By Drew Roberts
Conference was just like any other meet. That was University of Montevallo thrower Nyla Shipman’s mindset going into it.
Her coach, Micah Clemons, told her to strike fast, saying, “I don’t want to wait for big marks. I want to go ahead and chase them.”
The top-seeded athlete in the weight throw, Shipman followed this advice and set a personal record of 16.89 meters on her first throw. This kicked off a back-and-forth battle between her and West Georgia’s Melita-Marie Roachford, the second-seeded athlete. Shipman shot down more personal records and brought the contest down to the very last attempt.
The pressure started to mount, not just externally, but in her own mind. Unwilling to let her nerves get the best of her, Shipman told herself, “I’m gonna have to get it today and stop being scared to be great.”
A small army of athletes and spectators had gathered around the throwing area. Shipman marched into her designated position, a small circle enclosed by a cage. Wasting no time, she swung the weight in front of her, allowing her two hands to meet. In a dance of momentum, she pulled it back across her body. Then it came over her head. After a solitary 160 degree spin, she released the weight. It fell 18.50 meters in front of her. This not only set a new personal best and clinched the top spot on the podium, but sent her on a trip to the Division II Indoor Track and Field National Championships.
“I’m gonna have to get it today and stop being scared to be great”
Nyla Shipman
Shipman’s throwing career began at Charles Henderson High School in Troy, Alabama. After moving to Troy from Hoover before her 9th grade year, Shipman wouldn’t compete until she was a junior. It all started when one of Shipman’s teachers, who also served as the throws coach, planted the idea of throwing in her head. While this piqued her interest, the promise of going to the beach for the Outdoor Track and Field State Championships, held in Gulf Shores, ultimately sold her.
After making it to the beach and winning shot put at the 2020 Indoor State Championships, Shipman started to gain attention from college coaches. Her first text came from Montevallo’s former throwing coach Hillary Jackson-Smith. Shipman detailed how these texts caught her off guard, saying, “When [she was] first texting me I was like, ‘This is not real,’ so I never responded.”
Eventually, she did respond, kicking off a record-breaking career with the Falcons. Shipman lays claim to four school records in both indoor and outdoor track.
She credits much of her success to her coaches, who she said “all play a different role.”
She relies on Clemons for throwing technique and fundamentals. He arrived during Shipman’s sophomore year after the departure of Jackson-Smith, Shipman’s original recruiter. Clemons attributed much of Shipman’s success to the relationship they have as coach and athlete as well as the consistency of her training.
Shipman’s other coaches lend support in other ways. She pointed to Associate Head Coach Julia Marquardt as a source of support outside of throwing.
“Julia is my girl,” Shipman said. “Julia helps me on the mental end of being a track athlete, period. I commend Julia, because she is the only woman [on] the coaching staff we have in a male-dominated sport.”
She described Coach Jaquarius Wilson as her “comedic relief.” Since Shipman spends most of her practices alone, she is also able to relate to Wilson, who was one of the only decathletes at Mississippi State University during his time there.
As for Head Coach Tommy Barksdale, who could be seen leaping for joy at the sight of Shipman’s winning mark, Shipman expressed gratitude for his leadership, saying, “I know he just wants me to do well at the end of the day, and he knows the work and things that I’ve put in.”
This band of coaches, along with the rest of her teammates, crowded around the podium at the Birmingham Crossplex as she received her first-place medal. It was a Gulf South Conference record in the weight throw.
Shipman described the scene, saying, “It felt good. It was a lot of hard work that was finally shown.”
Shipman will soon take off on a flight to Pittsburgh, Kansas, where she will compete in the Division II Indoor Track and Field National Championships. While it’s not the beach promised to her in high school, it’s a shot at something greater: Montevallo history.
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