HSU Insider

Hardin-Simmons Senior Wins "All-American" Title

• By Janlyn Echols Thaxton
• Posted March 18, 2009 6:53 PM
• 0 Comments

Huston beats a serious knee injury one year ago

One year ago, Ashley Huston could not even walk. At a conference basketball tournament one wrong step tore an ACL and the cartilage in her knee joint. Today, the Hardin-Simmons University senior has managed to come back from the injury and add "All-American" to her name.

Hardin-Simmons Head Track Coach, Rodney Smith, says Ashley is just that kind of person. "She has classes from 8 to 5, never misses a practice, and still manages to keep her grade point average way high," he says.

Ashley gave it her best shot this past week at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field National Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana and walked away the winner of the pentathlon.

In fact, on this occasion, Ashley had some of her personal best marks in four of the pentathlon events. The HSU Senior from Jim Ned cleared 5 feet, 6 ½ inches in the high jump; 18 feet, 1 inch in the long jump; 8.45 seconds in the hurdles; 32 feet, 9 ¼ inches in the shot put; and 2:24.77 in the 800 meter.

Huston scored 3,725 points to become this year's champion. Her closest competitor, of Haverford College in Pennsylvania, came in second with a total score of 3,497 points.

"I wanted to be at this national meet and I wanted to be at the top," says Huston.

Smith says Huston possesses the qualities needed to win national championships. In an interview with the Abilene Reporter news, Smith said, "She's very competitive and doesn't give up. It makes it easy to coach someone like that."

Huston says it wasn't an easy climb from her injury. "Last spring break, I was sitting at my parents' house, laid up with an injury that required surgery. This spring break, it was a different story. It's made me realize what can come out of hard work and determination, even when you have setbacks."

Smith says, "Rehabilitation is often the hardest part for an athlete, they just don't think they can get through it. "Ashley has a lot of determination and she had the support of an excellent group of athletic trainers and student AT's here."

HSU is competing in track and field this year for the first time since 1968. However, this is the first women's track program ever on the campus. Smith says it's a real credit to Hardin-Simmons to make the investment in a fledgling program on faith that it would be successful.

Athletic Director, John Neese, says of Smith, "Rodney has made a significant impact on our campus in a short amount of time. We anticipate that our track and cross-country programs will continue to grow under his leadership. We are fortunate to have him with our university and we look forward to our student-athletes accomplishing great things in the future."

He adds, "Anytime you have a program that has success in the post-season, it can help with recruiting. " "We think that Ashley's performance at the Track Championships will certainly gain attention from potential student-athletes."

Coach Smith agrees, saying Ashley's win in the pentathlon is a title that will help bring many more quality athletes to Hardin-Simmons. "Other students may consider joining our program because of Ashley's success and the kind of person she is."

Huston won the high jump, finished second in the 55-meter hurdles, second in long jump, and was third in shot put and the 800 meter run. That makes her the first NCAA All-American athlete at HSU.

Neese says, "Despite having many obstacles in front of her, she persevered and has achieved a great honor for herself and Hardin-Simmons."

According to Coach Smith, Ashley has already lined up a job after she graduates. "While at Jim Ned, she used to play against Cisco High School and they remembered her." In the fall, Ashley will start as Cisco's track coach.