As a freshman, Daija Lampkin became a member of the United States U20 national team, but while she competed at the 2018 IAAF U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland, she questioned if she should even be running track.

“To see the smile on my parents faces and to really think about what I have accomplished; it gave me a boost of confidence,” Lampkin said. “I realized what type of athlete I really am.”

Fellow teammate, roommate and best friend of Lampkin, Tamara Clark, was also selected to be a part of the 2018 United States U20 national team during her freshman year.

National teams take the best of the best, so not many athletes compete internationally. But not many of the athletes selected get to experience that competition with their best friend.

“It’s fun to compete with someone that thinks the same way you do,” Clark said. “We love each other, but we’re very competitive.”

They both admitted that even though they regularly train together; they sometimes have to work out separately because they are constantly pushing each other to their limits.

“Daija doesn’t care what anybody says. She knows no one is going to beat her,” Clark said.

Lampkin said she gives a lot of her accomplishments to Clark for pushing her to be the athlete she has become.

Even prior to Lampkin’s college career, she had many achievements.

With little training, she won two high school track state championships.

Lampkin choose to continue her track career at Alabama because when she told the coaches what her goals were, they told her how she was going to reach them.

“After making the switch from a high school track star to a D1 track athlete, she said “you have to be physically strong and mentally strong to get through the practices.”

Since Lampkin is a Delaware native, one of the hardest adjustments she had to make was being able to compete in the heat. Based off her freshmen year awards and records, she did not let the weather change get in her way.

As a freshman, she was named a first team All-American on the 4×100 relay, second team All-American indoor and outdoor 4×400 relay and second team All-American indoor 200 meters.

Moving forward into her sophomore year, she has new goals and expectations, such as: being a SEC and national finalist in both the 60-meter and 200-meter sprints.

“The thing we use as track coaches is if you can just get 1% better this season, that’s a great year,”assistant coach Blaine Wiley said.

Wiley has Lampkin focusing on some technical things to allow her to take the next step.

“The sky is the limit for her – she’s training harder, she’s stronger and more fit,” Wiley said.

Lampkin dedicates all seven days of the week to track. On top of that, she is a biology major with the goal of attending medical school.

“It’s not a track a lot of athletes choose to take,” Wiley said. “She is willing to do anything she has to do to be successful.”

During the track season, the team is traveling almost every weekend. Whether it be by preparing weeks in advance or studying on the bus trips, Lampkin makes sure her school work is a priority.

“She teaches me a lot. She pushes me academically; overall, she pushes me to do better,” Clark said.

Lampkin is a part of the University’s Dean’s List, meaning she is a student that has maintained a GPA of 3.600 or higher. She credits her parents for her work ethic and determination to be the best she can be both academically and athletically.

“I give a lot of my success to my parents,” she said. “If it wasn’t for all the sacrifices they have made I wouldn’t be in the position I am now.”