Whitney Gipson is looking to finish her TCU track and field career strong in 2012.

“She has been very resilient in making sure that she continues to do the things to continue to grow in the program,” TCU track and field head coach Darryl Anderson said.

The senior jumper and sprinter is a four-time All-American in long jump in both indoor and outdoor track and field.

Gipson finished fourth in the NCAA long jump event in the 2011 outdoor track and field season.

“I feel like I had a good season to end with,” Gipson said.

She achieved her goals of being a Mountain West Conference champion and an All-American. However, Gipson said she was still not satisfied.

“I have to keep improving,” she said.

One area Gipson needed to improve in was leadership, Anderson said. As a senior, Gipson would need to set an example for the many young women on the TCU track and field team. Gipson said she was up to that challenge.

She said one way she could set that example is by “being a leader at practice, on and off the field.”

Gipson is currently mentoring TCU freshman long jumper, Lorraine Ugen, as “that person she can lean on [and] can ask questions to,” Gipson said.

During her time at TCU, Gipson said she faced some adversity when her jump coach, Jeff Petersmeyer, left for Boise State.

She said she was accustomed to Petersmeyer’s style of coaching, but she continued to learn and grow under assistant coach Nic Petersen. Petersen and the other coaches helped make positive changes during her track career at the university.

“I have definitely changed my form both running and jumping because when I was recruited in high school it was a mess,” she said.

Gipson said she has set high goals for herself after graduation. When asked if she saw herself as an Olympian in the future she replied, “Yes, I do.”

However, Gipson said she is not limiting herself to just track and field. She is a broadcast journalism major who wants to keep her options open.

If track and field did not work out, Gipson said she wanted to move to an area with a small market to start her reporting career.