Staff photo.
Homewood High School senior Makiyah Sills is one of the top female track and field athletes in Alabama. She excels in sprints and hurdles.
Makiyah Sills never pictured herself pursuing track and field after high school.
Three years ago, when she was a freshman at Homewood High, she aspired to play college basketball.
“I honestly did not think I would run track in college,” Sills said.
But her outlook has shifted with time. Sills, a senior, now ranks among the top female track and field athletes in Alabama.
In November, she signed a letter of intent to continue her sprinting and hurdling career at UAB.
“Everything just felt right,” she said of her college choice. “I just really enjoyed their business department, because that’s what I want to major in. Then, the team was just awesome.”
Sills’ decision to join the Blazers will keep her close to a program, and community, with which she has a longstanding relationship.
Sills began running at the middle school for her father, coach Steve Sills, before moving up to compete for the high school as an eighth-grader.
She has since been a part of seven state championship teams.
“I think the thing that sets Makiyah apart is just how she comes to work every day,” said Homewood High head coach Tom Esslinger. “I mean, she’s got a very business-like demeanor.”
That demeanor, along with a change in focus, has fueled her ascent.
Until her sophomore year, Sills viewed track and field as just another activity. She played volleyball in the fall, hooped in the winter and honed her speed in the spring.
An injury altered that reality.
Sills tore the labrum in her right shoulder during her freshman basketball season and underwent surgery later that year.
Afterward, track became her primary sport.
“She’s a competitor, and that carries over into her work ethic,” Esslinger said. “If something doesn’t go her way, then she really takes that, uses it and gets better from it.”
During the indoor season, from December to February, Sills competes in events like the 60-meter dash, 60-meter hurdles and sprint relays.
She opened the current season by winning the 60 hurdles at her first two meets. The goal, she said, is to maintain that momentum heading into February’s state championships.
“Honestly, I’d like to qualify for New Balance [Nationals Indoor] and be a state champion in multiple individual events, as well as relays,” she said.
Sills has finished as high as third individually at past state meets. But she has worked steadfastly since June to contend for a spot atop the podium.
Over the summer, Sills participated in club track and field for the first time.
She also has been fine-tuning her form and fitness.
“If you want to be better, you have to do additional practice and stuff in the weight room and stuff at home,” she said.
Sills’ appetite to achieve has cemented her status as one of the Patriots’ team leaders. Esslinger said she’s an ideal ambassador for the Homewood program.
His fellow faculty members agree. In the fall, Sills was voted Miss Homewood.
“She’s definitely one of those athletes that makes you love your job and feel fortunate just to be able to work with somebody of her caliber and her talent,” Esslinger said. “Everything she gets, she earns.”
