Grimes breaks SD State Classic record
Following last week’s first-place finish, All-American sophomore Isaac Grimes, of Moreno Valley, California, led the Chadron State Eagles by breaking meet and facility records in the long jump, Friday, and placing runner-up in the 60-meter dash finals, Saturday, at the South Dakota State Classic in Brookings, South Dakota.
According to CSC Sports Information, Grimes jumped 25 feet, 8 inches, breaking the previous record set by fellow CSC long jumper Damarcus Simpson at 24 feet, 5 ½ inches in 2015. In the 60-meter dash Grimes took second place with a time of 6.79 seconds, just three one-hundredths of a second shy of his season- and career-best.
Head Coach Riley Northrup said much of the success Grimes has had this season is due to “reworked patterns” in training to make him a stronger and healthier athlete.
“We’ve reworked some patterns, and he’s a lot stronger overall as an athlete, so now he’s able to put together a series of training cycles three to four weeks at a time where he’s healthy and he’s feeling good,” Northrup said. “You can kind of push the envelope. If you’re going to continue to improve then you have to be pushing the envelope.”
CSC’s Javan Lanier, sophomore of Aurora, Colorado, also made it to the 60-meter dash semifinals with a time of 7.05 seconds, but his time did not qualify him for finals. In the long jump, Lanier finished third with a jump of 22-feet, 9 3/4 inches, his season best.
Chadron State hurdler Justin Leman, senior of Douglas, Wyoming, qualified for finals in the 60-meter hurdles Saturday, and placed eighth with a time of 8.47 seconds. Leman’s time was just four-tenths of a second from his season- and career-best.
Alyse Henry, senior of Pickerington, Ohio, placed 16th in the mile and 18th in the 3000 meter run with times of 5:09:13 and 10:20:81, respectively. Both times were career-bests for Henry.
Thrower Ashton Hallsted, junior of Casper, Wyoming, didn’t get past preliminaries Saturday after fouling all three of her throws in the weight throw. Northrup said that although Hallsted fouled, it’s merely “a matter of working out technical kinks” to shake off her performance and prepare for RMAC Indoor Championships in two weeks.
The Eagles will travel to Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota, next Saturday for the Stinger Open. With championships fast approaching, Northrup said that’s where the team has its focus.
“We’ve just got our eyes set now for two weeks from now when we go to Adams to the RMAC Championships. Hopefully we’ll have some good performances there and can bring home some hardware,” Northrup said.