ROCKINGHAM – Preston Coker, a junior on the Richmond Senior High School track and field team, has been named the Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week presented by McNair Auto Sales.
Coker, who has proven to be a versatile athlete on the Raiders’ track team this spring, continues to impress with his speed and athleticism. During Richmond’s Sandhills Athletic Conference track meet last Thursday at Jack Britt High School, Coker helped the Raiders to a first-place finish. He was also the only runner to participate in the Bill Carver Classic on Saturday, and posted some of his best times of the season.
Athletic Profile
Name: Preston Coker
Age: 17
Year: Junior
Spring Sport: Track and Field
Events: 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter, 4x100 Relay and 4x200 Relay
Years on Varsity: 3 years
Height & Weight: 5’-11”, 165 pounds
Experience: 14 years (began running at the age of three)
RSHS Academics: Coker is currently on the downward slope of his junior year at Richmond, and he’s enrolled in the school’s College Access cluster in conjunction with Richmond Community College. This semester, he’s taking five classes, including: Math III, English II, World History I, Arts Proficient III and Weight Training. In the upcoming fall semester, Coker plans to take Pre-Calculus and begin several college-level courses at RichmondCC.
“My favorite class this year is my Arts Proficient class,” Coker explained. “I’ve always loved art and I’ve really been into it since eighth grade. Drawing art allows me to express myself.”
Coker puts his studies above all else and currently has a 3.90 GPA. He also makes the A/B Honor Roll on a regular basis, and has even made A Honor Roll in the past.
RSHS Sports: Aside from being a threat on the track, Coker has played football for the Raiders since his freshman year. After his ninth-grade season on the junior varsity team, Coker was moved up to the varsity squad where he plays wide receiver. Between the two sports, Coker explained the many parallels he encounters on the track and on the football field.
“Playing wide receiver, just like running track, I have to work on my explosiveness,” he noted. “In both sports, I have to keep a keen focus on visuals and work on my techniques. I listen to my coaches in both sports, and I always focus on myself, not what other people say or want me to do. I just try to stay disciplined no matter what sport I’m playing.”
Community Involvement: While his schedule stays pretty full with training for football and track, Coker said he enjoys playing the drums at his church in Cheraw, S.C.
Hobbies: When looking at Coker, it’s evident that he takes his physical fitness very serious. He explained that he most enjoys hitting the weight room to get more in shape and conditioned. Another hobby that he enjoys is his drawing. Coker noted that he “loves art” and is “always drawing.” He mostly works on drawing portraits and landscapes, but also likes dabbling with “visual and graphic arts.”
During his down time, Coker also said he likes hanging out with his family, which is comprised of his parents, Wendell and Odessa Coker, his older sister Gwendolyn (who attends UNCP) and his younger sister Faith (who’s in eighth grade at Cordova Middle School).
Interesting Fact: Again, just by looking at Coker’s impressive physical size and lean frame, his interesting fact shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.
“I follow a strict diet,” explained Coker. “I stick with lots of fruits and vegetables, and I don’t eat any fried foods. I try to eat all baked or grilled food. I also don’t eat any sweets or soft drinks. But I do like Poptarts.
“My body fat is five percent,” he added right after chuckling about liking Poptarts. “I watch film of other competitors and I do research to see what they eat. I’m just trying to lead a healthy lifestyle with a healthy diet.”
College Aspirations: As only a junior, Coker has already received a full-ride scholarship offer to UNCP for track and field, which is a Division II school. While he’s grateful for that standing offer, he’s setting his goals higher, and hopes to impress some Division I programs over the remainder of his high school running career and get an offer at that level.
“I just want to go to a good college,” Coker said. “If going DI doesn’t pan out, going to UNCP is still great. I’m just going to keep studying how I can get better by doing more training, and improve my skills and staying fit.
“When I run in college, I’ll probably be a multi-event runner,” he continued. “I’ll probably run the 200-meter and 400-meter races.”
In terms of what he’d like to study, Coker is leaning towards majoring in technical engineering. He noted the pay is enticing, but with that career field, he’d be able to apply his love for art and graphics, and also said he’s really good at working with computers.
Mentors: For his mentors, Coker chose his parents. He also expressed his praise to God.
“My dad taught me how to be a good athlete,” Coker commented. “He got me into running when I was really little – he’d throw the football to me in the yard. He also taught me discipline, and helps me train with sprint workouts.
“My mom, she has helped make me a better man,” he continued. “She taught me to be obedient, which helps me listen to my coaches. Both of my parents have helped me follow my dreams.”
Athlete of the Week Stats: Throughout the 2018 campaign, Coker has been a dominant force to be reckoned with for the Raiders. Normally participating in the 100, 200 and 400-meter dashes, as well as the 4x100 and 4x200 relay, Coker has helped notch big SAC wins several times this year. Most recently, during last Thursday’s SAC meet at Jack Britt, he helped Richmond to a first-place finish, a meet that the Raiders had 12 first-place victories. Also at the Bill Carver Classic at Reid Ross High School (Fayetteville, N.C.) on Saturday, Coker racked up 28 total points.
In the Jack Britt meet, Coker finished tied for second place in the 100-meter with fellow Raider teammate Jaleen Baldwin. He also placed second in the 200-meter dash behind Richmond’s Dante Miller, who is a Columbia University football and track commit. But he was able to help the Raiders earn wins in the 4x100 and 4x200-meter relays. In the 4x100, Coker, Baldwin, Miller and Malik Stanback posted an impressive time of 41.7 seconds, and in the 4x200, Coker, Baldwin, Miller and Malik Flowers finished ahead of their competition with a time of 1:27.7.
At Reid Ross on Saturday, Coker was the only Raider to compete, and he helped earn Richmond a ninth-place finish out of 21 teams. He placed second overall in the 100-meter dash (10.76 seconds) behind Overhills High School’s Isai’as Robinson (10.53 seconds). But Coker blew past Robinson in the 200-meter (21.62 seconds) and Overhills’ Zachary Ray in the 400-meter (49.55 seconds) to win both events. At the time of his finish in the 200-meter race, Coker held the best time in the state for the season. However, Southeast Raleigh High School’s Romell McRae posted a time of 21.57 seconds about an hour later at the Bojangles Track and Field Classic to take the top spot in the state.
You ran for the No. 3 time in the state in the 200-meter dash Saturday at the Bill Carver Classic. Describe that feeling and what your mentality is when racing.
“It’s a really good feeling, and I’m blessed to run and finish the events the way I do,” Coker expressed. “My heart is always pumping off the starting blocks, but I’m never satisfied. I know I can get better. I’m going to continue to work to get better, watch what mistakes I make, and go from there.”
What’s your favorite event to compete in and why? What event, that you don’t currently do, would you like to try some day?
“I like the 400 the best,” Coker said with a smile. “It’s a very complicated race to run. It’s two 200-meter races put together, so you have to work on sprinting and striding at the same time. I can’t run too fast or too slow. There’s a lot of strategy to running it.
“It’d be fun to run the mile,” he continued. “It’s the opposite of a sprint (race), and it’s a conditioning race. It’s a much harder race to run than any of the sprints.”
Coach’s Corner: Richmond head coach Chris Campolieta commented on Coker’s ability to perform well in any of the events he participates in, as well as reiterating Coker’s emphasis on his schoolwork.
“Preston is a great student, he has a 3.90 GPA,” Campolieta said. “I never have to worry about him acting up in the classroom. As far as on the track, he brings a lot of versatility to our team, especially in the middle sprints. He currently has the third-fastest time in the 200-meter, and the fifth-fastest time in the 400-meter across the state. He’s also seeded in the top three or four in the 100-meter.
“He’s a big part of our relay teams and constantly has one of the fastest splits in relays,” Campolieta continued. “He does it all. And he just keeps working to get better. He’s a really humble kid, and he’s the most focused athlete I’ve seen since I started coaching.”
