LSU Sophomore Sprinter Ready To Reunite With Teammates

Kris Rhim for DyeStat

Photo LSU Athletics

Following her fourth-place finish in the 200 meters at the SEC Indoor Championships, LSU freshman Thelma Davies got a call from her high school coach. 

Diamond Woolford, head coach at Girard College in Philadelphia, the private boarding school where Davies became one of the standouts in the high school class of 2019, needed to touch base.

“I was watching her (race), and I’m like, ‘When is this girl going to run?’” Woolford said, laughing. “When I talked to her about it, she just said, ‘Yeah my hamstring was a little tight. I didn’t want to push it too hard.’ The girl literally jogged a 23 flat.” 

Davies also finished third in the 60-meter dash in her first taste of the always-competitive SEC Championships.

The freshman was looking forward to running even faster at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships, which were canceled in March. 

When Davies returned home to Philadelphia, Woolford gave her another call.

“I told her ‘Let’s get back to work,’ and she said, ‘Let’s go,’” he said. “I told her we can’t lose focus because everything will get back to normal at some point. We can’t be lackadaisical and not do anything. (I) just wanted to make sure we kept in a little bit of shape.”

After resting for a month, Davies returned to the track multiple times each week with Woolford. The loss of her outdoor season — and the possibility of losing more opportunities — hasn’t shifted her focus.  

“SECs left me really hungry,” she said. “I just want to be better than I was last season. SECs, I should’ve eaten more; I should’ve told the trainers how my body felt. I could’ve done a lot of things better.”  

Along with working on her start, form, and other technical aspects of her craft, Davies has also been working on communication. One of her biggest regrets from last season is not letting her trainers and coaches know when she was not feeling 100 percent. So this summer she has been in contact with LSU staff and always lets Woolford know if she’s not feeling perfect. 

Over the past two and a half months, Davies has watched as protests organized outside of her home in Philadelphia, and around the world, in response to killings of unarmed Black people.

After a waiting period, LSU athletics did come around and athletes not already on campus, like Davies, felt a sense of relief. A Zoom call connected LSU athletes, coaches, and the athletic director to give Black student-athletes a safe space to share their feelings.

“It was very emotional,” Davies said. “Everybody talked, some of the boys talked about their experiences being pulled over (by police). Then we had a meeting with our team. It really helped.” 

As she heads into her sophomore season, unsure of when it will start and what it will look like because of COVID-19, Davies is excited to be back with her second family at LSU. 

Davies wil re-join a team that includes more than enought firepower to contend for an NCAA title indoors or outdoors whenever that opportunity comes around again. Symone Mason, Brittley Humphrey, Tonea Marshall, Lisa Gunnarsson and Abby O'Donoghue -- and talented newcomers Leah Phillips and Monique Hardy -- should make LSU formidable for the foreseeable future.

“I feel like we did so well this year because of the teamwork we built during practice and off the track,” she said. “We used to hang out and play board games, watch movies, and build that relationship off the track as a team and helped make us potential national champions. I just can’t wait to go back to LSU and be around my sisters.”