University of Minnesota Athletics
Fulfilling her Dreams on Both the Court and the Track: Junior Liz Podominick
11/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Liz Podominick and several of her Gopher teammates were entertaining the crowd answering questions about the dream season they had just experienced. The thrill of the Final Four ride was still tingling spines of the Gopher faithful and fans couldn’t hear enough about beating No. 1 Duke or traveling to New Orleans or just about anything about that magical season.
Winning a Big Ten title, returning to the Final Four and winning a national title were popular answers when the Gophers gathered on the stage and were asked what their ultimate athletic dreams were made of. One Gopher, though she performs very well on the basketball court wearing the Maroon and Gold, has dreams of gold of a different hue – Olympic gold.
Podominick didn’t hesitate when she expressed her ultimate goal was to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. No, she wasn’t thinking about earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic Basketball Team. Podominick is a star thrower for the Golden Gopher women’s track & field team and her dream is to throw in the Olympics.
“It will be tough without doing track all year round, but if I don’t make it in 2008, I’ll try for 2012,” said Podominick. Her plan of attack includes concentrating solely on track as a fifth-year senior and after four successful seasons with the Gopher basketball team.
The two athletic worlds of Liz Podominick are as different as night and day. She equally relishes the insane craziness and noise of a packed house in Williams Arena and the tranquil solitude of the Bierman Field track.
“With basketball you run out to a crowd of 14,000 and that’s a rush in itself,” explains Podominick. “Track is more low-key without many people noticing.”
With careful planning, Podominick doesn’t find one sport competing against the other for her attention. Instead, her passion for both sports thrives and her confidence as a student-athlete soars. Even with two sports, she is still maintaining an impressive 3.8 grade point average while double majoring in sociology and anthropology.
“In basketball you have to rely on other people. Track is all about your abilities. It’s what you do and the time you put into it,” Podominick explained. “When you add classes and studying, time management is always a challenge but I’ve learned to deal with it.”
After what she would term a sub-par freshman basketball season, Podominick turned to the track to regain her footing. Though she was redshirted that season, she found strength and confidence in herself as she returned to the fundamentals of throwing the shot and discus.
“I needed to stop thinking about basketball for a while after my freshman year,” says Podominick. “Track was a way to reset my mind. My thinking was that I can do better than this and I was going to just that.”
Liz’s sophomore season of basketball was marked by improvement. She became a reliable contributor to the Gophers as the first post player off the bench. An unfortunate bout of mononeucleosis struck in February and kept Podominick sidelined until the Big Ten Tournament. Podominick battled to regain her endurance and found her stride during the NCAA Tournament, finishing with an 8.0 points per game scoring average during the Big Dance.
Despite the Gophers’ disappointing, season-ending loss to eventual national champion Baylor, a week didn’t pass before Podominick was turned her thoughts to track and the promise of her first season of competitive throwing in a Minnesota uniform.
Six weeks later Podominick was climbing to the peak of the awards’ stand as the Big Ten champion, first in the discus, and then a day later, the shot put. She is the first freshman to accomplish this pretigious double at the Outdoor Championships and was honored as the Big Ten Outdoor Track Freshman of the Year.
Podominick went on to advance to the NCAA Championships in both the shot put and the discus. At the NCAA Track & Field Championships, the top eight placewinners are awarded All-America status. Podominick finished 10th in the shot put and 17th in the discus.
“I was a little surprised to have success so quickly, but I was really ready to compete,” said Podominick.
When the 2005 track season ended, it was time to pick up the basketball again. Liz was selected to compete on the Big Ten All-Star Foreign Team. The squad toured Belgium and the Netherlands and posted a 5-0 record over international competition. Podominick continued to excel in her game, averaging 10.0 points per game while shooting an impressive 67.5 percent from the floor.
With two years of collegiate athletic experience to draw upon, Podominick enters her junior season on the hardwood with an renewed competitive spirit. She has experience at the highest levels of NCAA Championship competition in both her sports as a foundation. She especially relates to her mind set in the throwing circle when facing a tough challenge on the basketball court.
“Any chance I have to compete, and I know I can compete, I know I can be better than my opponent,” says Podominick of her mindset when competing in the shot put or discus. “The experience of a high level competition and excelling at that level gives you a great deal of confidence.”
As the Golden Gophers embark on another exciting season of roundball, a different Liz Podominick takes to the court. She is still listed at 6 feet, 2 inches in height in the game program, but she sure seems to be standing just a little taller these days. Perhaps it is the two years of maturity and experience on the basketball court as a reference point. Or maybe, it’s the beginnings of a swagger, knowing she’s a two-time Big Ten track champion. Most likely it is a combination of both nurturing a more confident Liz Podominick. That signals good things to come for Gopher fans of both the women’s basketball and women’s track & field team.
“My freshman year I put a lot of pressure on myself and I’ve learned not to do that,” concludes Podominick. “I go in and compete every day. If things don’t go well, there’s always another day I can prove myself. I don’t worry about that. I go out, have fun and play hard.” On a warm August day a little over a year ago, during the “Great Minnesota Get- Together” that is the Minnesota State Fair, a large crowd gathered around a stage to get a rare offseason opportunity to see their Golden Gopher women’s basketball team. This Minnesota team was fresh off a Final Four appearance and reveling Sweet Martha’s cookies and pronto pups as the biggest attraction at the fair on this day.
Liz Podominick and several of her Gopher teammates were entertaining the crowd answering questions about the dream season they had just experienced. The thrill of the Final Four ride was still tingling spines of the Gopher faithful and fans couldn’t hear enough about beating No. 1 Duke or traveling to New Orleans or just about anything about that magical season.
Winning a Big Ten title, returning to the Final Four and winning a national title were popular answers when the Gophers gathered on the stage and were asked what their ultimate athletic dreams were made of. One Gopher, though she performs very well on the basketball court wearing the Maroon and Gold, has dreams of gold of a different hue – Olympic gold.
Podominick didn’t hesitate when she expressed her ultimate goal was to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. No, she wasn’t thinking about earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic Basketball Team. Podominick is a star thrower for the Golden Gopher women’s track & field team and her dream is to throw in the Olympics.
“It will be tough without doing track all year round, but if I don’t make it in 2008, I’ll try for 2012,” said Podominick. Her plan of attack includes concentrating solely on track as a fifth-year senior and after four successful seasons with the Gopher basketball team.
The two athletic worlds of Liz Podominick are as different as night and day. She equally relishes the insane craziness and noise of a packed house in Williams Arena and the tranquil solitude of the Bierman Field track.
“With basketball you run out to a crowd of 14,000 and that’s a rush in itself,” explains Podominick. “Track is more low-key without many people noticing.”
With careful planning, Podominick doesn’t find one sport competing against the other for her attention. Instead, her passion for both sports thrives and her confidence as a student-athlete soars. Even with two sports, she is still maintaining an impressive 3.8 grade point average while double majoring in sociology and anthropology.
“In basketball you have to rely on other people. Track is all about your abilities. It’s what you do and the time you put into it,” Podominick explained. “When you add classes and studying, time management is always a challenge but I’ve learned to deal with it.”
After what she would term a sub-par freshman basketball season, Podominick turned to the track to regain her footing. Though she was redshirted that season, she found strength and confidence in herself as she returned to the fundamentals of throwing the shot and discus.
“I needed to stop thinking about basketball for a while after my freshman year,” says Podominick. “Track was a way to reset my mind. My thinking was that I can do better than this and I was going to just that.”
Liz’s sophomore season of basketball was marked by improvement. She became a reliable contributor to the Gophers as the first post player off the bench. An unfortunate bout of mononeucleosis struck in February and kept Podominick sidelined until the Big Ten Tournament. Podominick battled to regain her endurance and found her stride during the NCAA Tournament, finishing with an 8.0 points per game scoring average during the Big Dance.
Despite the Gophers’ disappointing, season-ending loss to eventual national champion Baylor, a week didn’t pass before Podominick was turned her thoughts to track and the promise of her first season of competitive throwing in a Minnesota uniform.
Six weeks later Podominick was climbing to the peak of the awards’ stand as the Big Ten champion, first in the discus, and then a day later, the shot put. She is the first freshman to accomplish this pretigious double at the Outdoor Championships and was honored as the Big Ten Outdoor Track Freshman of the Year.
Podominick went on to advance to the NCAA Championships in both the shot put and the discus. At the NCAA Track & Field Championships, the top eight placewinners are awarded All-America status. Podominick finished 10th in the shot put and 17th in the discus.
“I was a little surprised to have success so quickly, but I was really ready to compete,” said Podominick.
When the 2005 track season ended, it was time to pick up the basketball again. Liz was selected to compete on the Big Ten All-Star Foreign Team. The squad toured Belgium and the Netherlands and posted a 5-0 record over international competition. Podominick continued to excel in her game, averaging 10.0 points per game while shooting an impressive 67.5 percent from the floor.
With two years of collegiate athletic experience to draw upon, Podominick enters her junior season on the hardwood with an renewed competitive spirit. She has experience at the highest levels of NCAA Championship competition in both her sports as a foundation. She especially relates to her mind set in the throwing circle when facing a tough challenge on the basketball court.
“Any chance I have to compete, and I know I can compete, I know I can be better than my opponent,” says Podominick of her mindset when competing in the shot put or discus. “The experience of a high level competition and excelling at that level gives you a great deal of confidence.”
As the Golden Gophers embark on another exciting season of roundball, a different Liz Podominick takes to the court. She is still listed at 6 feet, 2 inches in height in the game program, but she sure seems to be standing just a little taller these days. Perhaps it is the two years of maturity and experience on the basketball court as a reference point. Or maybe, it’s the beginnings of a swagger, knowing she’s a two-time Big Ten track champion. Most likely it is a combination of both nurturing a more confident Liz Podominick. That signals good things to come for Gopher fans of both the women’s basketball and women’s track & field team.
“My freshman year I put a lot of pressure on myself and I’ve learned not to do that,” concludes Podominick. “I go in and compete every day. If things don’t go well, there’s always another day I can prove myself. I don’t worry about that. I go out, have fun and play hard.”
