You might say this is a story of “like mother like daughter”.
Muskogee High junior Rakiya Lang qualified for four events at this year’s Class 6A state track meet and came away with two medals. In addition to the 100- and 200-meter sprints, she ran in the 4X100 and 4X200 meter relay teams that placed fifth and eighth respectively while breaking school records in both events and marking the third straight year that Rakiya has been to the state meet.
“My freshman year at state was challenging because I was up against all of the older kids and there weren’t very many freshmen in the 100-meter event. I didn’t do as well as I would have liked but it helped me see how much more I needed to improve,” said Rakiya. “My sophomore year I qualified in the 100, the 4X100 relay where we placed sixth, and the 4X200. My goal in the 100 this season was to improve my time from last year (12.65). In the first meet I ran a :13 and was determined to improve that. I set a PR in almost every meet, and I got my time down to :12.34 at state. This was my first year to run the 200 sprint in a while and I got to where I liked it better than the 100. I felt I could have done better but I had run three races prior to the 200 and I was kind of tired.”
And now back to the mother/daughter angle.
“My mom (Patricia Nunley) ran track at Muskogee and established the school record in the relays when she was there. So when I called her and told her we had broken her record she said, ‘You’re lying’ and I said, “Yes we did’”, Rakiya laughed.
“Rakiya is a special person and special athlete,” said track coach Craig Perry. “She’s so coachable and does all the little things to help the team. I’ve coached her for three years and I think she’ll have a special senior season.”
Rakiya is also on the Rougher dance team which is a passion she’s had since grade school.
“I started dancing in elementary school and joined the dance team at the high school last year. It’s a good atmosphere and a good group of people to be around.”
The senior-to-be says she enjoys making Tik-Tok videos in her spare time
