Danielle "Dani" Jones (born August 21, 1996) is an American middle-distance runner. She is a four-time NCAA Division I champion winning two gold medals at the

2017 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2017 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships was the 53rd NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 36th NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Gilliam Indoor Track St ...

in the 3000-meters and Indoor Distance Medley Relay, a gold in 2018 in Cross-Country, and later won the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 5000-meters. In May 2018, she finished first at the National Women's 1500-meters at the Prefontaine Classic in a time of 4:07.74.

High school career

Born in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

and raised in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, Jones attended and ran for Desert Vista High School. In spring 2012, she won her first Arizona state title in the 1600-meters. The following year, she won the Arizona state cross country title. She eventually set Arizona high school state outdoor track records for the

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

, 1600 m, and 3200 m.

College career

Jones attended the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

from 2015 to 2020 where she was a four-time NCAA Divion I champion capturing titles in the outdoor 5000-meters, indoor 3000-meters, cross-country, and the distance medley relay. She earned

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors 12-times. As a collegiate athlete for the

Colorado Buffaloes The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado Boulder. The university sponsors 16 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden ...

, she won the 3000 m and the distance medley relay at the

2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were the 96th NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 36th NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships held for the fifth consecutive ye ...

. During a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

season in spring 2018, she won the National Women's 1500 m at the Prefontaine Classic. That fall, she led her team to an NCAA title at the 2018 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships by way of her first-place finish in the race. This was the second time in two decades that the Buffaloes had both a first-place finisher and finished in first place as a team at the national championships. She won the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in t ...

as the nation's best female collegiate cross-country competitor in 2019.

Professional career

In December 2020, Jones announces that she would be pursuing a professional running career. She signed with Hawi Management, choosing Merhawi Keflezighi as her agent. Soon thereafter she secured a professional contract with New Balance and then joined the Bosshard training group in Boulder. Colorado.

Major international competitions

Domestic competitions

References

External links

"Dani Jones Fits Fast Races Into Jam-Packed Schedule"

"Desert Vista runner Dani Jones looking for history"
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Dani Living people 1996 births American female middle-distance runners Colorado Buffaloes women's track and field athletes Colorado Buffaloes women's cross country runners Track and field athletes from Arizona Sportspeople from Fort Wayne, Indiana Track and field athletes from Indiana Desert Vista High School alumni NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportswomen