Transitioning from volleyball to track, LBCC shotput star Saryah Harris-Davis finds herself on pace to break records and achieve greatness with her talent.
Harris-Davis was always more devoted to playing volleyball, but becoming a volleyball coach for LBCC opened the door to new heights, in shot put.
Harris-Davis is on pace to break Viking alumni shot putter Casey Davis’s Title IX record for farthest shot put throw, which sits at 12.76m (41’11”).
Aside from her record-breaking pace, her transition from volleyball to track came most unexpectedly, starting with LBCC throwing coach Michael Bourne spotting her at a fall sports event held in October.
“I’m sitting there eating a cupcake and all of a sudden, I see this woman walk by and I was like ‘That’s gotta be a P.E. instructor or weightlifting instructor’ and I was told ‘No, she’s on the volleyball team,’” Bourne said.
Burne continued by saying “I was like ‘That girl is stronger than any member of the volleyball team and she’s walking with a purpose’, and it dawned upon me, she’s a thrower.”
Bourne was correct on that thought, as Harris-Davis was a thrower when she was at Mayfair High School.
Harris-Davis spoke on coach Bourne’s influence as well as how she’s had a better relationship with him and how he’s had a better impact than her previous track coaches.
“He’s one of the first coaches that I truly trusted with my career. He really has a way of getting interpersonal and opening you, and I’ve never had that type of relationship with a coach before,” Harris-Davis said.
She decided to stop doing track when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out after her first meet, which made her train and focus more on her previous passion for volleyball.
“The only involvement I had in track and field was that little time in my junior year. When COVID hit, it just faded off and I even then just did it as offseason conditioning for volleyball, so it was never something that I truly considered as a career because my main focus was on volleyball,” Harris-Davis said.
Harris-Davis played volleyball from eighth grade until the beginning of college, stepping away from the game to transition to track & field when coach Bourne gave her the unexpected opportunity.
“At first, it was a lot of pressure because I genuinely got into track just for an opportunity to get a scholarship. I went to Christian Baptist University prior to being here, and being at LBCC is a great opportunity for me to be an athlete again,” Harris-Davis said.
She followed up by describing what she does to get the weight off of her shoulders “I didn’t have much expectation coming into it and realizing the potential. That put pressure early on, but I’ve learned that if I compete against myself I can’t really be upset, and that helped me push past the pressure.”
Being the youngest of six in the family, Harris-Davis is the only athlete from the family, with the rest being more focused on academics instead of sports.
When it comes to Harris-Davis’s academics, she was originally a business major before switching over to kinesiology to pursue an athletic career.
“CBU wasn’t the place for me academically, so I chose to come to LBCC. I started doing classes in the summer. I came here for volleyball and reached out to coach Tyler and became the team manager for that sport, which led me to switch my major from business to kinesiology, and track just became an unexpected blessing,” Harris-Davis said.
The unexpected blessing for Harris-Davis has proved to be a great one as she is now ranked seventh in state for women’s shot put heading into state championships.
“When it comes to volleyball, I’ve kind of given up playing even though I love the sport. I was a manager and that pushed me to want to continue a career in athletics,” Harris-Davis said.
Harris-Davis is now preparing for state championships this weekend and hopes to place well in the competition.