Zaniyah Carter off to the races

GALESBURG — Zaniyah Carter hasn’t been participating in track for very long.

On June 3, the 8-year-old Galesburg resident finished fifth overall (7:27) in the Dave’s Autobody Gator Run, a mile fun walk/run, one of three Run Galesburg Run events.

Shortly after, the soon-to-be Silas Willard third-grader started taking trips to Peoria to attend Peoria Inner City Track and Field Club practices.

On July 7, Carter wore bib No. 311 and took part in the USATF Region 7 Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships, at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.

Her time of 3:09.14 in the 800-meter (8U) gave her first place — among the top 100 performers in the nation in her age category in the event — and qualified Carter for the USATF Hershey National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships, held July 25-29 in Greensboro, North Carolina at North Carolina A&T University.

Her father and local boxer George Carter Jr. is proud of his daughter’s accomplishments.

“She’s not even really in track shape and it was her first meet and she put up a 3:09,” he said. “If she would have had about three more meets I think she would have finished under three minutes, personally.

“The sky is the limit for her.”

Carter, who is relatively shy around those she doesn't know that well, has chosen not to travel to North Carolina due to the fact her mother, Casey Berry, was unable to go.

“I wanted my mommy to see,” Carter said Thursday evening inside her dad’s home.

In 2015, Carter began running competitively and did so in RGR’s mile. The then five-year-old finished in 8:52. In 2016, Carter finished the mile in 8:56 and in 2017 broke the tape in 7:46.

“She just walked and ran. You know, she was just being a kid,” said George Carter, 32, who began running to stay in boxing shape, of his daughter’s beginnings in the walk/run. “When she turned 6, she ran a full mile and ever since then each year she’s just been getting faster and better at it."

Zaniyah Carter, who hopes to one day become a veterinarian, also participates in gymnastics through Judy’s Dance Studio — something she also began at the age of 5 — and she chose to run because of someone close to her.

“Saw daddy do it,” she said.

George Carter likes knowing that, but also knows he shouldn’t push Zaniyah in one direction or another and believes some parents push their children too much.

“Like for me, I box so I want her to box. I’m not like that,” he said. “If she wants to come up there (to the gym) then go right ahead but I’m not going to force her to do anything that I want her to do. There’s a poll out and it says when we do that we lose 67 percent of our kids. Either they quit or go onto something else because parents pushed them to do it and especially at a young age.

“I’m going to stick behind her. Whatever she wants to do she can do and if she don’t than she won’t.”

Still, Carter would have liked to have seen Zaniyah compete in North Carolina.

“I’m not going to lie, I did want her to go to nationals because I think she can do a better time than the 3:09,” he said. “But if she don’t want to go she’s not going to put 100 percent into the race.

"You’re going to get 75 percent Zaniyah instead of 100.”

 Matthew Wheaton: (309) 343-7181, ext. 204; mwheaton@register-mail.com; @matthewlwheaton