North Texas Daily

Freshman multiathlete Marta Sivina has made an impact on track and field in her first year, winning the Conference USA indoor championship for women’s pentathlon.

Sivina had a total score of 3,639 in her  C-USA-winning performance. She won in the 800 meter race to conclude her championship, something Sivina said she is pleased with.

“It is always nice to get a gold medal, especially before the last event,” Sivina said. “Having to really fight to get that gold medal, it was satisfying.”

Originally from Latvia, Sivina was introduced to track and field at a young age. When the amount of talent she had become apparent, her mother started to get her involved in the sport which would ultimately land Sivina at a Division I university in the United States.

“My mom got me into it when I was very little — I was like 10 or 12 — because she used to do it too,” Sivina said. “I started doing track and she noticed that I had a little bit of talent in it, so we found a coach that was specifically for multis and pentathlon.”

Sivina said she finds joy in what she does in track and field. As a participant in multis, she has to be proficient in several different types of events.

“The multis are a new thing every day,” Sivina said. “The practice, the competition, counting the points after each event — it can go different ways. I think it is the exciting part that I like the most.”

Among fellow freshmen, Sivina has become an energy source. Freshman sprinter Kendahl Tucker said she enjoys Sivina’s presence and finds her energy contagious.

“Marta is a very outgoing person,” Tucker said. “She is fun to be around, and she always has that bright smile that kind of lights the room, so you always have a good vibe from her anytime you are around her.”

This good impression is shared by assistant coach Jemarruse Amos. He said Sivina has been a positive facet of the team early in her career.

“She trains hard,” Amos said. “She goes hard for her teammates [and] she’s somebody that would be great for any program.”

The team watched Sivina during her events and cheered her on from a distance. Her championship set the tone for her teammates, as the gold medal performance was lauded by the Mean Green.

“Everyone was super excited,” Tucker said. “That kind of just gave everybody the fight to do good for the rest of the meet that week.”

North Texas has a number of international athletes across its athletic programs, which enticed Sivina to join.

“Last spring, I was looking at schools that I would want to go to,” Sivina said. “I felt like the facilities here were very nice, everyone was welcoming and I thought the program was fit for me, so I came here. There wasn’t much contemplating it, I just came here.“

During her championship-winning meet, Sivina fought through an injury. Because of the quick turnaround from each event, there was not much time for her to recover before competing again.

“You go basically back-to-back from each event,” Sivina said. “It was just, more of mentally getting ready for the next event, not thinking about anything else, just focusing on what I have to do on each event.”

Sivina had to adapt to each event, doing whatever she could to get the best result possible.

“In high jump, I had to jump on my other foot,” Sivina said. “It was a little difficult, but in the heat of the moment with adrenaline, it is not as hard.”

She finished third in high jump, fourth in the 60-meter hurdles, fifth in the shot put and 10th in the long jump.

The NCAA Indoor Championship in Albuquerque, New Mexico takes place March 10 and 11 and the season continues with the outdoor championships taking place late in the spring.

“I am trying to get healthy right now and get over that injury I have,” Sivina said. “There is a lot I have to work on. I think I am going to keep on doing what I’ve been doing because it has been successful. Staying healthy and staying focused.”

Featured Image Freshman Marta Sivina poses with a javelin and shot put on Feb. 27, 2023. Lauren Campbell