Family support helps Fort Zumwalt South's Douglas in her pursuit of reaching state

She’s the one with a T-shirt that has a picture of her daughter on the front and the words “My heart is on that track” emblazoned on the back, cheering passionately during every race.

“I do it for all my kids. I support my kids. They know I don’t miss meets,” Connie Douglas said. “I was late coming because I wanted to have this on. I normally don’t bother her when she’s on the track, but when she saw it, I could just tell she was like, ‘I got this.’ ”

That was May 5 at the GAC Central Championships, and Triniti definitely had “it” that day at Holt.

The Fort Zumwalt South senior standout won three of her four events and broke her own school record by going 14.67 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, while also setting the new conference mark in the event.

“I feel great about it,” Douglas said. “I’m proud of myself for PR’ing in all my events and working hard. But I’m not satisfied. I’m gonna keep working hard.”

The next step in that work will be on display Saturday when Douglas and the Bulldogs compete in the Class 5 District 3 meet at Timberland.

Douglas also won the 100-meter dash and long jump at the GAC Central meet, while finishing a close second to Liberty’s Audrey Beckhardt in the 300-meter hurdles. Those are all events Douglas will compete in at the district meet.

“We’ll focus more on the middle of her race (during the week leading up to districts). The 300s, we’ll probably put even more time into those and not so much the 100s,” said her father, Phines Douglas IV, who also helps coach her. “Now it’s all about performance, and your performance has to come down to how disciplined you are. The small keys are what’s gonna help her prevail.”

Triniti’s goal is to eventually advance to the state meet as an individual, something she has yet to be able to check off her to-do list.

“I’ve been to state one time my sophomore year for the 4x1 (relay), but I want to go to state as an individual,” said Douglas, who someday wants to be a lawyer and committed to SIU Edwardsville on the day of the GAC Central meet. “I really want to do it. If I have to practice all night, I will.”

Track and field is a family affair for the Douglas household.

Phines Douglas IV was a track standout in the mid 1990s for Belleville West and later his younger brother, Rashad, also starred for the Maroons.

“I’m still third on the leaderboard for the 110 hurdles, the 300 hurdles and 4x1. Rashad is seventh in the 110 hurdles and eighth in the 300 hurdles,” said Phines, who also competed overseas, in the military and at McKendree University. “Still on the board after over 20 years. We just talked about it and laughed about it. Being competitors, we always look at the times that we see in front of us to see what we would do if we were running at this time.”

Triniti’s sister, Makaiah, also ran track for Fort Zumwalt South before her graduation in 2017.

“I did the 4x1 and 4x2 relays. No hurdles,” said Makaiah, who graduated from Central Methodist University. “It’s amazing to see her grow and meet every milestone she has. She hasn’t been doing track as long as some girls, so I’m really proud of her. She never ceases to amaze me. She’s a star.”

And younger sister Jaidah, 13, is also an up-and-coming hurdler on the track. Only Jaidah’s twin brother, Phines IV, is a holdout on track, with football and basketball at the forefront instead.

“Jaidah’s gonna be great. I want her to be better than me. I want her to work really hard,” Triniti said. “Phines needs to get into track, which he’s slowly getting into. Everybody’s not a track person at first, but you can push yourself to get there.”

And then there’s mom, who may not have the top-notch track pedigree of some of her family members but is every bit a huge influence for her daughter.

It was Connie who got a pre-meet text from Triniti predicting a 14.6 in the 100 hurdles at the conference meet.

“When she texted me, I’m like, ‘Eh, Triniti, let’s set realistic goals.’ Not that I didn’t think she could do it, but to see her do it, there’s no words,” Connie said. “And to see the reaction on her dad’s face and her sister’s face. Her Godmom Jody was here and it was the first time her Uncle Rashad got to see her run, so to see his face was everything.

“It’s amazing. It doesn’t feel real. I’ve watched her set goals and break them, set goals and break them. I’m very proud of my baby, my little mini.”