Keyes Video
TACOMA, Wash. - Imani Keyes, a Pacific Lutheran University student-athlete runs for the track & field team and studies business and history.
When Keyes was in high school, she discovered her track & field talents. She was a soccer player and was very fast on the field. She knew she had the ability to run track & field and started perusing it during her sophomore year of high school.
This season is Keyes' first year competing as a collegiate athlete. She said that she is physically and mentally prepared to take on the season and set new records for herself.
On March 1st, Keyes competed in her first collegiate meet. She won first place in both the 200-meters and also the 400-meters at Linfield College's Erik Anderson Memorial Icebreaker. Last Saturday she won the 100-meters at the PLU Open and finished second in the 200. Keyes was named the Northwest Conference Track Athlete of the Week after both meets.
"I was nervous for my first collegiate meet. I knew I would be competing with older athletes who had more experience than me," Keyes said. "Winning both the 200 and 400 was exhilarating. I tried hard and pushed through to win. All of the practice and years of track and field is benefiting me in my college career, and it is exciting to see that. The 200 was the most competition I have had my whole track career," explained Keyes. "The person in the third lane kept up with me the whole time. I knew I actually had competition. I ran my race and keep the form."
Through years of training, Keyes' has learned that being in the correct mental state makes the difference of winning or finishing a race.
"During the 400, my mentality was to finish the race. The weather was nice, but there was some headwind, so I had to get off the block faster," said Keyes. "For the 200, I remembered what my uncle said when I was younger and that was that my whole mentality was to be fast at the blocks and maintain form for the rest of the race."
Keyes' goal for the season is to get a 24.8 in the 200 and to get a 57 in the 400. She explained that her goal is reasonable but is going to take a lot of hard work.
"I finished with a 60 in the 400, so I think I am at a good place to reach my goals," Keyes said.
Currently, Keyes holds the fastest time for the 200 in Division III. She is excited to have that title, but knows she is expected to keep it and improve her time.
"Honestly, I was surprised of how well I did. I know my capabilities, but there was a lot of competition," Keyes said. "I am proud of myself for pushing through and finishing my first collegiate track meet."
Keyes chose to attend PLU because she values a strong education. She could have gone to a Division I or Division II school but chose PLU because she can focus on her education and still compete in the sport she loves. She also wanted to attend a college near her family so she could see them every day and also attend her meets.
"Another factor adding to my decision to attend PLU was the school colors. My favorite color is yellow, so I couldn't pass up the offer to wear my favorite color on meet days," laughed Keyes.
Keyes studies business and has a minor in history. With her degree, she wants to be a museum curator in the future and run her own business doing that. She wants to help people answer questions and learn to respect everyone through history. may double major.
"My favorite subject has always been history. I want people to understand how to approach present day issues using history because you can learn so much from history and how to apply it today to fix problems. Anyone can know trivia- it's easy. But to know what happened in the past and how to apply it to the future is what people need to understand."
This weekend, the PLU track & field team will compete at the Peyton Scoring Meet at University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. Keyes hopes to show an improvement for this meet and to win her events.
