Wamsley sets school records in long jump, triple jump; Wamsley, Brown win triple, 3,000 meter run respectively at Otterbein Inv.
Northwest graduate and Shawnee State multi-sport athlete Haidyn Wamsley has primarily focused on volleyball during her time at SSU. It certainly wasn't an ill-advised choice, after all -- as the springy frontline hitter and three-year starter vaulted to First-Team All-River States Conference honors in 2023.
However, those who know Wamsley well simply know that the skilled student-athlete has a different mentality -- because one knows that Wamsley simply has a different motor than the average athlete.
As a result, when the lights are on, Wamsley never disappoints.
A multi-time OHSAA Division II All-Ohio honoree on the track and field side of the spectrum who finished as the 2022 Mid-South Conference Runner-Up with a 1.64-meter high jump in outdoor track en route to a NAIA National Championship appearance in that campaign, Wamsley showed off her incredible talent in the Shawnee State women's indoor track and field program's first meet of 2024 -- winning the women's triple jump with a 10.39-meter mark, placing second in the women's long jump with a 4.98-meter jump, and notching a third overall with a 1.59-meter performance in the women's high jump.
Those performances allowed Wamsley to not only collect 10 of Shawnee State's 29 points by herself, but also allowed Wamsley to set indoor track and field program records in both the long jump and the triple jump as the Bears finished second to host Otterbein Saturday afternoon in Westerville.
Wamsley and Jozi Brown, who took home top honors in the 3,000 meter run, each collected victories for the women's indoor track program -- and between their performances, ultimately combined for 15 markers on their own.
Wamsley puts field on notice
An OHSAA Division II State Qualifier in track and field in both 2019 as well as 2021 -- with a OHSAA Division II State Runner-Up finish and a fifth place in the high jump as well as a fifth place finish in the 100 meter hurdles and a seventh-place finish in the long jump at Northwest as her main efforts in high school in addition to her collegiate accomplishments -- Wamsley showed no rust with her performances at Otterbein.
Her 10.39-meter triple jump not only bested second-place finisher and Otterbein's Charlie Dolliver by eight-hundreths of a meter, but put Wamsley within one full meter of a NAIA National 'B' Standard mark in the event, while her 4.98-meter long jump has Wamsley within a half-meter of a NAIA National 'B' Standard in that event, as well.
Her 1.59-meter high jump, however, is even closer to meeting national qualification -- as Wamsley sits just six-hundreths of a meter off of a NAIA National 'B' Standard and nine-hundreths of a meter from NAIA 'A' Standard qualification.
Wamsley currently sits at the top of the line in the River States Conference in the high jump and the triple jump -- and is third overall in the conference rundown in the long jump.
Brown, Reed pace 3,000-meter field
Behind Wamsley, however, there were plenty of impressive efforts to go around.
That was especially the case in the 3,000-meter run -- where senior Jozi Brown and junior Sydney Reed finished one-two in the finishing order of the women's 3,000 meter run. Brown's 11:21.22 and Reed's 11:25.42 were times that bettered the remaining participants in the 3,000 by no less than 17 and 13 seconds, respectively.
Additional
Behind Wamsley, Brown and Reed, additional point scorers included Olivia Cisco and Juniper Allen (5:43.51 and 5:43.56, one mile run), Ivy Gentry (1:10.18, women's 400 meter run and 4.74-meter jump, women's long jump), Kirsten Evans and McKenna Pannell (2:39.07 and 2:39.14, women's 800 meter run), Faith Kuhn (9.33-meter throw, women's shot put), and Marli Marcum (women's triple jump).
The SSU women's indoor track and field program will be back in action Saturday, Jan. 27 at the Steemer Showcase, which will be held on the campus of Wittenberg University in Springfield.
For more information on SSU Bears Athletics, visit www.ssubears.com or visit the Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages at https://twitter.com/