High jumper Gina Rickert of the ISU women’s track team has proven that determination and hard work can put you in the running to be a national champion.

But the star high-jumper certainly hasn’t traveled an easy road to athletic glory.

Rickert came to Iowa State from Brooklyn Park, Minn., after having twice been named the Minnesota high school state champion in the high jump.

“I actually hurt my knee before I came here, so they were taking a gamble on me,” Rickert said. “I was good in high school but I was coming in not being able to compete.”

Rickert said if it wasn’t for the ISU coaching staff, she wouldn’t have decided to come here and wouldn’t have stuck it out.

“It would have been hard to articulate right then,” Rickert said. “In hindsight, it came down to my gut feelings about the coach, the coaching staff and the education that I would receive, the level of comfort I felt in my visits.”

“The athlete has to make the decision,” jumping coach Ron McEachran said. “They have to ask themselves: Can I live in this town? Can I deal with this coach and be around him for four to five hours every day?”

Tough times

After redshirting her freshman year, Rickert jumped in the first meet in 1999 but was then forced to sit out the rest of the season due to the knee injury. Rickert said McEachran helped to motivate her every day and went through everything she did because he was watching her practices.

“Some days it was really hard to convince myself that it was worth it,” Rickert said. “I was going through rehab and had some frustrating practices.”

At that point, Rickert said she felt like a lot of people had put faith in her and she was a disappointment.

Her husband, Chris, who was her boyfriend at the time, helped her realize that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if it didn’t work out and if she wasn’t able to go back to jumping. And her family and friends would have continued to support her no matter what she decided to do.

“He said to me, ‘Gina, I’ve never known you to be a good athlete, and I still love you,’ ” Rickert said. “He didn’t meet me until I was already injured so I hadn’t been a good athlete in the time that he had known me.”

Rickert said she realized she shouldn’t be concerned about what others thought.

“I just thought, ‘Damn it, I’m going to try,’ ” she said.

Filling the trophy case

After having surgery on her left knee, Rickert returned to the track for the 2000 season and switched her jumping leg from her left to her right. She placed fourth at the Drake Relays and cleared a season best height of 5-5 1/4 at the Big 12 meet.

“Gina is a great athlete to coach,” McEachran said. “There’s always something to motivate her. She’ll do anything that is asked of her. She also has good suggestions and asks good questions in practice.”

Rickert continued to build her career during her senior year and her first year as a graduate student. The 2001 indoor season brought her the Big 12 crown as well as a sixth place finish at the NCAA Championships with a school-record jump of 6-0. Outdoors in 2002, Rickert again won the Big 12 Conference championship with a new school-record jump and tied for third in the country at the NCAA meet.

During the course of this year’s indoor season, Rickert has set the Lied Recreation field house record, tied the meet record to capture her fourth Big 12 championship title and was named the Mondo Indoor Midwest Regional Female Athlete of the Year.

Rickert said her most memorable jump was on Feb. 15 of this year at the Lied Recreation Center when she cleared 6-3 1/4 to break the field house record.

“It wasn’t a big meet as far as scoring or being important in the conference, but it was the most memorable for a couple of reasons,” Rickert said.

“My parents were there and it was at our home facility. It was my last opportunity to compete there as a Cyclone representing Iowa State.

“It was nice that my husband and my coach and the people who had gone through my career with me were there to celebrate,” she said.

Rickert’s other most memorable jumps were when she set the Drake Relays record in 2002, her jumps in the National Championships and the jump she made the first time she became an All-American.

Rickert was first named as an All-American in 2001 at the end of the indoor track season.

“My first time [as an All-American] I remember feeling like everything that my coach and I, and everyone who had supported me, had been working for had finally paid off,” Rickert said.

“It’s a pinnacle goal as a track athlete.”

Since then, Rickert has earned All-American accolades five times for her indoor and outdoor performances.

Because of her two redshirt seasons, Rickert was eligible for another two years beyond her undergraduate career. She has continued competing for Iowa State as a graduate student.

Making the grade

“As good as her athletic accomplishments have been, her academic accomplishments are as good if not better,” professor of management James McElroy said of Rickert. “She is a great student.”

McElroy was the assistant dean in the College of Business when Rickert was applying for graduate school.

“I was the chair of all students in the graduate program of study,” McElroy said. “I helped to make the decision to admit her into the MBA program. It was really a no-brainer.”

Rickert has juggled her academic and athletic responsibilities by using time management.

“It’s about knowing how to set priorities, eating right and getting the right amount of sleep,” Rickert said. “I can’t put off studying and then pull all-nighters like I could when I was a freshman or sophomore.”

She said there have been times when she was behind and frantic, so she hasn’t quite perfected her system.

“Knowing how much you’re able to take on is important,” Rickert said. “It’s hard for me because I want to be involved, but I’ve learned that it’s OK to say no to things.”

Down the road

For Rickert, there is more to life than just academics and athletics. She said her passion off the track is just enjoying everyday life. Rickert said she spends her time reading and taking care of her dog. She and her husband are also looking into building a house.

“It’s an exciting time,” Rickert said. “I look forward to doing these things and enjoying the people in my life.”

As far as future goals, Rickert is looking ahead to the upcoming outdoor track season, which begins Friday at the Clemson Invitational in Clemson, S.C.

She said her No. 1 goal is to hit 6-4 1/2 to automatically qualify for the Olympic Games.

“The greatest thing would be to win the National Championships at that height,” she said. “But that is yet to be determined.”

Rickert’s overall goal for this track season has been just to have fun and enjoy her last meets as a Cyclone.

“This is fun, I love it,” she said. “I just happen to be good at it too.”