There are no words to describe Taylor cross country runner Jaynie Halterman. As soon as you begin, she breaks another record.
The freshman from Tennessee has dominated through her first season as a Trojan, setting new school records with a team she declares as ‘joyful.’
A runner since middle school, Halterman grew up running 5ks with her family, which is where her love of the sport started.
When she began evaluating her college choices, Taylor was an obvious option as both her parents went to TU. It was head coach Quinn White, however, who was the major factor in her commitment to Upland.
Coach White told Halterman that he needed two things from his runners: a love for God and a love for running.
“That being the very first thing he told me was just so important,” Halterman said. “It showed me where his priorities were and that he viewed an athlete as a whole person.”
Through her first season, Halterman has no regrets joining the Maddawgs. She described the community as encouraging and fun with a familial feel. There is a sense of belonging on the team for every runner on the roster.
Joining the tradition where each runner has a ‘theme word’ that they run with their whole season, Halterman’s is ‘renewed.’
“My past with running has been kind of rocky,” Halterman said. “I’ve had to take long breaks from seasons…from risk of injury and mental health issues. I just wanted to come out of that and be a new person and not be defined by my past…I just really wanted to start the season and be a new runner, a new person and transformed by what Christ has done for me.”
The new freedom that Halterman has obtained on the team has launched her into a year she describes as joyous. Her community of sisters in Christ that run with her is an experience she describes as just ‘fantastic.’
When it comes to her pure statistics, Halterman has no equal in the NAIA. In her first performance at the Indiana Wesleyan Twilight Invitational, Halterman blazed past the field with a 6k time of 21:58.2 and took first place by 14.1 seconds, helping Taylor to a 70-point victory over Grace.
The week after, she destroyed her initial 6k time at the Mizzou Gans Creek Classic with a 20:56.7 time, taking second place in a field full of NCAA teams. Not only did she set a school record with that team, but she also became the first sub-21:00 runner in Taylor women’s cross country history. The Trojans set a school team record with a time of 1:48:40.9.
Her hot streak continued at the Ray Bullock Invite – her first event at Taylor University’s Cross Country Farm. Once again, she dominated, taking first overall with a time of 21:52.6 before running Taylor’s only 5k of the year at the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge, crushing the old Taylor 5k record by 22 seconds with a time of 16:57.8.
In storybook fashion, Halterman helped the Trojans rewrite the Taylor record books at the Crossroads League Championship. She shattered the 6k course and program records with a time of 20:36.9, helping Taylor to a domination of the rest of the field.
Halterman has not only become the leading runner for the Trojans but also has a case to be called the best runner in the NAIA.
Five times this year, she has been named the Crossroads League runner of the week. Halterman is the only athlete this season to be named the NAIA Runner of the Week twice, once for her first-place finish at the IWU Twilight Invitational, and second for her first-place finish at the Mizzou Gans Creek Classic where she finished 27 seconds clear of second place.
The No. 1 Taylor Trojans have returned to the top spot in the Coaches’ Poll and are the favorites heading into the NAIA National Championships. To claim their second red banner in three years, they’ll have to contend with reigning champs No. 6 College of Idaho and No. 2 Milligan, who was ranked first in the nation in three rankings this season.
Halterman’s season of joy doesn’t just come from results, but the bonds she has built with her teammates throughout the season and continuing to race with them is at the forefront of her mind.
“The team is always amazing,” Halterman said. “I always say cross country runners are the best people, and it’s so true.”
With one final race, Halterman will be right on pace with the rest of her teammates as Taylor joyously runs to their final race of the year.
