April 24 - May 1, 2008 Issue
The Charlotte Weekly
By Aaron Garcia
When Malai Walker leaves the Charlotte Latin School campus for the last time this summer, she might want to bring a wheelbarrow or maybe even a moving truck. Whatever she brings, it better be awfully sturdy to carry all of Walker's awards with her.
She is quite possibly the most decorated high school athlete in Charlotte history. While competing both as an individual and a member of various Charlotte Latin teams, Walker has won a mind-blowing 17 state championships -- a number that could increase with the N.C. Independent School Athletic Association's track and field championships looming next month.
Walker, who has earned a scholarship to run track for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, owns several state sprinting records. She also has played on the Charlotte Latin volleyball and basketball teams.
Needless to say, she will leave a legacy when she embarks on Chapel Hill
'It's all business'
Walker is one of the fastest sprinters in the nation. She specializes in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, but she also runs the 4x100, 4x200, and 4x400 relays for the Hawks. She holds the Charlotte Independent Athletic Association and state records for the 100 (12.1 seconds) and 200 (24.8 seconds).
All told, Walker has claimed 11 individual track titles. In addition, the Charlotte Latin girls' track squad has claimed the past two team state championships.
"When she's out there competing, it's all business," Charlotte Latin track head coach Larry McNulty said. "She takes no messing around from her teammates. If she's on a relay team, those other three girls better be doing their preparation. Even though she's one of four, she doesn't want to lose. She doesn't want to look bad. I don't think our 4x100 or our 4x200 teams have lost in quite some time. She's the anchor of both those teams."
It all started at Taco Bell
Trent Guy Sr. first spotted Walker during her sophomore year at the Taco Bell Invitational, a national high school track meet in Columbia, S.C.
"I was just out there running," laughed Walker. "I didn't have any form; I'm just fast naturally."
Guy approached Walker and pointed out that she "ran with power" and tried to convince her that she could do better. He assured Walker that she had it in her to run the 200 in 24 seconds, even if Walker herself didn't believe it.
"I was like, 'Yeah, OK. I'm running 26s. I'm not going to run a 24 any time soon," Walker recalled, rolling her eyes.
"He said, 'You're going to do it.'"
As it turned out, Guy, who has worked with many of the city's fastest runners, was instrumental in helping Walker become one of the fastest girls in the state.
"He just started working with me and my times dropped dramatically," Walker said. "In the 200 meters, I dropped two seconds within that year. I said, 'OK, I'm not that bad, so maybe I should try this out.'"
After more than three years as Walker's personal sprints coach, Guy admittedly gets choked up when discussing the prospect of watching her leave for Chapel Hill. He has seen her grow both as a runner and a person and has a strong affection for the woman she has become.
"Malai's a very extraordinary person, considering all the pressure she has to go through to prove that she's a perennial sprinter coming from the private-school sector where you really don't get any respect," said Guy. "What separates her from everyone else is that she's got a quiet strength. She lives by action on the track. She doesn't talk much. She doesn't get into the hoopla about who's faster. She just goes out there and handles what she can."
Not just a runner
For Walker, there's no off-season; there are merely a few days between sports. That said, her championship tally didn't start with track but rather on the volleyball court. Walker went out for the volleyball team as a freshman with muted expectations.
"I love volleyball, but I came here thinking, 'I'm going to be on (the junior varsity) because I'm not that great and it's my first year playing,'" remembered Walker. "Coach (Suzie) Pignetti said, 'No, you're going to come up to varsity.'"
"I didn't expect to play much, but she knew I was fast and could get balls and dig them up. I was on the team and it was a great experience to be around these girls who knew volleyball. They played it, breathed it, ate it every day."
"Sophomore year," Walker continued, "(Pignetti) saw that I could actually jump, and I moved from the back row to middle block. I was the shortest middle block, I think, in Charlotte. I'm like 5-foot-6, but I ended up being block leader and starting my junior and senior years. It was a great experience. I truly love volleyball."
Pignetti believes Walker's blue-collar work ethic on the volleyball court was integral to Charlotte Latin's run for four consecutive state championships.
"She didn't get a lot of glory, but without her, I don't know if we'd have been as successful as we were," said Pignetti. "She was the piece that was missing, so we put her where we needed her."
Pignetti said Walker's participation in volleyball might paint the most complete picture of the teenager's championship spirit.
"She's somewhat of a perfectionist and she wants to do everything so well," Pignetti said. "She was willing to fail at volleyball a couple of times and not give up on it when she could have easily stuck (with) basketball and track. She was willing to play a third sport--one that she wasn't the best at. I think it was a struggle for her, but it made her a better person. And I think it made us a better team."
When the Hawks won the state volleyball title last fall, it took Walker's tally to 17. But the strong chance of winning a championship was hardly the deciding factor for Walker, which is why she also continued with her true love: basketball.
The Charlotte Latin girls' basketball program has struggled in recent years and recorded a 4-23 record this past season. But taking the season off was never an option for Walker. She played on the basketball team in the winter, even though she also traveled across the country running in indoor track meets.
"I'm not a quitter, so even if the (basketball) seasons were bad for the last three years, it doesn't matter to me," said Walker, who admitted she would love to play softball this spring if she just had the time.
"If I start something, I'm definitely going to finish it."
It starts with A's
It's difficult to find a starting point for Walker's drive to be the best. Maybe it was in the eighth grade, when she first started running track. Maybe it was sooner, when she started playing basketball as a young girl. According to Walker's mother, Kim, her quest for perfection originated much earlier.
"She's just always been a competitive person," said Kim. "I think it started with her academics. That's just how she's always been. She's really been competitive and wanted to be the best that she could possibly be in every aspect of her life."
That competitiveness has proved beneficial. Throughout her four years at Charlotte Latin, Malai has held an "A" average and taken part in several clubs.
"I wouldn't consider myself a nerd, but I'm always in the library," Walker said. "Time management is big for me since I play three different sports--four this year with indoor (track). Even if I don't run track anymore, I'm going to fall back on my academics and what I learn. At the end of the day, that's all I have, really."
Charlotte Latin headmaster Arch McIntosh appreciates Walker's contribution to the school and loves the fact that she has avoided the current trend of specializing in one activity and sacrificing academics.
"She's a very serious student-athlete, and I really mean 'student-athlete' in a sense that she takes her class work as seriously as she does her track training," said McIntosh. "There's not a downside to Malai. I don't mean to paint a picture that's too good to be true, but she's not one of these kids you have to worry about in terms of getting things done and being well organized. She's just really focused and a very serious student."
Walker still has a chance to win up to six more state titles before she graduates this year. On May 16, Walker will be the favorite to win the 100- and 200-meter events, and she will anchor the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams at the NCISAA state championships in Lewisville, N.C.
Walker could bring her state championship total to an astronomical 23, counting the possible team title the Hawks could capture at the event.
Legacy?
Walker struggles to imagine what people will say about her after she leaves Charlotte Latin with her wheelbarrow full of awards.
"I guess I would want them to say I put my heart into everything I did," said Walker, who is considering a major in international studies or history at UNC.
"I put others first, and I always did what I had to do. But once I accomplished that, I always tried to help others achieve their goals. (I always did) my homework and paid attention in class."
She paused while struggling to find the correct words to sum up her time in high school. "(I hope people say, 'She was) just a great student, a great athlete and a great product of Charlotte Latin School."
They already do.
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