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Hallie is from West Caldwell, New Jersey. She graduated from Rutgers University in 2015 with bachelor's degrees in Business Management and Spanish. She currently works as a Corporate Actions Specialist at Brown and Brothers Harriman & Co. Hallie started on the Rutgers track and field team her freshman year, and won a letter in the Big East conference that same year. Hallie made the switch from track to rowing after herniating two discs in her back sophomore year. In rowing, Hallie was a letter winner in the Big East conference. She rowed seat 3 in the varsity women's 4. Hallie also won the Hammer Award for the fastest 2k time on her team. Hallie talks about the challenges she faced as a college track athlete, and the similarities and differences between track and rowing.

Comparing college to high school track, Hallie said “It was a big goal of mine. Going in, it was harder than anything I'd ever done. [It was] a huge transition, and a really tough one.”

Related: Running in College vs High School

Despite all this hard work, Hallie learned that not every training program was right for everyone:

“Part of Rutgers athletics is lifting really heavy and doing a lot of Olympic style, and it really messed with my lower legs, so I actually herniated a disc… I had numbness going down my legs, and my stride was so short because I was lifting so heavy, and it just wasn't working. I was running slower than I ever was in college.”

Her injury, plus being in a program that didn't work for her inspired Hallie to quit the track team. She wasn't getting the help she needed for her injury, and college track wasn't all she'd hoped it would be. She wasn't planning on switching to rowing; it just kind of happened on accident:

“I wanted to do something. I was feeling like I had too much time… and someone had mentioned it to me. I learned that you could walk-on, so I walked on… there was a full tryout… [so] I did it, and it was a lot of fun!”

Related: 6 Tips on Becoming a College Rowing Athlete

Athletically, the two sports are pretty similar, “[rowing] is a lot of legs. It's not going to be fun after about 1 minute. It's definitely an endurance sport.”

But, they were “polar opposites” in terms of scheduling. Track practices were all late morning lifts, with practice and treatment from mid-afternoon to evening, whereas rowing started at 6am and you had the rest of the day ahead of you after practice.

Related: Daily Grind of a Cross-Country Athlete at College of Mount Saint Vincent

Either way, the comradery that you gain as being part of a sports team is unbeatable: 

“A few of my coaches in high school I've maintained contact with (even after quitting track). Even just to be talking to them about something other than track is nice. To know you can be friends with your coaches beyond the sport is cool… and… the friends I made [in rowing] I am so thankful for.”

Finally, as someone who has gone through two college sports and a season-ending injury, Hallie says: 

“Advocate for yourself more. I wasn't given an MRI by the school. I went to the doctor multiple times and I was kind of shooed off. So, I would say advocate for yourself and make sure you're seeing trainers and doctors, especially when you know your pain is there. Be very hyper-aware of your body.”

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* Originally published on March 10, 2022, by Madison Machado