DePaul shot putter Kash Allen goes from walk-on to All-American
A record 11 DePaul track and field athletes have qualified for this week's NCAA West preliminary rounds.
One of those athletes is shot putter Kash Allen. She is one of the top shot putters in the country, but her college athletics career started on the basketball court at Benedictine University in Lisle.
"I actually tore my right meniscus in my freshman year, and so like, doing contact was a no-go for me after that. I was very scared and timid," Allen said. "I threw shot in high school — so like throwing was something that I already had a base in — so I was like, might as well try it again."
Allen said she just walked onto the track team at Benedictine.
"I actually reached out to the head coach at the time. I was like: 'Oh, these are my stats from high school, like, is it OK if I join?'" said Allen. "And he took a gamble.
After becoming a two-time Division III All-American, Allen decided to push herself even more — eventually landing with the Blue Demons under track and field coach Brandon Murer as a graduate student.
"At Benedictine University, by my senior year, I knew I wanted to do a master's in social work, but they didn't have that program," Allen said. "So one day I got bored, entered the portal just to see what would happen, and evidently, Coach Murer was actually the first coach to reach out to me."
Allen ended up going from walk-on to All-American.
"I actually qualified for D-III Nationals my first year walking on for that outdoor. I ended up scratching all three throws at that first Nationals. The second year I clinched it by a hair and made Indoor Nationals, and I was seeded like 16th and ended up finishing second, and then same thing for Outdoors, ranked lower and finished second," she said, "I guess that National is something I love doing.
Allen just won her third career Big East shot put title at the conference outdoor championships. Earlier in the season, she broke her own distance record at 16.1 meters.
But Allen has an even further goal in mind as she heads to the NCAA's.
"I'm hoping to throw 17. If I can get my right foot under me and push through, that 17 is right there in the book," she said. "I know for a fact I can throw 17. My coaches believe in me. My teammates believe in me. It's there. I just also have to believe it."
What is next for Allen when all is said and done at DePaul?
"Getting my degree and master's in social work, and I will be a full-time therapist — licensed social worker," Allen said, "and my primary niche to work with is athletes, and how do we build that mental health with athletes?"
Allen broke down some of the psychological and emotional challenges she went through in track and field.
"Just a lot, like impostor syndrome was the biggest one. When you transfer from D-III to D-I it's hard sometimes. You get that little pushback of, 'Oh, am I good enough here? Like, how will I fit in?" Like, that transition is not as easy as I thought it was going to be," she said. "So I struggled a lot with just knowing like, if I was able to make it here, and really excel here, if my coaches were able to bring me here, then they believe in me too — so why should I not?"
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