Odessa High’s Paige Byford usually has very short breaks between the sports she competes in.
She’ll spend her fall playing volleyball, then transition into playing basketball through the winter.
Now that the spring is here, it’s time to focus on track and field.
She had a chance to show her versatility by competing in three events at the 2022 West Texas Relays Thursday at Ratliff Stadium.
Byford said she tries to keep herself calm about the activities she regularly participates in through the school year.
“I just try to take it one day at a time because if I think about everything all at once, it gets very overwhelming,” Byford said. “I lean on my teammates and I get excited for the new season.”
Byford showed off her speed with a second-place finish in the 400 meters, finishing in one minute, 2.6 seconds.
She closed out her performance helping the Lady Bronchos’ 4×400 relay team finish in first after closing the gap on the runner in front of her during her turn with the baton.
Both races were done after Byford took third in the high jump earlier in the day.
Preparing to compete in multiple events starts in practice, where Byford will focus on running before preparing for the high jump.
“I have to do my running and then I go to field practice after,” she said. “Sometimes my practice for field jumps aren’t as good if I tire myself out.”
Byford’s performances showed that she can handle the workload that comes with returning to her spring sport.
She joined the Odessa High girls track team late this season after helping the Lady Broncho basketball team reach the bi-district round of the Class 6A playoffs last month.
Odessa High girls track coach Ricky Santiago said he and Byford know that she’s behind in her track conditioning, but he has faith that she’ll catch up to her teammates quickly.
Santiago wants the multi-sport athlete to pace herself in her conditioning to avoid getting hurt by moving too quickly.
“I know her body is tired from doing volleyball, basketball and then coming out to track,” Santiago said. “In my opinion, I think the best sport for her is track.”
When Byford competed at the West Texas Relays, she got a chance to see where she stands compared to some of the athletes she’ll face at the District 2-6A meet April 13 and 14 in Abilene.
Just like her showing in the 4×400 relay race, Byford had to use a late burst of speed to secure her second-place spot in the 400.
Abilene Cooper’s Anne-Lie Waite, the only runner who finished ahead of Byford, won’t be at the district competition next month.
“I just have to push myself, I’m so excited that I get to run with other girls who are ready to compete,” Byford said. “I can push myself and they can push me.”
Santiago will keep working to make sure Byford is in optimal condition to achieve the highest results.
He has tried to keep track and field workouts balanced for every athlete on his team to get them to peak at the right time of the season.
After seeing Byford successfully manage the events she competes in, Santiago believes she has a bright future as a decathlete waiting at the collegiate level.
“What level of college, it doesn’t matter but she will be perfect because she’s strong and she’s got a lot of skills that not a lot of other kids have,” Santiago said. “I think she would make a perfect decathlete for any college or university.
“I really do think she could go far.”
>> Follow Chris Amaya on Twitter at @OA_CAmaya
