Good genes, hard work pay off for Cami Davre

By Brian Towey for DyeStat

The Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee is the place where all of Wisconsin's top speedskaters train.

There are two hockey rinks surrounded by a 400-meter speedskating oval. Olympic speedskaters have trained there and for some, like Whitefish Bay (Wisc.) native Angela Davre, who competed in the 1,500-and 3,000-meter races in the 1992 and 1994 Olympics, it’s where they got their start.

Track and field also lives there. In one of the Center’s idiosyncrasies, a two-lane, 500-meter running track encircles the rink, made of rubber. It was here that senior Cami Davre of Whitefish Bay, one of America’s top middle distance runners and Angela’s daughter, began to run.

“It actually started through a girl on my soccer team in junior high school,” said Davre, who was a national-level midfielder in soccer and competed in age-group national team camps.

“I started running with a team called the Milwaukee Mustangs.

“They were mostly sprinters. I value hard work and the team effort. I was really drawn to the runner’s high and how you share a great result with your teammates.”

A banner with the names of Olympians who have trained at the Pettit National Ice Center hangs above the speedskating rink. Angela Davre (nee Zuckerman) is among them.

Davre competed as a speedskater in the 1,500 and 3,000, “middle distance events,” as she calls them. They are similar to the distances her daughter has settled into on the track.

“In terms of the time it took for me to skate the 1,500 and 3,000, they’re similar to her times for the 800 meters and the mile,” Davre said. “I just find it sort of interesting that we were both sort of middle distance people.”

Davre ran cross country as a freshman while she was on the soccer team.

“It was very stressful,” said Whitefish Bay cross country and track and field coach Mike Miller, who has been at the school since 1989 and before that at Dominican High in Milwaukee.

“I thought that she was going to get hurt or that something would happen to her.”

After a freshman year of coming home at 9 p.m. to do homework following dual cross/country soccer practices, Davre knew it was time to quit.

“I saw myself running in college more than playing soccer,” she said. “In life you have to make sacrifices. I kind of knew (that I would commit to running) after my freshman year when I won both the 800 and the mile at the state meet.”

Davre is the defending Wisconsin Division I state champion in the 1,600 and 800 three years running, with personal bests of 4:46.40 and 2:09.22. She has anchored state championship 4x800  relays as well.

As a sophomore at the WIAA Championships, she broke Olympian Suzy Favor-Hamilton’s state meet record of 2:09.88.

“Without a doubt she’s one of the best athletes in Wisconsin state history,” Miller said.

Davre is trying to win three events at the state meet this weekend -- the 1,600, 800 and 3,200.

“If any athlete can pull it off, it’s her," Miller said.

Davre, who will run at the University of Michigan next year, has ascended from Wisconsin to the national stage. She finished second in the girls mile at the Penn Relays in 4:53.66 despite trailing her East Coast counterparts in terms of fitness (due to Wisconsin’s extended winters, athletes typically don’t peak until late in the outdoor season).

“No matter how small the race I’m always nervous,” she said. “Running means a lot to me. So many people from Wisconsin had the potential to be great. I don’t take it for granted. It means a lot to me to represent Wisconsin.”

Miller lauds her even-keeled nature and willingness to work.

“Cami is a super-talented athlete,” he said. “The gene pool was there but she never took it for granted. The speed was natural for her but the longer threshold runs were difficult. When she was a freshman, it seemed like torture. But she’s gotten stronger and she’s gotten better with threshold training.”

In addition to the 1,600 and 800, Davre has run 10:41 in the  3,200. She also placed second in the state cross country meet in the fall.

“Camille follows our tradition of middle distance runners who are also cross country runners,” University of Michigan associate head coach Mike McGuire said.

Jerome Davre, Cami’s father, is a speedskating coach in Wisconsin and a licensed masseuse contracted to work with the Milwaukee Bucks (and before that, the Milwaukee Brewers).

He was 18 when he met Angela at a speedskating meet in Norway, where he was skating for the French national team (He grew up outside of Paris). Two years later, he moved to Wisconsin to be with Angela.

Jerome marvels at his daughter’s athletic successes, but with the reserve of a former high-level athlete.

“When I was a kid I was a good runner, but I never received any special training for it,” said Davre, a 10-year member of France’s national speedskating team, competing in one World Championship in the 5,000 and 10,000.

“When I was speedskating, they’d say, ‘Run a 1,500’ and I could do it in 4 minutes, 15 seconds.

“I could look at her and say ‘Yes, I had that.’ She doesn’t cheat herself. Being a crazy parent, it’d be easy to (push her too hard). But because she’s so (motivated and hard-working), she could wind up doing too much.”

Save for an occasional massage or tip, Davre, with the perspective of an athlete, keeps a step back.

“I’m here to support her,” Jerome Davre said. “She took this route (into running) and it’s probably more difficult. She’s very well organized and a hard worker.

“She’s very smart. So I’m proud of her, yes. With her, I tell her that I’m proud of her but I’m not going to make an extra workout. (At her stage) too little is good.”

Davre’s parents have laid a blueprint for her as a high-level athlete.

“Her parents are very competitive,” Miller said. “I think that part of her drive is definitely from her parents. I think they know what it is like to be able to compete at a national or even world-class level.

“Once she picked up running her freshman year it was, ‘This is what it’s going to take.’ Her parents have been very influential in instilling her work ethic.”

For Angela Davre, whose competitive athletic days are over, Cami’s running has lent new perspective.

“In a sense, I live vicariously through her because I love the competitions,” she said. “I love being able to watch her run. When I watch her run, I feel like she’s the most beautiful runner.”

Angela and Jerome’s influence, indirect or not, is clear.

“The biggest thing I take away from my parents is the dedication,” Cami said. “It’s just the value of being the best you could possibly be. My mom tells me all the time that she could have been better. And I’m like ‘I don’t want to be that.’

“My father was the opposite. He trained as hard as he could but when it came to the technical side of it (he didn’t have it).”

For a rising star in high school track and field, Davre’s athletic parents help keep her grounded.

“I look at both of them (as motivation) to keep me working hard and to be the best version of myself,” Cami said. “They’re my inspirations, both of them.”