Woodhall eyes unprecedented move to D1 athletics

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor 

NEW YORK CITY -- Hunter Woodhall returned to his hometown in Utah a hero last fall after earning two medals at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janiero. 

The student body at Syracuse High watched a live stream of Woodhall's silver-medal performance in the 200 meters. He also took bronze in the 400. 

The mayor even proclaimed to the city council that Sept. 15 was Hunter Woodhall Day. 

But the Utah state champion, Paralympic medalist and one of the top 10 prep sprinters in the class of 2017 returned home to find that his voicemail did not include messages from college coaches. 

"It was hard. I knew where I was and how I should be respected as an athlete, and I just wasn't getting that credit," Woodhall said. "Just how much I've worked, four years of every day, in and out grinding, and I'm not getting the calls. And I have friends who are running much slower who are getting a lot more calls, and I knew it was because I was missing my legs." 

Woodhall, who ran 21.12 in the 200 and 46.70 in the 400 in Rio de Janiero, achieved those times running on prosthetic legs, called "blades." He was born with a congenital defect called fibular hemimelia, a condition that prevented his fibular bones from forming. As a result, both legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old. 

Woodhall stands to be the first double amputee to compete at New Balance Nationals Indoor this week at The Armory in New York City. And he also stands to become the first to receive a scholarship to compete in track and field at an NCAA Division 1 school. INTERVIEW

When the phones didn't ring last fall, Woodhall and his coach at Syracuse High made an effort to contact coaches via e-mails and texts – most of which fell on deaf ears. 

Conversations with administrators at Brigham Young University led them to investigate the rule book and discover that there are no laws which forbid an athlete with Woodhall's circumstance from competing at the Division 1 level. 

"There have been a few D2 and D3 athletes run in college, but none like him," Woodhall's mother, Barb, said. "At this level, no one has ever done it. But it's something he's breaking ground for, so others know that if you work for it, it's a possibility." 

When college interest was tepid last fall, Woodhall considered entertaining the possibility of turning pro. He gathered enough information from agents to know that it was an option. 

But it's not what he wanted. 

"I've been raised as an able-bodied athlete and I want to showcase my abilities as a normal high schooler," Woodhall said. "I want to go out there and compete at the national championships and I want to go compete at a Division 1 college. I want that opportunity because I think it's important to evolve as an athlete and it's something that I deserve as a person." 

Over the past few months, as additional schools have looked into the legality of Woodhall's participation in Division 1 athletics, a few have expressed interest. North Carolina, Texas, Long Beach State and BYU are currently the schools that Woodhall is in contact with. 

Woodhall knows that there could be additional barriers, unseen for now, that could come up. 

"If I keep running the times I'm running and progressing at the rate I am, someone's going to start complaining," Woodhall said. "Just like Oscar (Pistorius) when he went to the Olympics. People start complaining when fast times get dropped and championships start getting won." 

Pistorius fought for the right to compete in non-disabled international competition and won a legal dispute with the IAAF. He successfully competed at the 2011 World Championships and 2012 Olympic Games. 

The science that is applied to the prosthetic limbs is carefully vetted, particularly by the organization that works through a myriad of technical and ethical issues in order to hold a Paralympics event. 

Woodhall is well aware that some who watch him run think he is getting an unfair advantage over able-bodied runners – just at the IAAF once claimed about Pistorius. But the science says that the limbs function similar to a lower leg. 

"Could there be advantages?" Barb Woodhall asked. "Maybe. But I believe that the disadvantges outweigh the advantages that people focus on. Keep in mind that there has never been a single amputee who broke a world record." 

For now, what Woodhall wants is the same opportunity that any other sprinter with his skill set is afforded. A couple of weeks ago, he won the 400 at the Simplot Games and he's looking forward to a strong showing this weekend at New Balance Nationals Indoor. 

"The things I'm doing are not very common right now," Woodhall said. "I'm kind of the first to take these steps, but that doesn't mean there aren't going to be more (amputee athletes) coming up behind me. God has put me in this place because he knows I can handle it.

"Kids are going to come along that are a lot stronger and a lot faster than I am, and do some amazing things. I just want them to know that it's possible, and that if this is a path they want to take, that it's open."