Mar. 31—MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake Senior Jaedynn Dietmeyer signed her letter of intent Friday in the Moses Lake High School gym to continue her track and field career with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
"It's going to be an amazing school," said Dietmeyer. "I love the location; the coaches and the team are just amazing people."
Jaedynn said she will be taking classes to pursue a degree in the medical field.
"I love understanding how the human body works and how to maximize human potential," she said.
Her parents expressed how proud they were of the hard work and dedication she put into both her school and athletic career to get her to this point.
"She's a hardworking, good kid and is very motivated to do what she wants to get done," said her father, Bruce Dietmeyer.
"We're excited for her," said her mother, Donna Dietmeyer
The family had decided to move to Florida and while they were searching for colleges in the state, Jaedynn discovered Embry-Riddle Aeronautical and immediately fell in love with the place, said her father.
"Florida's a beautiful place," said Jaedynn. "The school is about 10 minutes away from the ocean. I just love the atmosphere."
Each of Dietmeyer's coaches took a moment to tell her how proud they were and to recognize the talent that she brought to the team.
"You're always going above and beyond and trying to make yourself better," said Moses Lake track and field coach Tiffany Quilter. "I knew when you started working through the summer that you were all in and it was really fun to watch."
Quilter also said how impressive it is to make it into Embry-Riddle since it is one of the more difficult schools to be accepted by. She said she's only ever known one other athlete in her coaching career that has gone to the school.
"This is really a testimony for what hard work can get for you," said assistant track and field coach Jodi O'Shea. "I just really appreciate everything you've done as far as staying committed and staying focused."
Assistant cross country coach Brad Tripp recalled that Dietmeyer looked terrified when she showed up for her first week of summer practice. He said it took some time, but he could see her growing fonder of the sport every practice.
"Your first race you ran was 35 minutes, but then by the time you graduated you PR'd with 27 minutes, no one improves eight minutes," said Tripp.
Tripp also said her hard work early on earned her a spot as the unofficial captain of the JV girls team as she became a natural leader to them.
"I really think the young freshman girls looked up so much to you that you really helped develop that group of kids to become better runners," said Tripp.
Cross Country coach Larry Dagnon said he has always been impressed by Dietmeyer's ability to balance school, sports and work at the same time.
"She sometimes was working like two jobs and managing school and a sport all at the same time which is insane," said Dagnon.
Dagnon said that last year she was able to run in Hawaii for the school despite the fact that at the beginning of the season, it wasn't looking like it was going to be an option for her.
"She had put her mind to it and put in a really hard summer and earned the opportunity to go and run for the cross country team in Hawaii," said Dagnon. "That's what we've seen throughout her whole career; she just really is methodical with her approach to how she trains and she's just a really great person."
Jaedynn will always have fond memories looking back at her time at Moses Lake High School, saying that the school ...
