MAHOMET — Ava Boyd was, admittedly, a bit tired when she pulled into her house on July 31.
A 2:30 a.m. wakeup and subsequent two-hour car ride from Eugene, Ore., to the Portland International Airport before the sun even rose in the Pacific Northwest started her day.
Then, a three-hour, 20-minute flight from Portland to Midway International Airport in Chicago ensued.
Before a two-and-a-half hour car ride from Chicago to her hometown of Mahomet followed.
She wasn’t sure what would greet her, either, when she arrived home with a newfound sense of accomplishment in her promising track and field career. Yet, the sight of what awaited Boyd once she finally arrived back home late on that Monday afternoon after a week in the Pacific Northwest immediately brightened her mood.
Roughly 30 friends and family members had gathered in the driveway at the Boyd residence to welcome the Mahomet-Seymour senior home after Boyd had just accomplished a memorable moment the day prior. Winning a national championship, after all, should bring about a reception like the one Boyd saw upon exiting her car. Even if she was caught off guard by the surprise and impromptu celebration.
“I was a little tired from all the traveling, but I didn’t want to let on to it,” Boyd said with a laugh. “It really started to sink in that I won nationals. When I just saw everyone, that’s when I thought, ‘Wow, I actually accomplished it.’”
What Boyd accomplished was winning the 1,500-meter run in the women’s 17-18-year-old age group while running for the Champaign-based Vipers Track Club at the USATF National Junior Olympic Championship on July 30 at historic Hayward Field in Eugene.
Boyd crossed the finish first line among the 12 competitors in the finals with a personal-record time of 4 minutes, 46.22 seconds, almost a second ahead of runner-up Angelle Dupuis, and nearly three seconds faster than the qualifying time Boyd had run three days earlier in the prelims.
Boyd arose early and arrived at Hayward Field around 6:45 a.m. local time the day of her 1,500 final to start prepping and strategizing for the race that would take place a few hours later.
“We figured out how I wanted me to run my race to get my best PR, but to find my most efficient way to win,” Boyd said. “We came up with the idea of me not leading the pack, but instead of tucking in on the leader at her hip. That way I wouldn’t have to have the mental work of trying to win the race and lead the race at the same time.”
The move worked to perfection. Boyd still had enough left in the final lap to eventually take the lead and hold on for the memorable win.
“The last 100 meters is really when I took the lead,” she said. “The last 20 meters, I was scared, but excited because this was the moment that was right in front of me, and I had to go seize it.”
She did. In one of track and field’s most iconic settings.
“That was my first time on the West Coast, in general, and being able to run at Hayward Field was a dream come true,” Boyd said. “I looked up and my parents definitely had happy tears. I just instantly smiled. All the hard work and dedication and time was worth it. I couldn’t have been more blessed to have the opportunity.”
Boyd will now look to capitalize on her summer success with the Vipers in her final season running with Mahomet-Seymour. The Bulldogs girls’ cross-country team started practice this week and opens its season on Aug. 26 at the Light Up the Night Invitational in Clinton. Boyd was a Class 2A state qualifier last season, eventually placing 71st at the IHSA state meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria.
She earned All-State honors this past May in track and field, placing fourth in the 1,600 at the 2A state meet. So Boyd is used to the miles she’ll log this fall and again leading up to next spring’s track and field season with M-S.
Now, the motivation to prove the national title she won on July 30 at Hayward Field isn’t a fluke will spur her on during workouts and competitions this school year. With more possibilities in store for Boyd to improve her distance running during the coming weeks and months in her final go-around at M-S.
“Going into cross-country with a national title under my belt definitely boosts my self-confidence, knowing what it takes,” Boyd said. “It gives me a good sense of relief and excitement because I have some big goals for this cross-country season.”
If Boyd accomplishes those goals on the state stage this school year, another banner celebration could await.
With perhaps a bit more rest and less travel, too, to recognize potential future achievements by the national champion from Mahomet.
That’s one title that won’t ever go away for Boyd.