Florida State University sprinter Shenese Walker is still processing her triple-gold performance at the ACC Outdoor Championships this past weekend, where she claimed titles in the 100m, 200m, and as part of the 4x100m relay team. The 22-year-old Jamaican also walked away with the Championship MVP, capping a breakout weekend that further underscored her steady development during her collegiate career.
“I’m still trying to process it. I’m very grateful,” said Walker, who clocked a wind-assisted 10.99 seconds in the 100m and dipped under 23 seconds for the first time in the 200m. “It all happened at once, like in one weekend—three-peat. Yeah, I’m going in the right direction.”
Walker opened her account with a commanding performance in the 100m, clocking a wind-aided 10.99 seconds (+2.8 m/s) to finish well ahead of Clemson freshman Aniyah Kitt (11.10) and Louisville senior Kiyah Yeast (11.24). Though aided by a trailing wind above the legal limit, the time underscored her dominance.
“I’m finally starting to understand how to transition through my drive phase and finish my race. Despite the wind, I still went sub-11 and I’m grateful," she told Sportsmax.TV. "That means I have it in me to go sub-11 legally. So that was my favourite, because the 100 is my favourite event.”
She returned later in the day to take the 200m title, running 22.72 seconds with a +3.7 m/s tailwind to again hold off Yeast (22.73) and Duke’s Braelyn Baker (22.83). The time came as a surprise even to Walker.
“I didn’t know I was going that fast,” she admitted. “When I saw the time, I was like, ‘Whoa.’ That was also my first time under 23. I don’t really run the 200 a lot, but still—yeah.”
Walker kicked off her incredibly successful Saturday as a member of FSU’s 4x100m Women’s relay team that won gold in a meet record 43.15. Clemson claimed the silver in 43.39, while Duke was third in 43.97.
The three wins earned her MVP honours, highlighting her consistency and elite status among collegiate sprinters. Walker, who dominated the indoor season as well with ACC titles in the 60m and 200m, credits her progression to refining small technical details in her races, particularly after transferring from Lincoln University to FSU.
“At FSU, the focus is more on small, specific details—my arm drive, block execution, how I transition out of the drive phase,” she said. “Just minor things, but they’re important. The goal is to get close to perfection—even though there’s really no such thing as perfection in track.”
Looking ahead to the NCAA Championships in June, Walker’s goals remain rooted in staying healthy and consistent rather than chasing times.
“For me, I just want to stay consistent—by that I mean staying under the sub-11 mark. It will happen,” she said. "I don’t race a lot, so my body isn’t worn down—or “burnt out” as we’d say in Jamaica. So there’s a lot more to come."