Taryn Foxen could play again, but she’s in Prague | Sports

That’s right, Taryn Foxen, the Lady Eagles’ top scorer in 2018-19 and 2019-2020, could still play since the NCAA has ruled that the track and field competition in 2020-21 does not count as a year of eligibility. due to disruptions. COVID 19 was causing worldwide.

But unlike dozens of varsity athletes who have decided this year to be “super seniors,” which means taking a few more classes and competing again to make up for lost time, Foxen has chosen to pack his bags and now studies some 5,000 miles and nine time zones from Chadron. She attends Language House in Prague, Czech Republic, and seeks certification to teach English as a Foreign Language.

Language House has a reputation for being among the best in its field. About forty students, all Americans except two, are registered for the current session. At 22, Foxen is one of the youngest. She said the program “is pretty intense”.

Foxen made the decision to quit basketball even though a fight with Covid caused him to miss five of the Eagles’ 13 games last season. Since she had enough credits to graduate last May, this was one of the main reasons she chose not to return to CSC this fall. Much like basketball, she also excelled in the classroom, earning a magna cum laude degree, which requires a GPA of at least 3.75. She specialized in English literature.

If she hadn’t made the decision, she would head over with the Eagles to help them kick off their 29-game schedule in Texas this weekend.

“I could have come back and played again, but Chadron State doesn’t offer a masters degree in English so I didn’t think it would benefit me academically to take more classes and my body was wearing out a bit. . Something always hurt last year, ”Foxen said over the phone. “So I decided it was time to move on. I’ve always wanted to travel, and when I’m finished here, I’ll have a passport to travel anywhere in the world.

Her experience in Prague was interesting, she said. She had never been abroad before. Although this is the last week of the program, she plans to stay in Europe and see more sites until around December 1. Public transport makes it easier to get around, she added.

“I’ll be back at Chadron to watch my old teammates play a few games in less than a month,” she said. “Then I’ll spend Christmas with my family and decide what I want to do next. I could go to a foreign country and teach, or I could stay home and teach online for a while before I leave.

Even though what turned out to be her last season of college basketball was cut short, the player CSC coach Janet Raymer spotted during a summer camp at the University of Nebraska-Kearney before his last year at Cherokee Trail High in Aurora, Colorado, certainly had an impact in Chadron State.

The 1,180 points she scored puts her seventh in the Eagles all-time scoring standings and she is one of six CSC women to have more than 500 points in one season.

Foxen was CSC’s second-leading scorer as a rookie in 2017-18 with 267 points, and led the team in scoring in 2018-19 with 308 and 2019-20 with 506. She added 99 points. in just eight games last winter.

His junior season was exceptional. She shot 43 percent from the field to rank third in the RMAC in field goal percentage, sank 54 three-pointers, scored 20 or more a dozen times and tallied 35 points in her last. game that season to tie all-time greats Tricia Lukawski and Shauna Smith for fifth place on the Eagles’ single game list.

Only Gwen Reed with 42 points in 1976-77 and 41 in 1975-76, Katie Ranta with 37 in 2013-14 and Bec Kyba with 36 in 2005-06 have ever scored more. Foxen also scored 33 points on two occasions, although she almost always attracted extra defensive attention because opponents knew she was the Eagles’ main offensive threat.

She was a three-year starter at Cherokee Hill and holds the school record for most 3 points in a season at 33, set as a senior in 2016-17.

Blessed with exceptional speed and exceptional ball-handling skills that Foxen said were acquired by her father, Jason, she could both “stop and jump” or drive to the hoop. Once she approached the basket, she could layups for a dozen different angles.

No doubt, she also liked having the ball when the game was in play.

For her career, she made 415 of 1,009 shots on goal for 41.1 percent, made 105 of 309 shots and made 245 of 356 free throws for 68.8 percent.

Additionally, Foxen, who was Chadron State’s reunion queen in 2019, could play the defense. She has led the Eagles in stealing for the past three years. Like we said, she wanted the ball.