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55 J asmine Simpson was nervous, then distraught. It was her first season competing for the Uni- versity of Iowa track & field team, she had rela- tives watching at the Musco-Twilight Invitational, and all three of her hammer throws went into the net for fouls. A family member came by to console. It was her grandfather, who knows a thing or two about com- peting, dusting yourself off aer being knocked to the ground, and succeeding. "He said that being in a slump is all in your head and all you have to do is change your outlook to getting a hit rather than how you haven't been getting a hit," said Simpson, who is entering her senior season. "at advice stayed with me, so when I'm having bad throwing days I stop worry- ing about how bad I have been throwing and start worrying about how well I can be throwing.'" Simpson's grandfather is not your typical sage. He is baseball's Billy Williams, the 1961 National League Rookie of the Year, six-time All-Star, and 1987 inductee into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. "I'm proud to be his granddaughter, and I'm proud of all the things he has done," Simpson said. "I'm excited for him to be there because at the end of the day he's just my grandpa." Simpson comes from an athletic family. Her older sister played soball at the University of Illinois and her younger brothers participate in baseball and basketball. "I'm in a different realm (with track and field), but it is still representing my grandfather and our fam- ily," Simpson said. Simpson is from Wheaton, Ill., and graduated from Glenbard South High School, where she let- tered in basketball and excelled in the shot put and discus. She was recruited to the UI by assistant coach Scott Cappos who had visions of Simpson being a main cog on the ground floor of building a successful women's throws corps. e first area of emphasis for Simpson was the javelin. "I thought that was similar to a baseball throwing motion, but that didn't work out," said Cappos, who knew about Simpson's ancestry. Simpson laughs when reflecting on her days with a javelin in hand. "I don't think I was flexible enough in the shoul- ders," Simpson said. "It didn't pan out well, so I jumped into hammer." And what a jump it was. Simpson specializes in the weight throw indoors and the hammer throw outdoors. She broke teammate Ashlyn Gulvas' weight throw record last season at the Bill Bergen Invitational hosted by Iowa State (62-feet-2 ½), but the mark lasted 20 days before Gulvas reclaimed the top spot with a throw of 63-6. "We're proud of each other," Simpson said. "When Ashlyn and I came in, there were no women throwers and coach Cappos stressed that we were going to be the foundation. Last year was seeing that all come to fruition. "It is never unfriendly, we were excited for each other and that motivated us. If Ashlyn broke it, then I was motivated to do it; if I broke it, then she was motivated to do it. In the end we were making each other better." Annemie Smith, a junior, adds to the strength and depth of the Hawkeye throwers. Last season Simpson placed eighth at the Big Ten Conference Championships in the weight throw (61-2 ¾) and was seventh in the hammer throw (186-1). She set the school record in the hammer throw at the Alabama Relays on March 23, 2013 (197-7). By Darren Miller 24 Hawkeyes to Watch