The Wichita State track and field program has had its fair share of success stories with small-town Kansas athletes becoming multi-event All-Americans.
Destiny Masters might top the list for WSU head coach Steve Rainbolt.
The El Dorado native ascended to new heights on Friday afternoon at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Boston, shattering her own school record with a new personal-best of 4,338 in the pentathlon to finish sixth overall and earn first team All-America status. She is the first in program history to become a first team All-American in the pentathlon and just the 11th female athlete in any event to place in the top eight.
“This is so special that I don’t even know really how to express it,” Rainbolt said in a phone interview from Boston. “This is a story of extremely impressive development. And we’ve had a few of those, but this one is really, really special and it ranks absolutely right up there because of how far she’s come.”
Masters was a completely unheralded jumper when she graduated from tiny Bluestem high school, but has developed into one of the best multi-event athletes in WSU history.
She had already guaranteed All-American honors by qualifying for nationals, but improved to first-team status in her first NCAA appearance in the pentathlon by registering her best mark in the five-event competition by 127 points.
“I couldn’t be any more happy right now,” Masters said in a phone interview. “I’m still just in the moment, so I don’t think it has fully sunk in right now. All I can say is I’m very proud of myself for getting here.”
Masters opened the competition with a personal-best time of 8.32 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles, then won the high jump, her strongest event, by clearing 6 foot, 0½ inches.
Where Masters showed her most growth was how she responded following the shot put, her weakest event, where she struggled with a mark (38-1¼) that was nearly four feet shorter than her personal best. In the past, a bad result like that would have derailed Masters.
“I’m able to control my emotions so much more than I was ever capable of in the beginning,” Masters said. “Today I only cried a couple of tears and I was able to get over them very fast. In the past, I probably would have been crying through every event.”
On Friday, Masters responded by ending the competition with two lifetime-best performances in the long jump (19-10¾), tacking on three inches to her previous best, and the 800 (2:25.62), shaving nearly five seconds off her previous best, to secure a top-eight finish.
“Destiny truly took another step in her development and she handled it the best I’ve ever seen her,” Rainbolt said. “She didn’t let it get to her. In the past, it would have been maybe impossible to come back from. That’s why this is so special.”
It was the second All-American award won by Masters, who was a second team All-American in the outdoor high jump last season. She joins other small-town Kansas natives like Tanya Friesen (Buhler), Chris Dickman (Grinnell) and Hunter Veith (Cheney) who have achieved All-American status at WSU in multi-event competitions.
She continues her NCAA Indoor Championships competition with the open high jump at noon Saturday. Masters said her goal is to improve on her personal-best mark of 6-1¼.
“I know I’m going to be on dead legs, but I really am hoping to PR,” Masters said.
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
