By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
College track and field is hard enough for an incoming freshman, and embarking on her Washburn University career while nursing a lingering injury made things extra challenging for former Shawnee Heights star sprinter Ta'Mijha Nichols.
Former Shawnee Heights sprint star Ta'Mijha Nichols is scheduled to compete in her first MIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this weekend in Maryville, Mo. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
But after a somewhat slow start, Nichols has made big strides entering her first MIAA Outdoor Championships this weekend in Maryville, Mo.
"I did come out of high school with a hamstring injury and coming into college with an injury definitely made me a little injury prone, so I had some setbacks and I had to find some ways to become confident,'' Nichols said.
"But I think my sprint coach (Marshall O’Brien) helped build that confidence, and as I keep going and am gradually getting better, I think he sees me getting more confident every day and that's what's helping me push a bit more in college.''
NIchols took a big step in the recent Kansas Relays, posting a second-place finish in the women's 100-meter dash with a personal-best and an NCAA provisional mark of 11.78 seconds.
"As a freshman coming out and the first meet not doing so well and then seeing what I did at KU, it's exciting,'' Nichols said. "And I have my teammates backing me up and they're getting excited for me and that brings in great energy.''
Now the former T-Bird just wants to build off of that breakthrough this weekend and beyond.
"For MIAA my goal is to run 11.6 and I'm trying to push for a little bit more, just so I can go to the NCAAs and see what I can do against better people and see if I can maybe run that 11.5,'' Nichols said. "And if I only run an 11.7 I still broke a PR and I'm proud of myself that I did it so quick as a freshman.''
Nichols came about as close as an athlete can to winning a high school state title as both a junior and senior, finishing a close second in the 100 to Lillian Harris of Kapaun Mt. Carmel both seasons while also helping Shawnee Heights finish second in the 4x100-meter relay.
And, as it turned out, the former prep rivals are now teammates for the Ichabods.
"The girl that beat me, she's here as well, so having her here kind of pushes me to be better,'' Nichols said. "I know that there's something in me that I can go out here and bust it out and make myself improve. It's nice to have each other.''
The No. 18-ranked Washburn women and No. 38-ranked men will compete in the MIAA meet Friday through Sunday at Northwest Missouri State in Maryville.
The Ichabod men will have 36 student-athletes competing in 18 events while the women will have 24 student-athletes competing in 18 different events.
Following the MIAA Championships the Ichabods are scheduled for a couple of last chance qualifiers at Concordia (Neb.) on May 10 and at Nebraska-Kearney on May 11 before setting up for the NCAA Outdoor Championships May 23-25 in Emporia.
