SE: Walker Persistent in Path to K-State Track and Field, NCAA Outdoor Championships
May 31, 2019 | Track & Field, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
The day Jullane Walker qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas, somewhat mirrored the moment he realized he could come to K-State.
Both brought elation for the Jamaican long jumper and sprinter. Both followed setbacks and struggles. Both were testaments to the hard work Walker relied on to overcome them.
"My journey was pretty interesting," said Walker, who will compete in the long jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships next Wednesday. "It was difficult but never difficult in the sense where you want to give up. It was difficult in the sense that this is just what you have to do to get to here."
Soon after Walker realized track and field could take him to college in the United States, somewhere around his junior year of high school, K-State became the place he wanted to be. K-State assistant coach Vincent Johnson was the main reason why.
"Coach Johnson seemed really interested. He really made me know that he wants me here and he believes that I can do what I think I can do as well," Walker said. "He took a lot of time off to come to Jamaica to visit me and to really assure that they wanted me here."
One major obstacle stood in Walker's way: The SATs.
The Kingston, Jamaica native said the math section tripped him up the first few times he took the standardized test, ultimately keeping him below the score he needed to qualify for K-State. Each time he came up short, Walker said he was left thinking: What am I going to do now?
Eventually, the answer he came up with was to find another path to K-State.
That's how Walker ended up at Saginaw Valley College, a Division II school in Michigan. Walker competed the 2016-17 season there and placed 11th in the 100-meter dash at the NCAA Division II Championships. He also managed a large class load and some self-doubt en route to compiling a transcript that got him to K-State.
"There was one point in a semester at Saginaw where I had to take like six classes," he said. "When it got down to that point of all those classes piling on, I went, 'Is this worth it?'"
After the fact, when Walker passed all those classes and was given the green light to transfer to K-State, he valued the work he put in even more.
"That moment, to find out I was coming here, I was, like, 'Finally.' This is where I was supposed to come from the very beginning, and a lot of obstacles came in my way," he said. "It just assured me that all of this was worth something. It's just hard work. Once you put in the hard work, you are going to get the results. Regardless of how hard it is, you just have to stick with it."
Nearly four seasons later (counting indoor and outdoor separately), Walker shared a similar sentiment to how he qualified for his first NCAA Division I Championship.
"I think it was just hard work and confidence, and me telling myself that this year was the year," he said. "Coming here, that was my sole goal, and I've always struggled to pass that point when that point arrives."
Last outdoor season, Walker came less than a foot short of qualifying for outdoor nationals in the long jump. It fueled him to get faster and stronger, which led to technique and strategic changes to how he jumped, which became hurdles in themselves. For example, he completely changed his flight technique because of his increased speed. It took time, filled with hard lessons, to see the rewards.
Fortunately for Walker, he already had his own blueprint to follow.
"It was kind of the same (as how I got to K-State) because trying to get to the next level, which is the national level, you have many stages you have to go through. To get to those stages you have to be at the top level of collegiate athletes, and that doesn't come easy," Walker said. "That takes a lot of hard work, a lot of time, and a lot of dedication. Sometimes you get to a point where you're tired, you don't want to go to practice, you want to rest, but, at the end of the day, this is what you do this for, to be nationally recognized. This is the end goal, so regardless of all that, you know you have to make it through this to get to that point."
Walker made it through in a big way at the NCAA West Preliminary meet last week. He recorded a monster personal-best mark of 7.78m/25-06.25 to finish fourth and qualify with ease to the NCAA's pinnacle outdoor meet.
The moment, he said, felt similar to the one he experienced a few years before, when he first found out he could come to K-State. Even if it required a different path than he initially imagined, it was always the goal, but not the end goal.
"I really felt like that was the tip of the iceberg for what I've been working so hard for," he said. "To be here, going to Austin…this is where I always have to be. This is where I'm striving to be. This is where I want to be."
Editor's Note: Starting next week, K-State Sports Extra will begin its summer schedule and be published Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
The day Jullane Walker qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas, somewhat mirrored the moment he realized he could come to K-State.
Both brought elation for the Jamaican long jumper and sprinter. Both followed setbacks and struggles. Both were testaments to the hard work Walker relied on to overcome them.
"My journey was pretty interesting," said Walker, who will compete in the long jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships next Wednesday. "It was difficult but never difficult in the sense where you want to give up. It was difficult in the sense that this is just what you have to do to get to here."
Soon after Walker realized track and field could take him to college in the United States, somewhere around his junior year of high school, K-State became the place he wanted to be. K-State assistant coach Vincent Johnson was the main reason why.
"Coach Johnson seemed really interested. He really made me know that he wants me here and he believes that I can do what I think I can do as well," Walker said. "He took a lot of time off to come to Jamaica to visit me and to really assure that they wanted me here."
One major obstacle stood in Walker's way: The SATs.
The Kingston, Jamaica native said the math section tripped him up the first few times he took the standardized test, ultimately keeping him below the score he needed to qualify for K-State. Each time he came up short, Walker said he was left thinking: What am I going to do now?
Eventually, the answer he came up with was to find another path to K-State.
That's how Walker ended up at Saginaw Valley College, a Division II school in Michigan. Walker competed the 2016-17 season there and placed 11th in the 100-meter dash at the NCAA Division II Championships. He also managed a large class load and some self-doubt en route to compiling a transcript that got him to K-State.
"There was one point in a semester at Saginaw where I had to take like six classes," he said. "When it got down to that point of all those classes piling on, I went, 'Is this worth it?'"
After the fact, when Walker passed all those classes and was given the green light to transfer to K-State, he valued the work he put in even more.
"That moment, to find out I was coming here, I was, like, 'Finally.' This is where I was supposed to come from the very beginning, and a lot of obstacles came in my way," he said. "It just assured me that all of this was worth something. It's just hard work. Once you put in the hard work, you are going to get the results. Regardless of how hard it is, you just have to stick with it."
Nearly four seasons later (counting indoor and outdoor separately), Walker shared a similar sentiment to how he qualified for his first NCAA Division I Championship.
"I think it was just hard work and confidence, and me telling myself that this year was the year," he said. "Coming here, that was my sole goal, and I've always struggled to pass that point when that point arrives."
Last outdoor season, Walker came less than a foot short of qualifying for outdoor nationals in the long jump. It fueled him to get faster and stronger, which led to technique and strategic changes to how he jumped, which became hurdles in themselves. For example, he completely changed his flight technique because of his increased speed. It took time, filled with hard lessons, to see the rewards.
Fortunately for Walker, he already had his own blueprint to follow.
"It was kind of the same (as how I got to K-State) because trying to get to the next level, which is the national level, you have many stages you have to go through. To get to those stages you have to be at the top level of collegiate athletes, and that doesn't come easy," Walker said. "That takes a lot of hard work, a lot of time, and a lot of dedication. Sometimes you get to a point where you're tired, you don't want to go to practice, you want to rest, but, at the end of the day, this is what you do this for, to be nationally recognized. This is the end goal, so regardless of all that, you know you have to make it through this to get to that point."
Walker made it through in a big way at the NCAA West Preliminary meet last week. He recorded a monster personal-best mark of 7.78m/25-06.25 to finish fourth and qualify with ease to the NCAA's pinnacle outdoor meet.
The moment, he said, felt similar to the one he experienced a few years before, when he first found out he could come to K-State. Even if it required a different path than he initially imagined, it was always the goal, but not the end goal.
"I really felt like that was the tip of the iceberg for what I've been working so hard for," he said. "To be here, going to Austin…this is where I always have to be. This is where I'm striving to be. This is where I want to be."
Editor's Note: Starting next week, K-State Sports Extra will begin its summer schedule and be published Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
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