Kiah Hicks is quite the diverse athlete.
The Falcon High School senior just finished a girls basketball season in which she averaged 10.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while leading the Falcons in steals. She’s a member of the USA under-18 national handball team, which has qualified for the Pan Am Games.
Oh, and she’s the returning Class 4A state track and field champion in the shot put and discus.
“She’s a phenomenal athlete in my opinion, pretty well-balanced all the way around,” Falcon track and field coach Mary Ann Wilson said. “She just goes 90 miles per hour all the time.”
But she also can slow life down enough to be a stellar student — she has a 4.42 weighted grade-point average, ranking her in the top three of her class. And she can focus enough on the task at hand, which is the upcoming track and field season.
Hicks is a two-time state champion in the discus and should be the favorite in the discus and the shot put this season. But she will face some stiff competition, including Pueblo South’s Megan Patterson, a transfer student from Dolores Huerta.
“I think she kind of feeds on this, feeds on the competition. She likes this,” Wilson said.
Yet, more than the competition, Hicks is one who thrives on pushing herself.
That’s why not only is repeating as state champion a goal this year, but also setting the 4A discus mark. She missed the 14-year record by a little more than 2 feet last season with her state-winning mark of 142 feet, 8 inches.
“I want to be state champion, but I don’t want to stop there. This year, I have to get it,” said Hicks, who will attend Colorado State this fall. “This is my last year. I want to make an impact on everything, leave my name on the record book.”
Teams, athletes to watch
STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: May 19-21,
Jefferson County Stadium, Lakewood
Top Class 5A teams: Loveland, Doherty, Cherry Creek, Fountain-Fort Carson, Fort Collins.
5A athletes to watch: Olivia Anderson, Cherry Creek, Jr., 200 meters, 800, 300 hurdles; Emily Elliott, Fort Collins, Sr., 200, 400; Eleanor Fulton, Highlands Ranch, Sr., 800, 1,600, 3,200; Stephanie Gerber, Arapahoe, Sr., 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles; GinAsia Hamilton, Fountain-Fort Carson, Jr., 200, 400; Ana Holland, Regis Jesuit, Soph., 100, 200; Kami Mendez, East, Jr., 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles; Brittany Lewis, George Washington, Sr., long jump; Katie Pham, Rangeview, Jr., shot put, discus; Jordan Rand, Doherty, Sr., long jump, triple jump.
Top 4A teams: Mullen, Windsor, Wheat Ridge, Greeley Central, Thompson Valley.
4A athletes to watch: Jolie Dubois, Glenwood Springs, Sr., 200; Karina Ernst, Thompson Valley, Jr., 800, 1,600; Charron Johnson, Harrison, Jr., 100; Maddy Jourgensen, Moffat County, Sr., 1,600, 3,200; Kiah Hicks, Falcon, Sr., shot put, discus; Annie Kunz, Wheat Ridge, Sr., 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, high jump; Katie Lindmuth, Thompson Valley, Sr., long jump; Megan Patterson, Pueblo South, Jr., shot put, discus; Kadeshia Rose, Mesa Ridge, Sr., 100, 200, 400; Christine Scott, Mullen, Jr., 100, 200.
Top 3A teams: Classical Academy, Valley, Middle Park, Alamosa, Dolores.
3A athletes to watch: Icenia Anderson, James Irwin, Sr., 100; Samantha Berggren, Middle Park, Sr., 200, 400, 800, 1,600; Jenny DeSouchet, Alamosa, Sr., 800, 1,600; Nicki De-Souchet, Alamosa, Sr., 1,600, 3,200; Alexis Gerry, Holy Family, Jr., discus; Karli Jelden, Eaton, Jr., pole vault; Tiffany Kenney, Colo. Springs Christian, Sr., 100 hurdles, long jump; Courtney Mills, Berthoud, Jr., long jump; Khadijah Sayyid, Peak to Peak, Jr., 100, 200; Shelby Stableford, Classical Aca., Jr., 1,600, 3,200.
Top 2A teams: Akron, Lyons, Dolores, Paonia, Holyoke.
2A athletes to watch: Sydney Clarkson, Akron, Sr., 400, 800; Rachel Hinker, Lyons, Sr., 100, 200, long jump; Caitlyn Hubbard, Limon, Sr., 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles; Birdie Hutton, Shining Mt. Waldorf, Jr., 1600, 3200; Erin Kelly, Crested Butte, Sr., 3,200; Emy Ludwig, Telluride, Jr., 300 hurdles; Sidney Merrill, Akron, Soph., pole vault; Kelley Robinson, Nederland, Jr., 1,600, 3,200; Lindsey Stindt, Norwood, Jr., 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, long jump; Corbette Tschanz, Lyons, Sr., pole vault.
Top 1A teams: Otis, Fleming, Merino, Elbert, Creede.
1A athletes to watch: Kylie Alexander, Vail Christian, Jr., pole vault; Ashley Atkin, Fleming, Sr., 100, 200, 400, 800; Melanie Burton, Bethune, Sr., 1,600, 3,200; Logan Franek, Elbert, Soph., 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles; Alexis Seifert, Otis, Jr., 100, 200, long jump.
