The PR-Setting, CCIW-Winning, All-American Mind of Track Athlete Chloe Selmer

Chloe Selmer takes a long jump attempt at the CCIW Indoor Championships at Illinois Weslyan University on Feb. 27. (Ashton Elder/Elmhurst Athletics)

“I have this thing where I black out when I jump… I have no state of mind of what’s going on from when I hit the board until when I land,” said Chloe Selmer.

Winning long jump and placing second while setting a PR in triple jump at the CCIW Indoor Track Championships, the sophomore has what can be considered an unconventional training and performance style.

Selmer focuses almost exclusively on the run-up to her jumps, letting her mid-air actions occur on pure instinct. Her mindset is partially inspired by associate head coach David Stone, ensuring a clean takeoff and solid landing.

“Nothing about what happens from the board to the sand really matters to him as long as from the start of the run to the board is fine. Maybe we’ll work on landing,” said Selmer.

Triple jump in particular stuck out to Selmer as a difficult event, and her PR came as a complete surprise to both her and Stone.

“It’s way worse in triple because it takes longer for me to actually get to the pit,” Selmer said. “The jump is way longer than just long jump.”

Because of this, for her attempts that day, she called on teammate Hassan Kamara to help her focus.

“I told Hassan, which is one of my teammates, I was like, I just need you to yell at me so that I can be conscious of what’s going on,” said Selmer.

Earlier, Stone had asked Selmer to adjust her takeoff slightly and to give herself the feeling of being “long.”

Selmer wasn’t a fan. “I tried it and then it felt awful,” she said.

Her and Stone agreed she should immediately pivot back to her previous style, but the remaining jumps felt off.

Her final attempt didn’t feel like a personal record. Maybe her best jump of the day, but nothing outstanding. Neither Selmer nor Stone were able to hear the initial score call-out, and the pit was raked clean too quickly for Selmer to look.

In a comment to The Leader, Stone noted how it was difficult to get a read on the situation, and how both he and Selmer didn’t expect the new record.

“I had a tough vantage point that made it hard to tell how deep into the sand she jumped, so when she walked out of the pit and said something along the lines of ‘that was okay, not great,’ I agreed and felt like it was going to be her best jump of the day, but not her best jump ever,” Stone said.

“A lot of people can feel like, oh, wow, that was a big jump or like, that was, like, something big,” Stone added. “I would have expected to feel like that because it was a 50 centimeter PR or something like that. I would have expected it to be like, oh, wow, that felt really good. But I [didn’t].”

Scores were updated live online after official announcements, so Selmer, Stone, and their teammates crowded around Stone’s phone, waiting for her jump to appear on the web.

“The roof blew off the building,” said Stone.

Selmer leaped into the arms of Stone, chest-bumping him in a video of the event.

“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!’” said Selmer. At 12.10 meters, she beat her previous record (11.68m) by 42 centimeters.

The same day, Selmer achieved a 5.88 meter long jump, just shy of her 5.93 PR, but far enough to win the event that weekend by 0.14 meters.

Breaking the 12-meter mark in triple jump, Selmer is close to becoming the first woman in the CCIW to jump over 12 meters in triple jump and 6 meters in long jump.

While long jump was not without its own challenges, notably, Selmer faced opposition from an event official when she began her run-up on the main track due to the shorter area available on Illinois Wesleyan’s indoor long jump pit, she did finish with a 5.88 meter jump, just shy of her 5.93m PR.

With the assistance of her teammate, Vanessa Carr, and eventually Stone, she was able to get the run-up she needed, albeit with limited time.

“Van, she came up and she was like, ‘she has to go. We’re trying to compete too. Like, she has to get on the runway,’” said Selmer. “The guy’s yelling at me, they’re running, I can’t be on the track, my mark’s all the way back there. I’m like, I don’t know what to do. [Stone] was like, ‘just breathe. I’ll talk to the guy, I’ll talk to the official so that he can get everything ready.’”

Carr and Stone worked with officials to clear the runway briefly before a men’s race so Selmer could jump, giving her just moments to prepare before taking off.

Selmer said, “I literally had to stand there and like, immediately go. Like, I had no time to just [breathe].”

Elmhurst University’s women’s track and field team won the CCIW championship with 155.33 points, besting second place finisher North Central’s 111.67. Each event’s placing athletes score points for their team.

Also achieving first place for the EU women’s team were Camerla Woods in the 400 meter race and Tiana Grady in the 60-meter hurdles. Brooke Greaves took second in the hurdles race and won the preliminary prior.

Last weekend was the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships in Birmingham, Ala., where Selmer was joined by Carmela Woods, Sarah Hahn, Tiana Grady, and Paulina Tinajero.

All EU competitors achieved All-American status over the weekend, placing in the top 16 in preliminaries. Selmer and Tinajero qualified for finals and the ability to improve their scores.

Selmer was 15th at 5.45 meters in long jump and 13th at 11.45 meters in triple jump, while Tinajero leaped 5.49 meters for 10th in long jump and 11.65 for 9th in triple.

Nationals is a very different atmosphere compared to the conference championships.

Stone noted in his statement that “the feel of a CCIW championship meet is diametrically opposed to the feelings of a national meet.”

“The national meet can feel isolating because athletes are often on their own and the team’s presence has disappeared,” wrote Stone.

Fortunately for Selmer, she has a close relationship with Tinajero, making the transition easier.

“Just having someone there is super nice. She’s always so supportive of me. I’m always so supportive of her,” said Selmer. “There’s so many pictures, videos of me and Paulina, just like, hugging or whatever. I think it’s her lock screen,” said Selmer.

Hailing from Jacksonville, Fla., Selmer’s mother was unable to attend last year’s indoor championship, but Tinajero was able to help fill that gap.

“Paulina’s parents are also very nice, because me and Paulina, obviously, go everywhere together. They’re always really supportive… they’re always cheering me on, which is also really nice because my mom can’t be there.”

CORRECTION: In the print edition of this article, Chloe Selmer and Paulina Tinajero are correctly identified as All-American finishers at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, but phrasing implied they were the only All-American finishers. All female competitors from EU (Chloe Selmer, Paulina Tinajero, Carmela Woods, Sarah Hahn, and Tiana Grady) finished All-American. The Leader deeply regrets this error.