2025 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, on May 24, 2025

GENEVA, Ohio — Though the years may go by, JoJo Tyynismaa remains on top of her game, no matter what she is up against. This year the 22′ STC grad and Wartburg junior took on both the 400 hurdles and was a member of the 4×400 meter relay. While the Knights failed to qualify out of the relay’s first round, Tyynismaa shined in her solo event, claiming third place.

Tyynismaa started out her two event take down with the hurdle prelims on Thursday night. Separated into three heats, the three winners would advance automatically to the finals while the rest would be decided by the next fastest time qualifiers.

Starting hot out of lane four, Tyynismaa had the eventual national runner up to her outside in 5. Fiona Mejico of Colby and Tyynismaa locked in stride, nearly identical until the final hundred meters. Mejico pulled slightly away from her Knight opposition and comfortably took the heat win in 59.72 to Tyynismaa’s 1:00.41.

After the next two heats were completed, her excellent time left her as the fastest time qualifier and the third fastest of the meet going into the finals.

Later in the evening, Sophia Stahle, Haley Meyer, Ryann Decker, and JoJo Tyynismaa spiked up to take on their respective legs of the 4×4.

When Tyynismaa got the baton, the Knight’s sat in sixth place with a sizable gap left to the anchor to make up. With a fast split on her leg, the gap was simply too big to make up. Finishing in a time of 3:48.87 the Knights finished in 12th and failed to qualify for the finals.

With a day of rest from Thursday to Saturday, Tyynismaa was ready to contend for another podium spot in the event that has brought her so much previous success.

In Saturday’s final, Tyynismaa was the fastest out of the blocks and through the first hurdles. Making up the stager on her competitors to her outside, as she was in lane 4. Leading through six of the ten hurdles in the race, Tyynismaa looked strong. At hurdle seven, the soon to be national champion Ren Brown of the University of Chicago put in a hard suge and pulled ahead of JoJo. Brown’s move was matched by Fiona Mejico of Colby, who had seen Tyynismaa in the preliminary heat on Thursday. Keeping her form strong and reacting as best she could to the two senior women passing her down the home stretch.

In a moment of deja vu, her performance was mysteriously similar to the race she ran at 2024 nationals, running exactly the same time of 59.96 for third place. Earning another All-American honor and six points to the Knight’s 21 total points that finished them in 10th place, Tyynismaa finished her successful junior campaign with plenty of hunger remaining for her senior year.