Aurielle Brunner ‘25 is the most decorated Chatham University athlete of all time. She is a five-time All-American and Presidents’ Athletic Champion – and now, she has her sights on a national championship.
Brunner notched her fourth and fifth All-American honors at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in the heptathlon and triple jump. She is the first Chatham athlete to garner an All-American title, and she wants to be the first Cougar to be named a national champion, too.
Her quest to be the top jumper in the country got off on the right foot at the first indoor track and field meet of 2025. Brunner’s triple jump result of 12.31 meters is the longest jump in Division III, and her top-place finish in the long jump ranked her eighth nationally.
These top finishes are even more impressive because the indoor track and field team has difficulty practicing when the weather doesn’t allow outdoor activities. In order to practice inside, the team has to travel 45 minutes from the Shadyside campus to practice at a facility in Irwin.
This trip is not made frequently, so many athletes on the team only practice at the meets where they compete.
“I haven’t touched the jumping pit until [our first] meet,” Brunner said. “Honestly it is frustrating, but we make do with what we can.”
This is Brunner’s first full season participating for the indoor track and field team because she spent her previous three years on the basketball team.
Following her fourth-place finish at the national championship in the triple jump in 2024, Brunner gained the support of her competitors.
“A lot of them came up to me after nationals were over and were like, ‘We’re going to root for you next year.’”
All of this pressure to make history hasn’t been a deterrent for the jumper.
“That’s just been in my brain thinking like, ‘oh, they think like they’re rooting for me. They know I can do it. I just need to prove to myself that I can do that,’” she said.
Since most of her competitors from last year’s championship have now graduated, Brunner knows now is her time to etch her name into the history books, before her time at Chatham comes to a close.
“I’ve just been taking every day, day by day, just really like cherishing these last few couple months I have left here until I go on to the real world.”
The indoor track and field team is back in action on Saturday, Feb. 1, for the Youngstown State University Mid-Major Showdown. Brunner and her teammates will use this meet to prepare for the March 14 NCAA Championship in Rochester, N.Y.
