Auburn Throws: Coach Pat Ebel develops champion throwers

Auburn Throws: Coach Pat Ebel develops champion throwersAuburn Throws: Coach Pat Ebel develops champion throwers
Jacob Taylor/AU Athletics

Coach Pat Ebel with Auburn's SEC champion throwers

AUBURN, Ala. – When Auburn's Maura Huwalt won the discus at the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Auburn throws coach Pat Ebel went to the concession stand for a celebratory snack.

"They made an announcement over the loud speaker about Auburn making history as the first school to win the three long throws events," Ebel recalled. "That gave me pause realizing there have been many decades of great athletes in this conference.

"That was very cool and it speaks volumes to their talent and getting it done in a pressure environment and able to come through when it really, really mattered."

Huwalt joined Auburn teammates Ashley Carter and Madi Malone, who won gold in the javelin and hammer throw, respectively, becoming the first trio in conference history – men or women – to sweep the long throws.

"I'm super proud of our group," Huwalt said, crediting Auburn's alumni throwers for helping build the program. "They set the standard. They set the legacy for us. I'm glad we were first team to ever do it."

"To be a part of making history in the SEC is really powerful," Malone said.

"That's what makes it so special is that my teammates were there for me," Carter said. "It was really cool to be a part of."

A former javelin thrower, Huwalt trained with Carter early in her Auburn career before settling on discus. Huwalt and Malone are not only teammates, they're roommates.

"She's my best friend," Huwalt said. "We've been through it all together. Covid, the ups and down, great meets, bad meets. It felt really special to win alongside them."

The SEC champions credit Ebel for seeing their potential and helping them reach it.

"He's been good in every event," Huwalt said. "I knew coming in that he would help me figure out what I could be best at, and we would go from there."

From there, the Auburn trio of SEC championship throwers has traveled to Eugene, Oregon, for the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 8-11, joined by fellow javelin thrower Shaniya Holley and hammer thrower Kyle Brown to comprise five of Auburn's 11-Tiger delegation at NCAAs.

"I recruit really good people," Ebel said. "Even though they weren't the top kids in America in high school, they were raised by parents who were great people."

Coachability and academic performance, says Ebel, define successful throwers.  

"Usually if you're good in the classroom, you're going to be a great athlete. Credit to them and their parents for laying the foundation for me to able to coach them to who they are now. They've taken everything I've said and really worked hard at it."

Technique, training and tough love help Ebel develop Auburn's throwers.

"The confidence he has in us, the way he coaches us in practice, the way he prepares us to be the best we can be," Carter said. "He really pushes us at meets and keeps our heads up if we don't do well and pushes us if we do well too."

A dancer growing up, Malone's blend of quickness, power and being rotational suit her for the hammer throw.

"Coach Ebel seeing the potential and being able to take us from not No. 1 to No. 1 in the SEC is a testament to his coaching, especially in so many events," she said.

A two-sport athlete at Division-III Wisconsin-La Crosse, Ebel played football and competed in all four throws events in track and field. He decided to pursue coaching at the suggestion of his college coach, hall of famer Mark Guthrie.

Success for Auburn's trio of SEC champion throwers was a product of their perseverance, he says.

"Each of these three who won have had many dark days," Ebel said. "We've bolstered them up and say, 'It's going to be better. Trust the process.' We get through those harder times to win these titles."

Ebel uses the fall to build a strong foundation with Auburn's throwers with the expectation that they'll be peaking toward the end of the outdoor season.

"We train for those to make them tougher," he said. "So that when we get to SEC competition they're battled tested and ready to go."SEC champs! (l/r): Madi Malone, Maura Huwalt and Ashley Carter 

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer