In the tiny town of Combined Locks situated in southeast Wis., a future Warrior delved into the world of athletics. Hanna Reichenberger, a third-year physical education and health education major, has left her footprint on Winona State University’s track and field team.  

 Beginning at just two years of age, Reichenberger was participating in gymnastics and attending youth track camps. In seventh through ninth grade, she joined the track team that was offered through her school and was simultaneously competitively performing in gymnastics, resulting in long, often draining days of practice.  

 In the summer before her sophomore year of high school, Reichenberger unfortunately sprained her ankles which would prevent her from participating in sports for well over a month.  

 “Trying to come back to gymnastics was hard, and I knew, looking into my future, that it wasn’t really my passion anymore,” she said. “So, I decided to quit and focus on something else, which was track and field.” 

 Heading into the next portion of her life, Reichenberger chose Winona State for both academic and athletic reasons. Assistant Coach Evan Perkins was one of the largest athletically, acting as one of her biggest supporters and a helpful mold that shaped her into the person that she is.  

Academically, she had met with several of the professors before committing to the university who all made her feel extremely welcomed, an environment that obtained her favor and secured her enrollment. 

 Her performance as a Warrior has been nothing less than spectacular. One of her best moments was breaking the 60m hurdle record in Lacrosse, making all her hard work worth the time she has spent both in and outside of practice. With her professors, coaches and teammates alike waiting at the finish line to celebrate with her, her ability to share her pride in her work and admirable successes with a wonderful support system has become some of her best moments so far.  

“Hanna has amazing work ethic. She’s been working so hard to reach her goals. Breaking the 60m hurdle record was just the start of showing what she’s capable of,” fellow Warrior Kaylee Beyer said. “And then she goes and breaks it again! Hanna shows the team that putting in the work can lead to amazing things.” 

As such an important part of her life, she has learned to work hard, especially when she truly wants something. Over the summer, she is consistent with her diet, sleep schedule and workouts. This hard work in the off-season is significant when their season truly begins.  

Her goals for the upcoming seasons are to simply be better than the previous year.  For both of her events (hurdles and jumps), she has broken records or moved into the top five of Winona State athletic history.  

“Last year in 60m hurdles I was #2 in all time Winona State history, and our third indoor meet I was able to break the record,” Reichenberger said. “For indoor triple jump, I jumped over 39 feet, which has been my goal since high school. Currently I am #3 in Winona State history for that.” 

 Her next goal is to break the school record for the triple jump and obtain a shot at making it to nationals.  

Overall, her intention is to show her teammates how to persevere when things do not go as planned. In track and field, the anticipated results are never guaranteed and can therefore become consuming. Still, even when plagued by insecure or negative thoughts, Reichenberger hopes to teach her teammates that it is okay to not do okay, but the actions that are taken after to do better is what matters.