[00:00:12] Speaker A: Hello?
[00:00:12] Speaker B: This is Paul Solentrop of Wichita State University strategic Communications. Thank you for listening to the roundhouse podcast. Our guest is Destiny masters. Destiny is a sophomore from El Dorado. She attended Blue Stem High School. She will compete in the high jump in the NCAA Championships in Austin on Saturday after clearing 5ft eleven and a half inches in the NCAA West preliminaries to advance. Destiny also won the Heptathlon at the American Athletic Conference Championships in May with a score of 5557 points. That ranks fourth on Wichita State's career list.
So, Destiny, for those who have seen the video of you on Twitter, after you cleared the bar on your final attempt in the prelims, you clear the bar, you pump your fist, then you cover your face, and then you say, Why do I do that to myself? Take us through the range of emotions at that moment.
[00:01:06] Speaker A: So my first attempt did not go well. I thought I had it easy and I let myself get lazy with it, and I just ended up taking the bar off completely. So going into my second attempt, I thought, okay, I know what I'm doing now. I just need to punch it off the ground harder. And I just didn't quite do it the way I wanted to. So I took it to the third attempt and I was stressing myself out because I do not like doing that, but I do seem to do well under pressure. And I told myself I had no other option. I needed to clear this bar. I'm not quite in the top twelve yet and I have to have this. So as I was going, I just punched it off the ground as hard as I could. I knew I had it cleared, so I was excited. I did the fist punch, and then I just realized, like, I let myself go to that third attempt. I risked all of this getting here, and I may not actually go to Nationals because of me being lazy. So that was the why do I do that to myself? Because I don't like going to the third bar. It scares me.
[00:02:09] Speaker B: So for people who maybe are not familiar so the top twelve advance, so set us up. You entering those three jumps. You knew. What about your positioning?
[00:02:18] Speaker A: I knew I wasn't quite in the top twelve when I was going into that bar, and that is the bar that was going to make me advance. So I knew I had to have that. So it was really stressful, but I knew I could do it.
[00:02:32] Speaker B: So take us through what's going through your mind as you're looking at that third attempt. How do you maintain some sort of calm and composure and get off a good jump?
[00:02:40] Speaker A: I think by letting myself miss the first two times, I get a little anger in me, and I seem to do well with anger, so I know how to keep it calm but aggressive. So I knew that I could do it.
[00:02:57] Speaker B: So in that time frame, in that moment, are you thinking about more technical things? I need to get my feet in this position. I need to get my body in this position. Or is it just more a mental thing where I just need to clear my mind, not think about anything, and do what I know I can do?
[00:03:14] Speaker A: I think at that point, I knew it was I just needed to relax my brain, not think about anything, just hitting it off the ground as hard as I could. Once I overthink it, I get way too technical and I mess something up. So once I just clear my brain and just do what I know to do, I do good.
[00:03:32] Speaker B: So you hit the mat. You've cleared the bar. Is it joy? Is it relief?
What's your emotion?
[00:03:39] Speaker A: I don't think this is great, but it's honestly kind of like an anger. Like, why didn't I do it my first time? Kind of thing? Because I know I'm capable of that bar. I've made it multiple times. So it's honestly kind of like an anger and then like a relief after.
[00:03:55] Speaker B: So take us back to high school, track and field. Why did that end up being your main sport?
[00:04:01] Speaker A: So, in high school, I only did it my sophomore in my junior year. I actually only did it at state my senior junior year because I didn't have a senior year.
I cleared five six as a sophomore. So it kind of just clicked with me. I didn't necessarily like track in general, but it was something that I just knew to do. My high school coach, Coach Bum Gardner Burgardner, I always pronounce his name wrong.
He saw something in me just like how Coach Rainbow does. He thought I could do it. And so he reached out to Coach Rainbow and Coach Pat. Coach Pat Wilson, he was the one that came and saw me at regionals. He was the one who saw something, and he pulled Coach Rainbow to side, and he said, I see something at her. Let's try to recruit her.
I was really hesitant to do track at first, but after I saw the program and all the people here, I really enjoyed it and I wanted to be here.
[00:05:01] Speaker B: Did you have other sports that you considered seriously?
[00:05:05] Speaker A: I really would love to play volleyball. That was one I really wanted to do, but it was never one I really saw myself. In college. I have zero depth reception. I fail that test every year. So it was either I slammed the ball and I do good, or I completely miss it. So that wasn't really a sport that I really saw myself doing.
[00:05:23] Speaker B: What made you hesitant about track and field?
[00:05:26] Speaker A: I didn't think I could compete with D One athletes. I never saw myself to be good enough. I could compete with high school athletes. I felt like that wasn't a pressure under me. I felt like D One, Division One athletes just were a different breed. They were better.
[00:05:46] Speaker B: When did the light bulb go on then, here at Wichita State, clearly you can compete with Division One athletes. When did that start to flip?
[00:05:52] Speaker A: I think it really didn't flip until year two. I think going through a tough breakup really made me get really involved in track. It made me lose more weight. It made me faster. It made me jump higher. And after I saw that I could compete, I wanted to do the best, and I wanted to be the best.
[00:06:12] Speaker B: So I think if you were to describe Steve Rainbow, the track and field coach, you would describe him as, Boy, he is big on positivity, and he is big on giving confidence to his athletes. How did he and other coaches help you in this journey to figure out, yeah, I can do this?
[00:06:28] Speaker A: I definitely think if I didn't have Coach Rainbow here helping me through this process, like, from the very beginning, I would not be here still. He definitely let me have alternate activity, and he was softer on me at first, way softer than he should have been. But he's definitely the reason why I'm here because of it.
He really knows how to work with me. He knows when I need to just have a break. I just need to cry, and I'll come back to the activity after. I just need a breather.
He's really been great.
[00:06:58] Speaker B: So he was able to figure out how you need to be coached, how you learn and your personality and work within those parameters.
[00:07:06] Speaker A: Then it sounds like, yes, 100%. He definitely builds on positives, and he always reminds me of all the great things I've done throughout the time I've been here, and it really helps me.
[00:07:16] Speaker B: The other thing that people should know about Steve Rambold is he loves the multi events. So we always joke about everybody coming in here is a multi athlete until maybe they prove they're not or they decide they're not. How did you get into the multi events?
[00:07:29] Speaker A: I came here wanting to just do high jump because that was my main event in high school. But Rambo was like, I think that since you've ran hurdles and you've done long jump and you seem like you know how to run, let's try the multi. Let's just see how it goes, kid. Let's just test it out for a year. And so I was like, yeah, I'm for it. Let's try it. And I learned the events, and now I'm here doing great.
[00:07:54] Speaker B: What was the toughest thing about adding all those events to your repertoire?
[00:07:59] Speaker A: I think just like the daily practices, they're so much longer than a normal practice. They're about 3 hours, three and a half hours. They can go into four.
But just learning how to do each individual event, it's so technical. And it takes so much time. It's very time consuming. But after you understand it and you learn them, it gets way easier and it just becomes natural.
[00:08:24] Speaker B: So when I talk to athletes who do the multi, sometimes they love it because if you have a bad day in the hurdles, well, that's all right because you got to move on and you got to practice the javelin of the shot. But as you say, it can be very time consuming. It can be stressful. You're forced to work on events that are your weakness. Where do you fall in that range? As far as do you love that part of it? Is that part of it stressful?
[00:08:49] Speaker A: It was a struggle at first, for sure.
Being able to have a real rough high jump session and then instantly have to move on. Get that out of your brain, go straight into the hurdles. It really makes you be fast paced and you move on. Like the multi, you have 30 minutes between each event and you got to literally move on from each event. If it was good, bad, okay, it doesn't matter. You have to keep on going because you never know what the end result is going to be like. My multi for the indoor, my pentathlon. I was not satisfied with really any single event but overall it was a great meet and I scored over 4000 points which I did not think was going to happen just because each event was not going great. But just being able to move on and clear your brain, get on to the next event.
It honestly is very good for your mental state. Just being able to move on that quickly, letting it go, and just take a breath.
[00:09:45] Speaker B: So when I talked to Steve Rainbolt, he said your marks in high school were good, they were not outstanding. And you talked about that too. Also, your coach in high school saw something in you. What do you think he saw in you that you could get to college and perhaps really thrive?
[00:10:02] Speaker A: I think high school destiny was a good athlete. I don't think she cared as much as I do now. I think she put in the work, but didn't really care about the real outcome of it. She just did what she could do. I feel like now I really strive to do my best. I get mad at myself and I definitely put a lot of pressure on myself to do better. But I think he just saw the drive that I could have, especially with the skill I already did have.
[00:10:33] Speaker B: So your PR in high school was five foot six on the high jump. Describe the areas of improvement since you've been here at Wichita State.
[00:10:42] Speaker A: I definitely have learned to be a little bit more patient.
Coach Ramble definitely tries to make me be more patient and we slow everything down. We take it step by step, and he doesn't let me rush as much as I used to. I do typically just put the bar up to a high bar, but I really have to think about getting my arms up and being more aggressive, make sure my shoulders back or punch off the ground as hard as I can while using my arms. It's a lot of technical things while we're doing it, just baby steps.
[00:11:14] Speaker B: What event in the multi have you improved the most in in your time here?
[00:11:20] Speaker A: That's a good one.
I would say my 800 or the hurdles coming in, I didn't really know either of those events very well. The 800 has just been an entirely a mental block with me. Anytime I think about it, my stomach turns, I start getting worried, I want to almost cry. My first year here, I probably cried every time I had to think about doing an endurance run or an 800 speed prep.
But the hurdles I came in only doing it a few times. I think my PR was 16 flat. And now I'm running the 100 meters hurdles in 1380. So that's a big improvement, just being able to learn how to do the technical part of it.
But the mental blocks have definitely gotten way better.
[00:12:05] Speaker B: So let's go back to the 800, because that was crucial in the conference meet. You really needed to nail it, and you did take us through that race and why it's been so challenging for you and then how you were able to do so well down in Tampa.
[00:12:18] Speaker A: I think I'm physically ready to run a really fast 800. I want to say that I physically can run probably a 220 like today. But the mental part of it is so hard for me that trying to think about it today is a lot different than even like three months ago. Three months ago, I was still stressing I would want to tear up thinking about it, but I was really trying to think 200 at a time. So out of the 800, I was only doing 200 meters in my brain at a time. And then the last one, I just thought, go as hard as I can. I have no time to waste. I have to be up there. I cannot let this girl be more than 7 seconds in front of me. And I can't let the girl behind me be any closer to me than 2 seconds, which was exactly what I did. So it ended up perfect. But the mental part has been so much better.
[00:13:09] Speaker B: So the 800, is it the combination of endurance and speed that makes it such a challenge?
[00:13:16] Speaker A: Yes. So every 200 you want to run it in between 35 and 36, which is sounding it sounds so easy to do, which for 400 meters it is. I know how to make those marks. I can easily get it without even really thinking about it. But once you hit the next 400 once you go into the next 400. It's a mental block for me because at that point I feel like my arms start to go numb. My brain starts to get negative thoughts creeping in. And coach Hunter always tells me every athlete gets those negative thoughts, but the athlete that gets rid of them the fastest will win. And I love that. I try to think about that as I'm crossing over the 400 meters line. I think get faster, you can do this. You are capable. And instead of letting those little negative thoughts of like, you can stop, you can slow down, you don't have to keep going. I really try to push those out and I think coach Hunter would be happy with me right now. I'm keeping them to a minimal and I'm getting through this.
[00:14:17] Speaker B: So you mentioned coach Kirk Hunter who coaches a distance runner. So I guess that tells us a little bit about the challenge of the 800. It is something of a crossover where you would be working with a distance runner.
So positive thoughts. Do you have a technique?
Do you listen to music? Is there a book you've read? Is it just coaching? How do you get from negative thoughts to positive thoughts? In those tough situations before the meets.
[00:14:44] Speaker A: I try to go back and listen to all the things that coach Ramble has sent me. He'll send me these little positive reminders. Either his wife, Kelly sends him and she sends them to me or he'll send me the motivational videos and they're all how to build positives. And I think those really help me. Yeah, I really enjoy listening to those positives.
[00:15:07] Speaker B: So you arrive at Wichita State and you take a redshirt season. Take us through that. How was that helpful to your career?
[00:15:13] Speaker A: When I first got here and we decided to redshirt me, I was really stressed out because I was like, I don't think I'm going to be here five years, but I'm going into my fourth year now and I'm like, yeah, two more years. Only two more years. That's crazy. I want three or four. But I really needed that time to develop as an athlete because I didn't know how to throw a shot put. I didn't know how to throw a javelin. I didn't know how to run an 800 or hurdles. So it was all learning and very time consuming. Lots of crying and tears. But we got through it. And I think almost every athlete should probably red shirt if they're not literally at the top of their event area.
[00:15:52] Speaker B: So you've talked about your relationship with Steve Rainbowld. It seems like it is really important. Take us a little bit through the progression. How did you get to the point where you trusted him, where you knew he was the kind of coach that was really going to get the best out of you?
[00:16:06] Speaker A: I think at first we really didn't see eye to eye I think he thought I was a good athlete. He could see more in me than I could, and I thought of him as this great coach. He's had so many championships. They've won so many times. So I thought, okay, I think he knows what he's doing. Let's fill it out. Let's do our best here. And after the first few months, I was realizing, wow, I'm not the athlete I thought I was. I shouldn't be here. I don't fit in. I am not good enough. But Coach Bull always showed me that I am good enough, and he would help me through that time. And I think just going through all the ups and downs together really helped me and him grow a bond that was real close. I feel very close with Coach Bull. We talk about so many things. We always have our little coffee, our coffees in the morning.
And, yeah, I think we're good pals.
[00:17:00] Speaker B: What kind of coffee does Steve Rainbow like?
[00:17:02] Speaker A: We usually go to Dutch Bros. And get the caramelizer, or we go to Starbucks and we'll do the white chocolate mochas.
[00:17:08] Speaker B: Oh, white chocolate mocha. That sounds good. Okay. That's interesting, because I think a lot of high school athletes hit that point where they get to college, and, boy, this is tough. Everybody around me was a state champion, or everybody around me scored 20 points a game. All those kind of things. Some of them keep going, some of them don't. What kept you going?
[00:17:30] Speaker A: I just think that if you do see something in yourself and you think that you can handle the pressure, or you just want that extra push just to get out of bed and go work out or stay in shape, do your sport, I love it. I feel like this keeps me out of trouble. It keeps me in good shape. It makes me be social because I'm not a very social person. If I could be home with my dogs and cats, I have two and two. I love them so much, I could be home with them every day, but this makes me go out and be social and just be around other athletes that are trying to get better, that are doing what they should be doing. So I think it just puts you in a good environment. So if you have the talent or even just the motivation to be able to do it, do it.
[00:18:15] Speaker B: Okay, dogs and cats, give us the details.
[00:18:17] Speaker A: I have two Chihuahuas arlo, Andy, and I know most people don't like Chihuahuas, but I love them. They're my babies. I don't feel like they're the typical Chihuahua that barks and bites. They don't do just I feel like they're like me. Arlo and Andy, they both have very different personalities, but I feel like Arlo's more like me when I'm just alone and I want to be by myself. I like to just be home and chill. And Andy's like, all over the place. He wants to have friends, and he wants to be friendly with everybody, and he's just our little ball of joy.
And I have two cats that were strays, and I took them in because it was colder, and I couldn't find them homes. So now I have two cats.
[00:19:01] Speaker B: Excellent. What are the cats names?
[00:19:02] Speaker A: Oscar and whiskey.
[00:19:04] Speaker B: Oscar and whiskey.
[00:19:05] Speaker A: They're my new babies.
[00:19:07] Speaker B: Very good. Very good.
When you talk to the coaches about Destiny masters, they say you thrive on challenging difficult situations. How do you handle those situations? How do you focus in those moments?
[00:19:21] Speaker A: I think it really puts a fire in me, because I have two examples. So the first one I can really think of is the breakup. I said earlier, I feel like that really pushed me in a sad, anger kind of way, because going through a breakup, it's hard. It crushes you, but you also have to keep going. You can't just go to your bed and cry. You can do that for a little while, but eventually you have to get back up. And I was in the high jump competition, and I just was thinking about what was going on in my life, and I just couldn't stop crying. So between every jump, I was literally crying and wiping my eyes, trying to get better. And I PR'd, I believe, by two inches that day in the high jump. So that was awesome. I was very happy. And then the tears ended up to be happy. Sad but happy. More happy tears than how we started. And then the second one I can think of is one of my teammates was not being a great teammate, and I wanted to go out in a block run, and she happened to be the one next to me. And when I asked her, she said, no, why would I help you? And I said, okay, then. Can you get out of my way so I can do my block run? I need that. And she got mad, got in my face. I ended up getting away from the conflict, just waiting it take a breath. And I had that fire in me where I wanted to beat her. She was a senior. I was a freshman. I wanted to show her that I was better. So I was trying to keep my composure, be calm. And she ended up being right next to me in the actual race. And when we got to the last hurdle, I blew over it, and I beat her. And I was so happy. And I think that little conflict right there made me PR that day and made me do better than I would have done.
[00:21:13] Speaker B: So block run. This was in practice session a few years ago. Then just help people understand. Tell us about that.
[00:21:20] Speaker A: Yes. So we were getting in the blocks, getting ready to start the actual race. And when you're about to start the race, you want to do a block run before you actually go out and do the hurdles, just so you feel ready. So in that moment, that's when I wanted to do one with her.
[00:21:35] Speaker B: So it's kind of like a warm up.
[00:21:36] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:21:37] Speaker B: Okay.
We mentioned Pat Wilson. He is the former pole vault coach here at Wichita State for many years. Competed here as a pole vaulter, went to Blue Stem High School like you did. He's now fighting brain cancer. Tell us about your relationship and how important Pat was to you getting here at Wichita State.
[00:21:56] Speaker A: Oh, we all love Pat. I miss Pat so much. I wish he was around more. But I understand he's going through a really hard time right now and we all just keep him in our prayers.
He is the reason that I am here. He was one who came out and watched me at regionals and told Bolt that he could really see me being part of this team. So I came out on a recruiting visit with Pat and he's just the sweetest, kindest guy you could ever meet. And he really knows what he's doing. He is a very great coach. I wish we could have him back, but I'm not sure if that is going to be in our favor or not if we get to keep him.
Yeah, great guy.
I'm very happy that he's the one who brought me.
[00:22:43] Speaker B: Definitely. Definitely. Okay, so you take off tomorrow, head down to Austin, Texas. What are you looking forward the most about competing in the NCAA Championship meet?
[00:22:52] Speaker A: Oh, I am so excited to just be there and feel the environment with all those great athletes. I think just watching that kind of competition just brings out a different type of energy in me.
I love watching track in general, but watching it with athletes like that high up that will most likely go into the Olympics or go and do something bigger than just this and being able to watch them start here, I love that. I hope I can be part of that, and I hope I'm in the top 16 with the other girls that are up there. But just the environment, I feel like is a great feeling.
[00:23:27] Speaker B: And top 16 is all American status.
[00:23:29] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:23:29] Speaker B: Right. Okay, last question. So you've already been through quite a college journey. You've been here four years now.
What advice would you give to maybe a high school junior, senior who's starting to consider colleges, maybe a freshman? How do you navigate all this? The academics, the athletics? What's your advice?
[00:23:47] Speaker A: Time management is definitely a hard one to keep track of. Make sure you get your classes done. Make sure you're eligible. Just pay attention to when your assignments are due. Do all of them. Don't let any of them go in as zeros. Because at the end of the semester and you're seeing those zeros or you're seeing anything that could possibly make you ineligible. That is a scary thought, and I've seen it with so many of our athletes. So just make sure you're on top of it. And as an athlete, just make sure you're doing things right, like, don't cut corners. Do the full workout. Don't end one short just because no one's watching. You're the one that's going to get hurt from that. Do what you can now, because it's only going to make you better later.
[00:24:29] Speaker B: Destiny Masters headed to Austin, Texas, to compete in the high jump in the NCAA Championships. Thank you for your time, and you have a safe trip down to Texas.
[00:24:37] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:24:50] Speaker C: Hi. This is Rick Muma, president of Wichita State University. Check out the latest episode of the Forward Together podcast. Each episode, I sit down with different guests from Shocker Nation to celebrate the vision and mission of Wichita State University. Listen wherever you get your podcasts thank you for listening to the Roundhouse podcast, courtesy of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. We encourage you to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can find more roundhouse
[email protected]. It's over. It is over, ladies and gentlemen. Say it slowly and savor it. Wichita State is going to the final Four for the first time in 48 years.
[00:25:49] Speaker B: Unbelievable. What a scene, folks.
[00:25:51] Speaker C: The Shocker fans are just going crazy in the sand. Just maybe the greatest win in the history of Wichita State basketball.
