When leaders fall, they get back up, and when leaders fly the people around them do too.

Neya Jamison knows how to get back up.

Even a standout leader like Jamison learns leadership lessons at every practice. During a hurdles drill, she decided to push the intensity. She tripped and hit the track hard, which left her banged up. Coach Brian Bedard watched from a distance as Jamison picked herself up and restarted the drill.

“I was thinking to myself, I’m going to talk about Neya tonight and how she responds, because she’s got two more reps to go, and how she’s going to be affected by that fall,” Bedard said. “Because it was hard. There was a moment in time when she had a break. But she put together two really good reps that were very aggressive and executed very well. I was like ‘Man, she’s grown up a lot.’”

Before the fall, Bedard planned for Jamison to speak to the team that evening. The discussion centered around mental preparation and competition anxiety.

Seeing her actions earlier in the day further convinced him Jamison was the right choice to speak.

“I feel like past me would have fallen and just been afraid to go back and attack the hurdles again,” Jamison said. “It hurt like 20 minutes after the adrenaline wore off, but right after I felt great and was ready to go again. And I feel like that shows some of the people that may be afraid to fall in practice that you even if you do you have to get right back up and hit it even harder.”

Ismael Dembele recalled the talk Jamison gave to the team. As another leader in the program, Dembele said hearing Jamion’s perspective reminded him that everyone on the team is going through the same thing.

“We are all nervous, but the level of understanding that you put the work in, and your teammates put the work in as well,” Dembele said. “And no matter what, don’t be nervous. It’s the difference between good nerves that are going to push me to do better and nerves that are going to keep me down. I feel like that meeting showed everybody else that I’m not the only one feeling this way.”

At practice following that talk, Dembele and first-year Travis Turner sorted through boxes of old CSU Mountain West conference championship gear from the previous indoor season, which the Rams won. Only the best athletes on the team compete at the conference championship. 

The thought of not competing left Turner expressing his doubts to Dembele.

“(Turner) picked up a conference shirt from last year when we won, and he was like, ‘Man, I don’t deserve this yet,’” Dembele said. “And I was like trust me you’re going to be wearing this when we win in February.”

Dembele knows how to fly. His triple jump and long jump numbers make him the best horizontal jumper in the program. Even more, he knows the importance of bringing his teammates to the same lengths as him.

“Actions speak a lot louder than words,” Dembele said. “I feel like you can vocalize and be a leader vocally, but if you’re not doing what you’re saying how is anybody going to trust your words?” You have to lead by action, lead by example before you lead by vocalizing.”

While Jamison is a motivator, influencing the entire group with powerful messages, Dembele is a workhorse setting the standard for those around him. What both have in common is they have the history to back their leadership.

Jamison and Dembele’s leadership infiltrates the mentality of the entire team. Their influence is already strong, and the season is just starting. 

CSU’s first indoor season meet in Wyoming Saturday was on one of most unconventional tracks this season: a 160-meter flat track and not one event run in a typical fashion. There are few places where the 55-meter hurdles are considered a normal event. Taking too long to slow down results in the athlete crashing into a stack of high jump pads.

It left the perfect opportunity for leadership to emerge through adversity. Wyoming as an opener, while maybe just more unconventional than daunting, was seen as a challenge meant to be overcome. Before the meet, Bedard made his intentions clear. 

“It’s a litmus test to see where we are at,” Bedard said. “It will wake some people up; (they’ll) say, ‘You know what, I’m not quite as ready as I thought I was,’ and it could if someone performs well up there just reaffirm that, ‘You know what, I’m feeling pretty good with where I’m at.’”

The meet did just that. Cole Nordman in the hurdles set a program record time of 6.17. The women’s throwing team took the top four positions in the weight throw and the top three in shot put. Gabi Morris won and set an indoor personal record in shotput, (17.56 meters).

Dembele took first in long jump (7.32 meters). Jamison was pulled before the meet due to an injury.

The Wyoming meet will continue further in the rearview mirror as the season continues. Even now, still early, all eyes are focused on the Don Kirby Elite meet in New Mexico.

Don Kirby gives the team a pleasant reminder of the glory felt securing an indoor MW championship on that track last year. However, it is also a glimpse into the future work and effort Bedard expects for the team to secure a victory at the 2025 MW championships.

“I just want to be in a position to challenge for a title, and we’re not always there, but I feel really good about our team and where we are at and the talent we have and how we’re training,” Bedard said. “Everybody is on board. Every event group is doing everything they can to put themselves in a position to challenge for a title.”

There is a certain energy running through the team that cannot be expressed in words. What the Rams know for sure is the expectation to secure another MW title. It cannot be done without the collective leadership of each member.

“We know what it’s like to win,” Jamison said. “And I feel like everybody wants to keep winning because we have a taste of it now.”

Reach Adam Gross at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @agrose_22.