Davis twins shine as Bearcat athletes
Paso Robles High school juniors Ashley and Justin Davis, 16, are twins that put forth double the effort in sports and studies. Photo courtesy of Looky Loo Photography
Paso High juniors excel in and out of the classroom
Dedicated, hard-working teens on and off the playing field, Ashley and Justin Davis, 16-year-old twins now in their junior year at Paso Robles High School, are examples of what it takes to balance life as a Bearcat athlete with the daily demands of school, work, and family.
Justin Davis is congratulated by Larry Moore after recent Bearcat victory. Courtesy photo
In the past week alone, both had tremendous success in their sports. On Friday night, Justin and his fellow varsity football teammates earned a 45-6 win over Cabrillo. The following day, Ashley won the Morro Bay Invitational, beating more than 100 girls in the annual cross-country classic.
“Justin leads by example,” said PRHS varsity head coach Rich Schimke, “and he has the respect of all of his teammates. Both Justin and Ashley have great attitudes, perform well in the classroom, and have a great support system with their family and friends.”
The twins, who help their family with branding at the Twisselman Ranch, received high praises from PRHS cross country coach Ivan Huff as well.
“They are both really good kids,” said Huff. “Of course, I work directly with Ashley and I know that she is the type of person who doesn’t put things off whether it has to do with school or running; she is just always working.”
As a freshman, Ashley was the Bearcat cross country team’s MVP and competed in CIF individual finals. She was the MVP again as a sophomore, ran with her team at the CIF
finals, and made it to the State meet as an individual runner. As part of the track team, Ashley’s accomplishments include being the PAC 7 League champ in the 2-mile her freshman and sophomore years; placing second in the 1-mile as a sophomore, running the 1 and 2-mile in CIF prelims and taking fifth in the 1-mile at CIF finals.
Ashley Davis competes at the Mt. SAC Invitational last year. Courtesy photo
“She just loves to run,” said Huff, “and she is very competitive, especially towards the end of a race — she wants to win.”
Justin, 5’11” and 180 lbs, in the junior quarterback position, has completed 72 percent of his passes for 588 yards and nine touchdowns for the varsity Bearcats in their first three non-league games. Humble, he credits his teammates for his impressive stats. Justin, who also plays baseball for the Bearcats, did not have much playing time in either sport last year due to an injury.
“He is coming off of having ACL surgery from last year and, so far so good,” Schimke said.
Both Justin and Ashley say being part of teams alongside friends they played sports with in their younger years is part of the fun of participating in sports now as students at Paso High.
“I played soccer before high school, but once I discovered running I found my passion,” Ashley said. “Everyone on the cross country team is really close and I am excited about what we hope to accomplish this year. Our goal has always been to qualify for State and this year we hope to qualify as a team.”
“Playing sports in a small town like Paso Robles is so much fun,” Justin said, “because so many of us have been playing together for a long time, long before high school.” As far as his quarterback role this year, Justin says “it’s challenging.” “Although I do like having a leadership role. As a team, we are looking great and we have a chance to go really far.”
Directing attention away from themselves, Justin and Ashley both said they owe a great deal to others in their lives for helping them to reach their goals and celebrate their accomplishments.
“In all sports, our family, coaches, and friends have helped so much,” Justin said.
Ashley agreed, saying, “We are very lucky and we feel very fortunate to have such great influences in our lives.”
As their junior year at Paso High unfolds, there is little doubt that the Davis twins will continue to add to their impressive stats in their individual sports. Up next, Justin and his fellow Bearcats will face the St. Joseph Knights (2-1) at 7 p.m. this Friday night at War Memorial Stadium and Ashley will compete in the Stanford Invitational on Sept. 27.
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