During her freshman year, Horizon Science Academy Columbus High's Temidayo Owoyemi was contemplating quitting track and field. Her brothers had just left the team and, given basketball was her favorite sport, she thought it was time to pivot in a different direction.
Owoyemi’s coach pleaded with her to not give up, asking her to try out shot put. “You can throw, right?” she recalled him saying. With the promise from her coach of not having her run another event (one that he would eventually break given her athletic prowess), Owoyemi decided to give shot put, for lack of a better word, a shot. In her first attempt, she flung the metal ball (otherwise known as “the shot”) through the air for a distance only an experienced shot-putter could land.
From that point forward, Owoyemi decided to stay on the team and a star was born.
Over the course of her time at HSA, Owoyemi has become an elite shot-putter. This year, she won the state championship in Ohio and placed in the top-four at Nike Indoor Nationals, an event for the best track stars in the nation. Through the ups and downs, Owoyemi is grateful for everyone who has helped her develop as an athlete and person over the last four years.
“I felt like Horizon has helped me find out who I am––not just from sports,” Owoyemi said. “The teachers have helped me out a whole lot. They’ve encouraged me whenever I’ve gone to an event or a meet, and they congratulate me no matter what result I had. They always say, ‘You did a great job, I know you tried your best.’
“I’m obviously really grateful for my teachers, counselors and coaches, and that’s really what Horizon has really helped me out with.”
Owoyemi’s story is one of resilience. After ending her sophomore season fouling out at regionals, Owoyemi drew little interest from college coaches and wondered if she could continue with the sport long term. However, her coaches saw her potential and told her to keep working hard.
The following summer, Owoyemi kept grinding through practice and honed her craft in preparation for a big leap her junior year. She ended the season with a 15th-place finish at state and took that momentum with her into her AAU track season. With the help of her coaches, Owoyemi competed in the Junior Olympics that summer, placing fourth and cementing herself as an All-American.
As her ascension in the sport began to climb higher and higher, Owoyemi was starting to get noticed by her peers and college scouts. It was then when she knew she had a shot to take her talents to the next level.
“(That’s) when it really clicked,” Owoyemi said. “From then on, I just knew that I wanted to go far with this, and I want to encourage others to not quit. If you put your mind to something and keep pushing hard, you can go really far with it.”
While the results speak for themselves, one of the qualities that separates Owoyemi from the rest of the pack is her mindset. Entering her senior year, Owoyemi didn’t get caught up with what her peers were doing around her and chose to focus on what she could do in the ring instead.
“It’s really not about the competition––it’s about yourself,” Owoyemi said. “It’s about going there and showing yourself what you can do and beating your own records. That’s my mindset. It’s not about ‘Oh this girl is so good, oh you’re going to beat me.’ It’s going to be about, ‘What am I going to do today? If I don’t win this, what am I going to do to get better?’”
The maturity in her mindset certainly paid off as she has enjoyed a spectacular senior season. Last winter, she landed a full scholarship to University of Mississippi, a prestigious track program that has produced multiple olympians. Having secured her place at the next level, Owoyemi went on to become the first HSA track athlete to win state after her top throw beat the second place winner by a whopping five feet of distance.
Her performance at state qualified her for Nike Indoor Nationals, where she competed against the top shot-putters in the country. Her throw of 45 feet and five centimeters landed her in fourth place at the championship, concluding what was one of the most historic high school seasons HSA has ever had. She’s grateful for not giving up the sport her freshman year and for the encouragement she received from everyone who told her to stick with it.
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“The results don’t matter because [her teachers and coaches] are more proud of you going into a meet and just performing,” Owoyemi said. “I feel like all teachers and coaches will encourage you no matter what it is you're going into because it's something that you put your mind into.
“It's not about what's happening, it's about the journey. Who's been with you throughout it, all of my coaches, teachers and counselors who have been with you throughout the journey. That's what I'm most happy about.”
Owoyemi’s track career is only getting started. Her ultimate goal is to compete in the Olympics and represent Nigeria. She thinks she can get there by doing what she has done to achieve her goals up to this point: don’t focus on the results and have faith in herself.
“My goal is just to continue to believe in myself and believe that I will make [it] and continue to manifest it and pray about it,” Owoyemi said. “That’s really what I am calling for.”
