Jasmine Staebler was a senior at Clayton Ridge High School the last time a non-field athlete from the Iowa State women’s track and field team qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship.

The Guttenberg, Iowa, native was establishing a rare mix of speed and endurance that allowed her to compete in races as short as 100 meters and as long as 4,000 meters.

She was a nine-time Iowa high school state champion, winning two titles in the 200 meter, three in the 400 meter, three in the 800 meter and one in the sprint medley.

Since focusing her efforts primarily on the 800-meter run upon her arrival at Iowa State in 2015, Staebler is now in position to become the fifth Iowa State women’s athlete in the last three years to qualify for nationals. Her 2:03.08 time in the 800 at the Iowa State Classic on Feb. 10 not only broke the school record but also ranks No. 8 in the country.

The Cyclones have failed to finish inside the top half of the conference the past two years at the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship. They will need Staebler this weekend to score key points to help break that stretch and cap off a successful season.

She has been a key contributor to Iowa State’s rise from No. 88 in the week one U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll to No. 29 in the most recently released poll on Feb. 20.

And she is one of two athletes on the roster who has a top-two mark in the Big 12 in their respective event. The other is junior Jhoanmy Luque, who has the second best marks in the conference for the long jump and triple jump.

Staebler has followed a simple approach to a not so simple road to success throughout her collegiate career.

As a freshman, she recorded personal records in each of her first three 800-meter races, prompting her coach, Andrea Grove-McDonough, to have a little fun on social media while pretending to be Staebler.

“Hello world … My name is Jasmine Staebler and I am the #1 ranked freshman in the NCAA for 800m,” Grove-McDonough posted on Instagram. “My PR in high school was 2:11.21. In my 1st college race I ran 2:10.19!! Then I ran 2:09.39 & I was so excited! Yesterday I ran 2:06.14. College track isn’t so hard.”

This season, Staebler has picked up where she left off, running a personal-best 2:04.81 in the 800 at the PSU National on Jan. 28 and breaking the school record at the Iowa State Classic.

“After watching the way she ran that [2:04.81], it wasn’t a very fast race, especially in that third lap they really slowed down a lot and she just closed really hard,” Grove-McDonough said. “It was her second fastest 200 of the four. That’s an unusual way to run the 800, and it was so effortless. … So I knew the second 800, even with the same effort, would be better. I wasn’t surprised at all.”

Staebler’s race-day routine is simple. It includes a workout, staying relaxed and not focusing too much on her upcoming race.

The approach she takes this weekend won’t be any different.

“I’m just going to take it step by step because there are prelims and finals with the 800,” Staebler said. “I’m just going to race Friday night. The first step is to make the final, and then once I get in the final, anything can happen from there.”

Staebler shocked just about everyone except her coach when she ran a 2:03.08 in the 800 at the Iowa State Classic.

Now, she’s not sure whether she’s reached her peak this season.

“I don’t know, honestly,” Staebler said. “I thought once I ran 2:04, I thought that was pretty tough and I didn’t know if I’d be able to go faster. At the Classic, I was able to go faster, but that was really hard. So I guess I don’t know. Maybe I do have more left.”