‘Was that real?’ Post-race proposal to Wichita State sprinter goes viral
Faith Turner had no idea she was running toward the happiest moment of her life.
As far as the senior on the Wichita State track and field team knew, she was focused on the 100-meter dash race at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. this past weekend.
Little did she know, longtime boyfriend J.D. Prinsloo, a former Shocker track athlete, was hiding by the finish line. After the Pittsburg native finished her race, Prinsloo popped out and popped the biggest question of his life down on one knee.
Turner jumped up and down while screaming yes and Prinsloo slipped on the engagement ring, which brought an ovation from the crowd in attendance. The unique marriage proposal between the two Shocker athletes has since gone viral with ESPN and the NCAA Track and Field social media accounts posting videos and pictures of the engagement.
“That was beyond anything that I could have imagined,” Turner said. “It was by far the most magical moment that I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. He did a phenomenal job.”
The only person in WSU’s small traveling team to the event that was not clued in on what was happening was Turner. The night before, Prinsloo met with Turner’s teammates and told them what was happening. They even had signs made — “Will you run with me forever?” one read — to hold up in the stands.
Turner knew Prinsloo would be in attendance for the meet, but that wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. After all, Prinsloo was a successful relay runner for the Shockers from 2019-24 and helped the men’s track and field team win back-to-back American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships.
“I thought he was just coming to watch me run,” Turner admitted.
After Turner, one of the best women sprinters in program history, finished her race, she thought it was peculiar that the Oregon television network wanted to interview her — she didn’t win or run a personal-best time. Even when teammates began lining up behind her for the supposed interview, Turner had no idea what was about to happen.
In her mind, Turner was beginning to form answers to potential questions about the race. Instead, she only had to say one word to the question posed to her when Prinsloo emerged from behind a LED scoreboard near the finish line.
“I was a bit overwhelmed in the best way,” Turner said. “My whole team was screaming. It took me like five minutes to understand what was happening. I just lost my mind. It was insane.”
Since the engagement, Prinsloo’s proposal has gone viral in the track world.
“The last few days have honestly been kind of crazy,” Turner said. “We weren’t expecting it to be such a big outreach. But it’s also really cool that it happened there in front of the people that I love.
“After we finished and walked back to the tunnel to get the rest of my stuff, I looked at my fiance and I was like, ‘Did that really just happen? Was that real?’ The whole thing was such a huge surprise. But it was so special.”
This story was originally published April 22, 2025 at 5:02 AM.
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