Maryland Love Connection: John and Ambur Davenport
Fynn McDonald, Media Relations Student Assistant
2/14/2022
The former Ambur Ballew, a native of South Orange, NJ, and John Davenport who grew up in Baltimore may have never crossed paths if it hadn’t been for their time spent as members of Maryland’s track and field program.
Growing up, both Ambur and John shared a passion for the Terrapins. As John’s father had been a member of the track and field team, John grew up rooting for his hometown Terrapins and decided Maryland was the place for him.
“I've always been a fan of Maryland athletics, my dad actually ran track at Maryland,” said John. “So, I was always a big football and basketball fan of the Terps. I ultimately decided to be a Terp, I fell in love with the school, I came on my visit and felt like Maryland was the best opportunity to succeed both academically and athletically.”
As for Ambur, staying close to home and becoming a member of a program which aligned with her values prove very important.
“The choice I made to come to Maryland was mainly because I didn't want to go too far [from New Jersey]. I knew I wanted to run track. It was just a great transition and as soon as I came on my visit, the culture fit what I was looking for” said Ambur.
Little did they know that their decisions would change their lives forever. From the moment Ambur and John met in the weight room in College Park, they were drawn to one another.
Ambur became a member of the track team in 2013 as a freshman, while John was entering his fifth year at Maryland. From day one on her official visit, Ambur knew that John was someone special.
“As a freshman everything was new to me, and I remember [John] saw me on my visit but I didn't really know him,” said Ambur. “I remember seeing him in the weight room and I remember he was goofing around, acting pretty funny and as a freshman I go to my friends [and tell them] ‘Oh my God, John is so cute.’ We met on the team but we actually didn't get to know each other until he approached me to get my number.”
“I remember that time in the weight room,” recalled John. “I think it was Halloween, and I was by the exit and I just remember her leaving the weight room. And she put her hand on my chest and said something. It was real subtle, and I didn't even recognize it until after she left, like what just happened? So that's how we met.”
After meeting in the weight room, Ambur and John left lasting first impressions on one another, and it would ultimately lead to a blossoming friendship throughout the one year that they would spend together at Maryland.
“When I first met her I thought she’s cute and cool, but I wasn't really ready to pursue her,” said John.
“We were just friends,” said Ambur. “We started as a friendship, and we always stayed connected.”
As the pair progressed through college, they spent countless hours seeing one another both on and off the track, creating countless memories they will cherish for a lifetime, including spending time getting to know one another at Maryland’s football stadium.
John recalls a talent show in which the track team participated in as his fondest memory with Ambur, and the first time he truly saw his eventual wife. It was from that moment that John truly took an interest in pursuing a relationship with her.
“[My favorite memory was] the first time I actually saw her,” said John. “A lot of the members of the track team had a group performance [at a talent show]. So I’m in there just watching the show, and the track team gets up there and I would say that’s the first time I [really] saw Ambur. We’d see eachother every day at practice, so I always saw her in her sweats, and I mean she’s beautiful now, even in the sweats. But in the talent show, she was dressed up, she had her hair done, and I [thought] yeah I might need to go say something to her.”
As time grew on, Ambur and John would become even closer friends, and even after John graduated from the University in 2014, they would remain close.
Eventually, the two would reconnect after Ambur along with one of her business coaches, approached John with a business opportunity. Yet they still did not know that this would lead them to grow even closer.
“We stayed in touch and were still pretty good friends,” said John. “I was actually living in Florida, and I was down there working and training. I was still competing. Ambur actually reached out to me and introduced me to one of her business coaches and reached out with a business opportunity. That’s how we reconnected and started to build on that friendship. That progressed to spending more time together and now we’re married.”
As Ambur and John began spending more time with each other, they would eventually begin dating and quickly knew that they wanted to take their relationship to the next level.
When Ambur and John traveled to New Jersey to visit her family, John explained his idea to propose to Ambur at Great Falls Park in Maryland, inviting them to come along and surprise her with their involvement in the engagement.
“We were just in New Jersey the week before visiting her family, and I had told them the plan to propose. Her family and some of her friends [came to] the destination, but they were hiding behind this big rock on the outlook” said John. “I had butterflies in my stomach, I felt like I’m about to step on the track, or about to jump.”
Upon hiking to an overlook, they had reached the perfect place for John to propose - Ambur’s family still waiting to reveal themselves.
“We walked over to the corner and I put my arm around her, and we were looking out over the water, and then her niece had a bouquet of roses, and the ring box was in the bouquet. When we were overlooking the water, she came and put the roses behind my back and she just turned around and saw her family and I gave her the roses, took out the ring box and I proposed” said John.
John jokingly added that Ambur was screaming in excitement when she saw her family. It was a moment that both Ambur and John will forever remember.
The couple would quickly find themselves getting married just a few months later, surrounded by the people they love the most including several members of the track and field teams and women’s basketball team who are some of Ambur and John’s best friends to this day.
“We had a micro wedding during the pandemic, and my favorite part of that was the intimacy of it,” said Ambur. “It was in Baltimore County in this small place called The Citron, overlooking this lake. And it was just the closest people in our lives.
“We were very grateful to have a wedding, because of the timeframe. We got engaged in September 2020, and our wedding was in May 2021. Because we knew it was going to be very very small, it only took us seven months to plan it.”
Since getting married, Ambur and John have continued to grow together, and love to spend time with one another, sharing their favorite activities, and looking forward to the many memories to come.
“Our relationship has definitely evolved. We’ve changed and grown,” said Ambur. “We like to do personal growth activities, whether that’s reading, or building our business together. We also like to take trips, and workout. We’d love to take more trips in the future [as well]. Our relationship has been a combination of teamwork and building a life for ourselves that aligns with God's vision for ourselves.”
As for now, Ambur and John are looking forward to spending their first Valentine’s Day together as a married couple.
“This is going to be our first married Valentine’s Day, so I’m excited to see what he has planned. Hopefully he buys me something and then takes me out to eat” said Ambur jokingly.
“She’ll drop hints [for me] to surprise [her] with,” said John. “I’m like, ‘Is that really a surprise?’ I’m still working on the master plan, but we’ll do something fun.”
Staying hush, not wanting to reveal his plans in front of Ambur, the couple is looking forward to the many Valentine’s Days to come and the surprises they will have in store.
