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“I’m not thankful that I’ve gotten hurt,� Gault said. “But I am thankful that I have been able to experience the highs and lows. I know it is cliche, but it makes the highs a lot better when you haven’t always been there.�

On Saturday, after two days of competing in seven different events, Gault not only won the heptathlon at the Summit Heptathlon/Decathlon, but she also scored enough points (4,270) to get the chance to compete against the nation’s top heptathlete at the Nike Outdoor Nationals at Hayward Field in June.

After winning the Summit Heptathlon/Decathlon last spring, Gault put together a dominant performance to repeat as the heptathlon champion. Of the six events in the heptathlon— 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200-meter dash, long jump, javelin and the 800-meter run — she had the top mark in four of the seven events, and finished in the top two in six of them.

“This was my goal for the entire season,� Gault said. “I know it is early in the season, but I was super excited for the heptathlon, and I really wanted to qualify for nationals.�

Gault won the 200-meter dash (26.68 seconds), the 100-meter hurdles (15.74 seconds) the high jump (5-01 feet) and the 800-meter (2:35.89), while finishing second in the shot put (31-09.5) and the long jump (16-07) with a seventh in the javelin (77-07).

During her freshman track season when she was winning nearly every sprint event, then-Ridgeview track coach Mark Conrad thought that Gault’s best event might be the hurdles, rather than the sprints. He wasn’t wrong, but just a short three years later, Gault proved to be more than just a sprinter and hurdler.

“When she started last year, it was more for the fun on engaging in the different events� said Ridgeview assistant coach Jessie Trump. “Because of how well it came to her, it was easy to see that is where her potential would be.�

No longer is the heptathlon just a fun event to try in the beginning of the track season. It has become her focus and the event she is hoping to do in college. She sent the past year working to round out the rest of the events so there aren’t any weak events.

“I had been working super consistently to improve my shot put,� Gault said. “Then I jumped 5-02 in the high jump and I was not expecting that at all. That was super exciting.�

Added Trump: “She has been putting in the extra hours for jumps, for throws, for sprints. It is really cool to see how committed she is.�

Challenging years

Since breaking into the high school track scene as a freshman, the sprints and the hurdles have been Gault’s calling-card. As a freshman we won 5A state titles in both the 100 and 30-meter hurdles while taking second in the 100.

Everything was in line to become a decorated track athlete during her four-year high school career.

The next two track seasons where still successful, but untimely injures (as well as the reclassifications that happened in 2023) kept her from reaching the same heights she reached as a freshman.

In the lead up to her sophomore track season, a snowboard injury left Gault with a partly torn MCL and broken right fibula. She still placed third at the 5A meet in the 100 and seventh in the 100 hurdles.

Her junior season that brought along a torn hamstring proved to be the most challenging year. The season ended with a single medal at the state meet — fifth-place finish at state in the 100. She did not compete in the 300-meter hurdles, which she had won as a freshman, after running seven seconds slower than her usual time.

“That was my low point,� Gault said. “I was crying afterwards. It was terrible. But that doesn’t matter anymore. It was last year.�

Perhaps what made the results from the two-day track meet all the more impressive is just a few short months ago, a slide tackle on the soccer field resulted in again breaking the fibula she broke her sophomore year.

This year however, she is feeling (knock on wood) as healthy as she has felt since her freshman year.

Having already checked off her main goal for the season, qualifying for nationals, Gault has recalibrated what a successful end to her high school track career will look like.

Priority No. 1 is not necessarily standing on the top step of the podium in the events, but rather getting through the season healthy and putting her best foot forward at the state meets, which she has not been able to do that last two seasons.

“I want to do my best and feel accomplished with what I have done in my main events at state,� Gault said. “Which I haven’t felt the last couple of years.�