Preps: Spartans’ Davis predicts another smokin’ season

Spencer Patterson

Monday, March 22, 1999 | 10:52 a.m.

When the 1998 prep track & field season started, Cimarron-Memorial girls coach Lynn McCann had an inkling freshman sprinter Shameka Davis might be something special.

It wasn't until the Spartans headed to California's prestigious Bishop Amat Invitational, though, that McCann found out exactly how fast Davis really was.

"I almost dropped the stopwatch in amazement," McCann recalled. "We knew that she'd been running age-group track for a while, but we didn't know she would be this good."

Although just 14 years old, Davis would go on to put together one of the most remarkable rookie track campaigns in state history, capturing zone and state titles in not one, or even two, but three individual events: the 100, 200 and 400 meters.

While her coach may have been floored by her speed, however, Davis says she never doubted her own abilities.

"I was very confident in what my performance would be, despite my age," said Davis, who began running in fifth grade when, in her words, she "smoked" the fastest boy in her class in a sprint. "I knew I had a good chance to excel in high school."

Davis' faith in herself proved to be well-founded when she shed significant time off her personal bests in the 200 and 400 at the Bishop Amat meet. And that only helped her focus on reaching the next level.

"It was the presence of mind of knowing you're at a meet of that stature," Davis said. "You know those are the elite athletes you have to run your best against to be competitive."

By season's end, Davis had surpassed Mojave sprinter Nicole Ireland (then a sophomore) for Southern Nevada's best times in the 200 and 400. But the Cimarron newcomer had little idea she would even run the 100 meter dash, to say nothing of winning zone and state titles in the event.

"One day she came to us and said she'd like to run the 100," McCann said. "Every time she ran it from there, she won."

Davis pulled off her first trifecta at the Southern Zone meet, stunning the field with winning times in the 100 (12.5), 200 (25.17) and 400 (56.90).

A week later, she repeated the feat at states, shaving time off in all three events to go 12.29 in the 100, 25.03 in the 200 and 56.20 in the 400.

Even so, Davis wasn't surprised by her accomplishments.

"I knew going into state that I had the best times, and I knew I could pull it out," she said. "I knew that even though I was a freshman, I was an athlete just like they were."

Of course, all this leads to the obvious question: What, in the world, can Davis do for an encore?

Well, listening to the charismatic 15-year-old sophomore, it would seem that Davis hasn't even scratched the surface.

"A lot of people think last year was a fluke, and I want them to think that," she said. "I'm more focused this year than I was last year, and I like the pressure that's been put on me."

A sub-one minute 400 time tops Davis' list of immediate goals, while her long-term dreams include earning a Division I track scholarship and even making a career of the sport.

And if last year's debut is any indication, there's no reason to believe Shameka Davis can't do all that and more.