Indiana commit Ulrich ends record-setting high school track career with two state titles
EAST ALTON, Ill. (BVM) — Jayden Ulrich will soon head to Indiana University to continue her discus and shot put career. In doing so, she will leave Illinois as one of the most accomplished high school track athletes to ever compete.
When Ulrich first began track in sixth grade, it didn’t take long for her to become a star. Coming from a childhood where she played multiple sports, Ulrich began competing in multiple track events, and was always a strong runner.
However, it was the shot put and discus that really caught her eye, and she was a natural talent right away.
“I really liked it because I was strong so I had good numbers and I would win a lot,” Ulrich explained. “Of course I’d want to do something that I was winning.”
As an eighth grader, Ulrich took home an Illinois Elementary School Association state title in the shot put after finishing runner up the year prior. The championship was the first in East Alton Middle School history.
“Winning state my eighth grade year really made me realize I could continue to train and potentially get better,” Ulrich said. “It gave me a lot of motivation to continue to put more work in.”
As a freshman at East Alton-Wood River High School, Ulrich didn’t miss a beat. From day one, she broke the program record for a shot put throw, which she continued to break throughout the season and her career. At state, she finished in the top five with a shot put throw of 41-4.75, becoming the first state track and field medalist in school history.
“In middle school it was kind of like go out and throw a few throws and that’s the practice,” Ulrich said. “But it started changing because I specifically trained for shot put and started doing drills. Getting a state medal my freshman year was really good and gave me even more motivation to see what else I could do.”
During her sophomore year, Ulrich continued to get better and better in both the shot put and discus. By the time state rolled around, she was not only prepared to win two more state medals, but also a state championship, and she did just that.
Ulrich would finish second in the discus with a best-throw of 139-11. But she took home a state title this time in the shot put after throwing 46-9.5, again a first at East Alton-Wood River.
“It was a lot of fun winning my shot put title,” Ulrich said. “It meant a lot to me and showed that I had been doing what I needed to do to be able to win.”
In 2020, Ulrich was prepared to win a state title in the discus as well. However, she never had the chance to compete with the spring sports season canceled.
“My junior year being canceled was really disappointing,” Ulrich noted. “If I had my junior year, I could probably have gone even further my senior year.”
It may have been a lost season, but Ulrich couldn’t have done much better than she did when returning to compete for the Oilers this spring. Going undefeated all season, Ulrich put on some impressive displays, including a pair of state-record throws with 51-10.75 in the shot put and 168-1.75 in the discus.
“I was super excited to get back out there because I went a year and a half without meets,” Ulrich said. “My goals were to get a PR and I wanted to come into my senior season doing the best I could since I didn’t get a junior year.
“Those [record-setting throws] were really special moments to me. It just showed that I’ve been doing what I needed to do in order to get those numbers and it showed all the work I’ve put in.”
Just a couple weeks ago, Ulrich concluded her high school career by finally taking home two state titles in both the shot put and discus. It caps what has been a dominant high school career for Ulrich, who left quite a mark on the Oilers’ program.
“It means a lot,” Ulrich said. “I went to a lot of meets and had some good competition but I was always able to pull first place out. It means a lot to me to be able to do that continuously. I really hope I left a big impact because this is hard work.”
Ulrich has not only shined within the East Alton-Wood River community, and not even just within the state of Illinois. She is also well known on the national scale thanks to her impressive performances in several big-time meets.
One of the 18-year-old’s biggest breakthroughs was a fifth-place All-American finish at the 2019 New Balance Outdoor Nationals. Earlier this year, she earned another fifth-place finish at the Adidas Indoor Nationals, also receiving the third All-American honor of her young career.
“Going into nationals my sophomore year, I really wanted to get All-American status so I’m really glad I did that and got fifth,” Ulrich said.
Ulrich will again compete at nationals next week in Eugene, Ore., and has high expectations coming off such a great high school season.
“Going into nationals this year is different because I’m also doing discus. I’m really ready for that competition and I’m going in there with the idea of earning All-American status once again and hopefully getting top three or higher.”
The national experience can only help as Ulrich sets off to begin her college career. The thrower first began receiving college offers after sophomore year. Eventually, she narrowed down her options to Baylor, Iowa, Wisconsin and Indiana. But ultimately, it was the Hoosiers that she had her mind set on.
“What really sold me on Indiana was probably the distance,” Ulrich explained. “That was a big factor for my family. The coach was also really nice, I really like the coach.”
Ulrich is thrilled to begin competing in Bloomington, Ind., and she will continue putting in the work to get better everyday.
“I’m super excited to go to college and experience a whole new level of competition,” Ulrich said. “I don’t really have set goals for college, I just know that I want to be better than I am right now.”
By her time is wrapped up at Indiana, Ulrich hopes she might be good enough to pursue some kind of professional career, and maybe even represent her country in the Olympics.
“It would take a lot of work and a lot of practice,” Ulrich said. “I hope to go further than college and time will tell with that. But it would be a dream.”
It has already been a tremendous throwing career for the East Alton-Wood River grad, and she continues to prove that anything might be possible with her future career.
