It typically takes time for a person to develop a skill before they master it.
Don’t tell that to Skyline graduate Madison Davis.
Davis didn’t start running track until his junior year of high school. Amazingly, Davis walked away as the 400 meter dash champion in Class 2 (49.97 seconds) in his very first year out. He helped Skyline capture the team title to boot.
“My first year running track was last year, my junior year,” said Davis. “At first I started off not running very fast at all. I ran like 56 [seconds], which is pretty slow. It wasn’t until probably four or five meets in when I learned how to run the 400 and started taking it more seriously. It kept getting easier, and my times kept getting faster. In sectionals I dropped two seconds off when I realized I could go to college for it and compete at state.”
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This spring, the speedster doubled down and repeated as a state champ in the 400 meter dash (48.95) and added another gold medal in the 200 meter dash (22.41) as a senior. And again, he helped Skyline repeat as state champs in the team competition.
“It means a lot, especially to do it and be able to win the state championship as a team,” he said. “It really just meant a lot because all the hard work finally paid off. I get to go out on top like I had hoped for so long.”
Davis is nominated for the 1 Awards as a track athlete, but his favorite sport is football. It was his football coach that convinced him to give track a shot, and it certainly worked out for the wide receiver.
“I had played baseball so much when I was younger I had gotten burnt out on it, so I just thought I’d try track, not knowing what event I would try either.”
He shocked a lot of people with his ability early on, and even he had trouble grasping what he had accomplished in his first season running track.
“I honestly didn’t believe it for the longest time,” Davis said. “It was hard at times because I didn’t understand the idea of failure and it wasn’t an option because all everyone had seen was success. There was a lot of pressure, but it was all well worth it.”
All that success has culminated with a chance to run track and play football at Evangel University.
“They gave me an opportunity to play football and run track. It was the best fit. As of now, I plan on majoring in business.”
Some athletes live for the opportunity to stand alone in the spotlight or atop the podium – especially in an individualized sport like track and field – but Davis is not your conventional track athlete.
He much prefers football over track. The “Friday night lights atmosphere” appeals to him, and so does the team camaraderie. When asked about how it felt to repeat as the 400 champ, Davis immediately spoke to the satisfaction of helping his team bring in the team title.
Davis’ perspective as a teammate is admirable, especially for someone as talented as he is.
“What stands out [from my time at Skyline] is my friendships and bonds that I made with people from our school and surrounding schools, from sports and being on different teams,” Davis said. “There is so much more than just the game that goes into it in any sport really. It can build you as a person and mold your character like nothing else can. Knowing the sacrifices you made and knowing your teammates did the same, it’s something you can’t get from anything else.
“It never feels as good just to celebrate alone and to accomplish by yourself. It’s about being excited for everyone else as much as you’re excited for yourself.”
