Freshman Multi Talent Not Shy About Expressing Herself On And Off The Track

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

JaiCieonna Gero-Holt will let you know, she is supposed to be 6 feet, 2 inches tall. 

“The doctors told me I was going to be 6-2, I’m still waiting on those two inches,” she said.

At an even 6 feet, for now, the 15-year-old freshman from Emerald Ridge High in Puyallup, Wash. isn’t shy of expressing herself – whether that be through her extroverted persona or as one of the most talented and versatile high school track and field athletes in the country. 

“She’s loud and driven,” Emerald Ridge head track coach Bob Frey said. “I think she has two distinct gears. She’s kind of bouncing around and is a happy 15-year old, or she is like, get out of my way, I have work to do. She does a good job balancing those.”

That balancing act has already led to big things for Gero-Holt, who is working to master all the events in the heptathlon. Last summer coming out of the eighth grade, she was sixth overall in the heptathlon at The Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Ore. She entered her first high school outdoor season this month after finishing eighth in the high jump at the USATF Indoor Championships at The Podium in Spokane in February.

The youngest by far in a field of professionals, Gero-Holt cleared 5-10.75 (1.79m), an indoor personal record. This spring, she’s looking to soar to new heights.  

“I think athletically, she is prepared to achieve at the highest level, and I think she demonstrated that in indoors,” Frey said. 

Gero-Holt was 7 years old and already involved in swimming and gymnastics at the Rainier Beach Community Center when her mother and grandmother asked if she wanted to try track and field. She didn't think she did.  

“They signed me up anyway,” Gero-Holt said with a laugh. “And the reason I think it’s funny is because if they wouldn’t have signed me up, I would have never found my love for track, my enjoyment for track, and the family and community of track, if they didn't.” 

Since then, it’s been non-stop track and field. Competing in USATF meets in the spring and summer, Gero-Holt slowly started to build her resume at a young age. Starting with sprints and jumps, adding the shot put, hurdles, and mid-distance, she found her stride moving from the triathlon to the pentathlon to now, the heptathlon.

She won the USATF Pacific Northwest Association Junior Olympic Pentathlon Championship in 2018 (2,701 points), and followed that up in 2019, scoring 3,046 points to beat Hana Moll and Amanda Moll, who have become the nation's premier high school pole vaulters. 

“I definitely like the variety because I feel that doing one sport over and over again can be a little boring,” she said. “When you have so many events, if you have one bad one, you can make up for it in the next.”

At The Outdoor Nationals en route to All-American status in the heptathlon, she won the high jump event (5-10.75) and was second in the shot put (37-7.25). In August at the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships competing in the 15-16 age group, she won the high jump (5-7).

Gero-Holt said her favorite event has always been the high jump, but as she’s expanded her knowledge, she’s grown to appreciate what each of the seven events brings. 

“I feel the more I do it (an event) the more I grow in a certain event, the more I like it, the more I start to understand it, the more enjoyment I have for it,” she said. 

A typical practice for Gero-Holt consists of working on all seven of her events for the heptathlon – 100-meter  hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200, long jump, javelin and the 800.

Working with Frey at the high school during the week, the focus is on the hurdles, sprints and tempo. Twice a week Gero-Holt will work with her club coach, Mike Strong, on throws and jumps. Frey explained his role is helping keep her grounded and putting in the day-to-day work. Strong focuses on more of the technical side of the sport. 

“She is maybe the most driven athlete I have been around in my coaching career up to this point,” Frey said. “At practice, she is no nonsense, she wants to get to work, she wants to get better every day, and if we’re not doing something that is going to make her better it's a waste of her time, she will tell you. In that regard, I think it is rare.”

In February at the USATF Championships, she didn’t deny the emotions and the enormity of the moment.

“There were definitely nerves because I was just thinking, ‘Like wow! I’ve come this far and made it this far to be jumping with actual pros,” Gero-Holt said. “I would watch the Olympics and all these girls in high jump and ever since then I was like, ‘I want that to be me.’”

Competing against Vashti Cunningham and Jelena Rowe, whom she considers to be mentors, Gero-Holt said she mentally had to flip the switch and remind herself she belonged in that moment. 

“I still deserved to be there as much as them,” she said. “I was nervous, but I was excited.”

Gero-Holt credits her tight-knit circle for helping her get to this point in her young career,  which includes her grandmother, Elaine, who she lives with. 

“Her grandmother is her No. 1 fan,” Frey said. “Grandma is always there videotaping, making sure she gets to the meets, and making sure she’s good to go.” 

This spring Gero-Holt has big goals. She wants to stay consistent and grow in each event, while also being the best teammate she can be. The idea of setting some state records and the national freshman heptathlon record of 5,094 points set by Bryanna Craig in 2019 is also there.

On March 24 against Spanaway Lake and Graham-Kapowsin, Gero-Holt won the shot put in 39-2.25, 100 hurdles (15.31) and placed second in the long jump (18 feet). Two days later, on Saturday at the South Sound Running's Frosh/Soph Invitational, she won the 200 (26.25), 100 hurdles (15.04) and she threw a PR in the javelin of 124-5. 

Emerald Valley is entered to compete April 22-23 at the Oregon Relays at Hayward Field.

“From an athletic standpoint, she just has immense power right now,” Frey said. “She does not have high-level speed right now, but she has immense power so it is going to be exciting as the speed catches up with her strength and power.”

While still a teenager, Gero-Holt, who describes herself as very loud, opinionated and goofy, said in her downtime she loves nothing more than to just have a quiet evening with herself consisting of snacks and binge-watching her favorite shows. But when it comes time to compete, she’s doing everything she can to fight for those extra inches. 

“When people talk about this single-mindedness and focus on what their goals are, I think I've never seen it in an athlete the way I see it in her,” Frey said “She knows what her goals are and she has every intention of achieving them.”