Q&A with Junior Decathlete Neil Hines

June 2, 2006

AMES, Iowa-Battling a hip injury, junior Neil Hines will compete in Wednesday's NCAA decathlon. This year's trip to the national meet will mark the second straight year Hines has qualified in this event. In 2005, the Nebraska native came away from the national meet with a point total of 6,907 and a 14th place finish. Hines hopes for a repeat performance of the Big 12 conference meet where he was limited by injury but was able to reach a career best 7,259 points for a fourth-place finish.

Being a Nebraska native, what led you to Iowa State?

"I am majoring in Engineering and that was probably the first thing that drew me here. I also was excited about the opportunity to pole vault. I knew coming to Iowa State I had the potential to be a multi-event competitor. A lot of work has been put into it and it has worked out right, so here I am."

What are your goals going into the NCAA Championships?

"Right now I'm aiming for a sub 12-second 100-meter run, and a solid long jump performance. With the injury, everything has changed so I'm going to go, have fun, and cheer on my fellow teammates."

What events do you look forward to most?

"I really look forward to the high jump. That is a really fun event for me, and one that I really enjoy. It's also the one event that, on any given day, I have the potential to get a personal record. I've also liked the javelin because it has come natural to me."

What event do you think is the hardest to compete in and why?

"There is not really one event that I find extremely difficult. But I feel the 1500 is probably the toughest simply because it is the last event and it takes a lot of training to prepare for. Many times it all comes down to that event. In the past, as far as least favorite events, I would have to say the discus. It has been hard for me to pick up due to the difficulty of learning the mechanics, but it is an event I look forward to practicing for because I'm always getting better." How do you split up your practice time between your events throughout the week?

"I don't really have a set schedule like Erica Lynn does. It depends more on how my body is feeling. The coaches and I talk with the each other at the beginning of the week about what I need to do and what I need to work on. A lot of what I do during the week is largely based on my performance at the previous meet. This year I've done discus and javelin twice a week and I've tried to devote more time toward hurdles as well. I'll do one or two workouts to help my 400 time. I haven't practiced pole vault or high jump this week, I'm going to rely more on my adrenaline to get me through the meet."

How much is your injury going to affect your performance?

"Right now I can't sprint at full speed. Running down the long jump runway I think I will be about 80 percent. What I'm worried about is finishing the 100 and 400 without my hip snapping on me. I'm going to take it one stride at a time and see how it holds up."

What are your goals going into the NCAA championships?

"My goal going into it before my injury was to be an All-American. Obviously my confidence has taken a little bit of a hit, but I am going to do my best and try to have fun."

Being a decathlete, it is important to stay healthy. What type of diet do you follow?

"I like to eat a lot before meets, healthy food of course. I don't eat fast foods. I need a lot of fuel to compete. Recently I've lost a lot of weight. In the winter I tried to lose weight because I was over 200 pounds, so I cut a lot of fatty foods out of my diet. Now I am a healthy eater but I eat whenever I want."

Next year will be your final season as a Cyclone. What do you hope to accomplish before you leave?

"I would like to reach All-American status and I think I can do it indoors and outdoors. That is definitely not out of the question. It will be my last year and I am going to raise my level of performance."

What are your plans after Iowa State?

"After Iowa State I will have my undergraduate degree and MBA. I'm going to have to see what's out there and figure out what I would like to do. As far as where I'm going, I would like to be near the coast, and maybe even stay in the midwest."