Athlete of the Week: Grace Saysaw, Concord High School
Published: 07-09-2025 4:23 PM
Modified: 07-10-2025 10:38 AM |
Concord High junior Grace Saysaw cemented herself as one of the Crimson Tide’s best sprinters of the past few years with a record-breaking end to the spring.
During the NHIAA Division I track and field championship at Portsmouth High School, she set D-I records in both the 100-meter dash and 200 meter, and anchored both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays to victories to help Concord’s girls achieve their first state title since 1988.
Later in the season, Saysaw nearly won a couple of New England titles and broke two state records at the regional championship meet in Connecticut. Saysaw ran a 12.00 flat in the 100 meter finals to finish second, breaking the state record of 12.01 she previously set. Saysaw repeated the same feat in the afternoon in the 200 meter, and finished second in 24.29 seconds, under the 24.40 she ran to set the state record in mid-May.
In this week’s Q&A, she discussed how she has achieved her success and what her focus is for next year.
Q: Tell us about your earliest memory of playing a sport.
A: My earliest memory of playing a sport was elementary school, for first grade only, they had a club called Concord Flyers that was very short-lived, but when I did that, I did extremely well. Then I never started again until my freshman year.
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Q: What kind of music helps you get in the right headspace for a big event?
A: When playing music, I just have a playlist full of hype, upbeat songs that’ll get you in the mood. My go-to song for meets has been “On One Tonight” by Gunna and “Sum to Prove” by Lil Baby; that one is played on the bus while I’m warming up everywhere.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about running, and why?
A: My favorite part about running is that it’s only you you have to worry about. I’ve never had anyone to blame or anyone to depend on. It’s freeing, and I’m an independent person, so it’s great.
Q: What are your three favorite sports to play or watch, and why?
A: I don’t really watch sports, even outside of prime track season — I don’t pay attention to what’s going on in that either — but I love everything about Mike Tyson, and I watch videos about him all the time.
Q: How has doing your sport helped you grow as a person and a competitor?
A: Doing track has made me extremely disciplined. I hear a whole lot from my coaches that they’ve seen me change a lot for the better, and I never believed it until really now. I know for a fact if I wasn’t doing track, I would be completely different, not in a bad way, but just how I go about certain things in life.
Q: What was your mindset going into the New England Championships? Did you feel like you were going to break two state records going into it?
A: Going into New Englands, I wasn’t as nervous; the high school season was almost over and I was there with only one other girl because graduation was the same day, so I just wanted to get out there and do my best regardless of place because the competition, I knew, would be tough. At the end of the day, it was just another race.
Q: How did you feel after having learned that you beat two state records and set new PRs?
A: I’m glad that I broke the records; it was a huge weight off my shoulders. I guess because everyone has been waiting for it every meet it seems like, and I was tired of hearing “so close” every time.
Q: What was different about this season that led you to break as many record times as you did and continuously best yourself throughout?
A: Nothing was really different about this season, at least physically. When people ask that, I can’t say much. I’m not on a better diet. I think I’m training the same amount as I have been these last few years. Honestly, the difference between junior year and my freshman/sophomore years is that I just locked in and realized that this sport is gonna get me far, so I might as well take pride in it and make sure this is my breakthrough year.