TAMPA, Fla., April 20, 2026 – Long before the personal bests, the conference podium and the title of American Conference Freshman of the Year, Lilah Versluis'  journey in track and field was never something she experienced alone. It was built alongside her sister through shared competitions and years of growing in the sport together, forming a foundation that would later shape one of the most impressive debut seasons in the conference and earn her American Conference Freshman of the Year honors.

Now competing at different programs, with Versluis at South Florida and her sister at Georgia Southern, that bond has taken on a different form. The routines no longer look the same, and the races are no longer shared in the same uniform, but the influence remains - still present in the way she approaches competition, handles pressure and continues to grow at the collegiate level.
That foundation showed up early.
 
Versluis opened her collegiate career at the Jimmy Carnes Track and Field Invitational in Gainesville. In her first ever collegiate meet, she placed seventh in the triple jump, competing head-to-head with her sister in the same event.
 
It was a rare moment. Two athletes from the same family, developed side by side, now competing in the same event at the Division I level.
 
From there, her freshman season built steadily. Rather than being defined by a single breakthrough performance, Versluis developed consistency across multiple events while adjusting quickly to the demands of collegiate competition.
 
"What stood out the most to me was being able to get better each meet," Versluis said.
That progression did not come without adjustment. The transition from high school to collegiate track required more than physical preparation. It demanded independence. For the first time, Versluis balanced the full scope of being a student-athlete on her own, managing classes, travel and recovery while continuing to train and compete at a higher level.
 
"You're here by yourself now," she said. "You still have to go to class, stay on top of everything, even when you're tired after practice."
 
Over time, that challenge became structure. As the season progressed, Versluis settled into the demands of college athletics, balancing training, travel and academics while continuing to improve.
 
That adjustment was not made alone. Within the program, she found a new support system through her teammates, building relationships that helped shape both her experience and her performance.
 
Behind those results was a level of work that often goes unseen. From meeting with a team dietitian to staying on track academically through tutoring while traveling, Versluis began to fully utilize the resources available to her at South Florida. She also committed to additional training outside of scheduled practices and built stronger relationships with her teammates.
 
"I started using the resources here more and talking more with my teammates," she said. "That definitely pushed me."
 
That support system became a key part of her first year. Within the jumps group, encouragement is constant, from claps during practice to shared excitement when teammates compete in the same flight. Across the team, that same energy carries through, creating a culture where competition and support exist together.
 
"Everybody's cheering for each other," Versluis said. "You're competing against each other, but also with yourself."
 
The results followed.
 
Versluis closed her indoor season as the American Conference Freshman of the Year after delivering consistent performances across multiple events, highlighted by personal-best marks and a strong finish at the conference championships in Birmingham, Alabama. Still, the speed of her success came as a surprise, even to her.
 
"I expected myself to do well, but not this early," she said. "You always hear freshman year is the hardest."
 
Now, her focus has already shifted forward. After earning American Conference freshman of the year honors during the indoor season, Versluis is approaching the outdoor season with the same focus on steady improvement from meet to meet.
 
"I want to get it for outdoor now," she said.
 
For Versluis, the goal is to carry that same progression into the outdoor season, continuing to build on each performance as she looks for ways to improve.