Wadeline Jonathas making fast strides for UMass-Boston

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Consandria Walker-Hall has learned not to make bets over what Wadeline Jonathas can or can’t do.

“I eat my words,” the University of Massachusetts-Boston head track and field coach said. “I’ve learned bets are legitimate with her.”

So far Jonathas, the UMass-Boston sophomore sprinter, has taken on every challenge thrown at her and exceeded expectations.

Jonathas is currently the top NCAA Division 3 sprinter in the 60 and 400 meters and is ranked No. 2 in 200 and 500.  

Jonathas heads into the NCAA Division 3 Indoor Championships on March 9-10 in Birmingham, Ala., with a chance to add to her rapidly growing legacy.

“I could tell when she got to college she would just explode … a diamond in the rough as they say,” Doherty Memorial High coach Phil Spellane said. “You could put her in any event and she would do well.”

Jonathas didn’t take up track and field until she was a junior in high school, just three years ago. Originally from Gonaives, Haiti, Jonathas moved to the United States in 2009, just five months prior to the 2010 earthquake that shattered the country.

“I feel really fortunate because who knows what would have happened if I was in Haiti,” she said. “At the same time, my prayers still went out to the people; watching that made me really sad. I was really fortunate that I made it here on time.”

Jonathas came to Massachusetts along with her six siblings and was reunited with her mother, who was already in the United States establishing a better life for the family. 

“I was just really happy to see my mom because I went five years without seeing her,” Jonathas said.

At Doherty Memorial in Worcester, Mass., after playing basketball for two years, Jonathas discovered a love for running.

“It makes me feel free,” she said. “When I was going through a hard time it just made me want to run faster. I enjoy running.”

After a successful but relatively low-profile high school career, Jonathas was recruited by UMass-Boston. The D3 school is situated next to the Atlantic Ocean just south of downtown Boston.

“She wasn’t one of the top athletes on the high school scene until her senior year because she started track late. So we sort of lucked out on her,” Walker-Hill said.

At UMass-Boston, her raw talents have been honed and her technique has gotten the attention it has needed to blossom. As a freshman, she set NCAA Division 3 outdoor 200 (23.57) and 400 (52.81) records, en route to winning two national titles.

This winter, she has continued to improve. At the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association (NEICAAA) Championships on Feb. 3, she ran 7.43 in the 60 to take down the NCAA Division 3 record of 7.49 set in 2016 by Nia Joyner of Illinois Wesleyan.

She ran the NCAA Division 3 indoor 400 record of 53.70 on Jan. 26 at the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Classic, eclipsing the 2004 record of 54.48 set by Amber James of Wheaton (Mass.).

Entering the NCAA 3 Indoor Championships, she’ll look to defend her 400 title.

“I always thought her best days were ahead when she went to college,” Spellane said. “But I don’t know if anyone could foresee her breaking national marks like she did and winning national championships. That’s just unbelievable.”

Jonathas has also been able to forge a unique coach-athlete relationship with Walker-Hall that has been beneficial beyond the track.

“Really, it’s open communication about how she’s feeling, and I think that’s been hugely important, having that trust both ways,” Walker-Hall said. “You don’t find many of those where you can have open conversations just about what it is she should be doing.”

Walker-Hall said at times there’s been a language barrier, but she’s learned to reword and explain things differently, and then it’s clicked.

Jonathas credits her success to her coaching.

“I never feel pressure because the people around me, my coaches, teammates, the people that support me don’t make me feel pressure,” Jonathas said. “It’s just like go out there and be you. Just keep working harder, just run your race.”

Walker-Hall describes Jonathas as a jovial and happy student-athlete and believes she is motivated to succeed because of the hardships she experienced growing up.

“I think that’s what drives her the most, just being able to be making it,” Walker-Hall said. “I think that’s a part of her background and one of the reasons why she’s such a hard worker.”

While Jonathas said she doesn’t like to set goals for herself, she isn’t shy about about what she wants to do later in life. One of the first conversations she had with Walker-Hall was a discussion about her desire to one day compete at the Olympic Games.

Her coach isn’t betting against Jonathas making that dream a reality.

“I don’t like to have a limit,” Jonathas said. “We will just have to see.”