Christina Hillman overcomes back injury to reach national stage for final time

AMES — Two years ago, Christina Hillman saw some of the best moments of her illustrious Iowa State track and field career.

That span of a few months also brought some of the toughest moments in her career.

Hillman is a six-time All-American and will be making her fourth appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships this week in the shot put. She swept the indoor and outdoor shot put NCAA titles as a sophomore in 2014 and entered that summer with an enthusiasm to see exactly how far she could take her talents.

Then came the day in the weight room when it all changed.

In the middle of the summer, Hillman went into the weight room with some friends, just like any other day. She expected big things for her junior season.

'I went down on a front squat, rounded my back and I could feel it pop or something, I don't know,' Hillman said. 'I could feel it right away and I knew I had messed it up.

'It's amazing how just one bad technique and one bad rep can make a huge difference.'

The diagnosis was herniated discs that would keep Hillman out of throwing form for several months. At that point, weight lifting — especially lower body workouts — was out of the question. It meant Hillman and throwing coach Fletcher Brooks had to start from square one in terms of how she trained.

'You almost had to erase everything we had done with success the year before,' Brooks said. 'That was the tough part. We had all those pieces of the puzzle we had worked so hard the year before to put together to have her throw so successfully to get back-to-back titles with indoor and outdoor. We just couldn't do those anymore and that was the challenge. It was like how can we get her back to the level that she expects to be at and I expect her to be at?'

Squat lifts weren't an option, so Brooks designed workouts that would test Hillman's core and keep her upper body in peak shape. The Dover, Del., native red-shirted the 2015 indoor season and finished sixth in the shot put during NCAA Outdoor Championships. Now she is back on the national stage and on track to close out one of the most successful careers for an ISU women's thrower.

'I think eight out of 10 athletes that go through this same thing (with the injury), I don't know if they come out the way Tina has,' Brooks said. 'So it says a lot about her character.'

Hillman's farthest throw in her career (58 feet, 2 inches) came during that 2014 outdoor season and even though she isn't where she wants to be, she's using her climb back from her injury as fuel to end her career the way she wants.

'I almost feel like they're counting me out, but I want to prove them wrong,' Hillman said of doubters. 'Despite everything that's happened with all the injuries and hardships, I'm just happy and grateful to be on the national level. I think it's something I need to appreciate because I'm surrounded by elite throwers and can recognize myself as an elite thrower.'

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