Schultz began training in athletics from a young age, and set a junior record in the indoor pentathlon in 2017 prior to being accepted to Kansas State University on a track scholarship.

[3] In her debut season in university athletics, Schultz won the bronze medal in the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships' pentathlon event.

[4] Schultz returned to the competitive scene in 2021 under the Chinese flag to increase her personal best by over 200 points at the Spanish leg of the World Athletics Challenge – Combined Events.

The athlete, now competing as Ninali Zheng, won the meeting with a score of 6,358 which moved her into qualification for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

[2] The Chinese press quoted her maternal grandmother Zheng Fengrong, who in 1957 set the women's world record in high jump 1.77m and is a celebrated athlete in China.