Piatt's OT: Speed lives in Danville with sprinters Jackson, Esther ahead of field
Apr. 10—DANVILLE — Danville sophomore Jamia Esther broke the Vikings' girls' track and field 60-meter dash record on Feb. 28 at the Olivet Nazarene University High School Classic with a winning time of 7.
51 seconds, nearly a quarter-second ahead of second place. The very next day, she was answering questions about her record-breaking start to the season at The News-Gazette's office. Trying to, at least.
Despite sitting in a big, comfortable conference room chair, she was nervous. That's where junior teammate D'Mario Jackson came in. Sitting right next to Esther, he reassured her with one simple phrase: "One lane, one focus.
" "I was just running hard," Esther said after taking a deep breath. "I knew I had to focus on myself, and I knew I had to push myself. " Those four words — "one lane, one focus" — have been both Esther and Jackson's motto this season, and it evidently works on and off the track.
One week later, Esther lowered her record 60 time to 7. 46 seconds to win the event at the First to the Finish Charger Invite. "She's like my little sister," Jackson said of Esther.