Danner-Hicks looks to top the country in the triple jump
By AJ Pascuzzo
Comment Staff
Being a college athlete takes a lot of hard work and dedication, let alone being one of the top performers in the nation.
Senior captain Joshua Danner-Hicks is a member of the Bridgewater State University indoor track and field team, and while the Bears have done well this season, individually, Danner-Hicks has blown the competition away.
Danner-Hicks has made a name for himself this season, as he has performed well in the triple jump where he currently ranks seventh in all of Div. III.
“Josh represents everything a coach could ask for in a student-athlete,” said Bridgewater State assistant coach Kevin Coyle. “I am constantly receiving compliments on Josh from coaches, officials, and spectators all across New England for the way he carries himself. He’s the type of athlete that brings life and energy into a competition.”
In high school, Danner-Hicks played football, but a decision to try out track and field has changed his fortunes.
“I had friends who did track and I realized that it would help me get faster, so junior year in high school I began running,” Danner-Hicks said. “I did the triple jump just because our team needed someone to do it.”
Danner-Hicks is having the best season of his career this year, as he has already earned All-New England honors and broke the triple jump school record earlier in the season with a jump of 47 feet, 11.75 inches.
“My goal this year is not just to be an All-American at nationals but to win it,” Danner-Hicks said. “Right now I’m ranked seventh in the country for Division III in the triple jump and I feel good about that, it gets that pressure off me.”
In order to make nationals, only the top 15 ranked athletes are invited so it would take a lot for Danner-Hicks to be bumped out which is possible, but as of now he is paving a smooth path.
This year the biggest win for Danner-Hicks came at the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Championships where he became the first person in MASCAC history to win the indoor triple jump in all four years of his career.
Danner-Hicks said there have been many things that have contributed to his success this year, in order to prove himself as one of the nation’s and school’s best athletes.
“I have great and wonderful teammates and my family is incredibly supportive,” Danner-Hicks said. “Me and my coach are on the same page with every aspect of what needs to be done and God has been incredibly good to me.”
Danner-Hicks has set the bar high each season and doesn’t stop working until he achieves his personal goals.
“This year has just been an absolute blessing,” Danner-Hicks said. “I’ve managed to have a personal best in indoor by almost a whole foot and now that I’ve gotten going, I want to be able to walk away with something.”
Danner-Hicks looks to get one step closer to nationals this weekend when he competes at the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships.
AJ Pascuzzo is a Comment sports writer. Email him at apascuzzo@student.bridgew.edu.
