When Cora Gallop graduated from high school in Oakland, Ore., a city of 927 people between Eugene and Medford on the state’s western coast, she had two college options.
She could play basketball at George Fox University, a Division III school just outside of Portland, or join the track and field team at Southern Oregon, an NAIA school on the state's southern border in Ashland.
Gallop opted for Southern Oregon, in part because she felt like track would be more rewarding and in part because she thought it would be less time consuming. She enrolled in the school in August 2015 and figured she would be there for the next four years as she competed for triple jump championships – she excelled in high school in sprints and field events – while working on becoming a physician’s assistant.