By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
D’Anna Cotton has been involved with track and field since her pre-teen years, qualifying for major meets.
In one of those national competitions, the future Cummings star sought out coach Donnie Davis after placing second in the high jump.
“Came in the stands with the silver medal and gave it to me and said she didn’t like silver medals and she was quitting track,” Davis recalled. “She wasn’t going to do track no more. Her track career is over with.”
Cotton remembered that moment recently, chuckling at what she called a tantrum that day. Davis had the ideal response before they left that meet.
“So I told her I’m practicing at 6 o’clock in the morning,” Davis said. “She said, ‘Can you come pick me up?’ ”
By last month, Cotton became the most distinguished track and field athlete in the history of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. She won a state-record 24 individual state championships combined between indoor season and outdoor season.
She’ll compete in college for the University of South Carolina. The disappointments of results several years ago no longer matter.
“It didn’t last long.” Cotton said of the frustration. “I was tired of getting second all the time. It was never to the point that I was really bad. It was that I was always up there, but never No. 1. So I had to work, work, work and now it’s hard for me to lose.”
This year, Cotton was undefeated in the 300-meter hurdles, 100 hurdles, long jump, and triple jump. The high jump, which once was her favorite event, has been replaced by dominance in other events, particularly the triple jump.
Her winning margin in her final state meet in the triple jump was a whopping 4 feet on teammate Diamond Moore in Class 4-A.
There are always goals for Cotton to pursue.
“I don’t expect anything but high expectations for myself,” she said. “It’s good nerves. I don’t pay attention to anybody else. I know what I can expect from myself, so it’s good nerves. It’s what can I do today? What am I going to do today?”
Davis coached another Cummings star three decades ago. His daughter, DeAnne Davis Brooks, who won 23 state titles concluding in 1996. She now helps coach Cotton, something the elder Davis calls “a poetic layer.”
After all, Cotton’s triple jump of 42 feet, 10¾ inches broke the state record of 42-6 that had been held by DeAnne Davis for 30 years.
“She’s DeAnne, 30 years removed,” said Coach Davis, who can recite Cotton’s accomplishments with ease despite the volume. “She has averaged six state championships a year over a four-year period.”
The opportunities in events in state meets with the indoor and outdoor seasons combined was 32 for Cotton, so she won 75 percent of those.
Cotton emerged as a high-level competitor as a freshman and never let up during the past several years as the collection of gold medals rose.
“It does seem normal,” Cotton said. “It’s normal to me, but it’s good that it’s normal. I’ve worked for it. I put the work in for more than four years, starting with Durham Striders.”
The Striders are a club team with Donnie Davis in charge of the operations in Alamance County. With that club, Cotton had chances to shine beyond the school seasons.
She said she learned to pursue improvement regardless of the setting, knowing that her marks in the jumps often provided substantial margins.
“I can’t really expect the competition to push me,” she said. “But I always still have adrenalin no matter who I’m going against.”
When Cotton returned to North Carolina A&T in Greensboro for her final state meet, it was a familiar setting. She said she didn’t allow herself to become sentimental about an unmatched high school career winding down.
“The goals that I set for my last state meet I were able to do,” she said. “Both the triple jump and long jump were really big. I know that I jump good at A&T. A&T has a good runway. I know that I’ll get good results at A&T. I made sure to make it great. I made sure I wasn’t going to have regrets.”
Cotton was part of six team state championships, six times receiving the Most Outstanding Performer award. She was recognized by the NCHSAA with the All-Star Performance Award covering all sports for 2026 seniors.
Cotton will soon go to an under-20 national meet in Eugene, Oregon. Coach Davis won’t accompany her, but that might not matter.
“We rehearse stuff,” the coach said. “Basically, her routine doesn’t change. She’s different.”
Cotton said she’s excited to see what’s to come after the unprecedented high school career.
“I got everything I was supposed to get done, done,” she said. “So I’m proud of myself. … You got to grow. You got to move on.”
