What was your most memorable race?
The 2011 Father Kelly Classic, with a lot of our seniors gone to go to prom, my B team of Jason Sheppard, Joey Wade, and Ramonte Fraiser and anchor, me, surprised a lot of our competition. We were seeded at a 3:50 which was the second slowest time and we performed like champions in this race. Easily swallowing up the competition and embracing the moment, when Ramonte handed it to me we were in fourth behind Cross, Ashley Ridge and Academic Magnet. I stayed with the pack and passed Cross with 200 to go. Then the unthinkable happened, I was on the inside of AR and a stride behind AM, I increased my speed a little and once we were on the homestretch I pushed until it was us three in a triangle with me on the inside and 75 to go, then I took off and slipped in between AR and AM and bolted to a first place finish in our heat, and fifth overall.
Who would you consider your biggest competition over your four years?
My biggest competition was Chris Brown. I have NEVER seen anything like him. The Man, The Myth, The Legend, he was incredible in S.C. and I really mean this. I was able to compete against some great triple jumpers like DeJon Wilkinson of Summerville and Derrick Kinloch of West Ashley but Chris was a beast, nobody could stop him except himself. We had to create him a board at CBHS because he was so dynamic. I tried to learn all I could from him but there are somethings you just cannot teach so all I could do was sit and watch in awe as Chris DOMINATED the SCHSL!
What was your greatest accomplishment?
Being the sixth best triple jumper in the state for majority of my senior season jumping 43'11" and setting my school record multiple times in this track season after not being able to consistently jump passed 40' my first two years.
If you could do it all over again what would you change about your running/track and field career in high school?
I would have changed not doing triple jump my first year in high school. I was sort of embarrassed to be a triple jumper because nobody else, especially my friends, could do it. For the most part I did everything to the best of my abilities setting multiple school records and some won't be broken for a while.
What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?
The obstacle I had to overcome was being my own athlete, as you all know my sister is Semaj Tolliver, the three-time state track and she also ran a 11.99 in the 100 dash during her career in high school. I had a huge shadow and hole to get out of if I was going to be anything like her. Once I broke through to get my first plaque from XC I knew I would be okay for another three years and even after she was gone. She helped me a lot though but I still think I'm faster than her, just don't tell her that!
What will you miss the most?
I will miss my 4x800 team from this year. We had an amazing season and we may not have gotten the school record but we made every race a race. All of us are under six feet tall - even in our spikes - so when we were placed against the teams from Woodland, Wando, West Ashley, Stratford, Sumter, and so on we always felt we had something to prove. Our motto was "Don't go out like no bish" and we stuck to it through ups and downs.
What advice you would give to younger athletes?
When you are a freshman or sophomore and you look at the seniors like me, my sister, Ashlee Eady, Ciera Love, Divante Prioleau, or Asia Whitted and Brooklyn Doctor and see us winning competitions don't think that it is as easy as it looks. Behind the scenes, aka Monday through Friday, we are HARD at practice, leaving late, sweating through multiple shirts, we have this "Turn-up-it-ness" as my dad says, that we show off at competitions and we take our performance to another level, so if someone beats us they will have to work harder than they though because we may seen like a new team, but as Cobras we are always ready to strike for the kill!
What influence has your coach had with respect to your performance and overall life goals?
The one coach who has not moved since day one of my first track season at Cane Bay is Gregory Hall. I am his right hand man when it comes to helping out with the team and he has helped me out by telling me who I had to compete against and their best times. He works tirelessly and has early mornings to help ensure we are all ready to performance. He doesn't yell because he doesn't need to. If you give 100-percent and are beat out by someone better than you, then the only to do is worry about the next time you see them and beat them then. This is what Coach Hall does for all of us and as apart of #CobraNation we are happy to have him here.
What are your college plans?
I am attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for Aerospace Engineering. I plan on walking on in basketball and although I was not scouted by their track and field team, I plan on surprising them again and being the top triple Jumper as a walk-on and receive scholarships for next three years after.
Who would you like to say thank you to?
I would like to say thank you to you for publishing this article, I've never had one done solely on me as an athlete, secondly I want to thank God for giving me incredible talent that I have used these years, I also want to thank my parents for being at every competition even if it meant flying down the interstate to make it or leaving an important meeting early to see me compete. I also want to thank my siblings because we never put any pressure on each other to perform and being relaxed is the key to success in a tight situation. I also have a list of friends who have inspired me, pushed me to the brink, and celebrated with me over the years, Asia Whitted, Nik'Toshia J.B. Giles,Shelese Jenkings, Shatejzia Robinson, Roshani Glover, Keri Emanuel, Gerrard Roberts, Jared Holloway, Andy Ackerman, Reed Hill, CJ Price, Antonio Wright, Divante "Ziggy" Prioleau, Lamar Gulley, Devonte Johnson, Mario Gates, and Samuel Amaya.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Yes, I don't know who you all have picked to win the 800 next year but I have a competitor named Najee Walker who will be in the finals! I GUARANTEE IT! He was able to run with the best this year and got to the state qualifier and due to weather conditions nobody ran as expected. None the less, this man has seen everything on the track and as an upcoming senior at Cane Bay look for him to break his 800 record and run isub 2-minutes. My second guarantee is the speed demon that is Ramonte Frasier. Save this article and watch out for this young man. He is from the same parts as the Goose Creek phenom DeAndre Daniels and has been spotted soaring the 400 dash multiple times. Let him have a healthy track season next year and you'll have an even better state 400 race that you thought possible.