7th grader writes goal of becoming a world record holder, achieves it months later by catching giant fish

Sometimes, turning a dream into a reality can begin with something as simple as writing it down. For Madilyn Davis, a sixth-grade student from Arizona, a list of summer goals ended with her becoming a world record holder.

“I like when there’s a bit of a challenge because then afterwards you can really feel you succeeded,” Madilyn said.

Months earlier, her sixth-grade class had been asked to write down a few goals for the summer. While many students chose activities such as reading a new book or trying a new sport, Madilyn set herself two unusual targets: pet a capybara and become a world record holder.


Her mother, Audrey Davis, recalled seeing the list and wondering, “Like Madilyn, really?” She was unsure which of the two goals would prove more difficult.

By spring, Madilyn had already crossed one off the list. During a friend’s birthday celebration, she visited a petting zoo where she was able to interact with capybaras.

“My friend found a petting zoo where they have capybaras and you can interact with them,” Madilyn said. “It almost felt like you were petting the end of a broom in a way.”

With the capybara goal completed, only the world record remained.

A fishing trip changes everything

The breakthrough came on the Fourth of July, when Madilyn went fishing for muskie with her father, Dillon Davis, in Wisconsin.

As the pair prepared to leave after making just a few more casts, Madilyn suddenly felt a powerful pull on her line.

“So we were casting a couple more times and then all of a sudden I felt something really big,” she said.

Her father immediately realised how significant the catch could be.

“I looked over and her rod was just bent in half because of the weight of the fish,” Dillon said.

The fish turned out to be a giant muskie.

Fish becomes junior world record

What began as an unexpected catch eventually became Madilyn’s route to the second goal on her list. Following the fishing trip, the fish underwent measurements, paperwork and an official review.

Months later, it was certified as a junior muskie-length world record, giving Madilyn the achievement she had written down at the beginning of the summer.

The record meant she had completed both of her ambitious goals months before the deadline.

“She just has such determination and she’s an example to me that nothing is impossible,” her mother said.

For Madilyn, however, the story goes beyond catching a record fish or fulfilling an unusual summer goal.

The bigger lesson was about setting an ambitious target, even when it might sound unrealistic to others, and then pursuing it with determination.