SE: Stronger Than Before, Wray Sets Sights High

By; D. Scott Fritchen

Shalysa Wray has grown stronger in the past year. That's what the Kansas State junior feels each day while training for the upcoming indoor track and field season, which begins on Friday. Last week, she saw evidence of her offseason training at the Cali Valle 2021 Junior Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia.

That's when she ran a personal-best 53.47 is the women's outdoor 400 meters.

"It felt really good," she says. "I felt strong. I was surprised by the time, I must say, but I'm really happy because it shows that I'm way stronger than I was last season. To open with a personal best, it showed that I'm on the right track."

For all her life, Shalysa has been on the track. The oldest and most athletic of her four siblings, Shalysa grew up in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. It takes about one hour with traffic to drive across the entire island. It's where everyone knows everyone. Beautiful. Clean. Quiet. Beaches everywhere. It's where she got her start, fell in love with the track.

She won her first race when she was 2. It was sports day at preschool. Kids at one side of the field, parents at the other side. She ran to her mother the fastest. None of the other kids could catch up.

Her grandmother, mother and father were all track and field athletes. They saw Shalysa's gift early on. At age 16, she won the 4x100 at the ISSA Boys and Girls Championships in Kingston, Jamaica. At 19, she won the 4x400 and the 400 meters.

Then last summer, she took her competition to a new level.

It started in June. That's when she got the phone call. So many young athletes in the Cayman Islands dream big when it comes to track and field. Last summer, Shalysa was training in Jamaica. She knew she had a chance. The Cayman Olympic Organization and the Cayman Islands Athletic Association deemed that she had made the most progress and had earned the most points of any female athlete. They saw that Shalysa had ample potential.

"They called me and said, 'You qualified for the Olympics. You're going to go,'" Shalysa says. "It was a dream come true for me. I was so happy that I didn't have any words. I was jumping up and down. I was speechless."

In July, she clocked a 54.42 in the 400 meters at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association U-23 Championships.

In August, she finished seventh in her heat with a time of 53.61 in the 400 meters in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

"The day before my race I did sit down and cry mainly because I was really nervous to compete on such a big stage," she says. "I was really nervous, and who wouldn't be? It was the Olympics. But I went out and ran a personal best. Coaches from all over came over and asked me what I planned to do after school because they wanted me to train under them. When I returned to Manhattan, I had a different mindset going into training.

"That's showing now because I'm stronger and faster. I took a lot from my Olympic experience. It was a dream come true."

She figures to have people talking this year. That's because she feels stronger when she trains each afternoon after class. She ran a 7.51 in the 60 meters last indoor season, which ranked seventh in K-State history, and she ran a 24.52 in the 200 meters and a 54.77 in the 400 meters. They're all times that she looks to improve upon this winter.

Interestingly, the 400 meters, which she ran in the Olympics, isn't even her favorite event.

"My favorite is the 200 meters," she says. "I never have had the opportunity to really train for it because of a few injuries, but I think I could be really good at it. This year, I'm going to try and run more 200s."

K-State director of track and field Cliff Rovelto is among her biggest supporters.

"I've been running faster than I have last year so Coach has really high hopes for me in the 60 and 200 meters," she says. "He tells me every day, 'You're going to run really fast.' I laugh and say, 'I know.' He's a really positive coach."

For now, she's grateful for another year with her track and field teammates, including former high school teammate and best friend Levaun Stephenson, who is also a sprinter for the Wildcats.

"I enjoy the family aspect," Shalysa says. "Even though we all don't train at the same time, we have Zoom meetings and everybody is so supportive of each other. Whenever one of our teammates makes an accomplishment, we all celebrate them. I really enjoy the family aspect at K-State because I'm away from home and away from my family. Having another form of family here really helps."

Already, Shalysa eyes the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"I really, really see myself there," she says. "I see myself in the finals. Mark my words, I will be in the finals in Paris. I see big things for myself. I'll be out of school by then. I see myself getting a contract with a sports brand and training with a really good coach, whether I stay in Manhattan, stay in the states, or go back home. I do see big things for myself in 2024 because I'm a very driven athlete and I know what I want. I plan to be doing big things in 2024."

That starts by doing bigger things in 2021-22, which appears achievable.

Shalysa feels stronger than ever before.

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Shalysa Wray

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