Salute To Seniors: Devonte Gibson - Boynton Beach Community High School

The 2014-2015 school year has provided some great highlights in both cross country and track across the Sunshine State. In the coming weeks many of our seniors will head out to start their college careers both athletically and academically. We wanted to salute them one more time in this special feature and say thank you for your support over the years.

What was your most memorable race/moment?

My most memorable race was the 200m dash finals at regionals my senior year. The track was flooded, it was raining at the meet majority of the time and my body was not feeling too good. Going into the finals I had the 5th fastest time, but coming into the meet I had the number one time from districts, so I mentally told myself that I was going to states and I ended up finishing second in the finals. Even though I did not win I was able achieved my goal with the pain that I had in my body.

Who would you consider your biggest competition over your four years?

Over the four years even though I only had to compete against him three years I would say for those three years Chedlin Sagesse. He was my travel club teammate and high school competitor. Over those three years we faced each other each other the 55m-400m, 4x100m-4x400m, medley relays and long jump. Even though he beat me in majority of the time he was never cocky about it he only encouraged not only me, but all his competition to all get better. Much love fam.

What was your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment to me was when I ran my first 22 second 200m dash. Once I ran my first 22 second 200 it the feeling of breaking the barrier felt good, so it made me want to run a 21 second 200 which I accomplished. Now I am working towards running my first 20 second 200m dash.

If you could do it all over again what would you change about your running career in high school?

If I could do it all over again I would have changed my work ethic during my freshman and sophomore year in high school. I did not start running track year round until my junior year in high school and when I did I was in shape year round and my times dropped a lot more than when I only ran during high school season and did nothing over the summer.

What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?

The most difficult obstacles that I had to overcome were the minor injuries that came about when I was running track. Another one would have been my season ending at regionals every year instead of states. I had to drop out of regionals my junior year in the finals and at the moment I felt terrible but then I realized I had one more year left. That next year I went to states in the 200m dash and 4x100m dash.

What will you miss the most?

I am going to miss practicing with my family at Fast Lane Track Club. There have been so many unforgettable moments that I have from being on Fast Lane. I was able to meet a lot of comedians on the team and I am going to miss traveling with all my friends on the team.

What advice you would give to younger athletes?

Do not worry about other athletes and how they are performing if they are better than you. Do not let faster people get into your head and make you lose focus of your goal. During practice take it serious while others are slacking and taking short cuts you avoid their paths. I would also advise that you join a travel club to get to know more people that enjoy running track and it should benefit your performances for the future.

What influence has your coach had with respect to your performance and overall life goals?

My coach has taught me to just worry about me because god has a plan and has given me the tools to be great I just have to use what has been given to me to become the best that I can be.

What are your college plans?

I will be attending Nova Southeastern University to continue running track and field and working towards my Bachelor’s degree in Science.

Who would you like to say thank you to?

I would like to thank god for making all this possible and my family for helping me pay for meets and get me to the meets. I would like to thank my track family out there for helping me out at practices, meets, giving me advice. I would like to thank any coach out there that has helped me become a better athlete and person, but shout out to my coach Derek Walker for making majority of this possible and thank you for helping me with everything.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Listen to your coaches, listen to your body, and make sure you have fun while running.

Seniors, don't be left out! Submit your Salute to Seniors answers to Todd.Grasley@flosports.tv and be featured on the site!


More Coverage