Gayles twins commit to Stanford, pass along lessons learned
By Brian Miller, Special to DistancePreps.com

Sprinting implies quickness, perhaps even ferocity.

Running a marathon by contrast invokes thoughts of determination, dedication, persistence to a goal that seems near unachievable for most.

However, the path a person takes through life combines aspects of both on the road to acquire anything of value. It could be intense focus for brief periods of time to reach a goal, or it could be mental discipline to push on when everything else inside screams "No!"
 

Holy Trinity sprinters and twin sisters Daryth and Gabrielle Gayles are known as outstanding track athletes. Their pedigree involves team and individual state championships. Their resume in the classroom is just as lofty.

For all their hard work, over years and in the span of seconds, the Gayles twins were rewarded with their recent commitment to continue their athletic and academic careers at prestigious Stanford University in northern California.

"It's really exciting and really satisfying because when I started out in track I had trouble finding my niche," Daryth said. "I wasn't sure if college track was even an option. Then last year I had a hamstring injury and wasn't even sure I'd be recruited. It's exciting to have it work out and I can't really believe it's happening."

Daryth boasts two FHSAA Class 1A state titles in the 100-meter dash, but then hardship hit with nagging hamstring problems which prohibited her from running much of last season including the state meet.

"I feel like I kind of have to make up for lost time," Daryth said. "Last year was supposed to be my year at the beginning of the year and I was really excited, but it got cut short because of injury. It was disappointing. This year, I'm just excited to see what I can do because I didn't get to last year. I'm interested to see what my ceiling will be."

She and her sister have been weight training hard for the second year in a row, hoping to drop even more time off their already fast times. For Gabrielle, she returns as a three-time champion in the 400, which will be her event of choice heading to Palo Alto.

"I want to end my career with a bang," said Gabrielle, who has aspirations of breaking 54 seconds. "You have to keep focused and work as hard as you possibly can. The training is really important. You can't slack off during training if you want to be great."

Strong academic schools such as Princeton, Harvard and Columbia welcomed the twins with open arms, but the "best of both worlds" allure of Stanford proved to be too much to pass up with the athletic facilities the Gayles soon discovered.

"It was really exciting going on all the official visits and seeing all the different schools," Gabrielle said. "Before the recruiting process started, I wasn't sure any schools would even want me. I was really excited when schools started to ask me to come visit. It's a good experience. All the school's and coaches were nice and friendly. It was really hard to say 'We're not coming there,' because you form relationships with them."

Their mom was fine with the trek to the Pacific Northwest, while dad was more apprehensive. But with some family in the area already and the Gayles twins being inseparable, it proved to be an easy decision to make together.

Now they just want to maintain their focus heading into their final high school outdoor season. With that comes an increased leadership role and new athletes looking up to two girls with differing lessons to pass along.

"Don't get too nervous before meets," Gabrielle said. "I know when I was little I'd throw up the entire day before. Don't get too nervous and have fun, make sure you're doing it because you want to."

For Daryth, she learned the importance of mental toughness during her unwanted rest and rehabilitation. She had to learn to believe in herself; a strange thought given her success, but not being able to do what you've trained so hard to do can easily affect psyche.

"With the hamstring injury, I learned it's okay to fail," Daryth said. "There's always time to try again. I thought my track career was over and I was really devastated, but I learned that failure is part of the sport. You just have to pick yourself up and keep going."

A meandering trail doesn't necessarily mean it won't lead to the original intended destination. In fact, an embrace of life's twists and turns more often involves more satisfaction in retrospect. And as the Gayles twins are continuing to learn, there are plenty of new opportunities to discover and sprinting was just one way to get out of the blocks.

"It's okay to mess up," Daryth said. "Track is an important part of my life, but it doesn't define who I am. The first two years will be a transition from high school to college so hopefully all this will prepare me there as well."