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Schools

Harrison High School Athlete Wins State Title

Laticia Sims shatters a school record and brings a state championship to Harrison for the first time in almost 30 years.

It was a hot day on June 4 in Rockford, MI, and Laticia Sims and her teammates were in town for the 2011 MHSAA Track & Field, Division 1 Finals, at Rockford High School.

As she lined up for the 100 meter hurdles, one of her four events that day, Sims was, as her coach Mark Babcock said, “as prepared and as confident as she could be.”

The race started and 14.11 seconds later, Latica Sims won her first state title, and Harrison’s first in almost 30 years.

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“I practiced every day,” Sims said. “Some days, if I miss practice, I’ll go in the morning. It just meant a lot to me; I wanted it since day one. I was so speechless about it.”

The race was close, but Sims was so focused on her performance, and what she needed to do, she didn’t initially realize she’d won.

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“I didn’t know until after I was walking off," Laticia said. “It was so hot out there. Me and the other girls were congratulating each other, saying good job. As I walked over to the tent, reporters came up to me, and I was like, did I win?”

For Babcock, who has been coaching at Harrison for 31 years, it was an amazing day.

“I was pretty much speechless, breathless there for a few minutes because it was so exciting,” Babcock said. “She ran a flawless race. She just executed perfection. I don’t know how much better it could have been that day.”

Transferring from Romulus to Harrison in January of this year put extra pressure on Sims to do well. Going into an unfamiliar situation can be a difficult transition, but Sims' drive to win kept her going.

“Her goal was to win since the day I met her,” Babcock said. “Not only make it to state meet in the state finals, but to win. I give her a lot of credit to stay focused on that. That was a driving force and a lot of motivation for her all year long.”

While Sims' focus is working hard, setting goals and winning, she takes time out to enjoy the little things in life as well.

“I like the social part of it,” she said. “The travel, going to different meets, meeting different people and having fun. My whole life does not revolve around track. I’m not sure what it’s going to be like in the future, but for now, I like hanging out with my friends, like a normal teenager.“

As Sims enters her senior year in the fall, she will be focused and determined to again achieve goals she’s set very high, and is expecting to accomplish them.

“I want to win the state meet again, defend my championship in 100 hurdles, win the 300 hurdles, and break both records.” Sims said.

Babcock added, “She’s very capable of doing that. After 31 years of coaching, you realize how rare these kinds of kids are.”

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