Jun. 16—MITCHELL — Audrey Miller didn't expect her final track and field season to extend well into mid-June.
But, given the opportunity in front of the recently graduated Mitchell High School product, she's hardly complaining.
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This week, Miller is set to compete in the triple jump at the Nike Outdoor Nationals high school track and field championships, hosted June 18-22, at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field in Eugene, aka TrackTown USA.
Yet, just a few weeks ago, competing at one of the premier national high school meets wasn't even on Miller's radar.
"I've always known about the Nike Outdoor Nationals because a lot of past South Dakotan athletes have gone and competed there," Miller said. "But competing in it myself, that just never really was a thought in my mind."
Scrolling on TikTok the night before the final day of the South Dakota track and field championships, Miller came across a post about the Nike Outdoor Nationals. Out of curiosity, she visited the meet qualifying page and discovered she'd already met the provisional standard twice during the season.
Using the per diem provided by the MHS Booster Club to Kernel track and field athletes at the state meet to cover the national meet application fee, Miller submitted her credentials. The next morning, as she boarded the bus to the state meet, Miller got a prompt reply. She'd been accepted to jump.
"I was really excited at first, but I was also like, 'Oh my gosh. What am I going to do? I didn't even tell my parents I was applying, so they're going to be so confused,'" Miller said. "I first told my friend on the bus, and then we told the track coaches. They all said I have to go, because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
To qualify for the Nike Outdoor Nationals, the girls triple jump provisional mark is 36 feet, 4 inches. Miller first achieved that distance on May 2 at the Dakota Relays in Sioux Falls, leaping 36 feet, 5.5 inches, to take fifth place at the regional meet. She later added a half-inch to her personal best with a mark of 36 feet, 6 inches, on May 21 at the Wendelgass Relays in Huron.
For the season, Miller ranked as the No. 10 overall triple jumper in South Dakota based on her best leap, and she placed seventh at the Class AA state meet.
Miller will jump in the Emerging Elite girls division, with the event set for the afternoon of Saturday, June 20.
"It's such an awesome opportunity for Audrey. She's put in a lot of time and work to be successful as a jumper," said MHS head track and field coach Deb Thill. "It's going to be a great experience for her to go and compete at that level, but just getting to watch the rest of the track meet will be an experience, too. It's also exciting for Coach (Tayah) Waldera and her jumpers that we've got someone going to a national meet."
According to Thill, the last MHS girls track and field standout to compete at a national meet was high jumper Carly Haring, a 2019 graduate. Haring jumped at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in North Carolina during the summer of 2018, between her junior and senior years of high school, and later went on to compete at the University of South Dakota.
For Miller, she's viewing her opportunity to jump the national competition as something of a second chance, as she hopes to end her senior season and prep career on a high note.
"I came out of the state meet a little disappointed. I was very happy to be on the podium, but I knew I could jump further," Miller said. "I'm really glad I get to push myself a little more and have another opportunity to finish jumping at a super fun atmosphere, basically the track capital of the U.S."
To prepare for the national meet, Miller has had to organize times to train with MHS jumps coach Tayah Waldera and strength and conditioning coach James Dougherty.
"Keeping my routine as normal as possible has helped me relax with the whole process," Miller said. "It gets a little lonely, I'm not going to lie. It's still fun, but it's different without having teammates to chat and joke around with, for sure. But my training has been good, and I feel like everything is lining up. I feel great."
While many of Miller's peers and soon-to-be competitors at the national meet are angling to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level, Miller has decided not to pursue a future in track and field. In the fall, Miller will begin attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with plans to major in biology following a pre-health track.
As such, Miller's trip to Oregon will be the final act in what was a standout prep career, and that's a decision she's made peace with.
"I'm really happy, but it's honestly bittersweet, and I'm not too nervous, which is surprising," Miller said. "I'm kind of like, whatever happens, happens. I just have one more chance, and after that, I'm done; I'll never jump again. I'm just going to go see what I can do."