WS Chronicle

For a freshman or sophomore to contribute to a varsity team is very rare and unexpected.  That rule does not apply to West Forsyth sophomore Destiny Griffin as she not only is a key player on the varsity basketball team she also is an All-State shot putter on the Titan track and field team.

According to Destiny, her first love has and always will be basketball.  She has been playing the sport since she was in third grade.  She says her aunt played the game and she picked it up at a young age and has stuck with it ever since.

“I just love the game of basketball and I don’t know why,” she said.  “All I know is my mom asked me will I ever get tired of playing basketball and I told her never to ask me that again because I will never get tired of playing.”

Brittany Cox, West Forsyth girls head basketball coach, said Destiny is one of the most versatile players on the team.  She says Destiny can play any position on the court from the shooting guard all the way to the center position.

“I talk to Destiny a lot about how to use her versatility in the game because teams have a hard time matching up with her,” Cox said.  “I think Destiny is unstoppable because she can shoot really well from the 3-point line and she can also attack the basket.  She is so strong no one can really stop her when she is in attack mode.”

“Defensively, she helps us there as well because she can guard a post player and not get pushed around,” Cox went on to say.  “She has really had to step into a big role for us even when she was a freshman.  Hopefully this year she will continue to progress and help us out even more this next year.”

Cox says that Destiny is at her best when she is attacking the basket.  She says she has spoken with many coaches in the conference that agree with her assessment.  Cox says no one can match up with Destiny because if you put a small guard on her she will post her up but if you put a bigger player on her she will take her off the dribble.

When it comes to the track, Destiny initially wanted to become a runner.  She says she reluctantly picked up the shot put in middle school while running for Next Level Track Club, led by head coach Buddy Hayes.  She said she loves the sport because it allows her to showcase her individual talents.  She says she likes the fact of whatever the outcome it’s all on her and she doesn’t have teammates to lean on.  She says that drives her to perform better.

She said she began to like throwing and quickly developed into a force in the event.  As she entered high school, her head track coach, Nathan Newsome, says he was able to get a look at her during her freshman year and knew she had potential to be very good at the throwing events.

“As this season progressed, she pretty much won at almost every meet,” Newsome said.  “She has thrown over 40 feet in practice so the goal next year is to apply that in the meets to consistently throw that far. There are not a lot of girls that are throwing over 40 feet in the state of North Carolina.  You could see her buying into it this season so she definitely has a bright future.”

This past outdoor season Destiny broke the school record in the shot put throwing “37”feet 6 inches at the state meet where she finished seventh overall.  Destiny also was the conference champion in the shot put and discus.  She is also the top rated sophomore in the shot put in the state as well.  Newsome says it’s phenomenal for her to achieve so much on the track considering she is not a full time thrower.

Candise Eldridge, Destiny’s mother, says she was extremely proud of Destiny for breaking the record.  Eldridge says their goal coming into the year was to break the record.  Eldridge says she knows Destiny’s favorite sport is basketball but definitely wants her to keep her focused on the track as well.

Destiny is also a great student in the classroom.  She has even participated in advanced placement classes already.  She says her favorite subject is math and would love to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  As a career she would love to be a sports therapist.

Her goal going forward is winning state championships on the court along with on the track.  She says she wants to continue to break the school record and throw the shot put 40 feet every meet.