By By STEVE FRANKLIN, Sports Writer
Travis Daniels sat on a bench at the end of Pam Pack track practice Wednesday afternoon when it suddenly hit him that this would be the final time he steps onto the Washington High School field as a member of the Pack.
Daniels made a name for himself on the football field as a four-year varsity player for the Pam Pack. The starter at running back since his sophomore season, Daniels rushed for 1,200 yards or more in three straight seasons.
This fall, he racked up 2,290 yards and scored 22 touchdowns en route to being named the WDN’s Offensive Player of the Year.
He ended his career with 5,168 yards and 57 touchdowns.
Daniels has also been a member of the Pam Pack track team for four years. He’s a three-time regional qualifier, and two-time state qualifier. Last spring, he finished eighth in the state in the long jump
Of all his accomplishments at WHS, Daniels’ greatest memory was from the 2007 football season opener, in which the senior running back torched for 330 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-13 win.
He also has fond memories of his final game wearing a Pam Pack football jersey in which he rushed for 327 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-40 double-overtime loss to South Granville in the state playoffs.
But the ride isn’t over yet. This weekend, Daniels will wrap up his high school athletic career when he competes in the long jump, triple jump, and 4×200-meter relay at the NCHSAA Group 3A State Track &Field Championships. And if things pan out the way he believes they could, he could just end his athletic career with the greatest memory of all.
That’s saying a lot, since football has pretty much dominated Daniels’ life for the past decade. Since he was little, all he’s ever dreamed about is playing in the NFL. In fact, football means so much to him that he even has a tattoo of a football helmet, along with his initials T.D. on his right shoulder.
Daniels is currently seeded sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 44-feet, 3-inches, and 10th in the long jump with a leap of 21-feet, 2-inches.
Despite the rankings, Washington Coach Jon Blank believes that Daniels has as good a shot as anyone to win either the long jump or triple jump.
Daniels will also team with Jamont Jones, Darien Peele and Rasheem Patterson in the 4X200-meter relay race. The squad is currently ranked 11th entering that event.
As Daniels stood from the bench and walked away from the field one last time, he had these final words.