Comari Hawkins making her own name as one of top Michigan track athletes
EAST LANSING, Mich. (BVM) – Comari Hawkins has already proved her talent on the track time and again. With an impressive family athletic background, Hawkins has also shown that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
When she began running around age 6, Hawkins immediately showed elite speed, running faster than fellow classmates whether they were girls or boys. She also proved more talented than most on both the basketball and volleyball courts, but gave up each of those sports early on in high school.
Instead, Hawkins has put her sole focus on track and increasing her speed. Some of that speed comes from her dad, legendary Michigan State wide receiver and nine-year NFL veteran, Courtney Hawkins.
“Having him as a dad is great, it’s the best thing ever,” Comari said. “He knows what it’s like running, or playing basketball, he knows what it’s like in athletics. He’s helped me develop as an athlete. He’s helped me develop mental toughness and self confidence. Everything that he knows about track and about sports, he’s put it into me. I feel like that’s an advantage that I have, to have him in the house with me everyday.”
Courtney racked up over 2,200 receiving yards during his time as a Spartan to pair with 12 receiving touchdowns. Drafted in the second round of the 1992 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Courtney would spend his first five seasons in Florida and later play for the Pittsburgh Steelers, amassing over 4,500 receiving yards in his nine seasons as a pro.
With a father who has accomplished so much at the highest level, there has always been a bit of pressure for Comari to live up to the family name.
“I have felt a little pressure,” Comari said. “Everybody knows who my dad is, so that means everybody is going to know who I am and somebody is always watching. I definitely do feel the pressure, but it’s not too much pressure because nobody in my family puts it on me.”
The greatest pressure Comari feels at this stage of her career is that of which she places on herself. Yet, she has gotten continuous support from her family over the years, and that has allowed her to make her own name for herself, something she will look to continue doing in the future.
“It is very important to make my own name and to kind of step out of his shadow,” Comari added. “Instead of being Comari Hawkins, Courtney Hawkins’ daughter, I want to be Comari Hawkins but he’s Comari Hawkins’ dad. I feel like he left his mark in football, so now I have my own chance to leave my mark in track.”
Like her father when he was young, Comari ran in the CANUSA Games – meets where kids from both Canada and the U.S. compete against each other – growing up, winning her first-ever meet. By age 11, she began AAU track, running in the AAU Junior Olympics over the last several years.
Competing on the big stage, Comari admits she does still get nervous. However, her confident mindset on the track continues to lead her to success.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a small meet or a big meet, I’m always nervous,” Comari said. “But when I get on the track, I just tell myself to trust my training and I just give myself my own confidence.”
That has not stopped during her time competing with Track Life University, where she has gained even more experience to become a top high school sprinter in the country with what has been an elite program as of late.
“Running with Track Life is definitely the best thing ever that I could have done for my track career,” Comari said. “They helped me a lot through the recruiting process because my coach is an Olympic Gold medalist in the 400 … He has a lot of ins and he helped me get recruited by some of the top schools in the nation.”
Comari’s recruiting process began ramping up last year. Eventually, she had to narrow her list down to six, which included her father’s alma mater in Michigan State.
What y’all think ?😉 pic.twitter.com/f298LnWXbE
— Comari Hawkins💕✨ (@OhThats_Boom) December 12, 2021
Although the sprinter always anticipated going somewhere else, Michigan State became a real possibility, especially after a conversation with one of the school’s legendary figures.
“During my unofficial visit was when I really had to rethink things,” Comari said. “For the longest time, I was like I’m not going to Michigan State, that’s where my dad and my mom went, I want my own school. And it’s not hot, I want to go somewhere and run where it’s hot. Then after talking to Coach Tom Izzo, he told me that if I leave and my dad is busy, if I’m here, I’ll be able to see him more and he’ll be able to make more of my meets. That was something that was pulling me towards Michigan State to be closer to my family and maybe go there and do great things. But I knew that I wanted to go down south to Texas.”
Despite the opportunity to stay close to her family being tempting, Comari will indeed fulfill her dream of running in the warm weather of the south as she is set to become a Houston Cougar in the fall.
Let get it !❤️🐾 #HTownSpeedCity pic.twitter.com/kQzIXFWlB6
— Comari Hawkins💕✨ (@OhThats_Boom) December 19, 2021
The opportunity to work with Houston assistant coach and 10-time Olympic medalist Carl Lewis was ultimately something the East Lansing senior did not want to pass up.
“I’m so excited,” Comari said. “I’m ready to go and train with Carl Lewis. I know that he’s done great things and has great things in store for me. The official visit, it felt like home … When I was there, I know my parents liked it and I just know that I’ll be in good hands while I’m down there.”
If Comari’s future trends the same way as her past, the sky’s the limit. The sprinter began her high school career at Grand Blanc, bursting onto the Michigan high school track scene by setting four program records that still stand today.
However, she did not have the opportunity to build off the success in her sophomore year due to Covid canceling the spring season. Yet, she continued training, preparing her for her next transition.
For her junior year, Comari began competing at East Lansing High School as her family moved to the city after Courtney became the new wide receivers coach at Michigan State.
“Moving from Grand Blanc to East Lansing was definitely different because I moved during Covid,” Comari said. “But I had to keep training.”
Comari did just that, and in snowy weather during her first ever meet with the Trojans, she broke the school record in the 100-meter.
“I was like, ‘OK, this is going to be a good season,’” Comari noted.
Embraced early on by her new team, Comari began feeling more and more comfortable at East Lansing. A tremendous season was highlighted by top-five times in the state in both the 100-meter (11.83) and the 200-meter (24.05). Comari also went unbeaten during the regular season in both events.
Going from snow to start the season to 90-degree weather at state in June, Comari remained strong no matter the conditions, finishing third in the 100-meter as well as her team’s 4 x 200-meter relay, and fourth in the 200-meter.
The strong finish to her junior season produced another strong summer, and now she is closing in on beginning her final high school track season. For Comari, it’s all about getting better each day, but also leaving her mark within the state.
“I definitely want to leave my own mark at East Lansing High School,” Comari said. “There are some more records that I want to break this year. I also want to leave my own mark on Michigan track and field as a whole. There are some times I want to hit, some things that I want to win. I have my own goals set for me. I have times set on my board that I look at everyday and know this is what I’m working for, and I’m going to hit it before my high school career is over.
“Just seeing how I moved up from where I was at as a freshman to where I am now as a senior, it’s been really nice to see how my hard work has paid off.”
That hard work will continue at Houston and beyond for Comari. She has no plans of slowing down any time soon, and by the time it’s all said and done, she hopes to go down as one of the best.
“I want to go all the way,” Comari concluded. “I want to go to the Olympics, I want to win some gold medals and world championships, I want to do it all.”
