Tonya (Kneifl) Gordon, a third-grade teacher at Westgate Elementary School in District 66, runs things like a champ. In fact, she runs and jumps like a champ. Gordon won the Women’s Triple Jump at the 2024 USA Track & Field Masters Indoor Championships in Chicago.
It’s a sport, and career, that comes naturally to Gordon, who began participating in track and field in her hometown of Newcastle, Nebraska, where her father, Bart Kneifl, was a physical education teacher and coach.
“I remember one of my first track and field competitions was in second grade, my first official competition, and I wanted to long jump just like my dad, who was still long jumping,” Gordon said, stating that initially, she pushed herself to be better than the boys. “I loved the high jump starting in fifth grade. I love the challenge of it. And it was not so much me against other athletes, but me against that bar, against myself.”
She continued jumping right through Newcastle High School. As that school has now consolidated into Hartington-Newcastle Schools, Gordon will always hold the records at that school for the long jump, high jump, and triple jump. Her athleticism garnered her a scholarship to the University of South Dakota, where she became a nine-time all-American. She then took some time to get married to her college sweetheart—Steve Gordon, now the College of St. Mary Track & Field head coach—and raise their daughter, Ad’astra, before going back to competing at age 40.
Gordon and her husband have also established their own training company, Tachyon Athletik, where Gordon trains and through which she competes. As an athlete, she has traveled to Finland, while Steve has also visited Finland and Australia with Tachyon. This world view has been part of why she continues to compete into her mid-40s.
“I love the fact that it shows my daughter an outgoing and healthy lifestyle, and it shows her that your hard work can take you places,” Gordon said. “She gets to see her parents connect with people from all over the globe, and I love that for her, because she talks about her big friends from other continents.”
Track and field wasn’t the only thing Gordon knew she loved as a child, she said. “I knew from a young age I wanted to be in education, and I actually started out as a physical education major.”
As an elementary school teacher today, she has since earned a master’s degree in reading and an endorsement in library media. But her love of track and field is still at the very core of her teaching.
“My kids love to hear about (track and field) and to know that I share some of the same passions that they do,” she said. “A lot of kids are involved in an outside activity, whether its cheer, dance, football, baseball, whatever it is, they feel that connection to talking about practice.”
As an athlete herself, she is able to talk to kids about the importance of self-discipline and focus, no matter a student’s interest.
“I train probably five to six days a week, and my husband writes my training plan,” Gordon said, noting that she’s up and going in the early mornings and after school. Fortunately, those interests are varied.
“I love video games, and that’s something that we connect with, and I also tie it into we all have our own strengths, and while mine might be on the track, others have strengths that I don’t have,” she said. Gordon also said she plans to compete in the World Masters Championship in Gainesville, Florida, and the USA Masters Championships in Huntsville, Alabama, this year.
“Tonya is an exceptional teacher, and it’s fascinating to see her background as an athlete shine through in her classroom,” said Westgate Elementary Principal Scott Becker. While she participates in track and field because she enjoys her individual sports, her team at Westside reaps the benefits.
“The energy she brings to her classroom undoubtedly mirrors her performance in competition,” Becker added. “Tonya has a gift for using this energy to motivate her students, pushing them to overcome challenges and strive for their best. Tonya’s students embrace her ‘team’ approach, which fosters strong relationships and creates an environment where her students are all pulling for one another to succeed as well.”
Her team approach and energy led Westside to award Gordon the first Westside Royalty Cup, an award given out monthly that is designed to recognize staff members, departments, and schools who dedicate their hard work to make students feel like royalty. As part of the award, the staff at Westgate won a pizza party.
And when Gordon competed—and won—in March 2024, her Westside team and her family were there, cheering her on and making her feel like royalty.
“I’m very fortunate to have that support,” Gordon said.
For more information, visit westside66.org.
This article originally appeared in the 2025 issue of Family Guide. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
