By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Cummings senior D’Anna Cotton has jumped all over the place in high school track and field as one of North Carolina’s most distinguished champions.
She didn’t jump at college offers right away until she found what she deemed the best fit. It turns out to be South Carolina.
“It was all about the visits and seeing what they have going on,” Cotton said after revealing her decision last week.
Across her first three high school seasons, she has collected 16 individual state championships, six runners-up spots and three third-place finishes. She’s a jumper and a hurdler.
“You have to want it that bad and I wanted it that bad,” Cotton said.
Cummings coach Donnie Davis said Cotton’s willingness to compete in multiple events and excel in them is a testament to her determination.
“D’Anna, she has never backed out of a thing,” Davis said.
In outdoor and indoor track combined, Cotton has led the Cavaliers to four team state championships and two runners-up finishes.
Some of Cotton’s results in terms of jumping distances and hurdles times have rated high on national lists, Davis said.
“These are big numbers,” he said. “That’s some pretty good stuff. . . Last year, she just went over the top.”
Cotton, who turns 18 in March, said she realized that major college scholarships could be in the works by the end of her sophomore year at Cummings.
“I knew I might have something down my path,” she said. “A lot of people do not have those choices.”
While a long list of college programs reached out to her, she made nine official visits. The finalists turned out to be South Carolina, LSU, and Tennessee.
Cotton, the daughter of Regine and Julius Cotton, said she received necessary instruction and lots of recognition “and it was because of Coach Davis.”
She said she’s familiar with many of her future South Carolina teammates from the travel youth circuit. She has been extremely active with the Durham Striders club.
In college, Cotton said she’ll likely compete in triple jump, long jump, and hurdles, so high jumping is bound to be out of that mix.
