetti updated the scoreboard after day two of OKC. The Red Team's wins in the mile run and the bike/sled race and the Black Team's wins in move the mountain and tug of war updated the score to 572-558 in favor of the Red Team. By tomorrow morning, Coach Binetti will reveal the new score after today's contest.

University of Louisville Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Megan Hensley

Jenna Jordan

Nicole Pufahl

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