Hunter Woodhall

USA, Sprints

The collegiate groundbreaker.

Accolades:

• The first double-amputee to earn a NCAA Division I scholarship in track and field; he will compete for Arkansas.
• Placed second in the T44 200m at the 2016 Paralympic games.

Snippet From: College Programs Finally Ready To Take A Chance On Hunter Woodhall

Hunter Woodhall's journey in track and field will continue beyond high school.

Over the course of the next few weeks, the star sprinter from Utah, who is a double-amputee and competes with prosthetic blades, will choose between three programs: Long Beach State, Arkansas, and North Carolina.

But for a time, he wasn't so sure it would.

While the Syracuse (UT) High senior, who is ranked U.S. No. 20 in the 400m run with a time of 47.32 seconds, has had more than a handful of huge successes over his time as a prep athlete, including a silver and bronze medal at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio -- in the 200m and 400m -- his college future hasn't always been so cut in stone.

Woodhall was born with Fibular hemimelia, a birth defect where he was born without fibulas. His parents decided to amputate both of his legs as a child.

He came across some concerns early in the recruiting process about his T33/34 classification as a double amputee. Woodhall said reached out to as many as 18 programs early on without any correspondence.

That meant no word from programs before or after the November early signing period and little ahead of the regular period, which began April 12.

"A little difficult is a good way to describe it," Woodhall said. "Up until the last month and a half, I didn't have much contact with anybody. That's not to say I didn't reach out though."

Some of that concern, he believed, revolved around program's uncertainty about NCAA Division I rules. Would his eligibility be in jeopardy by the use of prosthetic blades?

But over the last 20 years, barriers have been crossed.

Two decades prior, Aimee Mullins became the first double-amputee ever to compete in NCAA track and field with Georgetown University.

Two seasons ago, Nicky Maxwell, a single-amputee from London, England, enrolled at Harvard University with the intentions of competing in track and field, but needed a special approval from the NCAA Rules Committee to do so.

This past year, AJ Digby, a former Paralympic Athlete of the Year, enrolled at Mount Union College, a Division III program, and was an All-American after a second-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

The only difference with Woodhall may come with his opportunity. He could become the first college track and field athlete to earn a Division I athletic scholarship in track and field.

LEARN MORE ABOUT EACH NOMINEE

---

For the past decade, FloTrack and MileSplit has traveled the planet covering our sport and seen up close what a struggle it can be to compete at the highest level. These individuals are some of the best in the business, and they continue to inspire and change the game. To support their success and in hopes they continue to do great work, we're announcing the T-Mobile Game Changer of the Year Award. Later this year, one athlete will win $7,000 to help continue their journey of changing the game.