JoJo Tyynismaa receives her first place medal for the 60 meter hurdles during the American Rivers Conference meet on March 1. PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT

WAVERLY — JoJo Tyynismaa’s track and field career is so accomplished that it might sound strange to think that she feels like she has unfinished business. But she does.

The 2022 South Tama graduate, and now Wartburg standout, had one of the most decorated track and field careers in South Tama history. She holds five STC school running records. She medaled nine times in the State Track Meet.

And, yet, you cannot look back on her high school career without wondering, “What more could have been?” That’s because she accomplished all that she did in just three years. Her sophomore track season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Losing my sophomore season was bittersweet,” Tyynismaa said.

She notes that the team had some strong opening weeks of practice in early March of 2020, before the season ended.

JoJo Tyynismaa attacks the first hurdle in the 60 meter hurdles during the American Rivers Conference meet on March 1. PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT

“Thinking back on those practices, I think it just shows what could have been,” she added.

Tyynismaa persevered, however, and, though her junior year was marked by a quad injury, she still was able to add two State medals to her total.

“The injury affected me at the State Meet but I was able to watch my younger brother Tommy compete at his first State appearance, which was really fun,” she said.

During her senior campaign at STC, everything came together for Tyynismaa. She was healthy, and she was able to capture what had eluded her to that point: a State Championship. Tyynismaa set the school record in the 400 hurdles (1:03.65) and narrowly edged Winterset’s Darci Wiseman (1:03.73) to capture the gold. She became STC’s first individual female state champion in a running event in school history.

“It was one of my favorite memories in my high school career,” Tyynismaa said. “I honestly wasn’t expecting it. I just tried to close the gap coming into the final turn.”

JoJo Tyynismaa leads on the final turn of the open 400 during the American Rivers Conference meet on March 1. Tyynismaa won the race with a time of 57.45. PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT

In the same meet, Tyynismaa also added runner-up finishes in the 100 Hurdles and the open 200 (both new school records). It was also a successful meet for the STC boys and girls track and field program as a whole.

“We were a small and close-knit group,” Tyynismaa noted. “It was really fun as a program because we had a lot of people qualify in multiple events and we got to hear so many friends and family from South Tama cheering all around the track.”

When all was said and done, it was one of the best track and field careers in STC history. And, yet, the question lingers, “What more could have been with one more season?”

As the STC track and field season was shutting down for JoJo in the spring of 2020, 60 miles away to the north, her sister Isabelle lost her senior track season at Wartburg College. Isabelle was a standout track athlete in her own right. She still owns the record in the open 400 at STC. At Wartburg, she qualified for the Division III Nationals every year, including being part of the 3rd place outdoor 4×400 relay team her sophomore year.

But the day before she was to compete at the 2020 Indoor Division III Nationals, the season was called off, as well as the entire Outdoor season. For Isabelle now, as well as JoJo, there was unfinished business.

When it came time for JoJo to make her college choice, the decision was an easy one. She followed in her sister’s footsteps and became a Knight.

“For me, I knew that if I was going to run track in college, it was going to be Wartburg. With Belle going through the program before me, I learned a lot about the training there and I got to know Head Coach (Marcus) Newsom on a personal level,” JoJo said.

Her decision has paid off.

‘The track and field program at Wartburg has been so much fun and I have been able to grow in many ways,’ JoJo said. ‘I have teammates who push me to become the best version of myself.’ Though she admits that it took some time to get used to the practice routine, JoJo quickly carried on the success she had in high school. During her freshman season at Wartburg, she and her teammates in the Distance Medley Relay won fourth place at the Indoor National Meet. She also qualified in three events in the Outdoor National Meet.

As a sophomore, she qualified in three events at Indoor Nationals and secured top-20 finishes in each. At the Outdoor National Meet, she also ran in three events, including a 3rd place finish in the 400 Hurdles — her high school State Championship event. As of now, in all of Wartburg’s storied track and field history, JoJo holds top-10 times in five different women’s running events.

As her junior year indoor season draws to an end this spring, JoJo has continued to increase her accolades. Two weeks ago at the American Rivers Conference indoor meet, she won the 60 meter hurdles, the open 400, finished second in the open 200, and anchored a second-place finish for the 4×400 relay team. For the second year in a row, she was voted the meets’ Most Valuable Track Performer.

With her outstanding indoor season, JoJo has qualified in two events for the Division III National Indoor Meet that takes place this weekend (March 14-15) in Rochester, New York. She will be competing in the 60 meter hurdles and the 4×400 relay. JoJo goes into the meet ranked 8th nationally in the 60 meter hurdles. Her 4×400 relay team is currently ranked seventh in the nation.

JoJo already has much success on her track and field résumé. But it isn’t hard for her to find motivation for more. When asked what keeps her driving forward, she cited several sources.

“I find motivation from growing up with three siblings. We played a lot of games and always created competitions around almost anything. My teammates and I motivate each other. And I also just really enjoy the sport of track and field and love being able to compete at a higher level,” she said.

But there was another motivation that JoJo cited as she heads to New York.

“Coach Newsom and I always discuss my sister Belle’s senior season that was cut short due to the COVID pandemic. We like to talk about how I have something, through my sister, to accomplish while I’m here: unfinished business.”