A track and field champion who also excels in basketball and loves volleyball, Mia Hicks-Oliver found out that Clark College is not just accepting of multi-sport athletes, the college recruits multi-sport athletes and encourages them to compete
Paul Valencia
Clark County Today
A three-time state champion, Mia Hicks-Oliver was a standout in track and field as an athlete at Zillah High School.
She had plenty of opportunities, with several colleges interested in her special talents. She had her pick of four-year programs.
But wait. Was there a different path to take?
After all, she also had a pretty good run as a high school basketball player. Basketball was her first love, in fact.
For a while, Hicks-Oliver did not think it was possible to compete in both sports in college. Then she was recruited by then Clark College track and field coach Owen Frasier. He set up a meeting with the Clark basketball coach.
Last academic year, Hicks-Oliver became a starter on the Clark women’s basketball team and then won a Northwest championship in track and field.
But wait. There’s more.
Hicks-Oliver also shined in volleyball back in her high school days.
Why not, right?
Why not, indeed.
This academic year, Hicks-Oliver is expected to be a three-sport athlete for the Penguins.
“Trust your gut,” Hicks-Oliver said earlier this month in between going to class, work, and practices for volleyball and basketball.
Growing up, she never figured on attending a two-year college.
“Honestly, this changed my life completely,” Hicks-Oliver said. “Trust your gut and don’t let people make you think that this is a back-up plan. This could be THE plan to make you succeed.”
It all started with her recruitment. Frasier knew Hicks-Oliver had a number of opportunities. But Frasier and the Penguins really pushed the multi-sport athlete angle.
“Owen is such an amazing recruiter, coach. He was always reaching out. He was always very consistent. You could just tell that Clark wanted me,” Hicks-Oliver said. “I wanted to be somewhere I was wanted.”
The conversations opened up this possibility.
“That definitely switched my mindset. I love playing basketball. I didn’t want to get rid of it,” Hicks-Oliver said.
Going into her senior year of high school, though, she knew she was better at track and field. So that was going to be her focus for college.
Or so it seemed.
“Clark was the only one that said you could do both,” Hicks-Oliver said. “It never even crossed my mind that I could play both. ‘Wait, I could do both? I would absolutely love to.’”
“She’s a true athlete,” said Frasier, who is now the interim assistant athletic director at Clark College. “This is part of what makes her so special. She understands what athletics means to her in her life. It’s not about a scholarship. This is a kid who loves to compete, loves her teammates, loves her relationships.”
In her first college hoops season, Hicks-Oliver averaged 13.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, starting all 29 games for the Penguins.
In the spring, she competed in her No. 1 sport and then became the No. 1 athlete in the Northwest.
As a college freshman, she tried the heptathlon for the first time. That’s the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meters, long jump, javelin, and 800 meters. Hicks-Oliver had never competed in some of those events.
All she did was record the best score in the Northwest Athletic Conference in four years to win the Northwest title.
Frasier attributes Hicks-Oliver’s success in the heptathlon to being a multi-sport athlete throughout high school. He said Hicks-Oliver had no reservations about trying something new.
“I ended up being pretty decent at it,” Hicks-Oliver said.
Oh, and maybe because she did not feel busy enough, over this past summer she started getting feelings for volleyball again.
So she inquired.
This fall, she went out for the sport a little bit late but made quite an impact.
“I reached out hoping to be a practice player, just to play the game again,” Hicks-Oliver said.
Turned out, the team wanted her more for just practice. She is on the team this season.
“I tried my hardest in my very first practice, and I earned the opportunity to play,” she said.
Hicks-Oliver played for Brandie Valdez, a legendary Zillah athlete who then came back to coach basketball and assist with the volleyball program at Zillah High School. Valdez died this summer while battling breast cancer.
“Playing volleyball made me feel a lot closer to her again,” Hicks-Oliver said.
Three sports and a full-time student, Hicks-Oliver has found a home at Clark College and in Vancouver. She said sports have made her a better student.
“I’m very competitive. I just love being involved, and I love the team atmosphere. I love playing for people who rely on me. I really like that pressure. The pressure makes me feel like I’m doing something good,” Hicks-Oliver said. “Being in sports and having practice every day makes me just so motivated to do other things. Go to work every day. Go to school. Sports makes me more motivated.”
After this academic year, she will be moving to a four-year school. She is not sure where just yet. One college has said she could continue as a multi-sport athlete.
No matter where she goes, though, she is open to returning to the Vancouver area when she starts her career. Her goal is to one day become an athletic director.
“Honestely, I love it here. This place is amazing,” she said. “I am so grateful to be (at Clark).”
She wanted to give a shout out to all of her coaches, too.
“I love all of them so much. They make me feel like they’ve known me forever,” Hicks-Oliver said. “They are so invested.”
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