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ESPN writer Kate Fagan shares inspiration for ‘What Made Maddy Run’
by Kerry Ryan
OSWEGO, N.Y. — On Tuesday, October 10th, the Sheldon Hall Ballroom was filled with members of the oswego community; all waiting to listen to ‘I Am Oz’ speaker and ESPN writer, Kate Fagan. Fagan shared her stories of coming out as a gay woman, working for ESPN, and her inspiration to write the book What Made Maddy Run?. What Made Maddy Run? is the story of University of Pennsylvania freshman track star Madison Holleran, who died by suicide at the age of 19 years old after secretly struggling with anxiety and depression.
Fagan originally wrote Holleran’s story as a piece for ESPN. After receiving numerous emails written by high school and college students, as well as their parents, Fagan said she knew that she needed to dig deeper into the story.
“I realized that we had really only touched on a certain piece of the story in the magazine piece and that there were other roads to travel down to make the story more fleashed out for the rest of the college students and young people who saw themselves in her,” Fagan said.
This isn’t Fagan’s first non-fiction story, however. The Former WNBA player previously released a book retelling the story of her own struggles. The Reappearing Act: Coming Out as Gay on a College Basketball Team Led by Born-Again Christians explains the background of Fagan’s difficulty with her identity and how it would affect her and those around her.
What Made Maddy Run? was an instant New York Times best-seller. This is a first for Fagan, who said she has always wanted to be a writer.
“Basketball was like the pursuit,” Fagan said. “I guess I’ll be a writer when I’m done. And so when i was done playing basketball, that’s when I moved the writing to the front burner.”
Fagan said her next goal is to get some of her fictional work published. She said that, unlike non-fiction, there’s a different way of storytelling in fiction and it allows writers to have more creative freedom.
What Made Maddy Run? by Kate Fagan is available online and in bookstores now.
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Little Luke’s Fun Run: Oswego Autism Task Force
Oswego Autism Task Force established in 2005 is having their 4th annual fun run/walk. The fun run/walk will take place Saturday, April 6th, a great way to kick off National Autism Awareness month! The walk is being coordinated by one of the original parents who helped found the organization OATF, Julie Chetney. Julie’s family has been directly affected by Autism, her son was diagnosed when he was younger and she helped found the OATF to spread awareness and collect opportunities that she could share with not only her son but other families that have been affected as well.
Another person that impacts the organization greatly is their president Tammy Thompson. In 2005 after many families in Oswego County had been affected by Autism she gathered a group of parents to form the organization and she was named president with her expertise in the subject due to the fact that at the time she was an early intervention specialist and was able to share insight on the matter.
The fun run is attended by many people every year, Julie said that over 200 people usually participate in the run/walk. The run/walk is a great family activity, but is also great just volunteering. Julie says “We can never have too many volunteers at that event. It does make a 5k event more fun and enjoyable when you have great people that are volunteering and out there on the course especially just cheering on people. It’s a good feeling, for those participating and those volunteering”. Or if you would like to cheer on the runners you can enjoy the “Breakfast of Autism Champions” for an additional price that will benefit the event in the Press Box.
If you would like to partake in this event you can register at www.auyertiming.com, registration will close on April 4th. Or if you would like to volunteer you may Facebook Message the group at Oswego Autism Task for or email the race coordinator Julie Chetney at juliechetney@yahoo.com.
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Lakers Roll Past Keuka
The Oswego State men’s lacrosse team defeated the Keuka College Wolves 17-6 on Saturday. With the victory, the Lakers move to 5-1 overall while the Wolves drop to 3-2.
Oswego got off to a strong start in the first half, scoring six goals apiece during the first and second quarters. At halftime, they held a 12-2 lead and a large 31-9 shot advantage. Tim Schof led the Lakers with four goals while Kyle Bacon scored three of his own. Keuka scored three straight goals in the third in what possibly looked like a run but Caleb Alford’s goal ended any momentum the Wolves had.
Oswego’s Kevin O’Donnell stopped six shots in the first half before giving way to Brody Carter and Harrison Levy. Carter and Levy made a combined seven saves.
The Lakers’ next game is scheduled for this Wednesday at 4:00 when they take on Utica College at home. This will also be the team’s St. Baldrick’s Foundation community service event.
ResLife reopens housing applications for the 2023-2024 academic year; reporter Reilly Jones takes us inside Waterman Theatre’s latest production; these stories and more, on WTOP-10 Nightly News. Catch up here.
Anchors: Amani De La Cruz, Seth Appleby
Reporter: Reilly Jones
Weather: Aurora Fitzgerald
Sports Anchor: Matthew Sheremeta
