Jeyland Valentin set new personal bests at the end of her senior season which saw college coaches from across the country coveting the Northeast hurdler. Valentin, who was fourth in the 100m hurdles and third in the 300m hurdles at the 4A state meet and boasts PR's of 14.30 and 41.93, recently announced she will attend Indiana University.
What was the recruiting process like for you?
The recruiting process was pretty exciting. I flew alone for the first time and travel to states I've never been before. It was very hectic, though, because I was lagging behind in the recruiting process and had to schedule my visits between my regional meet and the end of May in order to make my decision by the time I planned.
When did the recruiting process really take off for you?
My recruiting process really took off once I was maintaining an average 42 second range in the 300m hurdles. It exploded when I broke the 42 barrier at states. My coach was telling me how crazy it was that so many colleges that never reached out to her before was reaching out to her now about me.
Where else did you consider/take visits to?
I considered UConn, UCF, USC, and visited Western Kentucky, University of Illinois, and Indiana University.
In the end you picked the Hoosiers. What was it that sold you about IU?
IU was my last visit and I was already leaning toward them due to the schools history. When I got to Bloomington the day after Golden South, I felt like I was home. The vibe the campus gave off was positive and bright and reminded me of my hometown Easton, Pennsylvania where I was raised before moving to Florida. Then I got to hang out with the coaching staff and the team, and visit the academic advisor and it was a perfect fit.
What do you plan on studying?
I plan to study Kinesiology.
What are your goals for the next level?
My goals for the next level is to get a good education and continue to push myself to places it's never been, bring in points for my team, and hopefully make a living based off of sports.
You finished 4th in the 100m hurdles and 3rd in the 300m hurdles at the state meet your senior year. How would you sum up your high school career?
I'd sum up my high school career as an amazing learning experience and being very blessed to have supportive family and coaches at Northeast High School look out for my best interest and prepare me for my college career.
