SDSU's Hillari Hampton Has Talent to Spare

To say that Hillari Hampton is a woman of many talents would be a gross understatement. 

Hampton plays nine musical instruments, ranging from piano to piccolo. She’s a professionally trained singer. A rising star in the theater world. And … she’s one of the top female bowlers in her age group nationally. 

It was her feats as a young bowler — and her perseverance following a serious injury that nearly derailed her promising career — that garnered Hampton recognition from the County of San Diego, which in November tabbed her as one of the county’s “25 Most Remarkable Teens.” The county Public Defender’s Office organizes the annual awards and selects the teen winners.

Hampton, who attended Point Loma High School, received the honor at a ceremony at the San Diego Central Library attended by several luminaries, including Interim Public Defender Katherine Braner, U.S. Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego), San Diego City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera, Councilmembers Marni von Wilpert and Joe LaCava and County Supervisor Joel Anderson. 

“I was really excited and happy about getting this award,” said Hampton, a sophomore at San Diego State University majoring in children’s theater arts. “I was just blown away and very surprised.”

A bowler since the age of 6 — her grandfather was a professional bowler and her mother bowled collegiately — Hampton has risen in the ranks of the country’s top youth bowling league, the Junior Bowlers Tour. At the lanes, she’s known by her monikers “Hammergirl” or “Hollywood Hill.”

At one point, per her mother, Hillari was one of the top four ranked female bowlers statewide in her age group. 

“A lot of my friends ask me how I am so good, and I just say it’s because I practice,” she said. “Bowling is more than a hobby for me; it’s like a professional sport. I worked really hard to get where I am.”

But in 2019, at the tour’s signature event, the Main Event in Las Vegas, Hampton was performing well when she stumbled and dislocated her left knee, the same knee she seriously injured figure skating as a child. 

The injury not only forced Hampton to withdraw from the event, it put her bowling career in jeopardy. 

“We were in this big bowling stadium with 100 lanes, and the place went completely quiet,” her mother, Corine Hampton, said. “She was taken to the hospital but tried to go back and finish the tournament, but she couldn’t. 

“After the event, I told her there were going to be some dark days ahead, and it would be difficult, but she could come back,” Hampton continued. “But she didn’t let it deter her.”

Hillari spent a grueling 11 months rehabilitating her knee, going to physical therapy three times a week, and she also began coaching youth bowlers to keep her mind sharp. She’d practice late night or early morning at local bowling alleys, quietly regaining her confidence and returning to form. 

Hampton returned to compete in the Main Event in December 2020, drawing the admiration of competitors and the tournament directors. 

“It was great to have her back because, with that type of injury, she could have easily never bowled again,” said Jeff Hemer, executive director of the Junior Bowlers Tour. “To see her get out on the lanes was great to see.”

Corine Hampton said her daughter’s story of perseverance moved her to nominate her daughter for the “25 Remarkable Teens” recognition. 

“I just felt that what she accomplished, it’s not something you do every day,” she said. “When she got hurt, she didn’t know where she belonged. It was a hard look for her to look introspectively and say ‘How can I come back?’”

Today, Hillari Hampton said she still bowls and is preparing for major tournaments in 2024, but she is also cultivating her passion for theater. She latched on to theater during the pandemic when bowling alleys were shuttered locally. She was named a “rising star” by the San Diego Unified School District at its Visual and Performing Arts Spotlight Awards in 2021. 

She loves to sing — she is vocally coached by a member of Duran Duran — and she also has a knack for the behind-the-scenes aspect of theater. Her time at the university has opened up new avenues for exploring her interests, and she recently operated the sound board for an SDSU production of “Children of Eden.”

Hampton said when she graduates she’d love to get a crew position with a symphony or continue with stage crew production with an eye on directing in the theater. 

Her advice for young girls with a passion for bowling, though? Go for it!

“I would tell them to keep practicing and don’t give up,” she said. “Your talent is deep inside you; let the world see it.”