By JOHN VERSER
GLASGOW — Patrick Stuart is adding to the family legacy once again.
The Barren County senior signed a National Letter of Intent Friday afternoon to participate in track and field at Marquette University, a Jesuit institution in Milwaukee, Wis.
Stuart, who participates in throwing events, narrowed his choices to Marquette and Louisville before picking the Wisconsin school. He also looked at Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee State, Arkansas-Little Rock, Sam Houston State and the University of California at Santa Barbara.
“I really had it narrowed down to Louisville and Marquette,” Stuart said. “I knew it was going to be Big East probably. Then coach Milton (Williams) from Arkansas(-Little Rock) called and I really kind of thought about that, and Middle Tennessee, but really I just fell in love with Marquette when I was up there.”
Stuart won the Class A state title last year in the shot put and also finished fifth in the discus while competing for Glasgow High School. He said there were several reasons why Marquette stood out over all the others.
“They’re a tier one school, which means they’re ranked with Harvard and Yale with education,” Stuart said. “And they’re Big East. They’re Division I, which is what I wanted. And they really put out a nice financial package for me.
“Plus, it was a great fit up there. I was like one of the team right away. I’m really excited to go up there and compete.”
Stuart was a natural fit with the Golden Eagles’ team right from the beginning, according to associate head coach Mike Koenning. Stuart visited the school last December.
“I’ve found Patrick to be a good fit for our program from the beginning of the recruiting process,” Koenning said in an e-mail. “His energy and excitement for throwing is hard to beat. He’s had a lot of success at the high school level and has a strong desire to continue that into college.
“When he visited campus he seemed to fit right in with his future teammates and will be able to transition into college life at Marquette very well. We’re excited to have him and look forward to his arrival on our campus.”
Stuart had a lot of family help in his decision. Some of the advice came from his father, Howard, who threw at Arizona State, and his uncle, Jesse, who won the national title in the shot put in 1974 while competing for Western Kentucky, along with many other family members connected to the sport.
“Having that background to help him out with has done a lot,” Howard Stuart said. “Jesse came here to town a few days ago. I think he’ll throw a few more feet here pretty quick from some stuff he taught him. That’s good. And then all of us going through colleges, it’s helped to get him in contact with schools. And really the reputation too of the family helps him somewhat.”
Patrick Stuart will participate in both the shot put and discus in college, and will “probably pick up the hammer and the indoor weight” throw as well.
“The Big East has got a strong group of throwers and that really will push myself to try to better myself,” he said. “The Marquette school record is close to the Big East record, so it’s really going to push myself to be a better athlete.”
Patrick Stuart said the recruiting process was “exciting” and that there were a lot of “perks” involved. He got to see the Louisville-Kentucky basketball game “six rows away from the floor,” in addition to several other added benefits.
“Marquette really showed a lot of interest,” Howard Stuart said. “It was such a good school too. It’s a great opportunity for him to go up there. He wanted DI (Division I) competition. They’re in the Big East.
“He’ll have his hands full there, because they’re a pretty strong conference. There are a lot of good, young throwers in the Big East. So it will push him.”
