Hometown Girl Keeps Winning Big in the NCAA

By Joe Morey

News Editor

Taylor at center with her first place award

LCO Tribal Member and Minnesota State standout Katie Taylor was named the NSIC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week in back-to-back weeks after her showing in the SDSU Division II open. It’s the third time this season she has earned this award.

Taylor is the defending National Champion in the weight throw after winning the title in March of 2021. In the SDSU open event, she won the weight throw with a distance of 63-7.75 (19.4m). She also won the shot put with a provisional throw of 48-2.5 (14.69m), which ranks second in the NSIC and seventh overall in the NCAA.

After winning the national championship, Taylor said the experience was unforgettable.

“I actually didn’t believe I had won at first and it took until we were going to dinner that night that the realization actually settled in that I was a National Champion. I can’t wait until I’m back at nationals,” Taylor stated.

Most recently, Taylor was inducted into the North American Indigenous Hall of Fame founded by Dan Ninham just this year. Ninham had written several articles about her athletic achievements in the past.

“It was a total surprise to me when Dan had reached out to tell me that he would be nominating me for this hall of fame. I had found out last weekend that I would be inducted into it,” Taylor explained.

Taylor is in her first year of grad school and her sixth year of college over all.

“I’m in the Sports Management program but I’m not sure if I will be completing the program,” Taylor noted. “My plans originally were to be a college throws coach after college but now I will be pursuing a career in translation. I will be starting from scratch so it’ll take a few years before I am fully doing that job.”

Taylor described her college athletic career. “I only competed in track and field throughout college and I’ve competed at Indoor Nationals three times with a fourth time coming this year. I’ve competed at Outdoor Nationals twice with a third time coming this year. Besides those two meets, my freshman year I qualified for Junior Nationals and competed in California for that. I will be heading back to California this year for outdoor season to compete in a few bigger meets before Outdoor Nationals.”

As for upcoming big events, “I have track meets every weekend with our Conference meet at the end of the month and Nationals the second week in March.”

Taylor is sitting in the top 10 nationally for both shot put and weight throw.

“If I were to credit anyone with the success I’ve had, it would be my coach first. He has pushed me and kept me going during the times when I wanted to quit. He’s been through all of my ups and downs and through it all, he kept believing in me. The other people I would credit with my success would be both of my parents. They would always help talk sense into me and support me with whatever I needed. Without their support, I don’t think I would have made it as far as I have today.”

As for the whole Minnesota State experience, Taylor explains that it’s been a rough and bumpy ride.

“At this school, I’ve had ups and downs but I wouldn’t change anything about my journey to this point. It’s been a really fun ride but I am ready to start the next part of my journey,” Taylor said.