Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: Destined to Become a Demon Deacon
9/30/2021 12:19:00 PM | Track and Field, Les Johns
Nikeya Green earned All-American honors three seasons and claimed a pair of ACC titles in the 800-meter in 2004.
This piece is a member of a series of stories to celebrate 50 Years of Women's Intercollegiate Athletics at Wake Forest, presented by Blue Cross NC.
Nikeya Green's All-American track career at Wake Forest started with a missed meeting for the Hayfield High School tennis team.
Being a military child, her high school freshman year was her first year back in the United States after spending time in the Netherlands, Japan and Holland.
"So, my freshman year of high school in the States was a bit of a shock to the system because I haven't been around only American kids for so long," Green explained. "I was adjusting. I was adjusting to the fashion, all the acronyms and all the different phrases and all the cool things of what was going on in that mid-90s era. And it was terrifying."
"And within that, and figuring out where you belong or where you fit, I missed the tennis meeting. So, I'm not really silly or dizzy, I was just getting acclimated to being in an American school system. So, within that, I ended up going to the track meeting haphazardly, just curious. I'd done some running at my middle school in the Netherlands and was pretty decent, but nothing that I thought I would be like a star or anything."
It ended up being the diverse, supportive and challenging public school system in Alexandria, Virginia that prepared Green for the next step in her academic and athletic career.
"They do such a really great job with the students of putting you in the mentality of it's not a matter of if you're going to college; it's a matter of what college you're going to," Green said. "Just that environment, I think, really prepared me to be able to have any opportunity because not only are you surrounded by just a lot of diversity and just different cultures and different races and different financial backgrounds."
"You're very much encouraged to be active and participate in sports or after-school activities so that you ultimately come out of that experience as a very multidimensional individual."
Shortly after missing the tennis team meeting, Green did a mile time trial in PE class and was encouraged to join the track team. Safe to say, that decision worked out well for Green.
"My freshman year I broke six different records — but I didn't really get fixated on that, I was just enjoying myself," Green said. " I didn't feel like I was a star. I was just enjoying hanging out with these really cool people on the track team we built. And we get to do this every weekend. It was fun.
"I just got along with my teammates really well, and it was just fun. It just evolved into, ultimately I ended up breaking the state record for AAA in Virginia, AAA track and field championships. I went on to pursue national championships and had run one of the top times in the US."
It didn't take long for colleges across the country to pick up on what Green was achieving at Hayfield High School.
"It wasn't the goal, but I happened to be pretty decent at it," she said. "I just really enjoyed my team, and I loved being a part of my team. Within that, a lot of recruiters from different colleges around the country started calling when they were able to. They're not able to reach out to you until it's your junior year. But I had been receiving a lot of letters from different schools around the country."
Green took official visits to George Mason, Clemson and Wake Forest, among others. Green felt like the staff at Wake Forest was open and direct with her, and her parents were both originally from North Carolina. Then once another program actually negatively recruited against Wake Forest, Green decided she was destined to become a Demon Deacon.
"That really helped solidify that Wake would definitely be among the top options for me," Green said.
"If you took the time to bad-mouth this program, then I think I might want to pursue this," she said she thought at the time. "I don't know. It's such a weird thing. I just felt so put off actually with a university I was very interested in, and I was so put off by that."
Green earned All-American honors three seasons and claimed a pair of ACC titles in the 800-meter in 2004.
"I remember the indoor one was a really big deal because I had come up short so many times," Green said. "I was either runner-up or in the top three. I was improving, but I just always came up short at ACC. It sucked being the runner-up.
"It was a very competitive time in the ACC for middle distance and during that time period, which I'm really grateful for, because by the time you got to NCAA, it was so heavily populated by the SEC — which had this very huge dominance there. So, it was great to have solid competition in the ACC so that when you make it to NCAA, you are ready to compete."
When she finally broke through for a conference championship in Clemson, she was blown away from the admiration and respect she earned from her fellow runners.
"So, that moment when I finally won in Clemson was a big deal because at the time it was a personal best for me, time-wise indoors," Green said. "But it had been a long time coming, so many disappointing ACC championships up to that point and finally getting it and getting it your senior year."
"I remember not only my own team was excited for me and overjoyed because they probably saw me fall short for so many seasons. But I remember other teams. That was something I remembered distinctly about that. That's why I remember it so well. I remember people from Florida State literally high-fiving and hugging me. There were others, from Georgia Tech. But I felt that was a special moment because I felt like it was something bigger than just me, my goal, and then all my own team. Then knowing that there were so many other athletes and other teams that were rooting for you, that really meant a lot."
Green, who has held a senior leadership position at Nike for a decade, was able to grow both athletically and academically during her four years at Wake Forest.
"At Wake Forest, I remember feeling like individually as an athlete, I felt like an athlete," she said. "And in classrooms I felt like a student in that I wasn't really special. I came out this really solid and well-rounded person, because at the end of the day, sports aren't forever for anyone. I don't care who you are. And you have to know how to navigate the world. You have to be a person that takes any situation regardless of what it is and make the best of every situation."
"There wasn't just the curriculum and the teachers and being a student and also growing as a student athlete in the sport as an athlete. But you grow as a person. Everything isn't perfect in any college that you go to, but I'm really grateful that I was in an environment where my growth was fostered."
Nikeya Green's All-American track career at Wake Forest started with a missed meeting for the Hayfield High School tennis team.
Being a military child, her high school freshman year was her first year back in the United States after spending time in the Netherlands, Japan and Holland.
"So, my freshman year of high school in the States was a bit of a shock to the system because I haven't been around only American kids for so long," Green explained. "I was adjusting. I was adjusting to the fashion, all the acronyms and all the different phrases and all the cool things of what was going on in that mid-90s era. And it was terrifying."
"And within that, and figuring out where you belong or where you fit, I missed the tennis meeting. So, I'm not really silly or dizzy, I was just getting acclimated to being in an American school system. So, within that, I ended up going to the track meeting haphazardly, just curious. I'd done some running at my middle school in the Netherlands and was pretty decent, but nothing that I thought I would be like a star or anything."
It ended up being the diverse, supportive and challenging public school system in Alexandria, Virginia that prepared Green for the next step in her academic and athletic career.
"They do such a really great job with the students of putting you in the mentality of it's not a matter of if you're going to college; it's a matter of what college you're going to," Green said. "Just that environment, I think, really prepared me to be able to have any opportunity because not only are you surrounded by just a lot of diversity and just different cultures and different races and different financial backgrounds."
"You're very much encouraged to be active and participate in sports or after-school activities so that you ultimately come out of that experience as a very multidimensional individual."
Shortly after missing the tennis team meeting, Green did a mile time trial in PE class and was encouraged to join the track team. Safe to say, that decision worked out well for Green.
"My freshman year I broke six different records — but I didn't really get fixated on that, I was just enjoying myself," Green said. " I didn't feel like I was a star. I was just enjoying hanging out with these really cool people on the track team we built. And we get to do this every weekend. It was fun.
"I just got along with my teammates really well, and it was just fun. It just evolved into, ultimately I ended up breaking the state record for AAA in Virginia, AAA track and field championships. I went on to pursue national championships and had run one of the top times in the US."
It didn't take long for colleges across the country to pick up on what Green was achieving at Hayfield High School.
"It wasn't the goal, but I happened to be pretty decent at it," she said. "I just really enjoyed my team, and I loved being a part of my team. Within that, a lot of recruiters from different colleges around the country started calling when they were able to. They're not able to reach out to you until it's your junior year. But I had been receiving a lot of letters from different schools around the country."
Green took official visits to George Mason, Clemson and Wake Forest, among others. Green felt like the staff at Wake Forest was open and direct with her, and her parents were both originally from North Carolina. Then once another program actually negatively recruited against Wake Forest, Green decided she was destined to become a Demon Deacon.
"That really helped solidify that Wake would definitely be among the top options for me," Green said.
"If you took the time to bad-mouth this program, then I think I might want to pursue this," she said she thought at the time. "I don't know. It's such a weird thing. I just felt so put off actually with a university I was very interested in, and I was so put off by that."
Green earned All-American honors three seasons and claimed a pair of ACC titles in the 800-meter in 2004.
"I remember the indoor one was a really big deal because I had come up short so many times," Green said. "I was either runner-up or in the top three. I was improving, but I just always came up short at ACC. It sucked being the runner-up.
"It was a very competitive time in the ACC for middle distance and during that time period, which I'm really grateful for, because by the time you got to NCAA, it was so heavily populated by the SEC — which had this very huge dominance there. So, it was great to have solid competition in the ACC so that when you make it to NCAA, you are ready to compete."
When she finally broke through for a conference championship in Clemson, she was blown away from the admiration and respect she earned from her fellow runners.
"So, that moment when I finally won in Clemson was a big deal because at the time it was a personal best for me, time-wise indoors," Green said. "But it had been a long time coming, so many disappointing ACC championships up to that point and finally getting it and getting it your senior year."
"I remember not only my own team was excited for me and overjoyed because they probably saw me fall short for so many seasons. But I remember other teams. That was something I remembered distinctly about that. That's why I remember it so well. I remember people from Florida State literally high-fiving and hugging me. There were others, from Georgia Tech. But I felt that was a special moment because I felt like it was something bigger than just me, my goal, and then all my own team. Then knowing that there were so many other athletes and other teams that were rooting for you, that really meant a lot."
Green, who has held a senior leadership position at Nike for a decade, was able to grow both athletically and academically during her four years at Wake Forest.
"At Wake Forest, I remember feeling like individually as an athlete, I felt like an athlete," she said. "And in classrooms I felt like a student in that I wasn't really special. I came out this really solid and well-rounded person, because at the end of the day, sports aren't forever for anyone. I don't care who you are. And you have to know how to navigate the world. You have to be a person that takes any situation regardless of what it is and make the best of every situation."
"There wasn't just the curriculum and the teachers and being a student and also growing as a student athlete in the sport as an athlete. But you grow as a person. Everything isn't perfect in any college that you go to, but I'm really grateful that I was in an environment where my growth was fostered."
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