Marshall University women’s track team member Tianya Hankerson made a surprising return to the program this season.
The junior runner brought her son Noah Hankerson into the world in August of 2015 shortly after the 2015-16 school year started.
Hankerson took off the fall semester and returned in January, however, little did the Herd coaching staff know that she was coming back even better.
“I was worried about how long it was going to take to return to my usual self,” Hankerson said. “I just tried to remain positive and continued to push on.”
Before Hankerson became pregnant she was the Herd’s best 500-meter runner, earning the school record in the first indoor meet of the 2014 season.