As an elite track athlete, Shayla Howell is making a name for herself as a multi-talented Wyoming Cowgirl.

But Shayla brings something a little more special to being a Wyoming Cowgirl.  She IS a Wyoming Cowgirl.

Shayla could have modeled for the "Breaking Through" statue in front of the UW Foundation!

She was born and raised on a ranch outside of Colony, WY, a small town tucked in the northeastern corner of the state where Wyoming, South Dakota and Montana all come together.  It is one of the most picturesque spots our state has to offer.

Her father, Guy, is a team roper. Her mother, Shanna, has been involved in rodeo her entire life as well.  She was a member of the 1991 Cowgirl Rodeo National Championship team which was inducted into the UW Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.

Shayla is one of four Howell daughters including Bridget, Brooke and Shyanne. . .all Cowgirls.

"Ranching is in our blood that's for sure," says Shayla. "We all love that lifestyle.  Dad and Mom still ride and rope. We're a ranch family, and rodeo runs deep with us."

That being said, Shayla has put rodeo squarely on the back burner while she wows everyone with just how athletic she is.

She was nothing short of a phenom in high school.  

Shayla attended Belle Fourche High School, some 25 miles to the northeast of the Howell ranch.  An all-conference basketball player, and a state champion in rodeo, Howell was most accomplished in track.  During her high school career, she won 12 state championships!

At one point she owned high school records in seven events, while being named South Dakota's Gatorade Track & Field Athlete of the Year her senior year.

UW was a logical place for her to go to college.  How could a Wyoming Cowgirl go anyplace else?

Wyoming's coaching staff is thrilled she became a Cowgirl.

"Shayla is multi-gifted," says Quincy Howe, her horizontal jumps coach and UW track's associate head coach. "She is so versatile that our challenge is to make sure we don't ask her to do too many things.  She's an outstanding sprinter, and I believe she could be an outstanding high jumper too.  But she definitely is an elite long jumper with a very high ceiling.

"While she's an outstanding athlete, what makes her special is her work ethic," Howe continues.  "She'll outwork anybody.  She is typically what we see from Wyoming kids, especially ranch kids.  They never shy away from work.  That's what Shayla is all about."

When she came to UW, Shayla's plan was to compete in both track and rodeo.  In fact she did compete in both her freshman year.  

"It was really challenging to do both," she says.  "I love rodeo, I've been doing it since I was five or six years old. But I decided it could wait until the summer.  My family was supportive of my decision. I felt rodeo will always be there,  I just didn't want to have any regrets that I didn't give track my all."

Along with her family Shayla plans to spend a good portion of the summer on the rodeo circuit in Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana. While she can compete in many events, breakaway roping is her specialty.  "We're driving somewhere to a rodeo every weekend, sometimes five or six hours one way," she says.  "There's a lot of bonding time with my Dad."     

It was the summer prior to Shayla's senior year of high school when she decided that she wanted to make it a big part of her collegiate experience.  "I was having a lot of fun with it during my junior year, and I think that's when I really decided to get serious about track."

She ran the 100, 200 and 400 while competing in all of the jumps as well as the 4X100.  During her senior season she qualified in nine events, and had the state's top efforts in six events although high school rules limit an athlete to just four events at the state meet.  She still owns state records in the long jump, triple jump and 100 meters.

"I'm focused mostly on the long jump now," she says, "but I love running the 100, 200 and four-by-one.  "It's a bummer that we won't have an indoor conference championship, but I am looking very much forward to the outdoor season.

"I owe so much to Quincy.  He is an amazing coach, who is so knowledgeable, and so thorough.  He has competed at a very high level and was a tremendous track athlete.  When he tells us something he always gives us great reasoning as to why.  He has made me better, and I know I will continue to improve with his coaching. We all have so much respect for him."  

Shayla is majoring in business-marketing and would love to get involved in the horse business when her collegiate career is completed.  "That would be my ideal because I love working with horses and being around them.  We'll see what the future brings, but that's my plan at this point.

In the meantime this Wyoming Cowgirl still has a lot of outstanding track left in her future and a lifetime of rodeo.