Rising star Leo Davis rallies Warhill relay to track national championship

Warhill senior Leo Davis might be one of the greatest Peninsula-area high school athletes you’ve never heard of. Don’t be surprised if you hear plenty from him nationally in track and field at Hampton University the next four years.

“He’s going to be one of the best (collegiate) middle-distance runners in the country,” Maurice Pierce, Hampton’s director of track and field, predicted. “He’s run for less than two years and he’s just tapping into his talent.”

Davis gave an awesome display of it by running a sub-1 minute, 49-second 800-meter leg to rally Warhill High’s relay team to the sprint medley championship at Franklin Field in Philadelphia in June at the New Balance Nationals — regarded as one of the premier outdoor national meet.

Joining Davis on the relay, 1,600 meters in distance, were Warhill teammates Ayden Stewart and Andrew Pictaggi, who ran the opening 200-meter legs (in just over 22 seconds each), and Elijah Epps, who ran 400 meters (in 49 seconds) before handing off to anchorman Davis. Davis says he was proud of his teammates, because each ran their personal bests at their distance in the fast heat of the sprint medley.

Despite that, Davis snatched the baton in sixth place, 35 meters behind the first-place Quaker Track Club of New York. He made up a little of that with a sub-56-second first 400, but was still in sixth approaching the finish.

Then Davis shot off like a cannon — displaying the combination of speed and endurance Warhill coach Dan Schlickenmeyer says is the best he’s every coached — to blitz the field over the final 400. Davis passed all five runners ahead of him by the start of the backstretch and led from there with a 53-second final lap.

He crossed the finish line 5 yards ahead of St. Johnsbury’s (Vermont) Andrew Thornton-Sherman, who ran an impressive 1:51 split, as Warhill won in a national-best 3:24.84. When Davis looked up at the scoreboard he saw that his split of 1:48.75 was almost 3 seconds better than anyone in the field.

It was almost four second better than his previous best of 1:52 (He ran a 1:51 in the open 800 a day later).

“It was shocking, something I never expected to do,” Davis said of the time. “When I looked at the scoreboard I didn’t believe it at first.”

That’s understandable. According to the Virginia High School League Record Book, South Lakes’ Alan Webb (1:47.74 in 2001) is the only runner in state history to post a state meet time faster than Davis’ 1:48. Lafayette’s Seneca Lassiter ran 1:49 in winning the 1995 Group AAA meet. Both went on to become United States 1,500 champions as adults and star internationally after high school.

Pierce and Schlickenmeyer think Davis possesses the talent to thrive beyond high school. Davis ran track for the first time as a junior at the urging of best friend Epps and won the Class 4 indoor 500 title just months after taking up the sport.

“I’m blessed to have Elijah in my life,” said Davis, who won the Class 4 800 title this spring and anchored the winning 4×400 relay. “I wouldn’t be the position I’m in now if it wasn’t for him.”

Davis began contacting colleges as a junior and Pierce sent Hampton’s middle distance coach, Moises Joseph — a two-time Olympian for Haiti — to scout him.

“We realized he was an under the radar guy and offered him a full scholarship,” Pierce said. “We only have 12½ men’s scholarships, so we rarely give a full one to a middle-distance runner.

“But he’s young to the sport and still tapping into his talent and we think he can be one of the best collegiate middle distance runners in the country in two years.”

Schlickenmeyer, who ran at VMI, said, “A kid like Leo comes along (on the Peninsula) once every 10 or 12 years. He has more range than anyone I’ve ever seen.

“He can run a 47 or 48 in the 400 and could’ve run a 4:08 or 4:09 mile if he focused on that. With his speed he can be a sub-4-minute miler, no doubt about it.”

Davis’ short-term goal is to turn that 1:48 split (where he had a running start) into a 1:48 open as a freshman. He’ll be training with a second team All-American at Hampton in 800 standout Dugion Blackman.

“Not many people get offered a full scholarship, so I feel honored,” Davis said. “I didn’t know how to react, but when I ran 1:48 I saw what they see in me.”

Added Pierce, “We think he can continue our strong middle distance legacy.”

For now, Davis, Randolph-Macon recruit Stewart, Virginia State recruit Epps and sophomore Pictaggi leave behind a national championship legacy at Warhill.

“This is huge for Warhill and huge for those kids,” Warhill athletic director Dan Mullen said. “It shows their level of dedication the level of our coaching.”