Jamaal James Season 2007
Event: 800M (IN: 1:48.58; OUT: 1:47.00)
3-time All-American
2-time SEC Champion
6-time All-SEC
CAREER CAPSULE
Was a three-time NCAA Indoor All-American during his collegiate career from 2007-10 … Finished fifth in the 800-meter run at the NCAA Indoor Championships during his freshman season in 2007 … Wrapped up his career as a senior in 2010 with a second indoor All-America honor in the 800 meters, finishing sixth nationally at the NCAA Indoor meet … Also earned indoor All-America honors during his sophomore season in 2008 as he ran the 800 leg on the Tigers’ distance medley relay team that finished in sixth place at the national meet … Was a two-time SEC champion in the 800 meters … Swept SEC Indoor and SEC Outdoor titles in the half mile during his freshman year in 2007 … Followed with a pair of All-SEC honors in the 800 meters during the 2008 season as he finished runner-up in the event indoors and outdoors at the SEC meet … Finished his career ranked No. 5 on LSU’s all-time indoor and outdoor performance list in the 800 meters … Left the program with PRs of 1:48.58 indoors and 1:47.00 outdoors … Also ran the 800-meter leg on LSU’s school-record holding distance medley relay team that clocked an impressive time of 9:35.31 during the 2008 season.
2010
Wrapped up his collegiate career as an All-American in 2010 … One of the nation’s premier middle distance runners during the indoor season … Earned All-America honors in the 800-meter run with a sixth-place finish in the event final at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. … Clocked 1:49.21 in the final at the NCAA Indoor meet … Qualified for the national final with the fifth-fastest time of the prelim round with a 1:49.67 clocking … Recorded an indoor seasonal-best time of 1:48.73 in a third-place finish at the Tyson Invitational … Earned his sixth career All-SEC honor during the indoor season by running the 1,200-meter leg on LSU’s distance medley relay team that finished runner-up at the SEC Indoor Championships … Teamed with Garrek Thompson, Sadiki White and Alan Sticker for the sixth-fastest DMR time in school history at 9:51.57 … Qualified to run the 800 meters at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds in Greensboro, N.C., during the outdoor season … Earned a 15th-place finish in the NCAA prelims with a time of 1:48.76 in the national quarterfinals … Earned a 12th-place finish in the 800 meters at the SEC Outdoor Championships, running 1:50.94 in the conference semifinal … Recorded an outdoor season best of 1:48.34 in a runner-up finish in the 800 meters at the LSU Alumni Gold … Earned a third-place finish in the 1,500 meters at the LSU Tiger Relays with a time of 3:57.28 … Anchored the Tigers to the 4×800-meter relay title at the Texas Relays with a winning time of 7:30.25.
2009
Competed in the 800 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships for the second time in his career … Earned a 23rd- place finish at the national meet after running 1:50.43 in the first round of qualifying … Qualified automatically for the NCAA Outdoor meet with a third-place finish in the 800 meters at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships … Crossed the finish line in 1:49.17 in the regional final … Clocked an outdoor seasonal best with a time of 1:48.86 at the Sun Angel Classic to qualify for the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships … Earned a 15th-place finish in his specialty at the SEC Outdoor Championships, running a time of 1:51.50 at the conference meet … Scored three points for the Tigers with a sixth-place finish in the 800 meters at the SEC Indoor meet … Ran 1:51.01 in the conference final … Ran an indoor seasonal best of 1:49.85 in a fourth-place finish at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational … His time at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational was an NCAA provisional qualifying time … Also ran NCAA provisional qualifying times at the Tyson Invitational (1:50.37) and Cyclone National Qualifier (1:49.94).
2008
A key member of one of the deepest and more talented groups of middle distance runners in the nation in 2008 … Earned a pair of All-SEC honors by finishing runner-up in the 800 meters at both the SEC Indoor and Outdoor Championships … Recorded seasonal bests in the 800-meter final at both conference meets … Was second at the SEC Indoor Championships with a time of 1 minute, 48.73 seconds … Finished runner-up at the SEC Outdoor Championships with a time of 1:47.91 … Earned the right to compete in the 800 meters at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships … Placed 14th at the indoor national meet with a time of 1:52.37 in the qualifying round … Went on to place 16th in the event at the NCAA Outdoor meet with a time of 1:49.43 … Received an at-large berth into the NCAA Outdoor Championships following his seventh-place finish in the 800 meters at the NCAA Mideast Regional … Clocked a time of 1:48.87 in the finals at the regional meet … Also a key contributor to LSU’s 4×400-meter relay throughout the 2008 season … Ran the second leg on the foursome that earned all-conference honors with a runner-up finish at the SEC Indoor Championships (3:07.79) … Earned All-America honors during the indoor season while running the 800-meter leg of the Tigers’ distance medley relay team … Teamed with Michael Hendry (1,200 meters), Armanti Hayes (400 meters) and John Kosgei (mile) to place sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a time of 9:35.72 … Marked the first time that the Tigers earned All-America honors in the distance medley relay in the history of the LSU track and field program … Also ran the 800-meter leg on the DMR that set the school record with a time of 9:35.31 at the Tyson Invitational.
2007
Proved to be one of the nation’s premier 800-meter runners during his freshman season … Earned his first career All-America honor in the event during the indoor season … Crossed the finish line in fifth place at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 1:49.69 in the final … Was the top freshman finisher at the NCAA meet … Clocked the fastest preliminary time at the indoor national meet with a new indoor PR of 1:48.58 … Time ranks No. 2 on the school’s all-time indoor performance list … Became the first SEC athlete since South Carolina’s Otukile Lekote in 2002 to sweep SEC Indoor and SEC Outdoor titles in the 800 meters … Crossed the finish line in 1:49.08 at the indoor conference meet … His outdoor PR of 1:47.00 in the final at the SEC Outdoor Championships shattered the 33-year-old national junior record for Trinidad & Tobago for an athlete under the age of 20 … It also moved him into the No. 4 spot on LSU’s all-time outdoor list in the event … Was the top-ranked freshman in the 800 meters on the national descending order list during both the indoor and outdoor seasons … Missed his opportunity to represent the Tigers at the NCAA Outdoor Championships as he finished 14th in his specialty at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships … Followed the collegiate season by representing Trinidad & Tobago at the 2007 Pan American Junior Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil … Won a silver medal in the 800 meters with a time of 1:48.87 in the final … Earned the right to represent his country at the Pan Am Juniors by striking gold at the Sagicor National Open Track and Field Championships … Was also a standout in the classroom during his first season with the Tigers … Was one of two Tigers to be named to the SEC Freshman Academic Honor Roll.
PRIOR TO LSU
One of the world’s premier junior performers in the 800 meters in 2006 … Clocked the fourth-best 800-meter time in the world by an athlete under the age of 18 with a PR of 1:48.64 … Won a gold medal in the event at the 2006 Carifta Games after clocking a time of 1:52.64 in the final heat … Was a finalist in the 800 meters at the 2005 IAAF World Junior Championships, finishing the meet in fifth place … Advanced to the finals at the World Championships in 2005 with a time of 1:50.31 in his semifinal heat, becoming the only athlete from the Western Hemisphere to compete in the event finals … Won a gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Championships in 2004 and 2006 … Was a five-time Jamaican Junior National Champion in the 800 meters from 2002 through 2006.
PERSONAL
Full name is Jamaal Kamau James … Born on Sept. 4, 1988 … Was born in Canada but is a resident of Trincity, Trinidad … Has a brother, Plabel, who plays professional basketball in France … Majoring in communication studies.