One of the nation’s top high jumpers making history at Tiffin
GALION, Ohio (BVM) – Not many high jumpers earn a No. 1 ranking in the country at the college level – but Marisa Gwinner has. The 20-year-old athlete is coming off her sophomore season at Tiffin University, and already has a national championship to her name. Despite her chance at a second championship being taken away due to COVID-19 this spring, Gwinner continues to improve and has a bright future ahead of her.
Gwinner began her track and field career in middle school, initially planning to be a hurdler. But after an ankle injury suffered while hurdling caused her to miss most of her seventh grade season, her coach suggested that she instead compete in the high jump. The rest is history, as Gwinner came back from the injury to win the state high jump championship that very same season.
The 20-year-old was a multi-sport athlete growing up, playing basketball, softball, and volleyball. Within track and field, Gwinner competed in the pole vault, sprints, long jump, and of course, high jump. She was initially recruited by most colleges to be a heptathlon athlete, where she would compete in numerous track and field events.
After beginning her impressive resume in seventh grade, the 5-foot-8 jumper continued it in high school at Galion, breaking the high jump record at the school early in her freshman year. As she continued to excel at various track and field events, Gwinner began receiving college offers from schools such as Penn State, Purdue, and Ohio State.
But in a last minute decision, Gwinner chose to stay close to home and attend Division II Tiffin University, as it seemed like the best choice for her thanks to her familiarity with the school and the team.
Two years later, the decision to choose Tiffin couldn’t have gone any better. Going into her freshman year, coach Keith Reiter gave Gwinner some lofty expectations, but also the confidence to achieve them. Reiter has meant a lot to the Gwinner’s development over the past two years, and she is thankful for him as a coach.
“Coach Keith is a different coach than most coaches I’ve dealt with in my life. He trusts that you have knowledge of what’s going on and works so hard because he does so much for our team. He is so trustworthy and just incredible,” Gwinner said.
The confidence gained from her coach shined through, and by the end of that freshman season, the 20-year-old had become a national champion.
In her first ever NCAA Outdoor Championship meet in Texas, Gwinner jumped over a height of 1.73 meters to claim the title. But at first, she didn’t even realize she had won.
“It was so funny because we all missed the last bar and I lost track of where everyone else was at. But I looked over at coach Keith and he had the biggest smile on his face and then the official came up to me and said ‘Congratulations, you’re a national champion!’ It was insane because throughout high school I never won a state championship. To finally be on the top of the podium was so surreal and it meant so much to the track program,” Gwinner said.
Gwinner’s national championship was a groundbreaking one, as it was the first-ever individual national title for the women’s track and field team at Tiffin. That made the already incredible accomplishment even more meaningful for Gwinner, as she and the rest of the team continue to turn the program into a winner.
“Our women’s program had a stellar year and won our first-ever indoor and outdoor conference championships that season. Usually it’s hard for women to get recognition that they deserve so for us to become a powerhouse team even with how small the school is is huge. I hope that recruits coming in want to live up to the standards that this is a winning team and a winning atmosphere as well,” Gwinner said.
The high jumper made plenty of progress during her sophomore season at Tiffin. This year, Gwinner completed a 1.80 meter jump, which broke the school record she already held from freshman year. It’s been an honor for Gwinner to hold the record, but she hopes to continue to set the bar even higher.
“It was cool to have the record as my own in the first place, but also be able to look at it and say that’s yours, now go break it again,” Gwinner said.
In addition, the 1.80 meter jump led Gwinner to become the No. 1 ranked Division II high jumper in the nation. It’s a prestigious ranking, but Gwinner knows there is plenty of competition out there.
“On a national scale it doesn’t really matter what your ranking is. When I won my championship, I was ranked fifth coming in so the No. 1 ranking didn’t mean a lot to me because I knew it would be tough to repeat as a champion and it’s anyone’s game. But at the same time, it is a good feeling to know you’re ranked first,” the 20-year-old said.
As the country’s best D-II high jumper, Gwinner was destined to win an indoor national championship in her sophomore season. The team traveled to Birmingham, Ala. for the championships where things began normal through the first day-and-a-half of practice. However, concern began to grow that the championships could be canceled because of the concerns regarding COVID-19, and they ultimately were after the morning practice of the team’s second day in Birmingham.
It was a deflating moment for Gwinner personally, but perhaps even more heartbreaking to watch her teammates suffer through the cancelation after all the work they had put in this season.
“My heart just sank,” Gwinner said. “We were just crying because to me, it was heartbreaking to watch my teammates’ hard work throughout the entire season and have it taken away like that. Nothing like this has ever happened and it was so hard to wrap our heads around it.”
Shortly after, the outdoor championships were canceled as well, denying Gwinner a chance at back-to-back national titles. There’s no telling whether the high jumper would have won the championship with the increased competition she faced this year, but there is no doubt she had as good a chance as any.
However, Gwinner can at least take solace in knowing she has two more years left to compete at Tiffin. There is a chance the high jumper could take another year of eligibility to make up for the missed opportunity from this year, but she is still undecided about it and is not sure if it will correlate with her goals academically.
A 4.0 GPA student who has made the Dean’s List all four of her semesters at Tiffin, Gwinner is majoring in digital media and design, and hopes to have her own photography business someday. The 20-year-old aims to continue her academic success over her final two years at Tiffin.
“My goals for myself are to stay on the Dean’s List for the rest of my time at Tiffin. With getting this 4.0, I know I can do it so I really want to try to continue having a great GPA,” Gwinner said.
Gwinner also has goals for her final two track seasons with the Dragons. One includes completing a 6-foot jump, which could have potentially happened this season had it had the chance to fully play out.
“On the track side, whether I’m an All-American or national champion I will be happy with it no matter what. I know what I can do and what I have done and nobody can take that away from me. I also hope the 6-foot jump happens. My coach has said if you keep pushing yourself and doing what you’re doing, it’s going to come. I’m excited for when that day comes and have faith that it will,” Gwinner said.
The high jumper has already left a legacy in her hometown of Galion. Now, she also has the chance to add to the legacy she and her teammates have already left on the Tiffin women’s track and field program, and hopes it will continue on for years to come.
“I think the type of legacy I want to leave on Tiffin is no matter where you’re from or who you are, whatever you put your mind to and whatever you want to do, know that you can do it. I hope someday that somebody breaks my record and is able to say they won a national championship as well. I would love for people to look up to me like that,” the 20-year-old said.
Gwinner is an incredible athlete, a smart student and a tremendous person. After a great start to her collegiate high jumping career, she has more goals to achieve and undoubtedly will sooner than later. Through the history she has already made at the school, it is safe to say Gwinner has already established quite a legacy on Tiffin.
