Baylor’s Hannah Jumper leads the pack through the first lap of the 1600 meter run at a Division II regional track meet. Jumper, who has won two individual cross country state championships in Nashville, will continue her running career there at Vanderbilt University.At the last moment, Vanderbilt University presented Hannah Jumper an offer she couldn’t refuse.
The Baylor School senior, who for most of the recruiting process had been considering Tennessee, Georgia and Miami (Ohio), among other college programs, took a trip to Nashville last weekend and Thursday night decided she would run cross country and track for the Commodores.
Jumper was a two-time Division II-AA state cross country champion in Nashville and helped lead the Lady Red Raiders to three consecutive team titles. She is a five-time all-state honoree.
She joins Tenley Godfrey, who will run for Florida in the fall, and Rachel and Becca Greenwall, who recently decided to run for Georgia Southern, as Lady Red Raiders runners to accept Division I scholarships this school year.
“It was very last minute,” Jumper said. “I looked at Vanderbilt at the beginning of the school year and it kind of fizzled out, but I went back this past weekend and loved it. After that, I knew that’s where I wanted to be.”
Jumper said familiarity played a role in her decision.
“I loved the team when I went up there,” she said. “They reminded me of the girls at Baylor, and I clicked well with them. I also loved the coaches there; they seem like they know what they’re doing and have good cross country and track programs, which speaks of coaching.
“Plus it’s just a great school and a great opportunity.”
Jumper, who has a 3.9 grade point average and scored a 27 on the ACT, said Godfrey did some lobbying to try to get her to become a Lady Gator.
“I think that’s just a little too far south for me,” she said, “but it’s going to be really fun to run against her in meets.”
Even with the snow this week, Jumper said she was able to run about 40 miles in preparation for track season. She hopes to duplicate her success from a year ago, when she won state titles in the 800-, 1600- and 3200-meter runs.
“I really want to win all three again,” she said. “The team we have going in is strong and is going to have a good shot at winning state. I’m just going to do whatever I can for us to win a state title.”