Destini Lewis did not need four years at Alcovy to make her mark in the track program.
On Wednesday, Lewis signed her national letter of intent (NLI) to continue her track career at Alabama State University.
The ceremony was held in the Tigers’ auditorium and began with remarks from former Alcovy athletic director Thomas Lowe and former Alcovy track and field coach Matt Brown.
Following the signing, Lewis shared her thoughts on the day she signed her NLI.
“Today was very nerve racking,[I was] very nervous,” Lewis said. “I never expected myself to get this far, knowing I started track and field last year.”
Lewis enrolled at Alcovy as a junior after moving from out-of-state.
It was then when Lewis’ high school track career began with the Tigers.
As to why she chose Alabama State, Lewis boiled it down to just wanting to compete with the best.
“What I valued the most was my athletics,” Lewis said. “Being that I am going to Alabama State University, it is part of the SWAC conference. The SWAC conference is one of the [more] challenging and competitive [conferences]. Going there, I wanted to go to a really competitive league so it would push me to go further out and compete against top players.
“Now that I am going out, it will definitely push me to reach my fullest potential.”
Along with the competitiveness, Lewis also enjoyed her meetings with the coaches and the campus.
“What drew me in were the coaches,” Lewis said. “The coaches were really friendly. The head coach, when I sat down one-on-one with him, he was very great and was intrigued with me and my academics. He knows that I take pride in my academics and that I am a great student-athlete.”
Though he only coaches for a short time, Brown had little doubt about Lewis competing at the collegiate level.
“She meant a lot [to this program]. She is one athlete that I knew was going to stand out her senior year,” Brown said. “One thing that made her stand out is that she is actually good at art, too. She can draw, she can do a whole bunch of things — she is well rounded. She is very disciplined when it comes to her grades. [Her] future at Alabama State will be good for her.”
Looking back on her time as a Lady Tiger, reaching the podium in two seperate events tops the list as Lewis’ most memorable achievement.
“My favorite moment here at Alcovy is when I was titled the Region 3-AAAAAA triple jump champion and long jump champion,” Lewis said.
Competing at the highest level in the state during her junior season is when Lewis realized she could take her talents to the next level.
“When I made it last year to the GHSA Championship,” Lewis said. “When I realized I had made it there, I was like, ‘Yes, I know I am definitely going to go far.’ So in my senior year, I went far.”
