Shot Twice. Still Here.

From Opelousas to Division I, Dapriest Hogans’ story isn’t just about how fast he runs. It is about what he survived to still be running.

The Next Day

The track was quiet. No music. No crowd. Just Dapriest Hogans and the pain. Less than 24 hours earlier, he had been shot in both hamstrings. Now he was back, taking slow, uneven steps on a track that felt longer than it ever had before.

He was not running. He was not competing.
He was just moving.

Each step hurt, but stopping was not an option.

“I wasn’t going to give up,” he said.

“I’ve never seen someone go through something like that and be back on the track the next day,” said Ronel Thomas.That’s when I understood his story was about overcoming and trusting in God, not just talent..”

The Climb

Dapriest is from Opelousas, Louisiana, a place where, as he puts it, “you have to go get it.” Nothing is handed to you. For many, making it out does not look like Division I athletics. It looks like staying where you are.

He started noticing that early on. The same routines. The same patterns. People getting comfortable and never pushing past what was in front of them. So before everything was figured out, he understood one thing: if he wanted something different, he had to move differently.

A Plan That Changed

Track was not supposed to be his story. Football was. That was the dream, the identity, the plan. But during his senior year, everything shifted. A torn MCL slowed everything down. Missed games turned into missed opportunities, and the future he thought he had started to slip.

So when a coach kept pushing him toward track, he finally gave it a real shot.

“I didn’t even like it,” he said. “I was like, why am I running in circles?”

But he kept showing up anyway, and over time, something started to click.

“From the first time I saw him run, I knew he just needed coaching,” said Leon Citzen. “He was naturally quick, but he didn’t really understand sprinting yet. Once he started trusting the process, everything began to click.”

The Reality of JUCO

JUCO was not glamorous.

He was four hours from home. A new environment. Still learning the sport. Still trying to figure out if he truly belonged.

“I didn’t even know how good I could be,” he said.

There were real moments where he wondered if this was ever going to work at all. Moments where he felt behind. Track did not come naturally to him the way it did for others. He was learning on the fly, building everything from scratch while competing against athletes who had been doing this for years.

“People see the results now, but I remember when he was still figuring it out,” Ronel said. “That’s how I know this isn’t his peak—God has much more in store.”

The Moment That Changed Everything

Then came the moment that could have ended everything.

Wrong place. Wrong time.

Shot in both legs.

Lying there, he asked what most people would ask.

“Why me?”

“In that moment, I kept asking God what my purpose was,” he said. “My grandma always told me I had one, but I didn’t understand it back then. Now I feel like God is showing me I have a voice, I just don’t know when to use it yet. But I know one day, someone will hear it.”

A Different Response

Most people would have stopped.

He didn’t.

The next day, he went back to the track. Not to run. Not to prove anything. Just to move. Step by step. Still in pain.

“I wasn’t coaching him at the time, but it woke him up,” Citizen said. “To come back home and get shot in a place you call home changes you. He realized that the environment was not safe, and he made the decision to separate himself from it.”

That moment did not go viral.

But it mattered.

Because that was where everything shifted.

The Shift

Before that, Dapriest admits he was not fully locked in.

“I wasn’t taking everything seriously.”

After that, everything tightened up. He started listening—to his coaches, to the process, to the people trying to help him.

“Once I started listening, everything changed,” he said.

“Honestly, my faith shook for sure,” he added. “It wasn’t something that came easy. Once I started trying to really live for God, everything felt like a challenge. It didn’t get strong immediately at all. It took time for me to really believe it was working.”

“His biggest limitation was maturity,” Citizen added. “You are a product of your environment, and that showed early. But once structure and discipline came into his life, you could see things start to shift.”

The Results

The progress started to show.

At the NJCAA level, Dapriest became one of the top sprinters in the country, earning All-American honors in the 60 meters, 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4x400 relay, along with a runner-up finish in the indoor 200 meters.

At the NCAA Division II level, he took another leap. He became a two-time national champion in the 200 meters, a two-time Athlete of the Year, and a record holder in both the 200 meters and the 4x400 relay. His 9.95 in the 100 meters ranked among the fastest times in Division II history.

Now competing at the Division I level, he continues to build. Earning All-American honors, winning a national title, and competing at the highest level in the SEC.

Still Fighting

It has not been perfect.

Injuries still come. Right now, he is working through a hip issue, trying to stay consistent and prove it again.

“You have to do it again,” he said.

“People used to say I helped Dapriest a lot back then, but honestly, he helped me,” Ronel said. “Seeing him overcome what he did pushed me to go ten times harder. I already knew what faith was, but watching him live it out, still believing after everything, showed me what it really means to keep going.”

Still Here

Where he is from, just making it this far already means something.

Not everyone gets this opportunity.

But for Dapriest, this is bigger than track.

“I believe God allowed that to happen because I wasn’t living right,” he said. “I feel like God had to slow me down and show me that no love is greater than His. That moment forced me to lock in.”

Now, he talks about going back, helping younger athletes and showing them something different.

“A lot of people just do what they see,” he said. “They don’t push past it.”

He did.

Shot in both legs.
Back on the track the next day.
From junior college to Division I, now chasing the professional level.

“I want my story to represent this….Rely on God and you will find your true identity,” he said. “When you really let Him lead your life, everything changes.”

Most people don’t come back from that.

He didn’t just come back.

He kept going.