This week’s athlete spotlight is on junior EMU track and field distance runner and triathlon athlete Jenna Weaver, and her ongoing accomplishments throughout her college career! Jenna has had multiple top-ranking performances over the past three years here at EMU, some of which include being a two-time All-American Triathlete and many #4 all-time rankings in both outdoor and indoor track. Additionally, she participated and placed in nineteenth place overall in the 2023 ODAC Cross Country Championships and led her team in three out of five triathlon competitions in the 2023 season. Recently, Weaver ran 18:49 at the ODAC Indoor Championships, which placed her at fourth place of all time at EMU for the indoor 5k.
When asked about her biggest struggles and strengths of this past season, Weaver said, “This past indoor track season, something I had to adjust to were longer clinical days at the hospital, as I’m a nursing major. The current placement we are at requires waking up at 3:50 a.m., twice a week, and then completing an 8-hour day working on the hospital floor.” However, despite having a demanding academic schedule, Weaver described running as something that proved beneficial to her throughout the day, rather than making her schedule more stressful. “Managing that [nursing] and classes along with training can sometimes feel like a lot, but I think that training can be used as a really good brain break and that’s what it is for me,” Weaver said. “The flexibility of running is so helpful combined with my busy school schedule.”
Alternatively, Weaver described her biggest strengths of this past season to be her dedication to training, and pushing through some difficult meets, which ultimately paid off in ODACs, as Weaver qualified for the national championships a second year in a row. However, for the 2024-2025 year, Weaver has her heart set on maintaining a good level of discipline for herself and her teammates, as well as reaching some new goals! “I’d really like to go sub 18:30 in the 5k in outdoor track, and just continue to push myself and my teammates! This fall in triathlon I’d love to go to nationals again, but we’ll see what happens!”
Stay tuned for 2025 to see Jenna Weaver make strides (pun intended) in outdoor track, and in Fall 2024 to wish womens’ triathlon good luck in making nationals again!
