Oklahoma State University Athletics
Women's Track Stars Shine
May 16, 2003 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
Last weekend at the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, Davila captured a first-place win in the women's 10,000m by finishing the race in 35:00.33. The wind was blowing hard on the day that Davila competed and the temperature reached a high of 90 degrees. But that didn't stop Davila.
"Considering the conditions, Araceli ran a smart and tactical race," said Head Coach Catrina Acosta. "With a little more than 2K to go, she took off and left the field. After she crossed the finish line, she took a cup of water and walked off the track. It was like it wasn't even hard for her."
According to last week's Big 12 Women's Outdoor Track and Field Bests, Davila will be ranked among the top ten in the Big 12 in the 10,000m after last weekend's performance.
"I wouldn't say that this time was the best that she can do, but considering everything else, it was the perfect race for that day. She even said to me, `Coach, we run faster than this at practice.' That tells me something," Acosta said.
Davila is a junior transfer to OSU this year. She spent a year running at Trinidad State Junior College in Colorado, where she was a Junior College All-American. However, between her time at Trinidad State and at OSU, she took a year off from running.
"Araceli is finally doing what I have always known she could do. She had to recover from taking that year off, but I am absolutely thrilled with what she is doing now. And I think she is too," Acosta said.
However, Davila isn't the only track star amongst the members of the OSU women's track and field team. Senior Sherita Jackson is also making her name known this season throughout the world of track and field. Two weeks ago, at the Southwestern Track and Field Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas, Jackson achieved a fully automatic qualifying time for the Olympic Trials. She ran the 100m in 10.60, which is exactly the time that she needed to qualify. Jackson will travel to Sacramento, Calif., on July 14 to compete in the Olympic Trials.
"If Sherita can stay healthy, I feel her chances are better than average at the Olympic Trials," said Assistant Coach Clint "Peppie" Whitaker. "Sherita is one of those athletes that if you give her her shoes and get her to the meet on time, she'll take care of the rest." Jackson, who is from Houston, Texas, is in her final season for the OSU track and field team. She came to OSU as a true freshman in 1996. Last season, she used up her last season of eligibility for indoor track, but she redshirted her outdoor season due to injury. Therefore, this outdoor season is her last one.
She is a two-time All-American in the indoor 200m, and she is OSU's top sprinter. She set the school record in 1997 in both the indoor 200m and the outdoor 55m. Then, in 1998, she broke her own 200m record with a time of 23.25. During the outdoor 1998 season, she broke her other school record, running the 55m in 6.96.
"There's an old saying among track coaches about someone like Sherita. We like to refer to her as `ooo-wee fast,' because she's not just `fast'.
"I wish that I could take credit for Sherita's accomplishments here at OSU, but I can't. I've only been coaching her for a year. It was Catrina (Acosta) who recruited Sherita to our program. She must have seen something in her in high school and it was special," Whitaker said.
