Former Missouri State swimmer Jordynn Brown, class of 2013, died on Wednesday morning in a single-vehicle car accident along Missouri highway 86.
“Jordynn was the kind of girl you could always rely on to put a smile on your face,” said current Missouri State senior Hannah Molden. “Whether you were having a bad day, just had a terrible race, or were really dreading a set, she would know exactly what to say in order to make you laugh and completely turn your mood around. She was the light in the darkness. The lovable, lighthearted woman who changed all of our lives for the better.”
Driving her 2004 Ford Focus, the Missouri State Highway Patrol says she simply lost control when she took a curve too fast and hit a tree. 9-1-1 was called by a passerby at 6AM, with a sheriff’s deputy arriving 15 minutes later. Brown was not believed to be wearing a seat belt at the time, according to a police report, and died at the scene.
After graduation, Brown had taken a job in Missouri’s Blue Eye School District teaching special education and cheerleading at Blue Eye Middle School. She is presumed to have been on her way to school.
Brown swam at Missouri State for just her freshman and sophomore years in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, when the team won the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. Her freshman year, she was in the top 20 in the conference in the 50 free, 100 free, and 100 fly.
We will all miss Jordynn deeply at Jasper County Killer Whales. She was a great person and a joy to coach. We were proud to see her continue swimming as a Bear and go on to start a career after graduation. Prayers to her family…