Shavon Greaves may not yet realize the depth of her talent, but she’s starting to catch on.
“Last week she told me for the the very first time, ‘You know Fawn, I think I am actually fast,’ ” said senior teammate Fawn Dorr. “Duh, Shavon!”
Last weekend, the Penn State women’s track captain backed that statement up. At the Penn State National she won both the 4×400 meter relay and the 200 meter, grabbed an automatic bid for NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60-meter, broke a Penn State record twice, and won Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week.
“When you have been fast for a very long time, it is hard to tell that you are that much faster than you used to be,” said Dorr. “Until you compete on a national level.”
Greaves may be humble off the track, but the she is certainly not humble on it. She is not afraid to guarantee a victory, even over her teammates.
“I do not care if it’s my teammates or if it is my mom or dad,” said Greaves. “If I am lining up on the line with somebody, I am going to compete.”
Dorr experienced this competitiveness first-hand. During her first race with Greaves, the senior admitted to her teammate she had a ‘pretty good shot at winning.’
“Shavon told me ‘Oh no, I am going to win, ‘ ” said Dorr. “At the same, she also shows respect to everybody and treats everybody as equal.”
Though she started running at the age of five, Greaves believes it was not until high school that she became competitive. It was then that someone first noticed her speed.
“My dad told me that I could go to college for (running),” said Greaves. “It started as my dad telling me ‘You got to (run),’ then it turned into a passion.”
Greaves began her search for college with a list of five schools. The list did not include Penn State, but she would eventually visit the campus.
“When I came here, I fell in love with it,” said Greaves. “I did not go on any more visits. I just signed here.”
Greaves did not start out her Penn State career a front runner on the team. The future All-American had moments of success her freshman year, but was unable to make the NCAA Championship.
“The nice thing with Shavon’s success is it has kind of built on itself each year,” said head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan. “It is kind off a break-out year for her.”
Her first year at Penn State, Greaves noticed Consuella Moore’s 60-meter dash school record on a wall. Greaves had not heard of Moore before, but knew 7.27 seconds was a fast time.
“I did not know anything about her,” said Greaves. “However, I knew I wanted to beat her.”
During this weekend’s 60-meter dash semifinals, Greaves ran a 7.25-second race and placed in second. She broke the record again in the finals with a 7.24 second time, but still ended up in second place.
“Coach (Chris) Johnson wanted only his records on the wall.” said Greaves. “I was excited I could give my coach something he wanted.”
Greaves still has two seasons of indoor and outdoor track left at Penn State but plans to continue running after college. The junior hopes to get a shot at the 2010 Olympics in London.
“It would mean the world to me, my family and my coaches,” she said.
