Editor’s note: This is a regular feature profiling senior athletes at Bryant High School.
Jayla Anderson
NAME: Jayla Anderson
PARENTS: Natasha Booth
SIBLINGS: Three brothers, Cameron, EJ, Kross; 1 sister, Jade
FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: History
FAVORITE SPARE TIME ACTIVITY: Hanging with my friends and family
FAVORITE FOOD: Slim Jims
FAVORITE MUSIC ARTIST OR GROUP: Beyoncè
FAVORITE MOVIE: Transformers
FAVORITE TV SHOW: Blacklist and So You Think You Can Dance
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A KID? Barbie Jeep
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL? Attend college at Florida Southern and major in Exercise Science.
OTHER THAN YOUR PARENTS, WHO’S HAD THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOUR LIFE? HOW? My Papa Carl because he is always motivating me and always knows when to keep me going.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT TRACK? The rides to meets because we always make it a sing-a-long, and practices because we always question why we run after we’re done dying from the workout.
EVENTS? 100m and 300m hurdle
WHAT APPROACH DO YOU TAKE TO YOUR EVENTS? I always get a pep talk from Caitlyn Bell before I run. It’s kind of a superstitious thing.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE SEASON SO FAR? It went by quick, but we’ve become a family over the season.
WHAT’S BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT TO THE SEASON SO FAR? Most definitely winning the Bryant Invitational when no one expected us to because we’re so small.
WHAT’S IT GOING TO TAKE FOR THE TEAM TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT STATE? Working together and staying injury free.
TALK ABOUT YOUR EVENT NOW; WHAT DO THINK IS YOUR BIGGEST ASSET? WHAT ARE YOU MOST CONFIDENT IN YOUR ABILITY TO DO? My biggest asset is my positive attitude. I am most confident in my ability to keep the team’s head up even when we don’t think we can do it.
WHAT DO YOU WORK HARDEST IN PRACTICE TO IMPROVE ON? My mentality in the 300m hurdles and accelerating when getting to the hurdle in the 100m.
WHEN YOU’RE THROUGH RUNNING TRACK AT BRYANT HIGH SCHOOL, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL LOOK BACK AND REMEMBER MOST FONDLY ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE? I will look back and remember the amazing bond that I created with girls who I expected to be teammates, but ended up being family.
