Jacory Patterson (born February 2, 2000) is an American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete specializing in the

sprints Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle * Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint ...

. A native of

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

, he won a gold medal at the 2016 USATF Junior Olympics in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

before focusing on sprinting events. Patterson attended

Dreher High School Dreher High School is a co-educational four-year public high school in Richland County School District One located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Dreher, established in 1938, is one of the oldest public high schools in South Carolina ...

in Columbia, where he broke the state record in the

200 m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

and won a state title in the

400 m The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is o ...

. As a freshman at

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

in 2019, Patterson set the world under-20 record in the indoor

300 m The 300 metres is an uncommon sprinting event in track and field competitions. All-time top 25 *+ = en route to 400 m performance *i = indoor performance *A = affected by altitude *OT = oversized track (> 200 m in circumference) *h = hand timi ...

with a time of 32.49 s. After winning six

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

championships at Virginia Tech from 2019 to 2021, he transferred to the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

ahead of his senior year. In 2022, Patterson set the collegiate record in the indoor 300 m with a time of 31.99 s to make him the eighth-fastest man in the history of the event.

Early years

A native of

, Patterson was born to Jamey Patterson and Charlene Bolton on February 2, 2000. He began

in the sixth grade because he always found himself to be the fastest kid on the playground. He attended

, where he competed in track and field and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, though he dropped the latter after the tenth grade when he realized he had more potential on the track. Patterson won the

competition at the 2016 USATF Junior Olympics, as well as the South Carolina 4A state title in the

as a senior in 2018. He broke the state record in the

, as well as school records in the

100 m 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 400 m, long jump and

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

. Patterson narrowed down his college choices to

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

and Clemson, ultimately committing to run track for the Virginia Tech Hokies in November 2017.

College career

Virginia Tech

Patterson competed for the Virginia Tech Hokies in the

(ACC) from 2019 to 2021, winning six ACC championships.

2019 indoor season

Patterson thought that the long jump could be his strongest event, but Virginia Tech sprints, hurdles, and relays coach Tim Vaught convinced him to focus on the

ahead of his freshman year. In his collegiate debut at the Virginia Tech Invitational on January 11, Patterson broke the world under-20 record in the indoor

with a time of 32.49 seconds. It was the second fastest time in indoor collegiate history. "I kind of looked at him after that run," said Vaught. "He knew that his jumping career was over." Patterson was named the Division I men's national athlete of the week by the U.S. Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for his performance. Two weeks later, he set a school record in the indoor 200 m after clocking 20.84 s at the Bob Pollock Invitational, shaving two-tenths of a second off the previous mark. Patterson broke another school record at the Virginia Tech Elite Meet on February 1, this time taking more than eight-tenths of a second off the indoor 400 m mark with a time of 46.14 s. Patterson won the 400 m title at the ACC Indoor Championships with a time of 46.04 s, improving on his own school record and becoming the first Virginia Tech athlete to win an indoor conference title in the 400 m distance. He competed at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, but was not able to finish his race due to making contact with another runner.

2019 outdoor season

In his first outdoor meet, Patterson posted a school record time in the 400 m at the Florida Relays. His official time of 45.76 s took almost a full second off the previous mark of 46.73 s set by Hillard Sumner in 1996. In April, Patterson won the 200 m race at the Tennessee Relays before winning the 400 m race at the War Eagle Invitational. At the ACC Outdoor Championships, Patterson won the 400 m title and placed second in the 200 m. He also finished second as a member of the 4 × 100 m relay team, recording a school record time of 39.46 s alongside teammates Michael Davenport, Joseph Tay and Cole Beck. Lastly, Patterson anchored the 4 × 400 m relay team that finished fourth. "He went out and did a great job," said coach Vaught of his performance. "I knew the key o competing in four eventswas going to be the recovery in between and telling him what to do and that type of stuff. I knew he was tough enough and strong enough to be able to handle those events." At the NCAA preliminaries, Patterson improved his school record in the 400 m by clocking a time of 45.46 s. He also reset the school record in the 4 × 100 m relay by timing 39.24 s with Davenport, Tay and Beck.

2020 indoor season

Patterson opened the season by setting the indoor 300 m collegiate record at the Virginia Tech Invitational with a time of a 32.28 seconds, breaking

Torrin Lawrence Torrin Lawrence (April 11, 1989 – July 28, 2014) was an American sprinter who competed in the 400 meters. He ran for the University of Georgia. Career Torrin attended Andrew Jackson High School in Jacksonville, Florida, though he did not start ...

's time of 32.32 seconds set in 2010. At the same meet, he anchored the 4 × 400 m relay team that recorded a school record time of 3:09.28. In February, Patterson broke his own school record in the indoor 400 m by running 45.75 s at the Texas Tech Shootout. Patterson improved on this mark once again at the ACC Indoor Championships, clocking 45.66 s to capture the 400 m title and qualify for the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships. He also claimed silver with the 4 × 400 m relay team. However, the national championships were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

2021 indoor season

After the cancellation of the 2020 outdoor season, Patterson took first place in the 300 m at the Virginia Tech Invitational to start the indoor season. His winning time of 32.61 ended up as the top indoor performance by an American in 2021. Patterson set a new school (and conference) record in the 400 m in February, running 45.24 for a second-place finish at the Tiger Paw Invitational. At the same event, he helped set a new school record in the 4 × 400 m relay, recording a time of 3:07.64 alongside teammates Patrick Forrest, Miles Green and Tyreke Sapp. Patterson won the 200 m and 400 m titles at the ACC Indoor Championships, setting a school record of 20.62 s in the former and a meet record of 45.38 s in the latter. He became just the fourth male sprinter in ACC history to win the 200/400 m double at the conference championships, earning the men's award for Most Outstanding Track performer. Patterson won a bronze medal in the 400 m event at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, breaking his own ACC record with a time of 45.14 s. He was named the ACC Men's Indoor Track Performer of the Year at the conclusion of the season.

2021 outdoor season

At the Florida Relays on April 3, Patterson became the first Virginia Tech athlete to break the 45-second barrier in the 400 m, clocking 44.81 s for a second-place finish. At the ACC Outdoor Championships, he won gold in the 400 m as well as the 4 × 400 m relay. The team of Patterson, Patrick Forrest, Cameron Rose and Tyreke Sapp became the first 4 × 400 m squad in school history to win an outdoor conference title. Patterson qualified to run in both events at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships, but instead announced his decision to transfer to the

just a few days before he was scheduled to compete. Patterson competed at the

U.S. Olympic Trials The United States Olympic Trials are competitions held in certain sports to select the United States' participants in those sports at the Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading i ...

in June, reaching the 400 m semifinals before being eliminated.

Florida

Patterson competed for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) as a senior in 2022.

2022 indoor season

Patterson won the Clemson Invitational in 31.99 s in his Florida debut, improving on his own 300 m collegiate record. He also set a personal best in the

60 m 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior ath ...

with a time of 6.68 s. At the Bob Pollock Invitational, Patterson won the 400 m race and ran the leadoff leg on the gold medal-winning 4 × 400 m relay team that set a new NCAA lead of 3:03.21. Two weeks later, he won the 200 m event and anchored the 4 × 400 m relay team to a new

world-leading performance The sports under the umbrella of athletics, particularly track and field, use a variety of statistics. In order to report that information efficiently, numerous abbreviations have grown to be common in the sport. Starting in 1948 by Bert Nelson a ...

of 3:02.09 at the Tyson Invitational. At the SEC Indoor Championships, Patterson finished fourth in the 400 m before anchoring the 4 × 400 m relay team to a silver medal performance. At the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, he finished fifth in the 400 m and seventh in the 4 × 400 m relay. Patterson was named an indoor first-team All-American in both events by the USTFCCCA.

2022 outdoor season

At the season opening Texas Relays, Patterson teamed with Dedrick Vanover, Ryan Willie and Jacob Miley to record the second-fastest 4 × 200 m relay time in school history at 1:21.02. On April 1, he ran a personal best time of 20.20 s to win his 200 m heat at the Florida Relays, tying for the NCAA lead and giving him the seventh-best time in school history. Two weeks later, Patterson set a new 100 m personal best in 10.11 s at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational. He also anchored the 4 × 400 m relay team that clocked a new collegiate record of 2:58.53 to close out the meet. The team of Patterson, Willie, Miley and Champion Allison became the first collegiate team in history to run under 2:59.00.

Achievements

Personal bests

All information taken from

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

profile.

National championships

Notes

References

External links

*
Virginia Tech Hokies bio

Florida Gators bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Jacory Living people 2000 births American male sprinters African-American track and field athletes American male track and field athletes Virginia Tech Hokies men's track and field athletes Florida Gators men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from South Carolina Sportspeople from Columbia, South Carolina 21st-century African-American sportspeople