Plant No. 1 runner Kissel commits to Tampa

Posted Jan 13, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Jan 13, 2012 at 08:33 PM

In the end, Plant senior Danielle Kissell said it came down to a choice between making another move or staying close to home. And on that score, the University of Tampa won out over St. Augustine’s Flagler College.

Kissel, who helped the Panthers capture back-to-back state cross country championships, told the Tribune Friday she has made a verbal commitment to the Spartans and coaches Jarrett Slaven and Dror Vaknin. She had a significant scholarship package offered by Flagler but after several moves during her life because of her father’s military career, Kissel said staying in town and attending a school with good academics and smaller classes was appealing.

“I’ve moved around a whole bunch and this way, I can stay here,” said Kissel, who’s father, Ted Jordan, is a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. “The University of Tampa’s combination of athletics and academics is really strong and I really like the idea of having more one-on-one instruction in my classes.” 

Kissel, who plans to major in graphic design and holds a weight GPA of 5.80, was Plant’s No. 1 runner at this year’s Class 4A finals. She earned all-state honors with a stunning third-place finish. At the 2010 state finals, Kissel taking 12th. Both seasons, Kissel was Plant’s most consistent runners, never falling out of the top five. Even in her sophomore year, she was a significant contributor, running as the fifth and final scorer at the 2009 state meet, where Plant finished fifth.

Kissel said she has not decided whether she was run track this spring. She said she will either run for the Panthers to improve her speed, or continue building her base for the start of her college career next fall.