AUBURN, Ala. – Before visiting Auburn, Madi Malone checked out nine other universities.
Time was running out. Signing Day for track and field was a week away.
"I got on campus and was like, 'This is it,'" said Malone, a freshman from Wichita, Kansas, who attended high school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "I got to Auburn, everything was like what I wanted. I definitely feel like Auburn is very homey, kind of like Wichita, which I liked a lot."
Malone's journey to becoming the SEC Indoor Freshman Field Athlete of the Year began with a setback.
A broken right wrist in December 2017 just before going home for the holidays after her first semester. While practicing the hammer throw, the handle broke and Madi fell to the ground.
She redshirted last year while recovering, then debuted Jan. 11 with a 17.41-meter weight throw and a 10th-place finish at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
"Coming off an injury of last year, I was just hoping to put my name out there," she said. "Each meet, I kept getting better. I think I finally learned to compete. I definitely exceeded my expectations, especially at SECs."
Improving her distance with each competition, Malone finished second in the weight throw at the SEC Indoor Championships, breaking the Auburn record with a 22.11m/72-6.5 heave.
Making Malone's achievement even more impressive is the fact that she's still regaining her pre-injury strength.
"Especially since I'm still not 100 percent in the weight room," she said. "Knowing that there's still a lot left. To start my freshman year at 22 is awesome."
Malone's progression earned the respect of the SEC's head coaches, who selected Madi as the conference's top indoor newcomer in field events, a first for an Auburn student-athlete.
On Saturday, she'll return to the sight of her first competition for the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, the only freshman among 16 competitors to qualify.
"My goal is to PR, but even if I just get close to it, I'll be happy, because it was such a big jump last meet," Malone said.
From 17 meters to 22, Malone's improvement over two months has wowed Auburn coach Ralph Spry.
"She's very consistent. I really think she'll go there, and she's been getting better every weekend," Spry said. "I don't see that changing at the NCAA Championships. She's been there before. She's familiar with the circle. I think she'll have a great national championship."
Like Bryce Brown at the 3-point line or Tanner Burns on the pitcher's mound, Madi Malone finds fulfillment in the quest to unleash the perfect throw.
"I think it's just the feeling of being in the circle, lifting and throwing," she said. "It makes me feel really strong. I honestly don't know what I would do without throwing."
Ironically, Malone's earliest track and field exploits occurred on the track instead of the field.
A sprinter through middle school, Madi competed in the Junior Olympics as an 11-year-old.
"My sprinting coach said, 'You're pretty fast, maybe you should try discus,'" she recalled. "So I tried discus and then when I got to high school, I started throwing shot put and then my junior year one of my club coaches said I should try the hammer, which I had no idea what that was.
"I started throwing that and had a knack for it I guess. So I started throwing hammer my junior year, and then I started the weight throw my senior year of high school. It kind of progressed."
An exercise science major, Malone plans to go into occupational therapy while juggling a career as a professional thrower.
"I'm hoping to continue to throw for a while after college," she said. "I don't know how long I plan on doing that but as long as my body allows it, I guess.
"You definitely have to have another job, that's for sure. I've met multiple professional throwers and they all have jobs on the side because they don't make enough as a professional thrower, but they do it because they love it."
Madi Malone hopes her love of throwing translates into a top eight finish this weekend and an honor money can't buy: All-America.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer