Mt. Pleasant, IA- The Mt. Pleasant Girls’ Track and Field program has enjoyed a rich history of throwers with a trio of recent Panthers signing on to compete at the collegiate level. It is now a quartet, as Ella Ensminger signed her letter of intent to throw at Wartburg College.
The senior talked about what she plans to major in,
“So, I’ll have my associate’s degree this year, and then I plan to jump in as a junior and study business. I should be on track to jump right in there.”
Ensminger discussed how she chose to become a Knight in Waverly, Iowa:
“So, it originally started two years ago at, I believe, the state meet when Coach Roberson, my throws coach, was there. And Striegel was like, you need to talk to this guy more, because he is a really good coach, and I think you’d really like him. And then I kinda went through my junior year and my senior year, and looked at some other options, and went up there a couple, for about three or four times, and really decided this is the place for me.”
Coach Seth Roberson, who was named 2018 USTFCCCA Regional Assistant Coach of the Year, helped lead Emma True to the 2025 National Championship for hammer throw. Ensminger knows she has been given a solid foundation from throwing at Mt. Pleasant,
“I wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else or at any other school. Hit the jackpot with both these coaches. I had some great role models along the way, Jadan Brumbaugh being one of those. Learning from her in my middle school years, I wish I would have gotten to throw with her. And then just some of my other teammates that we’ve all went hand in hand with having some really good runs. And yeah, looking forward to this season for sure.”
Ensminger has continued to improve throughout the years as a two-time state qualifier for the Class 3A shot put. She finished in 13th place as a sophomore and in 8th place last year. Yet, she credits the improvement of her mental game for her success in the circle. An aspect she will need to lean on returning from injury,
“Just make even more progress than any years in the past. Had knee surgery in May, battled a torn meniscus the past year. So being healthy and ready to compete every time and just having that opportunity to compete week in, week out is gonna be huge. And obviously get to state meet and do some good stuff.”
She will enter the season with a career best throw of 39 feet and 11.5 inches, as she hopes to help the Panthers repeat as conference champions.