A family walk is often a time for parents and kids to bond while strolling through a familiar neighborhood.

For the Snaers, cracks in the asphalt became starting blocks, and light posts blurred into finish lines.

“First to touch that light pole wins.”

The haphazard stomping of two young girls replaced the starting gun’s blast.

They bonded through racing.

UCLA track and field sprinter Taylor Snaer grew up around the sport. Her father, Demitrius Snaer, was an All-American and Hall of Famer at Fresno State, and her older sister Jadyn Snaer competed at Cal Poly for three years.

“We grew up together,” Jadyn Snaer said. “We raced each other in our old house and developed our identities alongside each other.”

Taylor Snaer’s parents even met in high school – where they were both on the track team, her father said.

Taylor Snaer and her sister may have hailed from the same program when beginning collegiate careers, but they ultimately reached distinct destinations.

Demitrius Snaer coached both of his daughters at Modesto Junior College, where he has served as the track and field coach for 13 years, before Taylor and Jadyn Snaer transferred to Division I programs.

Although kids often dread being labelled the “coach’s kid,” Taylor Snaer said she and her sister never struggled to embrace the father-daughter coach dynamic.

“My whole life, he’s been my coach too,” Taylor Snaer said. “The relationship just never changed – there was always that balance between both. He cares for me, just like he cares for any of his other athletes as well.”

Demitrius Snaer’s tutelage helped prepare his daughters for the jump from junior college to Division I.

Taylor Snaer achieved four All-American selections in her first Westwood campaign, and Jadyn Snaer notched a school record a time of 7.47 seconds in the indoor 60-meter dash at Cal Poly.

Yet given Demitrius Snaer’s track inclination, he encouraged his daughters to try different sports throughout high school.

Taylor Snaer thrived on her high school basketball court, earning three league MVP selections and an all-area MVP honor. Her older sister also dabbled in basketball.

But according to Demitrius Snaer, this only fueled their love for track.

“No matter what sport they were doing, they were the fastest person in it. They started to realize, ‘This track thing could really be something that would be good for me,’” Demitrius Snaer said. “They started to fall in love with it also. My wife and I, being track athletes, we wanted our daughters to love the sport, but they had to choose to love it. They did that by the success that they were having (in other sports).”

The junior sprinter said her father’s ability to empathize with her as a student-athlete – from her high school years balancing track and basketball commitments to the demands of an intensive collegiate track career – fostered continued athletic growth while strengthening their father-daughter connection.

And Demitrius Snaer’s experience as a high school dual-sport athlete who honed in on track at Fresno State amplified his impact on his youngest daughter.

“I (was) balancing all these different sports. Then once you get to the collegiate level, you’re putting all your eggs in one basket,” Taylor Snaer said. “He’s very familiar with that too, because he balanced a bunch of sports in high school as well. Getting to see how he thought I should approach this new level of track and focusing on one thing was very interesting.”

The Manteca, California, local’s relationship with her sister has also shaped her track journey.

When Taylor Snaer began the recruitment process before graduating from East Union High School in 2023, she relied on her sister for advice.

Jadyn Snaer had completed the same process just four years earlier. She ultimately decided to spend her first two years at Modesto Junior College, which influenced Taylor Snaer’s choice to spend a year at the same junior college to refine her track skillset.

“She had gone through that whole recruiting process,” Taylor Snaer said. “I definitely leaned on her a lot. I remember calling her about the recruiting process my senior year, when I was hurt … trying to decide if it was best for me to go to one of these lower-level division ones (Division I schools) or take a chance and go to junior college and try to go to one of … my dream schools, which ended up being UCLA.”

Taylor Snaer mirrored the same path her sister took, despite spending just one year at Modesto Junior College compared to her sister’s two-year junior college stretch.

Although the Snaers’ paths have intersected and each family member has garnered similar accomplishments, that has not stopped the younger sister from finding her individuality.

“They instill in me that this is my journey. This is my path,” Taylor Snaer said. “That’s the beautiful thing about it all, is that I have them to lean on. I do want to make them proud, knowing that they’ve done it all as well.”

Taylor Snaer placed 18th in the women’s 200-meter dash at the NCAA Outdoor championships to earn a Second Team All-American selection last year. She accomplished her other three All-American selections while anchoring the women’s 4×100-meter relay and competing on the 4×400-meter squad.

Siblings often try to outcompete each other.

But Jadyn Snaer, who retired from the track after graduating from Cal Poly in 2024, reveled in the success Taylor Snaer achieved throughout her first two collegiate campaigns, even when the older sister was struggling with a difficult period in her own life.

“I don’t always have to be the one who’s high performing or doing the best at track in the family to be really engaged and excited about it, because I got true joy from watching my sister really do well,” Jadyn Snaer said. “It was an adult moment for me of being like, ‘I might not be doing the best right now – but I am so thrilled to watch my sister run,’ and it inspired me in other parts of my life. If she can pop out and surprise us in this way in track, there’s still more greatness to come in this family.”

Taylor Snaer can always rely on her family’s presence in the stands whenever and wherever she is set to race.

Demitrius Snaer said he and his wife have approached their daughters’ competitions as vacations and hope to continue traveling to their youngest daughter’s meets for years to come. Taylor Snaer added that her mother has not missed a single one of her or Jadyn Snaer’s meets.

The Snaers’ love for track has not just persisted as the sisters have carved out their own track careers – it has brought the family even closer together.

“They’re my family, but they’re also my best friends,” Taylor Snaer said.