Mimi Land continues to excel at Clemson

ALBANY — Many remember Mimi Land as the talented high schooler who helped lead the Monroe Lady Tornadoes to four state titles while acquiring 10 individual titles herself.

Now a junior at Clemson, Land hasn’t missed a beat since moving on. Just this past season, Land earned ACC Most Valuable Field Performer honors after compiling the most points of any athlete in the field at the league meet.

She notched all-conference finishes in the high jump and triple jump, setting personal outdoor bests in both, clearing 5-11.25 in the high jump and leaping 41-8.75 in the triple jump to qualify for the NCAA championships in both events. She also earned a silver and bronze medal in the triple and high jump respectively at the ACC championships amongst her many other accolades.

For Land, the family atmosphere at Clemson resembles that which she was used to at Monroe and made the transition from high school to Division I athletics that much easier as she worked to adjust to her new coaches and their respective styles. She said since joining the team at Clemson, she’s focused on all of the small but important aspects of being an athlete such as diet and mechanics.

“In high school, we could have a meal from McDonald’s and go practice … you can’t do that here.” she said laughing. “Little things like putting my foot a certain way or weightroom-type things and paying attention to my diet. Everything plays a role. ”

She added that being able to focus on a few events per meet has also helped.

“In high school, I had a lot of events, but I was able to be an athlete and work from this event to this event on the same day,” she said. “Being able to have that confidence and that motivation helps in college when I’m narrowing it down to like certain events and I can focus on that one thing.”

The attention to detail plus her God-given talent has helped her earn several spots in Clemson’s record book. She currently ranks second all-time in the indoor and outdoor high jump, fifth in the indoor triple jump, sixth in the outdoor long jump and 10th in the outdoor triple jump.

With an impressive high school career and her nearly completed college career, Land said she has her sights set on the next logical step in her already decorated career — the Olympics.

“I am training,” she said. “Since it’ll be my senior year, or that’ll be after I graduate, I’ll probably end up going with the school because it’ll still be in my eligibility. I will be, Lord willing if I stay healthy and my marks are hitting fine, I will be at the trials.”