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Meet the National Champion Southern remains a touchstone for the couple, who hold four Southern diplomas and degrees between them. Owls football played a role as well. As a student, Jeff was a three-year starter and captain for the Owls, and he returned to his alma mater twice to serve as an assistant coach. He was inducted into Southern’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018. For Allison, Southern made it possible to earn advanced degrees while teaching in the city. “I went to school by day and taught. I went to school by night and learned,” says Allison, a self-described born educator, who, as a child, assigned homework to her younger sister — and actually got her to do it. Allison left her formal teaching career when the family moved repeatedly to follow collegiate and professional coaching opportunities. Jeff coached at the University of Alabama, the University of Miami, Michigan State University, and Syracuse University before joining the Eagles in 2013. As the family has grown, Allison, in turn, has focused on writing. Her four children’s books offer simple but profound tips for young readers to create a happier world — which leads to the couple today. On Feb. 8, the Stoutland family joined Philadelphia’s parade honoring the Eagles — riding a double-decker bus alongside the team’s offensive linemen, coaches, and their families. “That I remember completely,” says Allison. “Watching the players, the city of Philadelphia, and the millions who showed up for that parade was one of the happiest moments of my life. It was such an accomplishment, and it was so genuine. Everything about that day was genuine.”
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Destiney Coward
2018 NCA A Div. II In door Track an d Field Champion WEIGHT THROW
• Chemistry major, senior • Track and Field, throwing events • Hometown: East Haven, Conn. Record smasher: Southern’s all-time record holder in the weight throw (21.29 in 2018)
and the hammer (62.51 in 2017) • Among the NCAA Div. II All-Time Best Performers in the indoor weight throw (7th) and the outdoor hammer (8th) • Numerous Athlete of the Year and All American honors (indoor and outdoor)
It begins: While Coward comes from a family of athletes, her career as a hammer
thrower began at Southern. Before meeting award-winning coach Bill Sutherland, ’73, she had only two seasons of experience as a discus and shot put athlete in high school.
Thanks coach: “He told me, ‘You could be good at those, but great at this,’” says
Coward of Sutherland, who also competed as a track athlete at Southern and ranks in the Owls’ top 10 in the discus throw. Sutherland also coached Olympians, including 2004 U.S. hammer performer Anna Mahon, 6th Yr. ’07.
Excelling on the field and in the classroom: “It’s always been about finding the time,” says Coward. “Sometimes one comes before the other. It’s not always perfectly balanced, but I try.”
Olympic dreams: Coward says her next step is Hayward Field in Oregon for the 2020 Olympic trials. While she hopes to later attend medical school and become a doctor, for now, she says her aspirations are on the field.
Most memorable moment: competing at an outdoor event in spring 2017, just after
the national anthem played and the players were being introduced • “I was just standing there when they announced that I was in the top 10 of [NCAA] Div. II history — something I hadn’t known about myself. It’s so crazy to think about,” says Coward. By Isabella Collier, senior, English major
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Owls Fly at Gymnastics Nationals
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IX MEMBERS OF THE OWLS GYMNASTICS TEAM QUALIFIED TO COMPETE AT THE 2018 USA GYMNASTICS COLLEGIATE
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS , which kicked off on April 12 at Texas Woman’s University in Denton. Congratulations to Kathleen Aberger, Alexandra Avendano, Emily Balasco, Kylyn Dawkins, Morgan Gatewood, and Alexandra Lesperance.
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