WAVERLY - Akeya Aimable's life as a triple jumper took off during the indoor track and field season.

Now the Warttburg College senior is learning how to fly with the wind.

A Waterloo West graduate, Aimable was a sprinter through high school and her first three years as a Knight. She tried the triple jump for the first time during the 2008-2009 indoor season and promptly won a Division III national championship.

"I never thought I'd take it that far," Aimable said.

The flight plan has shifted outdoors. Aimable will take her new-found skills to the Drake Relays this weekend for competition in the university-college triple jump at 3 p.m. Saturday.

"It'll be a little nerve-wracking," said Aimable, the daughter of former Northern Iowa football player Moses Aimable. "I've only had a few chances."

Outdoors, Aimable's competed just a few times. She's been good enough to post a Division III provisional qualifying mark, soaring 38 feet, 4 1/4 inches at a recent meet in Platteville, Wis. Saturday at Drake, her goal is the automatic standard of 39- 4 1/2.

Meanwhile, Aimable is still getting a high-speed education in the outdoor version of the triple jump. Inside, she didn't deal with the elements, most notably the fickle Midwestern breezes.

"It's been a little difficult," she said. "But, other than that, it's going well."

Wartburg head track and field coach Marcus Newsom expects Aimable to stay on course at the Drake Relays.

It'll be tough for her to win it the triple jump. Last year's champion, Crystal Manning of Kansas, took the title with a best of 42-7 1/2. Yet, Newsom thinks Aimable will hold her own.

"I think she can be very competitive," Newsom said. "She's a senior. She's spent a few years running (at Drake Stadium). I think there will definitely be a high level of excitement.

"She's still new to the event, but she is a competitor. She will do very well. I'm excited for her."

As a high school athlete for West, Aimable ran on the Jim Duncan Track at the state meet. She's been there as a Wartburg sprinter. In fact, Aimable claimed D-III all-American honors twice as a member of the Knights' 4 x 100 relay.

But the triple jump? Never. It's not part of the agenda for Iowa high school girls.

Then Dave Sage approached Aimable during her senior year at Wartburg. Sage, the former head boys' track coach at Waverly-Shell Rock, works with the Knights' jumpers. Would Aimable be interested in the triple?

"I always had interest," Aimable said. "I never thought coach Newsom would let me. Coach Sage said all I had to do was ask."

She asked. Newsom said yes.

"I never thought I'd get to a hard level," she said. "But, the first time I tried it, I thought, 'Hmm, this is kind of easy. I could be pretty good at this.' But I never thought I would take it that far."

Aimable set the Wartburg indoor record in the triple jump. She won the Iowa Conference title. She qualified for the NCAA Division III indoor at an Iowa State last chance meet.

Then Aimable won the national crown in the triple jump on her first attempt of the finals. Along the way, her victory sparked Wartburg's women to the Division III team championship, the school's first indoors.

"It was crazy," Aimable said.

Added Newsom, "It's not common. But it's almost like she was a natural at it. She's an athlete, she's coachable and she's a competitor. Put all those things together with being disciplined, and obviously the end result was very positive for us."

Aimable's sights are set on the D-III outdoor meet. She narrowly missed the automatic mark at the Kansas Relays. Drake offers another opportunity to take off.

"Last week at Kansas, I competed against mostly Division I people," Aimable said. "That's what I'm going against this week. I know they go further than what I have to go for nationals. Knowing that, I have to do my best and keep doing what I can."

Contact Jim Sullivan at (319) 291-1434 or jim.sullivan@wcfcourier.com