Drew Donley is a multi-sport athlete as he is a sprinter for the Texas State track team and a wide receiver for the Bobcat football team.
“Football players don’t really have a fear, they just go out and do, and [Donley] has brought that same mentality to the track,” Texas State assistant coach Aries Meritt said. “He always gives God the praise before he gets on the line and even when he crosses the line, he always glorifies God.”
In his first year of collegiate track, Donley has made national headlines this season. After the first outdoor meet, Donley ranked first in the NCAA top 10 rankings in the 200-meter dash with a time of 20.59 seconds.
His high-level performance doesn’t stop there. He also ranked in the top 35 in the 100-meter dash, with a time of 10.22 at the Bobcat Invitational.
Donley is the only male Bobcat to earn both an indoor and outdoor weekly Sun Belt Conference award.
The indoor award was for his fourth-place finish in the 60m with a time of 6.77 and 10th-place finish in the 200m with a time of 21.51 at the Ted Nelson Invitational. The outdoor award came after the Charles Austin Classic, where Donley won the 200m with the aforementioned blistering time of 20.59. But Donley did not stop there; he was also part of the 4x100m relay team that finished first at the event.
Daniel Harrold, Donley’s teammate and fellow 4×100 meter running mate, attributes a lot of Donley’s success to his work ethic.
Right after football season ended, track season began for Donley. There was little to no time to rest for Donley, who also takes college courses.
“It’s a lot of just time management stuff, having to wake up early and make time for homework and my bible,” Donley said. “It’s a big time commitment for sure.”
“A lot of people do not know the work everyone puts in, especially Drew coming off of football season and onto the track team, he has put in an immense amount of work on the track to get to where he is now,” Harrold said. “It’s gonna carry him throughout the rest of the season. He’s already one of the top guys in the conference, so he’s definitely about to shake some stuff up at Texas State and in the nation”.
Whether reading his Bible or glorifying God before the race, Donley credits his faith for his success.
”[Faith is] the biggest thing for me. Before my relationship with God, everything was performance-based. Once I gave my life to Christ, it showed me that the track time or football time does not define me,” Donley said. If I get first in the NCAA or if I get 100th, it doesn’t change who I am as a person.”
Donley and the Bobcats track and field team have a couple of meets coming up soon. The Bryan Clay Invitational (April 16-18), MT Sac Relays (April 17-19), Pacific Coast Invitational (April 17), Long Beach Invitational (April 18-19) and Michael Johnson invite (April 18-19). It is unknown at the moment which one Donley will be competing in.
