From Providence Day to Paris, this friendship has endured.

Anna Cockrell and Carol Lawrence spend Thanksgiving holidays together. They share recipes and compete against each other for the title of “Best Cook.” Carol, a former teacher and coach at Providence Day, says Anna, an alumnus (Class of 2016), “thinks she has me beat (in cooking), but I just humor her because I always win.”

Now, as Anna is making her second consecutive trip to the Olympics—this time the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she’ll compete in the 400-meter hurdles—one of her biggest fans will be there.

“Coach Lawrence is my family,” Anna says. “She has been in my life since I was 15. I have nothing but positive things to say about Coach Lawrence. She gets almost as nervous as my parents do when I compete.”

Anna, an All-American during high school and who ran collegiately at the University of Southern California, credits the coach for her success.

“She taught me so much about running track and gave me the skills and fundamentals and building blocks,” Anna says. “She is a phenomenal coach– a true student of the sport.

“She has all the USA track and field certifications. She has read the books. She gave me a great foundation to ask questions and truly understand the event. She will be in my life until the end. She is truly like another parent, and her daughter is like a sister to me.”

‘Whole experience amazes me’

The 26-year-old Olympian is based in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She calls this a journey she’s been on for the last three years.

While she competed in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo (which were actually held in the summer of 2021 due to COVID-19), they were post-pandemic, and athletes endured a slew of restrictions about what they could and couldn’t do.

This year will be different, she says. Paris opening ceremonies are scheduled for Friday.

“I am excited to compete and look forward to seeing my family and friends there,” she says. “In [2020], spectators were not allowed, which was a different experience. They will all be in Paris with me. I am excited to have them experience it alongside me.”

Providence Day, she says, played a role in her athletic endeavors.

“[Providence Day] prepared me to excel as a college student. Because I felt prepared for college, it allowed me to be a better athlete,” Anna says. “I had more mental energy than my peers to focus on track. I believe it helped make each life transition easier for me because I was smart.”

Anna says she never stops training.

“Track isn't a sport; it is a lifestyle,” she says. “There is no margin for error. We don't have an off-season. I am very grateful this is my job and that I get to do it professionally.”

She adds: “The podium is the ultimate goal. I at least want to set a personal record. My coach and I have been working on my race plan. I want to get it right more than anything else. I want to be able to show all the work I and my coaches have put in.”

‘Watch track’

Carol Lawrence coached Anna in high school and club track from ninth grade until graduation and whenever she came home on breaks from college.

The coach has her own impressive resume: she taught computer applications, middle school web design and upper school computer graphics, among other courses. She also was the head track coach for the girls' track team for 10 years at Providence Day, and prior to that she was the assistant coach for five years.

Now, she’s the head cross country and track and field coach at Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte. Both she and Anna have a penchant for the sport.

“The best way to support me is to watch track,” Anna says. “If people want to support and watch me, then follow me after the Olympics. We compete every year whether there are games or not. It would be great if more people watched track. Followed track.”

Carol, who will be in Paris along with her daughter and Anna’s family, agrees.

“This is Anna's third trip to the Olympic Trials, starting with her senior year in high school after she won the U20 World Championships in Poland,” Carol says. “This is going to be her second Olympic Games, so the goals of going to at least three Olympic Games that were set while she was in high school have come to fruition.”