By Diamond Lockette and Brianna Miffin
Indoor track advanced 15 athletes to regionals in Hampton, but only one made it to states: sophomore triple jumper Tatiana Smith, who placed fifth at regionals and fifth at states.
“It feels nice to be the only one from Varina to go to states. I’ve been getting a lot of congrats,” Tatiana said.
This was not Tatiana’s first year making it to the state finals. Last year she made it all the way to nationals.
Tatiana has been running since eighth grade when she found out that tennis wasn’t the sport for her. Since joining the track team, she has become close with her teammates.
“We push Tatiana a lot so that she can do her best,” senior teammate Braxton Harris said.
Indoor track coach Tia Smith is also Tatiana’s mother. Tatiana described her mother as half coach and half mom. Since Coach Smith is the specialist for long jump and triple jump, she is the one who coaches Tatiana for her events throughout the season.
“Preparing Tatiana means doing drills, exercises, eating right, resting well and most importantly, watching videos to get her in the mood of preparing her mind,” Coach Smith said. Coach Smith stresses academics before sports.
“Tatiana is a student first and athlete second. I teach Tatiana her grades will get her further than far,” Coach Smith said.
In Tatiana’s free time, she watches YouTube videos, mile stats and movies involving track. Her long-term goal is to go to the Olympics. She wants to win gold in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Her family and friends already see her there on top.
“She should just keep doing what she’s doing because she’s doing a good job, and she’s going to go a long way,” junior teammate Asyah Reid said. “She is very driven and motivated and just on top of stuff and taking it seriously.”
Senior runner Corey Fountain called Tatiana “the G.O.A.T.” or greatest of all time.
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