Whitefish Bay’s Davre born to run
Cami Davre expressed relief when it was over last year.
The Whitefish Bay standout had just completed a sterling freshman season that culminated with Division 1 state titles in the 800- and 1,600-meter runs, with the latter coming at the expense of a number of talented seniors. Afterward she admitted the experience was overwhelming.
A year wiser and faster, the pressure she feels is self-imposed.
“With more racing experience, I’m more confident this year,” she said. “There is definitely more pressure inside me than what people expect. I’m always wanting to do better, so a lot of it is on me.”
The WIAA state track and field meet returns Friday and Saturday to UW-La Crosse’s Memorial Stadium, and Davre will be one of its headliners. She’ll join Hartford’s Sam Noennig (discus), Green Bay Southwest’s Natisha Heideman, Sun Prairie’s Tierney Lindner (high jump) and De Pere’s Kylie Swiekatowski (pole vault) as defending individual champions in Division 1.
Davre also will run on Whitefish Bay’s 3,200 relay.
At the sectional meet Friday at Oconomowoc she gave a hint of what could
Davre
be coming by winning the 1,600 in 5 minutes 1.72 seconds and the 800 in 2:11.07. That 800 time is a state best, while the 1,600 time is her best time of the season, though a ways off the 4:50.25 she ran at the New Balance meet in New York on March 15.
The state record in the 800 of 2:09.88 was set by Stevens Point’s Suzy Favor in 1985. The 1,600 record of 4:43.20 was set by Kaukauna’s Brooke Novak in 2001.
Davre said she would like to go 4:48 or faster in the 1,600 but admits her focus is more on the 800. A record in that event would beat a mark set by a future Olympian and take off the books one of the WIAA’s oldest records — it is tied for second-oldest with a number of marks.
“I know I’m capable of doing it,” she said. “It just has to be the right day and a lot of things have to go right.”
It could be said that Davre comes by running naturally. Her father, Jerome, was a speedskater for the French national team and her mother, Angela (Zuckerman) Davre, was a speedskater who competed for the United States in the 1992 and ’94 Olympics.
However it also can be argued that Cami Davre’s maturity has much to do with her development as well.
Last year she juggled school, club soccer and cross country/track. She often would leave track or cross country practice and go right to a soccer workout and then be up until midnight or 1 a.m. finishing her homework. The time commitment was immense, so after the state meet last year, she gave up soccer. The decision came one year earlier than the deadline her mother gave her to decide between the two sports.
“She ultimately knew she had to make the decision,” said Angela Davre, who was keeping track of her daughter’s splits Friday. “It was all her decision. I told her she had to figure out where she saw herself. Did she see herself running? She wants to run. She has high goals for herself.” Davre is a unique talent. Even though she has enough speed to run the 400 at a good clip — she anchored Bay’s 1,600 relay to a third-place finish at state last year — she also has the stamina to be one of the state’s top cross country runners. Even after the race went from 4,000 meters her freshman year to 5,000 last fall, she continued to hold her own, finishing fourth at state after taking third as a freshman.
She was also an elite soccer player, but in giving up the sport she has been able to train much more than she could before.
“This year I actually do workouts,” said Davre, who admits she misses soccer. “Last year I’d have to leave early and get to soccer practice, which was more like training, but this year I can really focus on hitting the times I want to hit and treating each race like it’s really important and it’s going to set me up for state.”
This could be a big state meet for not only Davre but Bay’s team overall.
The Blue Dukes will have a nice contingent in La Crosse that includes junior Kaitlyn Jackson in the 100, 200 and 400; senior Reilly Koch in the 800 and the 3,200 relay, which will include Davre, juniors Kylee Kennedy and Hannah Lyons and freshman Josie Helf.
Bay has a realistic chance to get points in every event in which it has qualified.
“She’s so excited for everyone else as well,” Angela Davre said. “She gets nervous about herself, but I think she truly enjoys being there and supporting her team.”