Jasmine Claunch needed a change after one year at Murray State and found the right spot at Centre College. (Centre College Photo)
By looking at her results it would be hard to tell that Centre College sophomore Jasmine Claunch is not a big fan of the long jump.
“That’s why I have been so surprised by how I’ve done in the long jump. I really didn’t have big expectations for the long jump. I work a lot more on the triple jump,” said Claunch.
She leaped 18 feet, 10 1/2 inches in her most recent indoor meet to break her previous mark by eight inches. She also matched her school record in the triple jump at 39-5 1/2.
“It’s always the goal to set records and keep improving each meet,” Claunch said. “My first meet I was so shocked I got a long jump PR (personal record). In the triple jump I did not set a lifetime personal best but I set a college best. I am really eager to get that triple jump PR because that’s the one I really care about.”
Claunch was on Mercer County’s Class AA state championship team in 2018 and also won the state triple jump twice and long jump once. She also competed nationally in several meets and finished second in the triple jump at the AAU Junior Olympics.
COVID cost her a senior track season at Mercer County. She said it was “heartbreaking” because she was set for a three-peat in the triple jump and repeat for the team title.
“It was so disheartening. But I knew I could not get discouraged. I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason,” Claunch said. “I drew nearer to God and stayed more rooted in my faith without track. I trained on my own so I would be ready for Murray.”
Murray didn’t turn out to be the fit she wanted for a lot of reasons. Once she knew a change was needed, she had a “gut feeling” about Centre and said joining the Colonels was “one of the best decisions” of her life.
“I was four hours from home at Murray and needed a change. The year there was very odd because of COVID. I didn’t get an indoor season and only had two total meets. My performances were not the best compared to high school and I just got in a jumper’s slump or something,” Claunch said.
Centre had the small campus she liked — “everybody knows everybody and I love that” — and she is a big fan of jumps coach Ernest Moshekeleti who is “absolutely wonderful.”
It also helped that her first jumps coach, Chrys Jones, was a four-time Division III triple jump national champion at Centre when his best jump was 50 feet, 6 inches and six-time Division III All-American. Jones was also a five-time state high school champion.
“It’s very nice to be following in his footsteps,” Claunch said. “I smile when I walk in and see him on the (Hall of Fame) wall. I love it when people talk about him because I know I learned from the best.”
Claunch didn’t start track until she was in sixth grade and didn’t begin jumping until two years later because competitive cheerleading, not track, was her main sport until she gave up cheerleading after her freshman year.
“I saw the potential I had in track and how my performances were going up. Having to balance cheer and track was hard. I fell in love with jumping and knew I wanted to be great at it,” Claunch said. “I just stepped away from cheering and poured everything into track. I did competitive cheer for eight years, so I loved it, but I made the right choice concentrating on track.”
Now her goal is to be Southern Athletic Association champion in her events and help make her team a “force to be reckoned with” this season. (She will compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships March 11-12 in Winston-Salem, N.C.)
“We have so many great athletes. I am sure we can make some noise in the conference,” Claunch said. “I am going for the outdoor school record (in the triple jump). I would love to qualify for outdoor (Division III) nationals.”
Claunch is leaning towards a political science major and possibly going to law school after graduation.
“I am an extrovert. I talk to anybody and everybody. I used to get nervous being interviewed but as I have matured, I have just got used to it,” Claunch said. “But whatever I do, I just like to have fun and enjoy myself, and being at Centre is letting me do that in a lot of ways.”
