People are often a reflection of those around them.
While being surrounded by her family at her signing day, Jordan-Matthews track and field standout Rachael Woods followed right in their footsteps.
Woods, a senior, signed to North Carolina Central Friday.
She will participate in the triple jump, long jump and possibly the 400-meter dash for the Eagles. During her high school career, Woods has hit personal bests of 18 feet, one inch in the long jump (18-3.75 personal record in AAU competition) and 36 feet in the triple jump (36-3 personal record in AAU competition).
But before high school, Woods didn’t know that she’d even be a track and field athlete, let alone compete at the Division I level.
“I cheered my whole life,” Woods said. “I did competitive cheer, all-star cheer, rec cheer. So, that was the only thing I really knew. I wasn’t really good at any other sports.”
In a close-knit family with four other siblings and tight relationships with extended members, Woods was somewhat the odd one out.
Track is in her blood. Along with her parents Ricky and Camia sharing interest in the sport, her older brother Xavier ran track at Jordan-Matthews, her younger sister Khamya also runs for the Jets, her cousin Jordan McNair-Martin jumps at Charlotte and before coaching track, her great uncle DeNeal McNair jumped at Asheboro High School (inducted into the school’s athletics Hall of Fame in 2021) prior to playing football at Wake Forest and North Carolina A&T.
“It was just something I didn’t think I was going to do,” Woods said.
Even if it was shown on the mat and not the rubber, there was no doubt Woods was a talented athlete. But thanks to McNair, the track and field genes kicked in just before she went to high school.
Going into her freshman year, McNair took her under his wing on his summer AAU team, the Mid-City Xpress Track Club.
“Well, she’s family,” McNair said. “And if you’re part of our family, track’s a part of your family. We have to bring you through that family tradition.”
Said McNair, “Track is a hard sport to fall in love with, and when you start them out early and get them hooked on that, you see them grow, and we saw that early with Rachael.”
Woods said it was a “shock” jumping into track with her uncle because of how hard he pushed her to succeed.
“He’s my family, so the way he talks to me is not the other way other people can talk to me or the way my school coach can talk to me,” Woods said. “He definitely pushed me. I remember he had me outside until maybe 9:00, and he was like ‘We’re gonna sit out here until we get it right. And that’s exactly what we did.”
Once it got pushed, the legacy continued to roll. After coaching her older brother, Jordan-Matthews track coach Lamont Piggie approached her months after her introduction to track about running for the school.
“I just knew the family and Xavier was fast,” Piggie said. “She has the body type. Normally, cheerleaders have strong legs, so just give it a chance. So, I told her to come out and run. I told her give me one week. If she didn’t like it, she can quit, and if she did like it she can stay. She fell in love with it and just took off from there.”
Said Woods, “After I got out there, after seeing how happy it made me and how it made me feel, I just realized maybe it was time to probably put down the pompoms and the all-star shoes and try something different.”
Woods turned into one of the Jets’ most successful track and field athletes over the years, reaching state championship meets for the outdoor 400 in 2022 (10th place finish), indoor long jump in 2024 (11th place finish), outdoor triple jump in 2024 (6th place finish) and outdoor long jump in 2024 (12th place finish).
But after not hearing back from college coaches she emailed for her recruitment months ago, Woods almost put track down for good.
“I thought I was going to just let it go and be a regular student and stop wasting my time,” Woods said. “But then NC Central finally reached out to me. It was around November that they reached out to me, and we scheduled an official visit from there.”
Even her college recruitment received a boost from her family. Her sister Khamya was the one who pushed her to email the coaches, reminding her that she’s at the point in life where it’s time to take risks.
“Having them around me, just pushing me, and getting me to this point has definitely been a lot,” Woods said. “And I don’t think I would’ve got to this point or believed in myself as much without them.”
