Wartburg College senior JoJo Tyynismaa, a 2022 South Tama County graduate, poses on the podium with her seventh-place trophy in the 60-meter hurdles after running a time of 8.68 seconds at the 2026 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships March 14 in Birmingham, Ala. PHOTO PROVIDED

BIRMINGHAM — March thirteenth and fourteenth set the stage for division three athletes from across the nation to gather and compete for national championships. South Tama alum and Wartburg senior Jojo Tyynismaa took full advantage, adding three more first team All-American performances to her storied track and field career.

Qualifying in four events, Tyynismaa’s Friday schedule was loaded. Kicking off with the 60-Meter hurdle prelims, the hurdle specialist was third out of her heat qualifying with the fifth fastest time for the final on Saturday. A time of 8.57 in the preliminary round will serve as Tyynsimaa’s collegiate best in the event.

With very little rest, Tyynsimaa took to the track again, contesting the flat 60 Meter dash. Hot out of the blocks, the senior from Wartburg ran a time of 7.64, enough to qualify for finals the next day.

With some downtime in between, the next event was the 200 meters, which saw JoJo win her heat of the event in a time of 24.68. As the 200 finals are qualified off of time, Tyynsiama would have to wait for three other heats to decide her fate in the event. When all the dust settled, a tenth place finish would deny advancement into the finals, earning Tyynismaa her only Second Team-All American finish of the championships.

In the 4×400 preliminary round, JoJo sat on the anchor running a fiery two laps for the quartet. With a second place heat performance of 3:48.54, and the second fastest leg of all competitors by Tynnismaa, the knights advanced to Saturday’s finals.

Wartburg head track and field coach Marcus Newsom smiles with STC 22’ Grad, JoJo Tyynismaa after earning 3 First Team All-American finishes at the 2026 Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. PHOTO PROVIDED

FINALS DAY

Starting the day off for the Knights, JoJo finished in 7th place in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.68 adding 2 valuable team points to the score column. The race earned her First-team All-America honors, which is her third consecutive honor in the event.

The 60 Meter Dash was next with an 8th place finish in a time of 7.73. Adding her first All-American finish in this flat 60, and contributing another point to the team score.

In the 4×400 final, Tyynismaa anchored the 4×4 once again, closing her indoor track and field career with a seventh place finish as a team with a time of 3:47.76, an improvement on the preliminary time from the same quartet of Olivia Tollari, Natalie Bork, Leah Cherry, JoJo Tyynismaa.

As it stands, JoJo Tyynismaa has earned 8 First-Team All-American honors in her career at Wartburg and looks towards the outdoor season to cement her legacy with more podium finishes.