Published July 2, 2008
By Cliff Mehrtens
The Charlotte Observer
Malai Walker never had an offseason between sports at Charlotte Latin, only a few days in between to shift gears.
The effect? None.
Walker, a senior, is the Observer Female Athlete of the Year. It is the highest honor given to an athlete among the 119 high schools in the newspaper's coverage area.
Once she honed time management skills as a sometimes-overwhelmed freshman, Walker dominated.
“I asked myself, ‘Why am I playing so many sports?'” she said, laughing. “But I sat down with my mom (Kim), and we wrote down times I could do everything, with studying and practice. I had to collect myself, but after that it worked out.”
In outdoor track this spring, she set state private-school records in winning the 100-meter dash (12.29 seconds) and the 200 (24.87). She also ran legs on Charlotte Latin's state championship relays in 400 and 800 meters.
The Hawks won their fourth straight N.C. title.
Walker's 24.20 in the 200 during the season was the eighth-best nationally. She was state champion in the 100 for the fourth straight year, and has won the 200 the past three years.
In indoor track last winter, she won state championships in the 200- and 55-meter sprints.
Walker said she was sparked in track by a loss in the 200-meter state outdoor final as a freshman.
She won nearly everything after that, and finished with 16 track state championships in five events.
“I knew I had a target on my back, and a little pressure to win,” she said. “It was tough.”
In the winter, she was all-conference as a basketball player, and won the team's most valuable defensive player award for the second straight season.
In the fall, she helped the volleyball team (26-1) win its fourth straight N.C. 3A private-school title. At 5-foot-7, Walker was an unlikely middle hitter – “probably the shortest in North Carolina,” she said.
She led Latin in blocks (69), was third in digs (211), and had 44 kills and 24 aces. As a sophomore, she didn't play much, and said she learned from battling through disappointment.
“Track is my favorite sport, and we're like a family,” she said. “But volleyball taught me the most as a person, how to go through adversity and become a stronger person.”
Walker, who signed to run track at North Carolina, also received the Calhoun Award, Latin's highest athletic award.
To view online, go to www.charlotteobserver.com.
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Walker, along with Latin quarterback Braden Hanson, also were named Charlotte Observer High School Athletes of the Year.