By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

As a surrogate father figure, there have been times when Baylor assistant head track coach Danny Brabham has had to break up sibling-like spats between Desmine Hilliard and Cion Hicks.

"That brotherly and sisterly love and support, it pays off up to a point," Brabham said, "but it can also be detrimental. I've had to say, 'OK, that's it. You go there, you go there.' It's almost like, 'Go to your room, shut the door and don't come out till I tell you to.'''

Other than a few walk-ons and multi-event athletes, Baylor's shot put and discus crew begins and ends with Hilliard and Hicks. The sibling bond is strengthened by that isolation.

"It's like with his strengths and my strengths, we put it all together," said Hicks, a junior from Killeen, Texas, and returning All-Big 12 pick in both events.

"We have these little competitions. When we get to the meet, it's like, 'Hey, how far did you throw? OK, I'm going to try to throw farther than you.' Sometimes, just like brothers and sisters, it can get a little crazy. We may get upset at each other, but it's all good fun. We're just trying to make sure we highlight each other's strengths and make each other better."

Hilliard's strength is clearly the discus. The runner-up at the 2013 Big 12 outdoor meet as a sophomore, the Dallas, Texas, native earned All-America honors that same year when he placed ninth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a school-record toss of 194-0.

A hyperextended elbow and wrist injury kept him from reaching that same level the previous two years, but he goes into this weekend's Big 12 Championship ranked fourth in the league in the discus (185-7) and seventh in the shot put (54-6).

"Track is my love," said Hilliard, a four-year letterman in football who started two years in the offensive line. "That year I took off (from track) I guess it kind of set me back, because I lost it a little bit. I had to take a few steps back and go back to basics to find myself again and re-develop into the thrower I was three years ago. But I feel like I'm pretty close to where I was."

Brabham says the biggest thing was not only getting Hillard back, but getting him back healthy.

"Last year, he was all beat up," Brabham said. "And the year before that, he was beat up. He just couldn't throw. And it was frustrating to him. He wanted to throw as well as he did two years ago when he went 194 (feet) at nationals, and then he comes back out here and can't even come close to that because he's hurt. But now, he's well, he's fired up about it, he's working hard and he wants to do well."

Hilliard is also all-in for track, at least for now.

The 6-foot-4, 345-pounder was named to the ESPN Big 12 All-Bowl team, went through Baylor's Pro Day and had a tryout last weekend with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent.

But until he gets the phone call that may never come, "I'm focusing on track."

"I don't like to put all my eggs in one basket," he said, "because you never know what's going to happen."

Three years ago, Hilliard came out of nowhere to earn a spot in the NCAA meet and All-America honors by reaching the discus finals. This year, he's ranked 27th nationally and right on the bubble at 13th in the NCAA West Region at 185-7.

"You see guys with these huge throws, but how consistent are they?" he said. "Right now, I'm sitting 13 in the region and they take 12 to nationals. I'm coming in hungrier than everyone else. That's what I'm aiming for."

Baylor head coach Todd Harbour says Hilliard "is going to do great things in the weeks to come. He's ready."

The same is true for Hicks, who set a personal-best shot put mark during the indoor season when she had a toss of 57-0 ¾ and eventually placed 10th nationally. She also advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the shot put last year, placing 13th.

"I know I'm not that good at the shot, but I wanted to see her do well," said Hillard, who is ranked seventh in the Big 12 with a PR mark of 54-6 at the Michael Johnson Invitational. "With my help and Coach Brabham's help, she was able to reach a higher peak than she had ever reached. She was hitting her PR like every meet."

A high school state champion in both events, Hicks has been consistently stronger in the shot put, but Harbour said she's "got a big discus (throw) in her, too."

Going into the Big 12 meet, Hicks is top 25 nationally in both and is ranked fourth in the league in the discus (178-0) and sixth in the shot put (53-10 ¼). She won the Drake Relays discus event with a toss of 174-10.

"You have people that are ranked, they're seniors, blah, blah, blah," Hicks said. "It all comes down to what you're going to do that day. I know how hard I've worked, the work my coaches have put in, how much people have invested in me. I want to look back and be like, 'OK, I did what I was supposed to do.' And I'm looking to take the crown."

At a team meeting prior to the Big 12 meet, Hicks talked about "being ruthless."

"Ruthless is different to different people," she said. "I'm not saying you have to go out there looking crazy, acting crazy. But in your mind, in your heart of hearts, you have to understand that you're going out there to dominate. No matter what's happening around you ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬" if it's raining, snowing, sleeting, - it does not matter. If something happens on the left or right of you, you just keep it moving, because you're coming out here to take over. We're out here to handle business, kick butt, take names."

Despite a rash of injuries that includes losing freshman sprinter Taylor Bennett to a pulled hamstring, Harbour said he's still hopeful of a strong finish at the Big 12 meet that begins Friday and runs through Sunday at TCU's Lowdon Track and Field Complex in Fort Worth.

"With Taylor, we probably would have been up there battling in the top three," he said. "Some other ladies are going to have to step up to cover for Taylor, so that's what we're hoping will happen this weekend. Our men just don't have the firepower. I know they're going to compete hard, they're going to get after it. I like what we'll do at nationals. I feel like we've got some guys that are competing at a really high national level right now. I think we'll be a much better NCAA team in four weeks."

Live results will be available at www.deltatiming.com, with Sunday's final-day action live streaming at www.foxsportsgo.com.