Jessica Selby-Tallman is the most decorated female track and field athlete in Missouri Southern’s history. Some of her most recent achievements include: 2008 and 2007 National Indoor runner-up in shot put, All-American Outdoor in hammer and shot in 2007, and 2007 Regional indoor and outdoor field athlete of the year. Despite all these achievements, she stated, “I think my greatest achievement is making 1st Team Academic All-American. It takes a lot of work to do well in the ring and in the classroom.” Jessica Selby-Tallman began throwing in 7th grade. She already played volleyball and basketball and wanted to add a spring sport; she chose track and field. Jessica participated in both running and throwing events starting in middle school. “My mom was a Junior Olympic Champion in the shot, and she was my ‘coach.’ She worked with me as much as she could. I don’t remember it being ‘hard’ to learn, but I know that it took me years to ever really get a feel for how the shot should be thrown,” she explains. She continued to run and throw through high school, garnering many achievements. “My high school career actually focused more on running than on throwing. As she further recalls, “I ran the 400m, 800m, 4x400m relay, the 4x800m relay, 4x200m relay, and threw the shot. I went to State all four years of my high school career, and was All-State in the shot my last three. I was also All-State in the 800m my sophomore year and in the 400m my junior year.” Jessica chose to attend Missouri Southern for numerous reasons. She explains, “I liked the campus, the friendliness of the students and professors, the smaller class sizes, and opportunity to be involved with music, sports, and academics, and much more…Before choosing a college, I had no intention of competing in athletics after high school. However, Coach Vavra, the MSSU women’s head track and field coach, was very persistent in making me a part of the team. First she tried to convince me to compete as a hepthathlete, but I didn’t want to run. She told me she would love to have me just throw, anything just to make me part of the team. So, I decided to throw for Southern, and it is one of the best decisions I have ever made.” Jessica cites meeting her husband through her participation in track and field, and her many wonderful teammates, as the primary reasons that her time at Missouri Southern has been so memorable. Jessica’s success, in part, comes from her healthy respect for the amount of technique it takes to master the throws. She explains that throwing is not as easy as some others believe: “Throwing is an extremely technical sport and it takes a lot of focus and desire. I spend a lot of time visualizing how I want my throw to look or doing drills to make my muscles memorize the movements for the perfect throw. Throwing becomes a lifestyle….My husband and I eat a healthy, balanced diet, get a consistent amount of sleep every night, and keep a positive mind-set toward my competition in order to help my body reach its full potential. Throwing is fun, but it takes a lot of work, too.” Although Jessica is grateful for what she has accomplished thus far at Missouri Southern, she hopes to garner a few more achievements and memories during the last outdoor season of her collegiate career. Her hopes are high: “My goals for outdoor include winning a national championship in the hammer, breaking the conference record in the hammer, and to win a national championship in the shot.” She adds, “If the hammer season shows a lot of improvement, I may chase the dream of qualifying for the US Olympic Trials in June by throwing the hammer 63 meters. I would like to finish my career at the top of my game.”