THE LAST TIME that T’Mars McCallum raced at Hayward Field, he wasn’t very pleased with his performance. While most other sprinters would have been thrilled to make the NCAA finals of both the 100 and the 200, McCallum, who had turned 21 a few weeks earlier, had been looking for something quite a bit better.
He had come to Eugene with a 100 PR of 9.94 from last year. Though he placed only 7th at the SEC meet, he had led both his races at regionals, with times of 10.16 and 10.04. At 200, he had failed to make the SEC final but blasted a huge 19.83 at regionals. It was a world leader at the time, making him =6 among all collegians ever.
He knew he had what it took. NCAA semi performances of 10.03 and 20.03 put him in good position. He started finals day with an anchor on the Vols’ 4×1, which placed 5th in 38.79. Yet in the 100 showdown he ran uncharacteristically tight, finishing 8th in 10.24. Then in the 200, a 20.16 put him in the middle of the pack, far from the action up front.
“He was just down that meet,” says Tennessee coach Duane Ross. “I think emotionally and physically, he put a lot into that meet and it just didn’t come out the way he wanted it. He came off that, and he was down in the dumps afterward. But T’Mars is the type of guy, he finds a way to pull himself out of that hole.”
That’s what happened at the Ed Murphey Classic in Memphis. It would be McCallum’s only meet between the two nationals, and thus his only chance to recalibrate himself as a racer. In the 100, stuck in lane 9, he found a way to dominate, streaking across the line in 9.87, with the wind just a tick over the allowable at 2.1.
“In lane 9, I knew I had to focus more on my own race model,” he says. “I just wanted to make sure I was locked in and able to execute my race. The race wasn’t as fast as I thought it felt, actually. But I’m grateful for that time.”
In the 200, a nice 1.8 breeze helped McCallum to a lifetime best 19.73. That took over the world lead from the 19.76 that Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo had blitzed at the Prefontaine Classic a week earlier. “Seeing my time in the 100, all I had to do was just stay patient and the 200 time would come.”
He admits, “Honestly, it was a little bit of a slow start. I was cramping a little bit before we ran that race, so I didn’t get the best start that I know I usually could have. I was able to pick it up on the curve.
“[Running a world leader] feels surreal, but it also feels good to know that my hard work that I put in from the fall has paid off.”
The Memphis performances did not erase his NCAA disappointments: “You can’t go back and redo those races,” he says. “But there’s always more chances in the future, whether it be at USAs or at NCAAs next year.”
A ’22 grad of Carolina Forest High in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, McCallum had been known mostly as a 100/long jump type when Ross recruited him. He had been around track for a good while: “My parents threw me in it when I was 5.” His attitude changed his senior year, when he took his 100 best from 10.72 to 10.13 — the HS list leader that season. He long jumped 25-3w (7.69) and ran 200 in 20.71. At New Balance Nationals, he won the 100, placed 2nd in the 200, and long jumped 5th. He finished that season earning T&FN All-America ratings of No. 2 in the 100 and No. 3 in the 200.
“I started to take track more seriously,” he explains. “I started to get more in the weight room. I started training myself and actually making track my main sport and having goals.”
In Knoxville, the ride didn’t start out easy. “My very first collegiate meet, I ran real bad, got chewed out a little bit, and it just made me question if the sport was for me or not. That was definitely one of the lowest times. I just felt like giving up the sport.”
He found the support he needed, crediting assistant coach Ron Garner and the Vol hurdle crew with helping him find his way. “The hurdlers really took me under their wing to make me push harder, not just as a short sprinter, but to even compete with them on a day-to-day basis to make myself the best I could be.”
Says Ross, “He’s very self-motivated. If anything, I gotta tell the guy, ‘No, we’re not practicing, today’s a recovery day.’ But you know, you love those types of kids, where he wants another rep, he wants another day of practice and what not. I’ll take those types of kids all day. He’s killing it, man.”
McCallum admits his work ethic was hard-wired into him by his parents, both college professors. “They instilled the hard work in me from a young age, and that comes from seeing how hard they worked themselves in their jobs to provide for me and my little brother.”
That frosh year he ended up hitting 10.26 and placing 3rd at USATF’s U20 meet. At 200 he ran 20.92 for 5th.
In ’24, Ross and the 5-8/155 (1.73/78) McCallum decided it was time to leave the long jump behind. “It just didn’t translate well in college. That forced me to focus on the sprints more.” The pay-off came quickly. He hit PRs of 9.94 and 20.33 and made All-SEC in both sprints.
He says the environment he is in has motivated his progress. “It’s made me want to work harder. You know, seeing the other athletes around me flourish, like Clem [Duclos], Randolph [Ross] or Jacious [Sears], seeing them flourish and seeing their lives change made me want to work even harder and be world class.”
Now McCallum’s focus is on finding a very different outcome at the USATF Championships when he returns to Eugene. “I definitely feel like I’m in a good mental space. I’m feeling confident.”
He says the NCAA experience has helped him determine a better mindset for the big meets: “To not put external pressure on yourself, not have expectations and not let your emotions control you on the day. You know, you still got to stay level-headed and try to be a professional.”
He adds, “I hope this season takes me to not just being on Team USA but representing my country and doing the best I can for the USA. I never put a limit on how fast I feel I can go.”
