Star athlete looks to future, on and off the track

Goals are a part of everything Kaselle Davis does. They are the beginning. What follows is mostly expected.

As the 2024 New Mexico High School state track and field championships approached last May, the conversation between Las Cruces High coach Jennifer Eatmon and Davis went something like this:

“I asked her what her goals were for state and she said, ‘Break records,’” Eatmon said.

She won gold medals in four individual events at the state meet – running an 11.8 in the 100 meters, 24.2 in the 200, 54.1 in the 400 and cleared 5-9 in the high jump. The 200 and 400 times were Class 5A state championship records.

“Kaselle is a hard worker and she definitely knows what she wants and how to get it,” Eatmon said. “Once she sets her mind to something, there’s no stopping her.”

Davis capped off her outstanding junior year by being named the Gatorade New Mexico Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year. It was only her third year competing in track.

The daughter of a football-playing dad and a long-distance-running mom, Davis participated in gymnastics as a child, competitive cheer in elementary school and volleyball in middle school. During her freshman year at LCHS, she decided to give track a try because “my friends were doing it.”

“It was during my sophomore year that I thought, I can go somewhere with this,” she said. “During my junior year, my goal was to get looked at by colleges.”

Eatmon wasn’t surprised when the colleges started calling.

“Since I’ve been here (2016), we’ve had a lot of great kids with great talent,” she said. “We’ve had five or six go on to the next level. But Kaselle was going to a big school. She’s one of the top athletes we’ve coached.”

Davis visited four schools: Indiana University, Arizona State University, Southern Methodist University and Mississippi State University. She chose Indiana and signed a scholarship offer with the Hoosiers last month.

“I had a bunch of calls and texts,” Davis said. “Some of the schools followed through and some didn’t. The four I visited were all good, but the moment I got to Indiana, it felt like home away from home.”

Davis has a 3.66 grade-point average at LCHS and plans to major in biology at Indiana. “Academics are very important to me,” she said.

Before moving to Indiana next fall, Davis has another track season ahead, one that will offer more opportunities to break records and improve physically and mentally. She expects to compete in the 200 and 400 at Indiana.

“There are strategies,” she said. “The 400 is a very mental race. It’s broken up into three or four sections. You have to get out fast, maintain your speed in the middle and you have to kick it in the final 200. I do notice my opponents but I’m in my own world at the same time. The 400 is not for everyone. The 200 is more fast-paced and in the 100, it’s all about getting out (of the blocks) quickly.”

Eatmon said much of Davis’ success is due to the extra work she puts in on her own. “She knows what it takes to succeed, but she doesn’t stop there. She does things on her own.”

Davis is a regular at the gym, lifting weights “to get more explosive” and she’s also focused on maintaining a healthy diet.

A new season means new goals. Davis hopes to trim seconds off of her best times this spring. She also plans to run in Albuquerque in January to experience more competition and get some experience running in an indoor meet. Her long-term goals are to compete in the NCAA championships and the Olympic Trials.

“The national meets open more doors,” she said. “I want to run with the best.”

“Kaselle knows she has a gift,” said Eatmon. “All of our athletes are good, humble kids, but she takes that to another level.”