TUDE T LIFE I I TERNATIO AL I OCIAL CLUB I ACADEMIC I PEOPLE I LEADERSHIP I ATHLETIC I ORG IZATIO FROM FULL-TIME STUDENTS TO FULL-TIME COACHES Track and Field Assistant Coach Josh Syrotcheninstructs freshman Liam RowlandNareshas hepractices a hammer throw at the First Security Stadium on Oct. 29, 2018. Syrotchen worked with multi-event track athletes. I photo by Sterling McMichael Track and FieldAssistant Coach Cathy Ebenja discusses technique with freshmanJenna Akins on the track at the First Security tadium on Oct. 30, 2018. Ebenja graduated from Harding in 2011 with a degree in journalism. I photo by Sterling McMichael Former Harding track & field athletes run full-speed back to their alma mater. Two former Harding University athletes 2011 graduate Cathy Ebenja and 2016 graduate Josh Syrotchen joined Head Cross Country and Track Coach SteveGuymon to work with the Harding Universirytrack team. Ebenja took the mantle of the springs and relays coach position. During her senior season with the team, she earned All-American honors in the indoor 60-mecer dash. Ebenja graduated with a degree in journalism and worked a few odd jobs before being hired by her alma mater, including Joe T. Robinson High School, in Little Rock, Arkansas, as a teacher and sprint coach. She said shewas glad to return to Harding and was excited to work with Guymon and Syrorchen. "Ive always had a great relationship with Coach Guymon so just coming back and working with him and then meeting Josh and working with Josh has been almost too good to be true," Ebenja aid. "We make a good team, I think." Syrocchenbecame the throws coach and worked with multi-event athletes. While at Harding, Syrocchenwas a four-time All-American in discus, placed second at NCAnAationals twice, qualified for the USA Outdoor NationalChampionship twice and held Harding's outdoor record for discus, hammer and weight throws. Syrotchen graduated with a degree in finance and was hired as a financial advisor by Northwestern Mutual. During chat time, he was a volunteer coach for the team at Harding. While neither Ebenja nor Syrocchengraduated with an emphasis in kinesiology, both said their athletic pasts made coaching natural for both of them. Boch coaches also said the decision to return to Harding was an easy decision for them. Since Syrocchenwas volunteer coaching at the rime, he was asked to continue as the assistant coach. Guymon called Ebenja while she was at a track meet with her high school students, and he knew immediately that she wanted to return to Searcy. "I am overjoyed to be here," Ebenja said. "It's like coming back home for me. I feel very comfortable on campus." Syrocchen and Ebenja, also known as Coach Syro and Coach Car, were excited about che relationships they built and would continue co build with the athletes in che program. "I think seeing them [personal record (PR)] and being a part of char is just as great if not greater than your own PR," Syrorchen said."When Liz Fouts broke the school record last year and beat her PR and beat the girl that beat her in high school, ... you can ask anybody I was just like jumping around ecstatic. It felt like my best throw had just happened four times in a row through her.' Coach Guymon expressed excitement about Ebenja's and Syrotchen's return to Harding and looked forward to watching them grow as coaches. "They are both so young to coach and that can be intimidating," Guymon said. "They will continue to learn when it comes to coaching; they will get better and better. The kids really respond well to them. The biggest thing is, before and after practice, they are involved in the lives of the athletes, which is the most important thing. I couldn't ask for two better people." story by Kayla Meeler & Parker Samuel 206
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