Making it official: EHS’ Davies signs with K-State
By Michael Ashford
Originally published 01:51 p.m., April 18, 2008
Updated 01:51 p.m., April 18, 2008
Jacob Davies isn’t going to mince words.
When he heads off to college this fall, the bouncy, energetic senior at Emporia High knows he will need someone there to make sure he’s on the straight and narrow.
He believes he’s found that someone in Kansas State cross country and distance coach Michael Smith.
“I like the coach. He’s real down-to-business,” Davies said. “He’ll keep me in line. I need to be kept in line, so it should be a good fit.”
It was Smith’s influence that became one of the biggest factors for Davies’ decision to sign a letter-of-intent to run cross country and track at Kansas State, which he did Thursday in a ceremony at Emporia High.
The defending Class 5A State champion in the 800-meter run and the runner-up at the Class 5A State cross country meet this past fall, Davies chose Kansas State after making a campus visit shortly after helping the EHS boys cross country team win the 5A State title.
He also visited Tulsa and Wichita State, but Davies said Kansas State was the best option.
“I felt the most comfortable there, and I like Manhattan,” he said. “I feel like I’m going to get a lot better there.”
While Davies said choosing Kansas State was ultimately his decision, he also could sense a slight push in that direction from those closest to him.
“A lot of people in my family have gone to K-State, so I feel like that’s where everyone was kind of pulling for, too,” he said. “I was asking for advice, and no one would really say much, but I could always tell where they wanted me to be.”
Davies, who has the fastest time in the state this season in both the 800 (1:55.76) and the 1,600 (4:26), has already set goals for himself in college, though some are more specific than others.
His biggest goal is to break 1:50 in the 800. As for the 1,600, he said he didn’t have any specific mark in mind, adding that he “didn’t want to say anything too fast.”
“He’s phenomenal on the track — he’s amazing,” EHS track and field coach Randy Well said during Thursday’s ceremony. “He doesn’t go out just to be first, he goes out to compete.”
Perhaps the biggest positive that Davies has going for him is the fact that he is still relatively new to the sport of running.
He has only been a full-time runner for about two years, as he said it took him a while to realize his talents on the track and on the cross country course.
“I had always wanted to play a team sport like basketball or something,” Davies said, “but then I got into track, and it seemed to be my thing.
“I like running. Running in college is going to be a big step up — a lot harder. It’s going to be more demanding. But I think if I can stay with it and work hard, I’ll be successful.”