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Talk to Jerayah Davis and you’d never know she is the fastest female ever to run at the University of Wyoming.

No way, she’s not going to bring it up. She’s not going to tell you that she is the Cowgirls’ record holder in both the 60 meter and 100 meter sprints in just her first year of true collegiate competition. 

What you are going to find is a delightful young lady who is bright, insightful, engaging, strong in her faith with goals clearly defined. She’d be a great friend too. Add humble to that list.

She has it going on, and is quick to credit her mother, Jodi, for nudges along the way that have brought her to this point.

She plans to go a lot further.  “I want to go to the Olympics and run professionally,” she says without hesitation.

Her head coach Bryan Berryhill believes she can get there.  “She has the ability to be an Olympian,” he says. “She has the natural talent, and the mentality of a great competitor.  But in reality she is in her first year of running competitively since high school due to injuries.  She’s just getting started, really.  From a straight talent standpoint, she is one of the best in the country.”

It has been a long, difficult road for Jerayah, from Casper Kelly Walsh High School to wearing the Brown and Gold.  A three-time Wyoming Athlete of the Year in her sport, Davis was highly recruited and chose the University of Southern California, a school with one of the best sprint programs in the country.

But it was while at USC that things began to unravel.  Injuries prevented her from competing, and compounding the situation was serious weight gain.  “It was going poorly, and I was starting to hate track,” she says.  “I couldn’t stay there, I had to move on.”

With the USC experience behind her, she made visits to other schools, including Arizona and UNLV.  But, in reality, she was feeling more like she was done with track.  

“I came home and mom made sure I understood that I was going to school, and she asked ‘why not Wyoming’. From the time I was little, she taught me to be goal-oriented.  She reminded me of that.  So I chose to give Wyoming a shot. Once I got here, I got healthy, and things began turning around for me.  I’m proud to be a kid from Wyoming competing for Wyoming.  I’m proud to wear the Brown and Gold.”

Like most young people, Davis is impatient. In her mind the times she has produced aren’t near good enough, and she wants to get better right now.  Her Cowgirl record times, by the way, are 7.25 seconds in the 60, and 11.42 in the 100. 

“She and I talk all the time about the process,” says Berryhill, “especially to reach the level she envisions. I make sure she understands that you can’t just go zero to 60 right now.  She listens and is very coachable, so she’s getting there.  She’s beginning to put the puzzle together.

“While she has some things to work through, when she gets in those blocks she is something special, she’s in a zone.

“There are maybe 30 sprinters in the country with ability for the Olympics,” Berryhill continues.  “Jerayah is one of them.  But only three of those 30 will go to the Olympics.  You have to have consistency in everything you do, day-to-day, month-to-month and year-to-year. That’s in your practice habits, your nutritional habits and your mental approach.  I’m beginning to see that from her.”

Already Davis is one of the three best sprinters in the Mountain West in just her first complete year of competition.  Her future is incredible.

“I’m driven,” she admits.  “I understand that consistency in practice is what makes you better.  “I hate practice, and I will tell you when I’m all done with track, I’m done with running.  I don’t know how the distance runners do it,” she laughs while shaking her head. “But at least Coach Berryhill makes practice tolerable.  I’m more than committed to putting in the time and effort.”

Like most great athletes, Davis competed in most sports growing up. Early-on gymnastics was her thing.  “But between seventh and eighth grades I grew from 4’ 11’ to 5’8’.  “In other words I outgrew gymnastics. Even though I always seemed the fastest, I still didn’t seriously think about track.  I was more into volleyball.  But eventually it became clear to me that track was going to be my best sport.”

Ironically, Davis says the 200 meters is her favorite race.  “I like the corners,” she says with a smile.  Berryhill says that’s because it gives her the opportunity to run past people.  But she is not quite physical enough to run that race yet. She will, and it’ll be a good race for her.”

While just a sophomore in eligibility, Davis will be graduating in December with a degree in Sociology. She would especially like to travel and study the world’s religions.  She is very interested in religion, and actually got out her phone to read me the Biblical passage from which her mother got her name.  It’s from the Book of Genesis, 10-16, where the name “Jerah” appears. “It means ‘ray of hope’, she explains. Her mom added the ‘ay’.

Davis also is contemplating a master’s degree in communication and public relations. Believe me, she’d be killer in that world.  

But her track goals are where she’s at right now.  “I just enjoy competing so much.  I want to go as far as I can with it.  I’m to the point now where I believe nothing is going to stop me.”

Berryhill can’t say enough about his star sprinter.  “She’s respectful, hardworking, a good student and humble. She found out that life can be tough, but she fought through it, and has accomplished much already.  I’m very proud of the person she has become.”