Submitted Photo Minot State University freshman Jasiah Hambria is seen here at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference 2023 Indoor championships. Photo submitted by Hayleigh Solano.

One of the high performers of the 2023-2024 collegiate track and field season is Minot State University freshman Jasiah Hambira. Hambira comes to the Magic City after graduating from Lustre Christian High School in Seattle, Washington.

As a member of the Beavers track team, Hambira competes in both sprints and jumps. The high-performing freshman has made a mark in the high jump event, finishing his debut season ranked fifth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and ranked second in the indoor season conference rankings.

In his first indoor track meet, Hambira hit a 6-7.9 foot (2.03m) mark to finish second at the Marauders Indoor Open. The freshman followed up with a 6-8.7 (2.05m) jump to finish second at Mike Thorson Open, while hitting the Indoor NCAA DII provisional mark.

After finding more success at the UND Open and UND Tune-UP meets, Hambira placed fourth competing at the NSIC Indoor Track & Field Championships. In the sprints, Hambira’s personal best times indoors are 23.30 in the 200 meter and 52.60 in the 400.

The outdoor season garnered more success for Hambira as his jumps showed noticeable improvement upon his indoor results. Perhaps the warmer temperatures of spring have had a positive impact on the track and field athlete.

“Staying healthy has also helped a ton,” said Minot State head coach Steven Shultz. “There is no replacement for being able to practice consistently.”

Hambira started off his outdoor season strong, jumping 6-6.7 (2.00m) to place first at the Yellowjackets/ Battlin Bears Icebreakers Open. After placing third at the University of South Dakota Early Bird Meet, Hambira bounced back to place first at the Dickinson State University Blue and U-Mary Classic meets.

Coach Shultz also spoke on Hambira’s seasonal progression and how they were able to make the necessary adjustments.

“We spent most of the early and middle parts of the season, during [the] indoors, working on the timing and shape of his approach,” said Shultz. “Once he had that in a place where it was comfortable and consistent we were able to progress onto mid air mechanics and that has really cleaned up a lot of the near misses from early season and has produced big changes to his clearance marks.”

Along with earning NCAA DII provisional standards in both indoors and outdoors, the highlight of Hambira’s season came at the 2024 NSIC Outdoor Track & Field Championship where he finished in first place with a personal best, a 7-foot, .25-inch (2.14m) jump. He finished his inaugural season with an outdoor best of 22.75 in the 200 as well.

“As an athlete, Jasiah shows great motivation for improving his craft. He’s had his eye on that 7 foot mark all year and we were all really excited when he hit it,” Shultz said.

The talented freshman’s season is not over yet as he will be competing at the 2024 NCAA DII Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Emporia, Kansas, on May 23-25.

Hambira is ranked 12th nationally in the NCAA DII outdoor high jump with a season best mark 7-.25 (2.14m), which is higher than the NCAA DII provisional standard mark of 6-8.2 (2.04m).

As the championship approaches, Hambira aims to remain focused and maintain the balanced approach that has propelled him to this point.

“We are going to try and stay consistent with things. I think the big thing for him will continue to be staying patient over the bar and not trying to force things.” said Shultz.

The Beavers standout will now look to continue his streak of high performances against the nation’s best athletes at the track and field championship.