By Abigail Winn
Christine Cohen had an extra-special Mother’s Day this year: she got to watch her son Ashtyn Davis of Cal win the Pac-12 title in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. “I was ecstatic for him,” she said. “He’s worked hard, and he’s continued to improve and he’s competitive.”
Davis won his qualifying heat with a time 13.65, and won the final with a time of 13.50. He was the runner-up at last year’s Pac-12 championships with a time of 14.07 behind Oregon star Devon Allen, who went on to compete in the Olympics. “Thanks to Devon for going pro and giving the rest of us a shot at winning this one,” he said, laughing.
The event was one to watch. During the race, USC favorite Marquis Morris fell in the early hurdles and Davis eventually out-sprinted Oregon freshman Braxton Canady for the win. He said he didn’t see Morris fall.
“I did not even notice until I looked up to see my time and he was still completing the race,” he said.
He did, however, have a feeling that he had won the race. He didn’t notice anyone in his periphery.
“It feels great,” he said. “I never would’ve thought I’d be standing up there on the podium this year. I was a walk-on coming in.”
A junior at the University of California, Davis originally planned to attend the University of Redlands after he didn’t receive any offers to play college football after high school. He credits going to state for track and field in his senior year of high school for the change.
“Fortunately this worked out for me,” he said. “I talked to Cal, and they were super helpful and got me into school. And from there I walked onto football as well.”
Davis said that playing football and running track and field isn’t as complicated as it can be. “The coaches make it really easy,” he said. “Both are really flexible. I’m lucky in the sense that I’m not a scholarship athlete, so I don’t really have too many obligations.”
There is one challenge he’s found can be particularly nagging: his weight. “I know I always come out heavier than I want to be after football season,” he said. “I feel like I could shave a couple of tenths off my time if I just lose some weight.”
Now, Davis is looking forward to continuing improvement at regionals. “Just trying to get better, no particular time in mind or anything.”
