Community Champion: Young track star Prince Reeves is turning heads

El Paso might have a future track star in seven-year-old Prince Reeves.

Reeves, who runs with the Texas Shooting Stars Track Club, recently won three gold medals at a Junior Olympics regional meet in Denver. He beat athletes ages eight and under from five states to take the top prize in the 100m, 200m, and 400m finals.

Though he faced stiff competition at regionals, his performance didn’t surprise those who know him best.

“Well, honestly, I expected him to dominate the way he did. Prince is a hard worker,” said Shooting Stars assistant coach Bryan Pinkney. “Obviously, he has the talent, but he’s a hard worker.”

Prince has now qualified for nationals, which will be held later this month in Greensboro, N.C. His family is collecting donations to help pay for travel costs on a GoFundMe page. To donate, click here.

Prince credits his coaches and his mom with his early success. In fact, he says he can always pick out his mom’s voice in the crowd, urging him to push harder.

“She says to push it and that they’re right behind me,” said Prince. “And I have to really push it to get to the end of the track without stopping.”

This season Prince is undefeated in all competitions. But it wasn’t always that easy for him. Shooting Stars head coach Leon Wade recalls that he wasn’t always the fastest.

“I challenged him a couple times in practice telling him that certain kids could beat him,” said Wade. “Well, he didn’t like that. And ever since that day, he just started running faster and faster.”

Though he’s still at an early stage in his career, there’s a lot of optimism surrounding Prince and his future in track and field.

“He broke some records on the track team. And all those records that he broke, all those kids got four-year scholarships,” said Wade. “But he’s a special one. Very special.”