Track and field has its hurdles. Athletes who are injured in the sport tend to retire early. Junior Allison Grimes has had a few potential career-ending injuries that have not only threatened her athleticism, but also her life.
Growing up, Allison and her sibling were playing a game she calls "run across the street before a car comes." On one of her attempts to cross the street, she tripped in the road and was hit by one of those cars. She was taken by helicopter to Austin, Texas, where she nearly died.
"They didn't expect me to live when I got hit," Grimes said.
Grimes, a native of the Lone Star State, had her heart set on traveling to the east coast for college. Now living her dream, Grimes is a graphics design major with aspirations of furthering her education by attending fashion design school. Despite this passion, her father was hesitant to support her dreams.
"My dad said I had to get a real degree first," Grimes said jokingly.
Grimes informed her high school track coach that she wanted to study in New York, who then contacted UB track head coach Vikki Mitchell for her. Grimes was subsequently recruited for the Bulls. After visiting the campus, Grimes knew UB was for her.
"She came...with her mom and visited the campus and surrounding area. She spent time with the women on the team and signed her scholarship papers before she left to go home," Mitchell said.
Grimes' career did not get off to the start that she had hoped for. A knee injury kept her from competing and forced Grimes to red-shirt her freshman year. She has suffered through three knee surgeries in total, one of which caused her to receive a knee ligament transplant. Grimes still trained with the team to rehabilitate the torn ligament injury. She recovered enough to compete as a sophomore, and established herself as a quality 400m long sprinter.
As a junior on the team, Grimes has become a team leader. Guiding by example, Grimes uses the confidence she has gained on the track, recently setting a career-best time of 58.9 sec in the 400m run.
"Allison has taken a little bit more along the lines of a leadership role, helping out the other girls in her event group within the sprints. She is going to get the girls in her event group around and make sure they are on task and doing what they are supposed to," Mitchell said.
Growing up as the oldest of five children made Grimes a strong candidate for a headship role. One of Grimes' proudest memories was when she was a senior in high school and she ran on all of her relay teams with her younger sister.
Grimes makes the monotony of college athletics go by easier with the support of good friend, roommate, and teammate Vanessa Roelofsen. The senior javelin thrower on the team, Roelofsen is always there to make their relationship fun.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
