A year ago, North Forrest Track and Field Team barely got more than 5 points in the state championship. Fast forward a year later with a new coach, North Forrest High School ends up the 5th Best Team in Mississippi.
Why so much success all of a sudden? Number one, North Forrest has one of the most talented athletes in the state, Sophomore Da'vion Young. Da'vion contributed to almost half of the team points, earning 30 points at the state championship.
At this year's Track and Field State Championship, Da'vion won first place in Long Jump as well as first place in Triple Jump. That totaled to 10 points each. He also added another 6 points when he received an additional medal for third place in 100m.
"What these medals mean to me it's a great value on my heart because last year I was here I didn't place in no event and I had two events last year. This year as you can see I have four medals and it feels great. Deep in my heart I can feel it!" says Davion Young.
The second reason is there's a new coach who all of the kids just love. The new head coach is Hezekiah Davis. He believes in the kids. He's passionate. He make sacrifices including at times, paying out of his pocket if necessary in order to get results like being 5th in the state.
"This my first year coaching at North Forrest. Last year they scored 7 points. This year we're up toward 60 so far we've collected about 20 medals, gold through bronze. We brought about 14 kids this year that's more to my knowledge more than many years before," Coach Davis said.
Success for the new coach didn't come easy as North Forrest High School don't actually have a track to practice on. The team drives to a community center to practice which is unlike any other team in the state. In addition to using another venue to practice, the track is concrete, which makes it even harder for the kids.
"It's been a tough year but it's been a successful one at the same time. From our track situation; we don't have a track at our school so we use a community center and it's a concrete track but I told them it's no excuse to get better everyday!" says Coach Davis.
Overcoming obstacles and redefining the definition of the word champions is exactly what North Forrest Track and Field Team did this year. Next year, they plan to climb even higher.
One of the leaders of the team is Jaydan Varnado. He also has multiple medals and has improved dramatically since last year under new Coach Davis. We asked him about what it means to receive medals this year right after he finished competing in an event.
"It means a lot to me because last year I came I came for one event this year I came for three. I still have an event to run but I got two medals so far so it just means a lot because I'm seeing progress within myself and the whole team as a whole!" Jaydan said.
Coach Davis went on to say, "I love my job! I love these kids! Anything to see them happy because when they get that gold medal they come to me smiling and that's the best feeling in the world better than anything else. I wouldn't trade it for nothing.
The kids ended the exclusive interview at this year's 2024 State Championship motivated by this year's success yet ready for the long journey to make it back by screaming just two words, "NEW TRACK!"
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