Hempfield’s Orie commits to DePaul track program

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 13, 2018 | 9:51 PM

When MacKenna Orie was a freshman, she thought her athletic future in college would be in either lacrosse or soccer.

By the end of her sophomore year at Hempfield, she knew it would be in track and field, mainly in the field events.

Orie announced Saturday that she will continue her career at DePaul. After receiving numerous offers from Division I schools, she decided on the full ride the Blue Demons were offering.

Her other finalists were William & Mary, Louisville and Kentucky.

“I’m really excited,” Orie said. “It’s a great school, and the City of Chicago is a beautiful place.

“They have a great coaching staff, and everyone on the team welcomed me. It felt like a great family.”

Orie was the WPIAL Class AAA discus champion and runner-up in the shot put. She placed fourth in the PIAA meet in the discus and sixth in the shot put.

But she opened eyes at the New Balance Nationals when she threw a personal-best 141 feet, 11 inches in the discus.

According to Hempfield throwing coach Dave Murray, Orie has been reaching 161 at workouts during the summer.

“She had a lot of offers, probably the most offers of any athlete I’ve coached,” Murray said. “I’m expecting big things from her.”

—Paul Schofield

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.