Teagan Rasche began her collegiate career at Virginia Tech University, and when she decided to come to Tucson in August of 2016, it was for a much bigger purpose.

 

"I have grown a lot as a person, as a student and as an athlete," said Rasche. "My goal is to become a sports broadcaster. I fell in love with journalism more than I ever thought possible. Fifteen year old Teagan wanted to be a sports broadcaster, and here I am at twenty-two and that is exactly what I want to do, and I want to do it more than ever before. I would not have been able to do this without track and the support of my coaches; giving me tough love when I needed it and pushing me."

Rasche has competed in eight javelin throw contests and a pair of hammer throw events for the Cats, finishing in the top-10 nine times.
 
" I think about those moments where I got tough love as the moments that I made the changes, went out and got more experience. I took everything that everyone has told me to heart. When they said get more experience, I did. They said work harder, I did. They said do this, and I went, and did that. It has been great. I have had amazing people in life help me along the way, both on the track and in the classroom, and I am so very grateful for all the support because I would not be here without everyone."
 
With her on this journey has been her coach, T.J. Crater, who has pushed her both on the track and in the classroom to be the best she can be.
 
 "T.J. has been great. I would not be chasing a sports broadcasting career without him," said Rasche. "He was actually the first person that said, 'You need to start getting experience, you came here to be a sports broadcaster so go do that.' I remember him telling me that one day, only a year after I had gotten here, and I was kind of mad. I was thinking how dare he tell me what to do like that, but then I was thinking 'I'll show him.'"
 
And show him she did; Rasche has been a sports broadcaster for the Daily Wildcat and FC Tucson for the past two years.
 
"That is when I went out and started to get the experience. Also, on the track he has been there for me. When I'm crying he will tell me how to fix things and what to do, when I'm happy, he encourages me to keep going. He has definitely seen me at my worst and he has seen me at my best, but he supports me on both sides. I have known him since I was fifteen, so I have known him for a very long time, and he is going to be someone that I am going to be in contact with for the rest of my life."
 


She uses her unique perspective as a student-athlete to her advantage, bringing first hand knowledge of what it truly means to be an athlete to the broadcasting booth.
 
"I think I have an advantage as an athlete, seeing what goes on behind the scenes versus what the media gets to see. I want to tell those stories because those are the stories of the true inspiration and the true grit. People see the trophies at the end of the day, but what they don't see are the hours and years that are spent building to those moments."
 
"Those are the stories I want to tell," said Rasche. "The thing about sports broadcasting is that I love the thrill, I love the high pressure, I love having to preform now. It is kind of like sports, in a career. I will get to use the qualities of being a good athlete and put that into sports broadcasting. The preparedness, the adrenaline, the pressure, I live for that. It is definitely something that lights my soul on fire."
 
Rasche's time competing for the Cats is limited, with only a few meets left this season. But that hasn't stopped her from enjoying every moment leading up to the last.
 
"I am looking forward to finishing out this ride. This is what young Teagan wanted, I wanted to be a collegiate athlete so badly and I never thought it would end and here it is, almost ending. I am really getting excited for the next chapter and I am excited to finish off these last few meets and takeing it all in. I know it is limited and I know that I won't ever get to wear a Block A on my chest in a competition ever again, so I just want to do my best, see what happens and take that pressure off of myself."


 
On May 11th & 12th, Howard and the Cats will host the Pac-12 Championships at Roy P. Drachman Stadium. For Rasche, it will close one chapter of her life and begin the next.
 
 "It is awesome," said Rasche. "What better way is there to finish off my collegiate career. At home, during graduation weekend, with my family here. It really could not have been a better day, better timing or better location. I am really excited to show the Pac-12 what we have to offer and how great Tucson and the community are. We just saw how many fans came out for the women's basketball team, and this is another huge event, a lot of fans will be coming and some of the top talent in the nation will be here. It is going to be a great weekend. There are going to be celebrations on the track, in the classroom and at the end of it, I am going to have a degree and be retired. It is going to be a wild weekend."