Wagner sophomore Ashlyn Koupal is a four-time state high jump champion in South Dakota. On Thursday at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls during day one of the state track and field meet, Koupal reached 5’4” in the ‘A’ girls division to claim the title.
“When I started, I wasn’t even close to where I’m at today,” said Koupal. “A lot of that is because of my coach [Pat Belling]. I would not be anywhere close to where I am today without him.”
High jump runs in the Koupal family as well. Ashlyn’s aunt Mandy, who was also an incredible basketball player, like Ashlyn, was a great high jumper in high school for Wagner as well. She was a two-time state champion in girls high jump for the Red Raiders.
“I didn’t even really start out doing high jump. I started out with pole vault. I worked my way to high jump knowing it was something I always wanted to do,” said Koupal. My aunt [Mandy] actually holds our school record at 5’8”, so that’s kind of a fun thing with high jump too.”
It’s no secret that Ashlyn Koupal’s main sport is basketball. She’s received numerous DI offers to play college basketball, which includes SDSU, USD, Utah, Georgia Tech, Colorado, TCU, and Arkansas, just to name a few. She’s only a sophomore as well, so she’s got two years of prep ball remaining before her collegiate journey begin. But no matter the sport, whether she’s playing basketball or competing in high jump, she appreciates the support that the community of Wagner has given her.
“Wagner is a really special community, everyone shows up,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what event it is. There are always people there supporting it.”
As for what’s next, obviously there are goals for basketball. But for high jump, she’s hoping to get up to 5’8” to her aunt’s school record.
