Taylor Lindsey evolved into a level-nine gymnast growing up before deciding to try pole vault as a senior at Marion Harding High School. She later enrolled at Otterbein and spent her entire first year of school as a regular student before eventually joining the women’s track and field team for the 2012-13 season.

Lindsey would slowly evolve into a national-caliber vaulter, gaining quality experience over the next two seasons before busting onto the scene as a redshirt junior in 2014-15. She won 12 of 17 meets that year, setting new Otterbein indoor (12-2) and outdoor (12-5 ½) records while capturing both the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) indoor and outdoor titles. Lindsey was a national-qualifier both seasons, eventually finishing 11th at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships and then 16th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Lindsey exercised a fifth year of eligibility for 2015-16, entering her last go-around determined to finish amongst the top-eight nationally to warrant All-American status. She continued her success by winning another seven times, finishing second in three other meets and breaking her own school records with jumps of 12-4 (indoor) and 12-7 ½ (outdoor). Lindsey successfully defended her OAC crown in both seasons, which included setting a meet record during the outdoor championships at Wilmington.

A four-time national qualifier, she finished 14th at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships as a senior before finally pushing through on May 26 in the last meet of her college career to claim All-American honors. Primed for a curtain call, Lindsey stayed alive by clearing 12-5 ½ (3.80m) and 12-7 ½ (3.85m) on her final attempts, with the latter good enough to match her school record she had set one week prior. The jump thrusted Lindsey into a tie for seventh out of 22 competitors and made her the 12th All-American for women’s track and field at Otterbein.