Believe it or not, there was a time when Peyton Davis identified primarily as a softball player.
“My freshman year, I did not think I was going to be outstanding in track,” she said. “I thought softball was going to be my thing.
“I started running track in middle school, but it was never that serious. And then when we went to compete for the state championship, I was like ‘hey, I can actually run kind of fast.’” Kind of fast. Fast enough to win 11 outdoor track state championships and one indoor. Fast enough to set state records in two running events. Fast enough to win the state championship in the 100 meters four straight times. And fast enough to help the Stroud team win a state championship as a freshman.
That freshman track season was a pivotal time in her career and in her transition from identifying as a softball player to being one of the most decorated track athletes in Oklahoma high school history.
“It definitely made me want to continue running,” she said. “I kept playing softball but I didn’t want to play at the collegiate level because I thought that track was going to be my thing.
“And everyone told me since I was a freshman that I