Rebecca Lomax
Position - High Jump/Sprints
Year - Senior
Hometown - Indianapolis, Ind.
High School - Southport
Major - Dance
After Ball State high jumper Rebecca Lomax blew out her knee in February of 2014, many wrote her off to never compete again.
Even her coach.
Randy Heisler, the Cardinals' track & field coach, knew the injury was severe. Lomax had torn the anterior cruciate ligament and the lateral collateral ligament in her knee, sustaining some other damage as well.
The Ball State medical staff looked at her knee and decided it was beyond them. So Lomax saw the doctors for the Indianapolis Colts.
The Colts' staff said they could fix it, but it might not end the way she wanted.
"Okay," Lomax said. "I'll fix it."
So began the long road to recovery for Lomax — but the long-term effects could be crippling if the recovery went wrong. She was used to having stress on her body, however.
Lomax made her name known when she was a freshman in 2011. She was named to the All-Mid-American Conference First Team and took a trip to the NCAA Preliminary Round.
She placed 18th in the high jump, with a mark of 1.75m. Heisler said her first trip to the big stage served as a big shock to her.
“They’re all 5-foot-11 to 6-foot-4 it seems like," Heisler said. "It looks like the starting front line to a volleyball or basketball team standing out there. And then there’s Rebecca, and she’s 5-foot-7.”
Lomax returned to the NCAA Preliminary competition during her sophomore year. But this time, she finished with a 1.67m and placed 39th.
That's when she made the decision for what was best.
As a dance major, she sat out during the 2013 season as a redshirt to focus on her training — not an easy decision for an All-Mid-American Conference selection and one of the league's top high jumpers.
Even when she competed while participating in dance, Heisler understood the toll it was taking on her body.
“She would come to practice, and we’d just let her recover during practice from her dancing," he said.
Lomax returned to the track for the 2014 indoor season. She suffered the devastating knee injury at the Hillsdale Invitational on Feb. 7.
Her 2014 outdoor season was limited to three meets.
With her senior year looming in the distance, Lomax decided to get to work to repair her knee. Heisler said he has never heard of anyone coming back from that type of injury without surgery.
Lomax changed that statistic.
With the help of trainers and a strong will to return, Lomax proved everyone wrong. Her knee began to heal and she started to do more and more.
“I just jumped back into being an athlete," Lomax said. "I wanted to do bigger and better things than I had done in the past."
Heisler started receiving videos from Lomax in July of her jumping over hurdles that she recorded on her iPad. He was amazed at what he saw, but was still skeptical going into the season.
But after she threw the shot-put 46 feet at an indoor competition this season, Heisler and his staff stopped and said, "She's good. We'll go with that."
"People thought I was crazy," Lomax said.
Lomax broke six of her personal indoor records this season after returning.
She made it to the MAC finals in the 100 meter dash, and qualified for the NCAA Preliminaries once more in the high jump.
This time, however, Lomax had experience on her side.
Heisler called her powerful, explosive and a great athlete. Most of his coaching was on the mental side of the game — as Lomax could be "her own worst enemy."
She tied for 45th at the preliminary competition among some of the country's best jumpers. She ended her career in a Ball State uniform with several accolades.
"Of course I was very happy about getting to regionals, but I wanted to make it to the nationals because I had never been there,” Lomax said.
Although she fell short of the ultimate goal of advancing past the preliminary round, Lomax won't soon be forgotten around Ball State.
“She’s one of the sweetest young ladies," Heisler said. "I’ve coached for 30 years, and Rebecca is one of those kids I’ll remember for a long time.”
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