Two Wayne natives will join a few others among the initial signing class for Wayne State College women’s track & field next school year.
According to a release from Wayne State Athletics, six student-athletes have signed letters of intent to attend Wayne State and join the women’s track and field program for the 2025-26 academic year. The list includes Hadley Ayers from Webb, Iowa, Breylee Botts of Papillion, Carly Busch from Boone, Iowa, Jala and Kyla Krusemark of Wayne and Ava Leinen from Ankeny, Iowa.
Hadley Ayers is a sprinter from Sioux Central High School in Iowa where she competed in track and field and basketball. Last spring she was a state qualifier in two events at the Iowa Class 2A State Track Meet in the 100-meter dash (17th – 13.13) and ran a leg on the fourth-place 400-meter relay team. Ayers excels in the classroom as a member of the National Honor Society while also being named Academic All-State in basketball and Academic All-Conference for the Rebels.
“Hadley is a solid short sprinter, who will help add depth to our women’s sprint squad,” commented Coach Brink. “She is a hard worker and has also competed unattached in several meets in both the summer and winter to sharpen her competitiveness.”
Breylee Botts is a hurdler from Papillion LaVista South High School where she is a three-year letter winner in track and field. She earned the fifth-place medal at last spring’s Class A State Track Meet in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.23 seconds and collected the seventh-place medal as a sophomore at the 2023 State Track Meet in 15.92 seconds. Botts also qualified for the state meet in the 300-meter hurdles as a freshman in 2022.
“Breylee is an experienced hurdler who will be able to help our team out right away,” said Brink. “She has great experience both in high school competition and competing during the off season unattached. I am excited to have her joining our team and contributing right away.”
Carly Busch is a sprinter from Boone High School in Iowa where she is a four-year starter and letterwinner in track and field and softball. Last spring she qualified in four events at the Iowa Class 3A State Track Meet in the 100 and 200-meter dashes while anchoring two relay teams. As a sophomore she was a state qualifier in three events. On the softball field, Busch received All-Raccoon River Conference honors hitting .378 with two homers and 27 RBI while also leading the team on the mound with 114.1 innings pitched and 56 strikeouts. She excels in the classroom as a member of the National Honor Society and NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete honors in softball.
“Carly is an athlete that has shown steady improvement over the course of her career and she is just really starting to reach her full potential as a sprinter,” stated Coach Brink. “She will have a positive impact on our sprint squad right away and help to elevate our competitiveness.”
Jala Krusemark is a distance runner from Pender High School where she is a multi-sport standout in cross country, basketball and track and field. She is a four-time state qualifier in cross country, helping Pender to third and fourth place finishes as Class D State as a junior and senior. Last spring at the Class D State Track Meet Krusemark was 11th in the 800-meter run (2:29.02) and qualified in the 400-meter dash. In basketball, she was a member of Pender’s Class D-1 State Championship Teams the last two seasons.
“Jala is a runner who brings a lot of experience from her career in both cross country and track,” remarked Brink. “She has been a part of several competitive teams in cross country, track and field and basketball. I think that competitiveness will help drive her to new levels at the college level. I think the opportunity for her to continue training and competing with her sister Kyla is a special opportunity that few college athletes ever have.”
Kyla Krusemark is a distance runner from Pender High School also excelling in three sports. She was a four-time state medalist at State Cross Country, placing eighth her senior season in 20:36.42 while helping Pender to a third-place team finish. She also helped Wayne win the Class C state title in 2022. In track and field last spring, Kyla qualified in four events placing fifth in the 800-meter run (2:26.77), 10th in the 400-meter dash (1:01.27) while anchoring the second-place 3200-meter relay team and the seventh-place 1600-meter relay team. In basketball she served as team captain and was a member of Pender’s back-to-back Class D1 State Championship Teams.
“Kyla has had a lot of success throughout her high school career in cross country, track and basketball,” said Coach Brink. “The desire to excel will help her make a quick transition to college competition. She is a very versatile athlete with the footspeed for the 400 and 4 x 4 relay and the endurance for cross country. I think it will be exciting to find the race distance(s) that she really shines at on the college scene.
Ava Leinen is a jumper/sprinter from Ankeny High School in Iowa starting and lettering in track and field four years. As a junior she competed in three events at the Iowa Class 4A State Track Meet, earning the eighth-place medal in the long jump (17’ ¼”) while also running legs on the 400-meter and 800-meter sprint medley relay teams. Leinen was also a state qualifier in the long jump as a sophomore in 2023.
“Ava is a good long jumper/sprinter combo athlete,” stated Brink. “Her speed on the track will be helpful in getting her to the kind of distances that it will take to compete at the college level.”
