Ma'Kala Davis used to cry when she started triple jumping.

The disjointed, sometimes awkward appearing field discipline was never what Davis saw herself doing while in middle school. Much like other young athletes, she saw herself racing against the wind in the sprints or bounding over hurdles. Upon her mother Nancy's urging however, Davis started her triple jump career.

By high school, Davis began to excel at the sport so much so she signed to continue her career in college at Jacksonville University. After one season with the Dolphins, Davis jumped her way to being selected as the only female triple jumper to represent Team USA in the U20 World Championships in Lima, Peru from Aug. 27-31.

Davis didn't win any hardware in Peru, rather finishing toward the bottom of the 31-person field, though it wasn't so much about winning in the end. Competing for Team USA was about proving to herself and her loved ones she could be among the world's best.

Davis used to cry when she jumped. Now, she cries tears of joy.

"Having parents see your talents, and see your potential, I am so happy to have my mom to push me," Davis said. "Even though I resisted at first. If I didn't have a parent like that, I wouldn't be where I am now."

Davis qualified for the U20 Championships during the 2024 track and field season. After a 12.97-foot jump at USF during the year, Davis earned the right to compete at the USA U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

In Eugene, Davis needed to be among the best two jumpers while also hitting the minimum standard for international competition to earn a spot on the World Championship roster.

Davis hit the standard during the year — which carries over if needed — but finished sixth at the meet. Her sixth place finish left Davis in a state of limbo where she had all but called it wraps on international competition.

"I didn't know whether I made it or not," Davis said. "I was in the zone that my season was over."

After leaving Oregon, coach Diego Vela ordered Davis to undergo four weeks of rest to heal a lingering knee injury. Her recovery was cut short however, when an early morning phone call from coaches Bambi Brundage and Vela came through. Little did Davis realize at the time, but no one in Oregon hit the standard during the meet or even during the year. The phone call was to let the freshman jumper know she was going to represent her country in South America.

"I was in a daze and sort of confused," Davis said. "It was so crazy. I was just trying to enjoy my summer at that point. So, the next week I came back to campus and started my workouts."

Davis immediately got to work with Vela on getting ramped up into jumping shape before she shipped off for her first time out of the country. The global scope of the competition hit Davis immediately, and it was only when her feet touched Peruvian soil did she realize the magnitude of her accomplishments.

"Once I got (to Peru), it became real," Davis said. "Everyone was wearing Team USA gear, there were all these different countries speaking different languages. I was competing with the cream of the crop. I've never experienced anything like that."

Despite competing in her first year of college on sore knees, it was Davis the United States chose to wear red, white and blue. It was Davis, who used to bemoan the triple jump, who got to be the nation's single entry.

"Out of everyone they could have chosen, they chose me," Davis said. "This was my time. I just knew to give it everything I had. This was when it counts."

Davis has family who went to far bigger schools than JU for athletics. Out of high school, the Orlando-native felt her talents were best served at a smaller Division 1 program. She wears that distinction as a badge of pride every time she readies herself to sprint down the runway to hop, skip then jump into a pit of sand.

"Just making it, I felt like I accomplished a lot," Davis said. "I didn't do as well as I wanted to, but I wanted to prove to people that it doesn't matter what school you come from or how big it is. If you have talent, and can put in the work, you can reap the benefits."

Though JU track may have around just 20 girls, two of them competed on the world stage this summer. Before Davis jumped in Peru, teammate Mariandree Chacon competed for Guatemala in the Paris Olympics. Both athletes return to Jacksonville for the upcoming season and have plenty to prove.

"I feel like our team has so much potential," Davis said. "Maybe we don't get as much recognition as we should. With that being said, I just want us to show everyone that we have it."

Davis didn't see herself as a jumper growing up. As a college athlete she embodies the discipline and will forever be a member of Team USA. Her mother saw the potential at a young age, and now her daughter sees it too.

"I was so in shock with what I could do," Davis said. "I thought I could really do this in the long run. I had never seen myself doing that. I just can't wait to excel. And then excel some more."