Jaymes Talkington joined the Kennesaw State track and field program as associate head coach in February 2019.
Since taking over the jumping events in 2019, Talkington’s group has produced:
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Two second-team All-Americans
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Two All-America honorable mentions
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Four NCAA National Championship qualifiers
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28 NCAA East Preliminary qualifiers
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One USA Olympic Trials qualifier
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One USA Championships qualifier
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Three U20 Championships qualifiers
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33 ASUN Conference champions
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Five CUSA Conference champions
Talkington’s group saw eight qualifiers for the East Regional meet: Kaelen Mitchell, who finished 16th and set a PR/outdoor school record in the long jump at 7.90m (25-11); Rachel Swain in the long jump, who also finished 16th with a PR of 6.14m (20-1.75); Justin Campbell in the triple jump, who finished 13th with a leap of 15.79m (51-9.75); LJ Hill in the triple jump, who finished the year with a best of 15.61m (51-2.75); freshman Kenyatta Bennett in the high jump, who finished 13th with a mark of 2.15m (7-0.5); Simon Seid in the pole vault, who had a season best of 5.25m (17-2.75); Kaylee Brown in the high jump, who ended the season with a PR of 1.75m (5-8.75); and Jeremiah Sims in the long jump, who had a PR of 7.64m (25-0.75). The group produced five CUSA champions between the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Talkington’s jumpers collected seven ASUN event championships at the indoor and outdoor conference meets, highlighted by sweeping the podiums in the men’s and women’s pole vault and the men’s long jump. Seid broke both the indoor and outdoor school records in the men’s pole vault with a personal best of 5.36m (17-7). The group saw three qualifiers for the East Regional meet: Mitchell in the long jump, Seid in the pole vault, and Campbell in the triple jump. Freshman Zane Gibson qualified for the USA U20 Championship in the pole vault with a season best of 5.00m (16-4). The Owls won both the indoor and outdoor men’s and women’s team titles in the ASUN for the 2024 season.
The 2023 indoor and outdoor seasons were highlighted by Kelvin Campbell, who qualified for the outdoor national championship in the triple jump with a leap of 16.06m (52-8). He also broke the ASUN outdoor conference record in the triple jump and qualified for the USA Championships, where he finished 13th. Talkington also coached freshman Seid to the indoor and outdoor ASUN conference championships in the pole vault, where he set a personal best of 5.18m (17-0). Seid also qualified for the USA U20 Championships, finishing fourth. Talkington’s group produced seven individual ASUN conference champions, highlighted by the men’s group winning the long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault at the outdoor conference championship. The group qualified seven athletes for the NCAA East Preliminary meet: AJ Johnson in the pole vault with a PR of 5.25m (17-2); Seid in the pole vault with a PR of 5.18m (17-0); Kelvin Campbell in the triple jump with a PR of 16.06m (52-8); Mitchell in the long jump with a PR of 7.59m (24-11); Tayla Moreland in the triple jump with a PR of 12.62m (41-5); Sultan Simms in the high jump with a PR of 2.15m (7-0.5); and Juan Cavazos in the high jump with a PR of 2.15m (7-0.5).
In the 2022 indoor and outdoor season, Talkington coached Jasmine Akins to become the first women’s long jumper in KSU history to make finals at the NCAA Indoor National Championships with a jump of 6.37m (20-10.75). She finished ninth with second-team All-America honors. Jada Smith broke the indoor school and ASUN indoor conference records in the pole vault at 3.97m (13-0.25). Kennesaw State now holds both the indoor and outdoor men’s and women’s ASUN conference records in the pole vault. Akins and Smith won their events at the ASUN Indoor Championship. Freshman AJ Johnson won both the indoor and outdoor ASUN championships in the men’s pole vault, finishing with a season best of 5.15m (16-10.75) and qualifying for the NCAA East Preliminary meet. Two others qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary meet: Simms in the high jump and Akins in the long jump. Akins advanced to the NCAA Outdoor National Championships, where she earned honorable mention. She was the first Owl in KSU history to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor National Championships in the women’s long jump.
At the conclusion of the 2021 indoor and outdoor seasons, Talkington’s jumpers claimed eight ASUN event championships and 11 All-ASUN finishes. Five athletes qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary meet in a total of six events. Jack Rhea advanced to the NCAA Outdoor National Championships, finishing with second-team All-America honors after placing 10th in the pole vault. Rhea also broke the indoor and outdoor school and conference records in the pole vault with a personal-best jump of 5.35m. Qwazon Al-Khaliq, who was also the ASUN outdoor champion, qualified for the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials in the triple jump with a season best of 15.78m. During the 2019-20 indoor season, Brenton Rosa broke the school record in the men’s pole vault with a jump of 5.06m. Talkington coached three ASUN indoor champions and five All-ASUN finishers, including a sweep of the podium in the men’s triple jump. In his first year at KSU, he coached Erica Sergeant to break the women’s outdoor pole vault record three times and her own ASUN conference record with a final jump of 4.15m. He also coached the women’s indoor and men’s outdoor ASUN champions in the triple jump. In total, he coached nine All-ASUN performers and two NCAA regional qualifiers in the pole vault.
Talkington came to KSU after two years as an assistant coach at Western Carolina working with jumps and multi-event athletes. While at WCU, he coached nine Southern Conference champions, four NCAA regional qualifiers and five Southern Conference championship teams. Off the track, he oversaw recruiting and served as a liaison to multiple groups across campus. He spent 2014-16 at Marshall University while completing his master’s degree in sport administration. In his first year, he served as a graduate assistant coach working with jump, multi and sprint events. He helped develop two All-Conference USA multi-event athletes and one second-team All-America triple jumper who still holds the school record at 13.56m (44-6). In his final season, he became director of operations, managing the day-to-day operations of the Marshall track and field program.
Talkington holds a USA Track & Field Level 1 coaching certificate, a USTFCCCA jumps specialist certification and a USTFCCCA strength and conditioning certification. He graduated from the University of Wyoming in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in history and was a jumper for the Cowboys track and field team.
