For senior Jordyn Ranaudo, track and field was never supposed to be her main sport. Volleyball has always been her primary focus, but what started as a way to improve her performance on the court, quickly turned into something much bigger.

Ranaudo joined the track team to become faster and increase her vertical jump. “I initially started track to become better and jump higher for volleyball,” said Ranaudo. She originally hoped to focus on long jump and high jump, but after being placed in races and relays, her perspective changed. She explains that she “kind of just fell in love with the sport” and became motivated by seeing her improvement.

As a sophomore, Ranaudo competed in the 400m, 4x400m, and 200m, along with other events. She admits that at first, “I didn’t take it too seriously,” but her team still found success. Her 4×400 relay qualified for regionals and placed third, giving her early experience in high-level competition.

By junior year, Ranaudo had developed into one of the team’s most versatile athletes. She competed in the 55m, 4x200m, 100m, 4x100m, long jump, high jump, and 4x400m. That season, her team qualified for the 4×100, and she qualified individually for long jump. The team placed first at regionals, third at states, and qualified for New Balance Nationals in the 4×100, marking one of the highlights of her high school career.

Now, in her senior season, Ranaudo has shifted her focus toward individual events. “This year, I want to focus on independent events like the 100m, 200m, long jump, triple jump and continue with a few relays,” she says. During the indoor season, her relay teams placed first at regionals in both the 4×200 and 4×400, breaking the regional record. She also qualified individually for the 55m, and is looking forward to competing.

As graduation and the end of her senior season approaches, Ranaudo hopes to continue both volleyball and track at the collegiate level. “I’m still looking at schools to run at. I may commit to both volleyball and track,” she said, adding that she hopes to make her decision soon. She believes playing a sport in college will help her continue to grow and stay focused academically, explaining that being involved “helps me focus and keeps me on track with maintaining good grades.”

Although volleyball remains her primary sport, track has become an important part of Ranaudo’s high school experience. What began as training for one sport turned into a passion of its own — one that has shaped her senior year and will likely continue into her future.