Florida State University Athletics
Grimes Earns Silver on First Day of NCAA Indoor Championships
3/13/2021 2:31:28 AM | General, Men's Track and Field, Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Florida State Track and Field team completed day one of the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Seminoles recorded three lifetime bests, four season bests, two heat winners, two new school records and the men earned 17 big points putting them in 3rd place heading into the final day.
“The men had a fantastic day one at indoor nationals,” said Head Coach Bob Braman. “The men are well positioned for a Top 5 finish tomorrow. That would be a really great result for this team considering we’re missing our Ace, Kasaun James, due to injury. I’m really proud of these guys. Out of 7 guys, only Trey has competed at Indoor Nationals before. That’s impressive.”
In the first event of the day, Isaac Grimes jumped a personal best jump in the men’s long jump to take the silver medal. His jump of 8.35m (27-4 ¾) ranks him No. 6 in collegiate history and is the best silver performance seen in NCAA Indoor Championship history. However, the Noles were not done there as Grimes’ teammate Jeremiah Davis jumped 7.87m (25-10) to take 5th place in his first Indoor National Championships. Together Davis and Grimes scored an impressive 13 points for the men in the long jump.
In the men’s 5000m, Adriaan Wildschutt put on an impressive performance for his first ever NCAA Indoor Championship. In a race where 11 out of 16 competitors ran personal records, Wildschutt took 4th with a time of 13:30.55. His time beats his personal best and the FSU school record by nine seconds. That’s not all, his performance also earns him the South African National Record for the indoor 5000m.
Trey Cunningham continued his storied collegiate career by winning his heat in the 60m hurdles with a time of 7.57 to automatically qualify for tomorrow’s final. He will compete at 3:30 p.m. EST for the Indoor National Championship in this event.
“Trey continued his undefeated season and was the boss of his heat today,” said Braman. “He’ll need to step it up even more if he is to win his first national title.”
In the men’s 60m dash prelims both Taylor Banks and Don’drea Swint just missed out on the final. Banks’ time of 6.66 was an equal seasons best effort that placed him in the unlucky position of being the first man out of the final. On the women’s side, after battling injuries all season, Jayla Kirkland put up a strong fight to finish 11th with a time of 7.28.
To close out day one, the women’s distance medley relay topped all others in Florida State history. The squad of Alyson Churchill, Edidiong Odiong, Yasmine Abbes, and Maudie Skyring ran a time of 10:59.16. The Noles took home the bronze which is the highest finish at the National Indoor meet in program history.
Saturday’s action resumes for Florida State at 3:30 p.m. EST as Cunningham competes in the 60m hurdles finals, followed by the women’s triple jump at 6:00 p.m. EST and the women’s 3000m at 8:00 p.m. EST.
The final day’s events will be broadcasted on ESPN3 which you can find the morning stream link HERE and the afternoon link HERE.
Keep up with the Seminoles by visiting Seminoles.com for the latest news and scheduling information or keep up with the team on social media via Twitter (@FSU_Track), Facebook (@FSUTrack), and Instagram (@fsu_track).