Sophomore Amani Prince remembers the moment she woke up to a message from her coach about the record she had broken that had been in place for over 18 years. Excitement and happiness flooded over Prince as she quickly called her mom to tell her the news.

“I actually called my mom while she was at work…” Prince said. “I wasn’t expecting it to happen that night.”

During a track meet held at Lawrence North on May 11, Prince ran 25.35 seconds in the 200 meter race. Unbeknownst to her at the time, this would be a good enough sprint to put her over the edge of former record holder, Jamie Sommmers, who ran a 25.57.

To break this feat, Prince had to put in lots of work and extra practice time in order to put her above the competition. According to head girls track coach Nathan Fishel, Prince does not believe she is better or higher up than anyone else around her. She simply shows up to practice to constantly get better.

“I don’t believe she cares to ‘stand out above others,’” Fishel said in an email with The Journal. “I think she cares to come to practice to improve, learn, grow and be around her teammates. She’s a steadying presence.”

Support from the people around her proved to be a big key to Prince’s success. From her mother to Fishel, these people allowed for her to be where she is today.

“My mom pushes me through some hard times… and my coach tells me what I need to do and what I need to fix,” Prince said. “They played a big role in the support that I have.”