RIO GRANDE VALLEY – Vaqueros head track and field coach at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Shareese Hicks will be inducted into the Charlotte Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday.
Hicks is part of the seven-member inaugural class, including Jon Busch, Cedric Maxwell, Corey Nagy, Judy Rose, Dale Halton and Lee Rose that was originally selected to be inducted in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a delay two-year-old at the ceremony, and Hicks is excited that the time has finally come.
“I’m still pinching myself every day. I’m so honored. It means a lot to even be recognized, let alone be a part of an incredible Hall of Fame class. The people I’m in there with. , they they’re legends,” Hicks said.
Hicks created her legacy while competing for the Charlotte 49ers from 2003-07. She became the most decorated athlete in track and field history and is considered “the fastest (49th) runner they’ve ever seen.” She is the school record holder in the indoor 200 and 400 meters and the outdoor 100 and 200 meters.
A four-time USTFCCCA All-America honoree and four-time Atlantic 10 Conference Track Performer of the Year, Hicks led Charlotte to four conference titles and was a multiple recipient of the school’s Athlete of the Year award. She won 15 event titles at the conference championships and was a two-time qualifier for the NCAA Championships, claiming six at the 2006 outdoor championships in the 200 and fourth at the 2007 indoor championships, also in the 200.
Despite her tremendous individual success, Hicks said the memories that stick out the most from her collegiate career are from conference meets and practices because of the teammates and coaches she was around.
“Most people would say NCAA because it’s the highest honor, but for me, the conference championships are big because I’m out there with the girls and the boys on the team. Being on the relay teams with those girls and being in the stands of the awards with them are the most incredible memories and what I will carry with me forever,” said Hicks.
When her collegiate career ended, Hicks served as Charlotte’s volunteer assistant for two years while training for her professional career. She credited her relationship with 49ers coach Tim Hall for pushing her as a collegiate and professional athlete, and still now as an athletic trainer.
“I’ve had an incredible coach in Coach Hall. He’s coached an insane number of NCAA champions and record holders and I’ve been blessed to be under him,” Hicks said. “He saw my potential before I saw it. Being a sports student and wanting to go faster, I bought into whatever he told me to do. To this day he always gives me advice on my career, advice for training. He’s a real stand-up person who helped me a lot.”
Hicks’ professional career spanned from 2008-15. She burst onto the scene in 2008 by winning gold in the 400m at her first USA Indoor Nationals, which remains one of her personal favorite performances.
“Hands down, my first US championship was the most special. That was my breakout moment and it made me feel like I could be a problem on the national stage,” Hicks said. “That was the first time I was on my own, going up against the pros that I looked up to. To come out on top that day was just wild. Sometimes early in the year when we’re going indoors, I’ll show the students the athletes that race and say, “Hey, we know what we’re doing. That moment happened to me and it can definitely happen to you.”
That same year, she won bronze in the 400 at the World Indoor Championships—Charlotte played a video of her running during a basketball game, and she received a standing ovation. In 2008 she won the WIC bronze medal with the 4×400 meter relay team.
At the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Championships, Hicks won gold with the USA’s 4x400m relay and set 4x100m relay records. She also boasts silver medals in the 200 from the NACAC Championships and in the 4×100 relay from the Pan American Games.
Hicks was a finalist in the 400 at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Hicks’ collegiate and professional careers influence how she approaches being the head coach at UTRGV. Her experiences allow her to anticipate what her student-athletes will need and give her a way to connect and motivate them. Just as she tried to go above and beyond, never settle and constantly try to break down walls as an athlete, she aims to do the same with and for the Vaqueros.
In 2019, Charlotte honored Hicks for the first time with a retirement. Her Hall of Fame banner now hangs in Halton Arena. When her induction ceremony finally begins at 6pm on Friday, she said it will hit her how monumental and well-deserved all of her recognition is.
“I thank God all the time for the path I’ve been blessed to follow. I’m still like, ‘Man, little old me, really?'” Hicks said. “I am blessed to have a great support system. I was raised by a military mom and a corrections officer dad. They are dreamers just like me, and their faith and discipline was a perfect recipe for all the tools I used. accomplished as much as I can in sports. I thank my family, my friends, Coach Hall. And last but not least, the UNC-Charlotte team. Going to practice every day made the track meet easier. Lineup “My teammates were spectacular. I wasn’t afraid of anyone because my teammates were the toughest competitors I’ve ever had to face.”
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