Gunnells' Performance History & Personal Bests
2020-21 SEASON
Indoor: Competed unattached after completing her indoor eligibility in 2020 … Ended her career ranked 2nd all-time at NDSU for the indoor shot put and 8th for the weight throw.
Outdoor (Senior): Second Team All-American in the shot put, placing 11th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships … Placed 2nd in the shot put and 3rd in the hammer throw at the Summit League Championships … Shot put personal-best of 58-04.00 (17.78m) at the Tennessee Relays, ranking in the NCAA’s Top 10 for the season … Competed in the shot put at the U.S. Olympic Trials … Hammer throw personal-best of 208-10 (63.66m) at Kansas, ranking 6th in school history … USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree … Summit League Academic All-League selection … CoSIDA Academic All-America first team … Three-time Academic All-American in her career … Top 30 finalist for NCAA Woman of the Year … NCAA Elite 90 Award winner for outdoor track & field.
2019-20 SEASON
Indoor (Senior): 2020 Summit League Indoor Field Athlete of the Year … NCAA Indoor Championships qualifier, ranking 8th in the NCAA in the shot put … Named the Summit League Indoor Championships Field MVP after winning the conference title in the shot put and taking 3rd place in the weight throw … Personal-best shot put mark of 57-02.25 (17.43m) at the Bison Open on Feb. 8, ranking 2nd all-time at NDSU … Personal-best weight throw mark of 64-10.50 (19.77m) at the Summit League Championships, ranking 7th in NDSU history and 51st in the country for the season … Won the shot put at the Bison Team Cup on Jan. 18 … Academic All-League selection … CoSIDA Academic All-District selection.
Outdoor: Season canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
2018-19 SEASON
Indoor (Junior): Earned second-team All-America honors by placing 9th in the shot put at the NCAA Indoor Championships … Threw 54-10.25 (16.72m) in the shot put at the NCAA meet, moving up from her No. 14 national ranking to finish 9th … Personal-best shot put mark of 55-05.50 (16.90m) to win the SDSU Indoor Classic on Feb. 9 … Placed 3rd in the shot put and 6th in the weight throw at the Summit League Championships … Personal-best weight throw of 62-10.50 (19.16m) at the conference meet … Ended the season ranked 2nd all-time at NDSU in the indoor shot put, and 7th in the weight throw … Named Academic All-District and second-team Academic All-American … USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree.
Outdoor (Redshirt): Sat out the season as a redshirt … Ended the season ranked 5th all-time at NDSU in the outdoor shot put, and 6th in school history in the hammer throw.
2017-18 SEASON
Indoor (Redshirt): Competed unattached while redshirting … Improved her indoor shot put personal-best to 52-04.00 (15.95m) at the Bison Open on Feb. 3 … Improved her weight throw personal-best to 59-04.00 (18.08m) at the Jim Emmerich Invitational on Jan. 20.
Outdoor (Junior): Placed 3rd in the shot put, 3rd in the hammer, and 6th in the javelin at the Summit League Outdoor Championships … Qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds for the 3rd straight year, finishing 19th in the hammer and 22nd in the shot put … Outdoor shot put personal-best of 52-02.75 (15.92m) at the conference meet, ranking 4th all-time at NDSU … Hammer throw personal-best of 200-2 (61.01m) at the NDSU Tune-Up on May 4, ranking 3rd in NDSU history … Javelin personal-best of 132-11 (40.51m) at the conference meet … USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree.
2016-17 SEASON
Indoor (Sophomore): Placed 4th in the shot put and 8th in the weight throw at the Summit League Championships … Shot put season-best of 49-03.50 (15.02m) at the Dakota Classic on Dec. 2 … Weight throw season-best of 58-01.25 (17.71m) at the conference meet … Ended the season ranked 4th all-time at NDSU in the indoor shot put.
Outdoor (Sophomore): Placed 2nd in the hammer throw, 3rd in the shot put, and 9th in the javelin at the Summit League Championships … NCAA West Preliminary Rounds qualifier in the shot put and hammer throw, finishing 26th in the shot and 27th in the hammer … Improved her personal-best marks in all four throwing events during the season … Shot put personal-best of 50-10.00 (15.49m) at the Lyle Hokanson Classic on Apr. 22 … Hammer throw personal-best of 193-6 (58.97m) at the NDSU Tune-Up on May 5 … Ended the season ranked 4th in NDSU history in the outdoor shot put and 7th in the hammer.
2015-16 SEASON
Indoor (Freshman): Placed 3rd in the shot put and 7th in the weight throw at the Summit League Championships … Posted a season-best mark of 50-08.00 (15.44m) in the shot put at the conference meet, ranking her 4th in NDSU indoor history … Season-best weight throw mark of 56-03.25 (17.15m) at the Thundering Herd Classic on Feb. 13 … Topped 48 feet in the shot put in each of the final three meets of the season.
Outdoor (Freshman): Placed 2nd in the hammer throw, 5th in the shot put, and 7th in the javelin at the Summit League Championships … Also finished 11th in the discus at the conference meet … Qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds in the shot put, finishing 36th overall … Season-best shot put mark of 49-08.05 (15.15m) at the Beach Invitational on Apr. 16 … Season-best hammer mark of 183-2 (55.84m) at the Summit League meet … Season-best javelin mark of 126-10 (38.66m) at the conference meet … Finished the season ranked 5th in NDSU history in the outdoor shot put and 6th in the hammer throw.
High School: Two-time Iowa Class 3A state champion in the shot put, winning the title as a senior in 2015 and as a junior in 2014 after being the runner-up as a sophomore ... Also captured the Drake Relays high school shot put title in 2015 and 2014, taking the top spot among Iowa preps in all classes combined ... State runner-up in the discus as a senior after placing fifth in the event as a junior ... Ranks sixth all-time in the shot put in Iowa with a high school personal-best of 47-0 ... Discus best of 134-6 ... Named Elite All-State as a junior and senior ... Conference and district champion in both throwing events her senior year ... School record holder in the shot put ... Also played basketball for four years, softball for two years and volleyball for one year in high school ... Class president and valedictorian.
Personal: Daughter of Brad and Julie Gunnells ... Has one older brother, Joe ... Majoring in geology.
