EDWARDSVILLE – Metro-East Lutheran track and field athlete Iman Walker signed a letter-of-intent to attend Spring Hill College of Mobile, Ala., in a ceremony held Tuesday morning at the school.
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Walker will be throwing the shot put and discus for the Badgers, a Division-II school that competes in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. She chose Spring Hill because of a family connection to the school.
“My mom and her co-worker’s husband went there.” Walker said in a post-ceremony interview, “and I went as a tourist. It’s a beautiful campus all-around, it has a good golf course, it’s a small, private college, good education, and I’m going to be studying secondary education there, and they offered me a scholarship for track and academics.”
Walker felt at home when she visited Spring Hill and feels that it’s a good fit for her.
“Oh, yeah,” Walker said. “It’s great, gorgeous, it’s nice and warm, nothing like here,” she said with a smile.
Walker visited other schools before deciding on Spring Hill and felt very comfortable at Spring Hill.
“I visited a few others, and it didn’t have that feel to it,” Walker said, “and when I went down there, it was great.”
Walker also entertained offers from Saint Louis University, Xavier University in New Orleans, and a Chicago-area school before deciding on Spring Hill. Walker looked back on her throwing career in the shot put at Metro-East and knows that she improved with each passing year.
“Oh, yeah,” Walker said. “This year, I was aiming for the school record of 35 (feet); I’m not quite there yet, but I feel strong.”
Walker feels more comfortable in the shot put, and mentioned the reason why.
“It’s just easy for me,” Walker said. “It’s like I have to do a little spin, I’m uncoordinated,” she said with a laugh.
Walker first started throwing in the seventh grade and enjoyed success with the shot put immediately.
“It was something I wanted to try out,” Walker said, “and it went well. So, I did it.”Colin Feeney also contributed to this story.
