Photo: Etowah High’s NyNy Davis (center) crosses the finish line ahead of Vigor’s Jerrian Graham (right) and Cherokee County’s Whit Johnson in the 100-meter dash finals during the Class 4A state tarck and field meet on May 1 in Gulf Shores. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor
NyNy Davis finished off his high school running career in fine fashion last Saturday (May 1) in Gulf Shores.
The Etowah High senior won a pair of gold medals in the spring events, placing first in both the 100 and 200-meter dashes. Davis timed out at 10.82 seconds in the 100 and ran 21.25 in the 200.
The victories gave David four gold medals in his career. He won the 200 and finished runner-up in 100 in 2019.
“It’s a blessing,” said Davis, who will run track and play football at Utah State next year. “I put in a lot of work in the weight room and getting stronger was a key part of me winning a state championship. Track is an individual sport, so you’ve got to stay self-motivated.”
EHS track and field head coach Blake Hudson has little doubt that Davis will turn heads at the next level.
“I’ve coached NyNy since his seventh or eighth grade year, and he’s a great kid and he’s got a lot of talent. He’s a very coachable kid, and he’ll listen to his coaches in college. I have no doubt that NyNy will be a star for Utah State.”
Also taking home the top hardware for Etowah was senior Toby Camp, who won the shot put at 49-06.00 feet. He also won the silver in the discus with a throw of 144-04 feet and came in fifth in the javelin with a toss of 146-04. Camp set a new PR in all three events.
Camp’s gold medal effort in the shot put, which brought him for fifth to first place, came on his last attempt during the last event of his high school career.
“It felt like all the pressure was released of my shoulders,” said Camp, who will attend Tennessee-Martin this fall on a football scholarship. “All the hard work I put in finally paid off. I thought second [place] in the discus was really good, because the person in front of me (Brooks’ Drew Skipworth, who won the gold with a 161-10 throw) is going to throw the discus in college. I PR’d twice during the javelin, so I was pretty happy with how that turned out.”
Davis and Camp’s performances helped the Blue Devils place fifth out of 36 teams in Class 4A.
“Toby is one of the best kids in our school, and he may have the best work ethic in the school,” said Hudson. “That’s how you get to the medal podium.”