Ja'la Henderson believed deeply that she could make her mark in the sport of track.

A multi-sport athlete in high school, she felt track was her future, more specifically, sprints, and the long jump.

But sometimes for a gifted athlete, the true calling takes a while to manifest itself.

For Henderson, that manifestation has now arrived, in her junior year, with the Wyoming track and field program.

She has taken the 2018 indoor season by storm, not as a sprinter, not as a long jumper, but as a triple jumper.

With the indoor season winding down, the Dayton, Ohio, native owns the Mountain West's best triple jump mark by more than a foot, and the UW school record by almost three feet. She is currently ranked 14^th in the nation in that event.

Oh, she still utilizes her sprinting ability here and there in the 60 meters (7.58), and currently has the conference's second-best mark in the indoor long jump (20-05).  But it's the event that she had never, ever attempted that has established her as elite.

Elite is a pretty big word to throw around. 

But that's the word Henderson's jump coach Quincy Howe uses when describing her.  He should know, he was an All-American triple jumper for the Cowboys in the early 2000's, and still owns the UW and Mountain West record in that event.

"She was a multi-sport athlete when we were recruiting her," says Quincy.  "She was quite a basketball player.  When she came here it was easy to see she had a lot of God-given ability.

"As we watched her, we thought she could be a good long jumper," Howe continues. "But we felt she had all the tools to excel in the triple jump too. During her training for the long jump and the sprints, we had her do certain things that would groom her for the triple. What she possesses is absolutely what you have to have to be good at it. . . speed, balance and strength.  Now that she's a junior, we felt she was ready to do both jumps.  It was time."

Her experience at Wyoming has been frustrating at times, she admits.  "I'm a perfectionist, and there were times when I was really disappointed at my progress in the long jump. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself.  I wasn't handling the mental aspect well enough.

"When we started working on the triple jump, I struggled, I just wasn't getting it.  This year Quincy told me he felt I could really be good at the triple jump. He asked me to make a choice between the '60' and the triple. I thought, 'well, if he thinks I can be really good at it, I guess that's what I'll do'.  So that's what I decided to do.  He has been tremendous.

"The triple really helped me mentally because I knew the expectations of me in that event were not going to be very high.  My approach was to just have fun with it, and things started falling into place.  That mentality actually really helped me in the long jump too. Now I'm excited about both.  It's a true blessing, God has certainly shone down on me."

Her modesty belies her accomplishments.  She is the reigning conference champion in the long jump, and she already has won the long jump and triple jump six different times this season.  While she is an accomplished long jumper, it's the triple jump that is turning heads in the track world.

The very first time Henderson attempted the triple jump in competition she broke UW's school record.  That historic day came at the Potts Invitational, hosted by the University of Colorado, early in this indoor season. Her jump was 41-1.5 (the previous record was 40-2.25).

While it was still fresh, she shattered her own record as well as the conference mark two weeks later with an effort of 42-11.  At that time, it was the seventh-best performance in the country. She has now broken the UW record by almost three feet, and is the conference's best by over a foot. That sensational effort came in only her third collegiate appearance in the triple. She is currently tied for 14^th-best in the country.

"What she has done is what she can be," says Howe.  "I believe she can be among the top eight triple jumpers in the country.  Her ceiling is very high because she is an elite athlete.  We have brought her along slowly in the triple.  She works one week on the long jump and one week on the triple jump. Moving forward, a decision probably will have to be made as to her focus.  But right now she is enjoying both."

And how.

"Now, I'm having a lot of fun at both," says Ja'la. "Quincy is a great coach, he is very technical, and has helped me with things like stride length and hitting the tape at the right time, all of that.  It has taken some time to get my speed right, am I too slow, am I too fast?  I need the majority of my speed for the long jump, but I have to go medium speed for the triple, slow myself down.  Little things matter, and I had been creating some bad habits.  I think I'm correcting those things. I've improved on adjusting my speed and the approach."

For her, the two events complement each other, Henderson believes.  "I think the long jump is a little more difficult than the triple jump.  Long has helped me with the triple. My approach to both is better.

Like any sport in the world of track, body type usually gives away the event.  Jumpers are usually long. Ja'la's stature doesn't give away her events.  She is just 5'3".  But her strength-to-weight ratio is amazing, Howe says.  "When you first see her, you say she must be a sprinter, certainly not a jumper.  She really surprises everyone with her strength."

When Henderson chose her university, she thought it best to separate herself from the family-- which includes a brother and a sister--and go out on her own.  But Dayton, Ohio, is a long way from Laramie.

"We got a call from Coach Howe and he came across as a great person.  Wyoming was very interested in me, and I appreciated that.  At first, my family wasn't thrilled about me coming this far away from them.  But we finally decided that for me to grow as a person, it would be the best thing for me.  It changed me as a person because I was out here on my own."

A social science major, Henderson wants to return to Dayton when her track career is completed.  "My dad is a minister, and has helped people all of his career.  I would love to do the same thing.  We are from a tough part of Dayton, and I would love to go back and focus on my community."

That focus will probably have to wait while Ja'la's current focus is going on.  She has some jumping to do.