The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Not done jumping
Grounded at the nationals, University of Hartford’s Davis remains positive
Terrel Davis had never been west of the Mississippi River and he says he is thankful to have had the opportunity to travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
With the coronavirus pandemic, unimpeded travel is suddenly a romantic notion, isn’t it? As we sit at home in semi-isolation and restrict our movements to a job deemed essential or a trip to Stop & Shop, even a flight to Florida for a Disney World vacation is a no-go. Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, Snow White, the seven dwarfs, they’re all in quarantine.
Davis, a senior architecture major and long jumper at the University of Hartford, was the only Connecticut college athlete to qualify for the 2020 NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships. He became the first UHart athlete to ever qualify for the national championships that never happened.
Today, Davis sits at home in Beacon, N.Y., at home like the rest of us, not far from some of the hardest hit COVID-19 spots in the world.
“It’s so bizarre, the whole thing, it’s hard to wrap my head around this,” Davis said. “Even three weeks ago, getting ready for nationals, I never would have thought they’d shut down society like this. We’re all doing the best we can with the situation. I can’t complain about anyone’s response. It’s just mindboggling how it’s come to this in a couple of weeks.”
We watch the numbers carefully and New York has climbed above 100,000 coronavirus cases and 1,000 deaths. Not far from Davis’ home, the numbers climb in Fairfield County, too.
Numbers like 7.78 meters, which sent Davis to New Mexico, and a goal of 7.92 take a back seat now. They are numbers for another day.
Davis had arrived in New Mexico on March 10, got one practice the following day. He was preparing to practice again on March 12 — one day before competition — when the NCAA called off all winter events. The day will be remembered as the day March Madness was canceled.
Terrel Davis will remember it as the day his college career was grounded for good. There will be no college outdoor season.
“I have a good high school friend, Rayvon Grey, who jumps for LSU,” Davis said. “He was already at the track, at a press conference. I got the word from him first.”
Five minutes later, UHart assistant coach Dan Johnson knocked on the door of his room. He carried the same message.
“I was definitely disappointed,” Davis said. “It was my first time making it at the national level. I definitely understand why they made the decision and they made the right decision in
the end. Of course, I wanted the chance to compete.”
When he got into track in the seventh grade, Davis wanted to be a high jumper. His brother Tejorn, seven years older, was an outstanding high jumper in high school and went on to jump at Northeastern. Terrel stuck with high jumping through the ninth grade.
“My coach (at Beacon High) tossed me in at long jump and said, ‘Wow, you’re actually really good at this,’ ” Davis said. “Me and Rayvon began excelling at the same time. The next three years, we were like our only competition. We got better and better.”
Grey and Davis were rivals. They were friends. They motivated each other. The pushed each other to great heights.
Indoors senior year in 2016, Davis won the state long jump title. Grey won the triple jump. At the New Balance Nationals, Grey leaped a state record 2601/4, the longest in the country for the season. Davis finished sixth at 23-103/4.
Outdoors, Grey broke the state long jump record by Bob Beamon that had stood for a half-century, leaping 25-43/4 at the New York Public High Athletic Association meet. Davis took second at 23-53/4. Grey went on to the win the outdoor New Balance Nationals, too.
That’s a lot of hops at one high school.
Grey went to LSU. Davis made an interesting choice.
“Growing up, I always was involved in architecture, LEGOs, building things, making my own creations,” Davis said. “The architecture program at UHart was a big plus. My dad was really into finding a good school for architecture. There aren’t many that offer the program and this level of athletics. So it was best fit for me. The fact
UHart is only an hour and a half from home was a big helping point.”
Yes, he still wants a career in architecture.
We’ve had Louis Kahn and Carl Lewis, but, no, Davis doesn’t know any long-jump architects. No Frank Lloyd Beamon. Not yet anyway.
When he was younger, Davis was ordinarily the fastest guy in the event. As he got older, he looked around. He saw other guys with faster 60-meter PRs.
“Something I feel I came to excel at was getting power off the board, being able to jump high and far off the board rather than so much speed down the runway,” Davis said. “I feel my last few steps heading into the board are very powerful.”
On March 6, Davis was named Northeast Region winner of the Men’s Field Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. He set a personal best of 25-61/4 (7.78 meters) at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University on Feb. 15.
“I definitely wanted to become an All-American, which is top eight of 16,” Davis said. “A 7.79 was eighth place at NCAA indoors last year (an event Grey won). That’s one centimeter off my PR. So, top eight definitely was the goal. I’d have loved to get top three. And it would be pretty cool if two athletes from the same high school were All-American.
“I’d say 7.92 — 26 feet flat — is the big goal.”
A big goal for another time. Davis took a direct flight from Albuquerque to LaGuardia. He went home to Beacon. The first time we talked, his personal belongings were still at school. On Sunday, he was able to retrieve them.
His mom is a receptionist at a doctor’s office. She knows what’s up with COVID-19. And now so does her son. He will complete the semester with on-line classes. UHart, like so many schools, has called off graduation ceremonies. There is hope it can be rescheduled for late in the year.
In the meantime, Terrel Davis plans to jump again.
“My parents are from Antigua and Barbuda, so I’m looking to represent them at the national level,” said Davis, who has visited the Caribbean island nation three times. “I’ve had a little dialogue going with their representative for overseas athletes. Hopefully, by the summer — if they’re having events by then — I’ll be jumping for them. I’m getting my passport ready and everything.”
Getting to use that passport. That would be cool. That would mean the world is up and jumping again.