EDWARDSVILLE - Joi Story, a senior this coming season on the Edwardsville High School girls track team, signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Texas in Austin to compete on the women's track team.
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Story had an outstanding season this past spring for the Tigers, finishing fifth in the shot put, with a throw of 12.33 meters (40 feet, 5.5 inches), and also placed third in the discus throw with a toss of 42.35 meters (138 feet, 11 inches). Story is a rising star on the local and national track scene and is one to watch in the spring of 2026.
She is a Spencer Homes Female Athlete of the Month.
In a post-ceremony interview, Tigers throws coach Aaliyah Covington credited Story's family support and her work ethic for her success.
"I can't even say thanks you, because Joi just managed to put in so much work," said Covington, "and she has a community and a village behind her. She has devoted parents and siblings, and it was a really great opportunity for me to come in and teach her what I knew, but she took that, and she ran with it, or she threw with it," she said with a smile and laugh. "And she took it to the next level, so I'm just proud of her commitment to her craft. She can outwork anyone, so it's just great to see all of her hard work come into fruition."
Texas is one of the newer members of the Southeastern Conference, and is one of the top college teams in the nation in women's track as well. The opportunities for Story are endless.
"Oh my goodness, I remember when Joi and I were talking at the beginning of her junior season," Covington said. "We were talking about recruitment, and all of those things, and she was like one of the main things was 'I want to go somewhere warm.' That's a good thing to look for," she said with another smile and laugh. "Not only does she go somewhere warm, but she's going to the SEC, so she's doing it big time. I'm so proud of her."
The Longhorns will also go up against the University of Missouri, and it could create a big rivalry on the track between the two schools.
"Oh, yeah, Mizzou," Covington said with a very warm smile, "That'll be a big rivalry right there, but she's able to compete with the best. She's been competing with the best, and she's been able to get one win at a time, and taking one moment by moment. That's awesome."
Story will definitely be a good fit with the Texas track team, and her work ethic will serve her well.
"Oh, for sure," Covington said. "She's been putting in work in school season, outside of school season, and in her summer season, so she's just an all-year-round worker. You almost have to tell her when to rest sometimes, because she'll just keep working, working, and working, but forget to rest, and she's an amazing kid, and I'm so happy to see her blossom into a Division-I athlete. That's amazing. "
Story's signing with the Longhorns speaks well of the throwing tradition on both the Tigers' boys and girls teams.
"I think this just speaks to the lineage of great throwers that have come from Edwardsville High School," Covington said. "I was once a thrower who came through Edwardsville High School, and I did some cool stuff, I had a teammate, Emmonnie Henderson. I got to coach some other great girls, like Kaitlyn Morningstar, and Dallas Jenkins, and I got to coach Joi Story and Jayla Gathings, so it's just cool to continue the lineage of amazing throwers and competitive throwers, so it's awesome."
