Hempfield thrower Orie has no sophomore jinx
Hempfield alum Mackenna Orie is making quite a name for herself as a thrower for the DePaul women’s track and field team.
On April 3, Orie’s 15.76meter (51 feet, 7 inches) shot put throw at the Louisville Invitational set a DePaul program record, earned a second-place finish at the event, and ranked No. 1 among all throwers in the Big East — drawing Orie the conference’s field athlete of the week honor. She also competed in the discus, posting a mark of 49.07 meters (160-9) which ranks second in the conference and 87th nationally.
The Louisville Invitational was only Orie’s first outdoor track competition of her collegiate career after last season was canceled due to COVID-19. However, as strange as it may sound, the impressive outing left her with a lot more to be desired.
“My technique was a bit off,” she said. “I wasn’t feeling super fluid through the circle. I was struggling a bit to get off a good throw. It didn’t feel good and it didn’t even look good on film either.”
If that throw was still far enough to set a school record, just imagine what a good one would garner.
“That’s why I’m super excited for the rest of this season,” said Orie. “If I can throw 15.76 while not feeling good, what can I throw when my technique is on point?”
Maybe an NCAA record? With her extra year of NCAA eligibility granted because of the pandemic, the sophomore has three indoor and four outdoor track seasons left to carve out a renowned career on the collegiate throwing scene.
Hempfield’s former PIAA champion looks poised to do big things.
During her first indoor season this past winter, Orie PR’d in nearly every meet and concluded it by winning in the shot put (15.13m, 49-6) at the Big East Track and Field Championships on March 2.
Orie’s success is in large part due to the 10 months spent at home in Pittsbugh during the pandemic, where she trained six days a week at her former high school coach Dave Murray’s garage-turned-gym. She worked out alongside Murray’s sons Alex Murray, a fellow Hempfield alum who’s now a senior thrower at DePaul, and Peyton Murray — a freshman thrower at Hempfield.
“I really found a passion for lifting there,” she said. “Not that I didn’t have that before, but it was one thing I could completely focus on without any distractions. We had a squat rack, a bench and various misfit dumbells. Just anything we could find on Facebook marketplace that was in stock at the time because you literally couldn’t find weights anywhere else [due to the pandemic].
“We spray-painted them and made them all match. It was great and such a fun time.”
The experience opened Orie’s eyes to the strength training aspect of throwing, which she’s now combining with her speed and technique of her success.
“One thing I’ve always lacked in throwing is strength,” said Orie. “I’m not sure what my rank is, but I’m probably one of the weakest throwers in every event that I’m in.
“To a normal person, I may seem strong — I’m a female who benches 185 and can squat 300 pounds. But my competitors are benching 225- plus and squatting 400 pounds-plus for reps. So the biggest change I can make to benefit my throwing right now is strength.”
Orie has never been the biggest thrower in the batch. The popular shot put adage of “mass moves mass” will never apply to her, but she doesn’t need it to. Speed and technique will always be the most important components of her success. Any extra muscle can add explosiveness to both.
“I can’t just throw on weight and bulk up and still move the same,” she said. “I want to put on pure muscle so I can move the same, but add that explosiveness to it. Look at Maggie Ewen. She throws for Nike, arguably the best three-event athlete to come across throwing. She’s a small girl, but very, very fast. She’s definitely a huge role model for me.”
Orie’s other major role model can be found at the U.S. Naval Academy. Her older sister, Sam, is a standout thrower for Navy — earning All- Patriot League honors in each of the past two seasons. She’s the one who first drew Mackenna to the art of throwing when she was just a freshman lacrosse player at Hempfield. One year later, Mackenna threw 39 feet as a sophomore, which inclined her to drop lacrosse and solely focus on track and field as her spring sport.
Then, everything fell into place.
“She’s the only reason I started throwing to begin with,” said Orie. “She’s been a role model in every sport for as long as I can remember. Someone I’ve always looked up to.”
Orie’s next outing will take place this weekend at the Gibson Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind.