The Virginia high school track star concussed by a baton-wielding opponent will look for redemption when she returns to the starting line to race for a national title as her attacker faces assault charges.
Brookville High School junior Kaelen Tucker secured her spot at the Adidas Track Nationals in Virginia Beach after she received clearance from her doctors to return to competition, her father told TMZ.
The 16-year-old will race in the preliminary heats of the girls’ 60-meter and the 200-meter dashes at the Virginia Beach Sports Complex, according to race lineups for the meet.
Tucker will also join her schoolmates under the name Brookville TC in the 4×200 meter relay, the same race in which she was attacked.
The sprinter’s season had been in the dark since she suffered the head injury at the VHSL Class 3 State Indoor Championships at Liberty University on March 4.
Tucker, the second leg in the relay race, was battling IC Norcom High School senior Alaila Everett for second place when she was allegedly attacked.
Everett was captured on video bringing her right arm backward before launching it forward and striking Tucker with the metal baton.
Tucker detoured off the track, grabbing her head and falling to the ground.
The ailing runner immediately pulled herself and her team out of the race, while officials disqualified Everett and her school.
Tucker’s initial prognosis was grim when she was told that she suffered a concussion and “possible skull fracture.”
Everett has maintained her innocence, saying she “would never hit someone on purpose.”
She argued that her baton got “stuck” on Tucker’s back and rolled up and hit her opponent’s head.
“I lost my balance when I pumped my arms again,” Everett said, according to TMZ.
The Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Office deemed otherwise, charging the 17-year-old with one count of assault and battery stemming from the incident.
Everett and her family were also the subject of a protective order, filed against them by the Tucker family.
A rally was held at a local park in support of the teen after she was charged.
Tens of people turned out to the event Everett thanked her supporters.
“There’s no one else that wanted to hear my story, except the people that know me and people that know I would never do anything like that, I would never harm anybody. I’m not a fighter, I’m not even confrontational, I wouldn’t even do that on purpose, and I thank y’all for believing in me. I love y’all,” she said according to WAVY.com.
Everett’s speech was met with loud applause and a chant of “We stand with you.”
The president of the Portsmouth, Virginia NAACP said the Everett family had been targets of racial slurs and other threats since the viral attack.
“The Everett family has experienced racial slurs, they’ve experienced death threats, and we think unequivocally that those things are unacceptable,” James Boyd said at the gathering.
