Colorado State University senior Kiah Hicks proved why she was one of CSU’s best female athletes in the past 10 years. At the NCAA Track and Field Championships, she finished 10th place in the discus throw just two days after earning second-team All-American honors in the hammer throw.
Hicks competed in the first flight of the throws, posting a toss of 176 feet, 9 inches on her second attempt. She missed a finals spot by less than two feet. Her second throw was the only one the judges counted because her first and third attempts resulted as fouls.
When CSU Track and Field head coach Brian Bedard recruited Hicks out of Colorado Springs he knew he found something special in the thrower.
“Kiah has had an outstanding career for the Rams,” praised Bedard in a release from the school. “One of the best athletes I’ve coached. Unfortunately, she was the 10th best discus thrower at the NCAA meet today. Some athletes would be thrilled with that, but not Kiah. We had some big goals, but her timing was a little off on her first and third throws. We need to re-group before heading to the USA Championships.”
In her collegiate career, Hicks accomplished quite a bit. She became the first Mountain West female thrower to win both the discus and the hammer throws at the conference outdoor championships since former CSU standout Loree Smith. With her throw of 196 feet and 7.5 inches she set a Mountain West championship record. She ranked second in league history and second in the nation this year.
For her career, Hicks was quite phenomenal. She was a three-time USTFCCCA track & field all-academic team member, she also was a three-time academic all-Mountain West recipient. Hicks was great off the field as well as on the field.
Hicks was the first MWC womens athlete to throw over 190 feet in the discus, over 200 feet in the hammer and over 50 feet in the shot put at the conference meet. She finished in the MWC’s top three in the shot put, discus and hammer in both 2013 and 2015, matching Smith’s performance as the only other MW athlete to do so twice (2004 and 2005).
“I’m very proud of Kiah,” added Bedard. “She represented CSU extremely well on the track and in the classroom.”
Marcus Flowers, a Mile High Sports intern, contributed to this story