Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall senior Autumn Deutz (front row, second from right) sits alongside her parents Kathleen (right) and Allen (left), along with her siblings Sam (far left), William (back row, left) and Elsie. Autumn signed her letter of intent to compete at the Division I level with the St. Thomas womens track and field team on Wednesday morning at Marshall High School.

MARSHALL –Autumn Deutz, a senior four-sport athlete at Marshall High School, signed her letter of intent to continue her athletic career at the Division I level with the St. Thomas womens track and field team on Wednesday.

“I’m just excited for a new environment for competing, new teammates, just overall everything new,” Deutz said, adding that her positive experience on the campus tour and meeting the coaches and athletes on the team made the program feel like the right fit.

Deutz competed on the track and field, soccer, gymnastics and swim and dive teams during her time at Marshall.

While she competed in a medley of events with the Marshall track team, including the long jump, the high jump and a number of sprints and relays, Deutz’s primary event with Marshall is the pole vault. She medaled in the state meet as a sophomore and junior, placing sixth both times, and also placed fifth in the Section 2AA championships as a freshman.

“I’m really excited to not be so overwhelmed with everything and to just focus on the pole vault,” Deutz said. “I think it will help me improve a lot, so I’m excited.”

Deutz was also a member of the Tigers’ 4×100-meter relay team, which placed third at the section meet and qualified for the state meet this year.

In the fall season, Deutz was a multi-sport athlete, repeatedly breaking her own program record in the 1-meter dive before closing her career with a personal-best score of 198.00 and starting at defense for the girls soccer team.

At St. Thomas, Deutz intends on studying biology and nutrition, adding that she’s always found that field interesting though she’s still deciding what specifically she wants to do with the major.

In the winter, Deutz was a standout for the gymnastics team through her junior season, though not competing her senior year.

St. Thomas competes at the Division I level as a member of the Summit League.