LIVE OAK — In a sport as demanding as track and field, with constant training and wear and tear, nagging injuries are often the norm. But it’s rare to experience a major injury and come back stronger in a short amount of time.  

That’s exactly what Suwannee track standouts Micah Hillard, Tim Choe and Savannah Jackson are doing this season. They are running personal bests this season even after suffering serious injuries. 

Hilliard, a junior, was competing in a soccer game in February 2016 when he went to kick the ball and his ankle went out from under him, spraining a tendon in the process. His doctor advised him to take six to eight weeks off.

“I didn’t feel like I could afford to take that time off so I jumped right back into training for track,” Hilliard said. “It got progressively worse throughout the year until I stress-fractured it at the end of the season. I had to walk off the 1600 at regionals.”

Less than a year after walking off at regionals, Hilliard is back and achieving his best results. He finished the 1600 meter run in 4:29 at the Bob Hayes Invitational on Saturday. Hilliard credited coach Rayanna Johnson for helping him this preseason and coach Matt Jackson for his advice and race tips.    

“Coach Jackson knows a lot about sprinting technique, form, beginning the race, strategy. He was telling me not to bob my head and not get boxed in.”

For Hilliard and Choe, it’s been recent injuries that they’ve had to overcome. Jackson has been battling injuries almost her entire athletic career.

She’s had reoccurring shin splints for the past three years. Jackson had MPFL reconstruction on her knee after dislocating it while playing soccer in the eighth grade. She’s given up soccer since to focus on track and field.

“It’s hard to listen to your body and know when to stop,” she said. “During preseason training — that’s usually when I ruin myself. This year I trained extremely hard during preseason and had to take some time off to start the regular season, but now I’m good.”

The defending District 2-2A champion in 110 hurdles has put up excellent times this season.  With fellow hurdler Elexxis Davis pushing her in practice, Jackson continues to improve in her senior year. Jackson, who also plays golf at SHS, said she enjoys competing with a wide-range of athletes during the track season, many of whom play multiple sports.

“The different mindsets that they carry with the team — everybody is bringing something different to the table. You can get different perspectives from a football player, soccer player, golfers.”

Choe, who runs long distances, is coming back from a broken left foot. The thought or re-injuring it entered his mind while was training in the offseason, but it hasn’t affected his results. He had a great cross country season — advancing to the state tournament —  leading up to track.

“After hurting my foot at regionals last year, training-wise, I didn’t know if I was going to break it again,” Choe said.  

He’s been a force so far this year in the 3200 meter run, and is closing in on a sub-10 minute 3200 time.

With three standouts achieving personal bests even after injuries, Hilliard, Choe and Jackson all believe this year’s Suwannee team has a chance to win districts against some top teams from the Tallahassee area.