Iona University Athletics

GET TO KNOW JAYLEN:

• Favorite food? No Specific favorite (Big appetite)
• Favorite sports memory? My whole senior year season. Being a team leader, bringing the team to states for the first time, getting contacted for interviews and newspapers, being recognized at every meet as the undisputed best in my area. Reaching heights nobody has ever reached in our track program. Having the school recognize me as the best runner in school history and one of the top runners of all time in Albany, New York. But most of all, having fun with my teammates for the last time, as a team we were collectively the best team in school history, doing what's never been done at our school. And we had fun the whole way, creating an eternal brotherhood
• Nickname? Zone
• Hobbies outside of sports? Writing, music, video games, shopping, fashion, exercising
• Career goals? A high paying job in healthcare while also being close or connected to athletics
• Person I would most like to meet and why? Quincy hall or any 400m Olympian to get an understanding of their mentality. I'd also want them to give me pointers towards running the 400 and marketing myself to make money from track.
• Interesting things/facts about you? I have a very open mind and have experience with many different groups of people. I have also been called very emotionally mature and mentally aware by a lot of people, which is why I am studying psychology.
• After Iona I plan on? Starting a career
• Person/people I admire most and why? No one in particular, but I do respect people and their success
• Biggest accomplishment in life so far? Staying alive and not falling to peer pressure in the environment around me
• I try to mold my game after? Myself
• I chose my jersey number because? When I did have a number it was 7. Its my "lucky" number and can also create a Z (people used it for my nickname, instead of ZONE they wrote 7ONE)
• Pregame rituals? Walking in front of my blocks, standing completely still as I remove my thoughts, tune out all noise, and loosen all muscles. Then I open my eyes, look forward and take one final deep breath. I enact my steady breathing technique and try to 'feel' every muscle in my body. I do this so when im finally in the blocks my body is only aware of myself and no one else
• Anything about that could be a good feature story for a newspaper, magazine, television program, etc.? Before my senior season 1 day before the first meet I had gotten really bad food poisoning and high kidney levels and had to stay in the hospital for a few nights. Then in my first meet back I set a school record and started my dominance. ive also had a different injury in my right leg for 4 years straight, and my first ever injury was in elementary school where I needed crutches (for my right leg). My progression and journey from the bottom and unknown to #1 and known in my city could be a cool story