On April 17, senior Dallyce Harrell announced her verbal commitment to join Division 1 track at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Five days later on April 22, Harrell and her friends, family, teachers, and coaches gathered in the Harris Center for her ceremonial signing day.
Harrell has been running track since she was 8 years old. Throughout her time competing and captaining Parker’s track team and competing on club track teams, she has grown to love the sport and has progressed to a high level. Now, she will embark on her journey of running the 800 meter run as a Revolutionary for her next four years of college. She will also compete in the 400 meter run, the 4×400 meter relay, and the 4×800 meter relay.
“It’s been a very long college recruiting process,” Harrell said. “It all began junior year with reaching out to coaches and visits and then really trying to narrow down where I wanted to go both athletically and academically.”
Harrell had a wide breadth of schools that wanted her to be a part of their team. Universities such as William & Mary, Richmond, Holy Cross, American, and Loyola Marymount were all schools Harrell was considering alongside GW. Juggling the recruitment process, being a full-time student, all while still being a trackstar was no easy feat for Harrell, and she was often busy throughout her first semester of senior year.
“I have a mileage quota I have to reach every week with my training,” Harrell said. “My quota is 15 miles which is actually on the lower side. I also try to lift three to four times a week, but I’ll lift less if I have a meet.”
Throughout Harrell’s life, track has always been there. It transformed from a hobby to something she felt competitive about to something that determined her college matriculation.
“Junior and senior year, track definitely became more stressful,” Harrell said. “Every time I ran, it was no longer ‘I’m just going to try my best.’ It was more like, ‘I need to try my best because if I don’t, colleges aren’t going to recruit me.’”
Though Harrell had to prove herself to colleges, she has already proven herself through her numerous accomplishments. She’s gone to the Junior Olympics every summer she’s competed in club track, and she has won four national titles at the Junior Olympics. In preparation for the Junior Olympics and to stay active and practicing throughout the summer, Harrell spends lots of time running.
“For summer track we have three different rounds: districts, regionals, and nationals,” Harrell said. “I participate with my club team the Windy City Hammers, and it’s a lot more competitive than Parker track, but I’ve made some of my closest friends through my club team.”
Harrell has had numerous coaches throughout her life who’ve progressed her track career, but her first and most important mentor is her father.
“He’s the one person who’s always been there for me, and he coaches me both mentally and physically, so I really appreciate him,” Harrell said.
Outside of running club track and being one of Parker’s track captains, Harrell is also a Student-Athletic-Council (SAC) head. She helps plan athletic events for the entire Upper School, illustrating how her love for sports transcends herself and the sports she participates in.
“Dal has been such a fabulous SAC head,” senior Abby Howe said. “All of the new themed games that she has planned and all of the fun hype events she plans have definitely made a positive impact on our athletics culture.”
At Harrell’s signing day ceremony, past coaches spoke about her tremendous accomplishment, and her advisor, Upper School science teacher Gigii Mathews, gave a ode to her cherished advisee.
“Dal doesn’t just do it all, she also says yes to doing it all,” Mathews said, tearing up, in her speech. “The George Washington University is gaining someone who is truly remarkable in all aspects of the word.”
