Paducah Tilghman senior Dasia Garland signed a Track & Field scholarship with Campbellsville University at a signing ceremony held at Paducah Tilghman High School on April 14.
Garland has run track for six years. She finished ninth in the Long Jump and fourth in the Triple Jump at the 2022 Class 2A Kentucky State Track & Field meet. She finished tenth in the Long Jump and eighth in the Triple Jump at the 2021 Class 2A Kentucky State Track & Field meet. Garland also played varsity basketball for the Lady Tornado. She was named to the District 2 All-Tournament team and was an Honorable Mention pick for the All Purchase Girls Basketball team for the 2022-23 season.
Campbellsville assistant track coach Anthony Thompson said that he began recruiting Garland her sophomore year.
“Deciding which athlete to recruit always starts with the statistics, but I continued to see Dasia’s name and saw that she was continuing to grow and grow,” said Thompson. “So I took the time to talk with her and her family last year, and I could see that Dasia is someone who is a hard worker. She’s someone who is diligent and will work hard in the classroom. It’s super easy for me to just go and chase stats, but when you have a great person who’s going to work outside of just Track & Field- that’s the kind of person we want in our program.”
“I want to thank everyone for coming here today to support me,” said Garland. “I’m grateful for this amazing opportunity. I promise to work hard and give you 110% at every practice. I want to thank my coaches for being here and supporting me. You all have pushed me and I know I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for you.”
Garland plans to study Kinesiology at Campbellsville. Her parents are Tracey Lennox and DeMarcus Garland.
Photo caption, l to r: Campbellsville Track Coach Anthony Thompson, Dasia Garland, Tracey Lennox