Jolene Nagel: Renaissance Woman

Congrats to Duke head coach Jolene Nagel, who will be inducted into the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame on February 19. We assume Chautauqua is indian for "obscure area of New York," as Nagel was a graduate of Panama Central High School.

In the Post-Journal article announcing the ceremony, quite a laundry list of Nagel's past athletic achievements is given, including her stint as a club coach for the Columbia Comets, her inclusion as a 1979 Division 3 All-Stars second team for basketball, and her sixth place in the Section 6 diving in 1975. You remember 1975, right? The Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Red Sox in the World Series, Gerald Ford was president, and the Bee Gees weren't a punchline.

Not to be overlooked is Nagel's work with horses. The Duke head coach showed horses from "1970-1979 in 4-H, PONY Association and quarter horse competition. Nagel was New York State Fair-Master Showman and had a first in Western Horsemanship."

Master showman! Anyone with a passing knowledge of fair hierarchy knows that master showman is nothing to sneeze at. It's this kind of background that no doubt prepared her for the rigors of Duke.