Submitted by EIU Athletics
Sophomore sprinter Taji Mathis-Akinremi quit wrestling in his past to race in track and field.
Sophomore sprinter Taji Mathis-Akinremi is in his second year with Eastern’s track and field team.
From Chicago, Mathis-Akinremi attended Homewood-Flossmoor High School and got his start on the track during his freshman year of high school. Throughout his time in high school, Mathis-Akinremi was a state champion at the end of his senior year after his 4×100 meter relay team recorded a final time of 42.03 in 2022.
In this Q&A, Mathis-Akinremi talks about his reason to commiting to Eastern, why the men’s track team is the funniest team on the campus and why he decided to quit wrestling to focus on track.
Q: When did you start running track?
A: “I started doing track my freshman year of high school. I started getting good at it my sophomore year of high school.”
Q: Were you always a sprinter?
A: “I was always a sprinter. I never did no other events.”
Q: Is there a reason why you didn’t do any other events?
A: “My pops was a sprinter at Wichita State University, and I’ve been trying to chase his times ever since. His p[ersonal] r[ecord] was a 10.02 in the 100, then he ran a 20.43 in the 200, and he ran the 400 with a 47.10.”
Q: Do you have any superstitions before a meet?
A: “Yes. I wear accessories, so it’s either I go no arm sleeves, I have to wear one wristband on each arm and my chain. If I don’t do that, I have to wear my white arm sleeve on my left arm, a wristband on my right arm and no chain. It’s between those two.”
Q: Who on the team would be your emergency contact?
A: “All of them are always on DND. If I had to choose, it’d be Qwinsuan Anderson or Tyler Miller. Those would be the two, everyone else is on DND.”
Q: Pancakes or waffles?
A: “I’m a pancakes type of dude.”
Q: Do you put anything on your pancakes?
A: “Plain. Just syrup and butter.”
Q: How was your time doing track in high school?
A: “I enjoyed it very much. My sophomore year got cut short because of COVID. Junior year, we only had an outdoor [season], so that was nice. I went to state for the first time during junior year. Senior year, I kind of took over. That’s when I became the fastest at my school. I was happy, winning races, pr-ing every race. It was a fun time.”
Q: Is the Earth round or flat?
A: “Round.”
Q: If you had a walkout song, what would it be?
A: “It’d be ‘Wonderful Wanye & Jackie Boy’ by Babyface Ray and Lil Durk. That’s a great song.”
Q: What’s your favorite season?
A: “Summer. Love the summer. I feel like I get my powers back in the summer, like you’re happy. I feel like winter, even though I’m a December baby, I’m always in the house, it’s cold, and nobody wants to hang out. Spring, everyone’s starting to come out, I feel good. It’s like a little teaser. Fall, no. We can get rid of fall; I’m not going to lie. Fall is terrible. I despise fall.”
Q: Why did you choose to commit to Eastern?
A: “I committed to Eastern because when I came on my visit, it was very family oriented. There were a couple of guys that were alumni that graduated, like Brailyn and Ricky [Johnson]. I kind of knew them before when I was in high school, and that was also another reason why I committed too. I saw they were doing good on the track, and I’m like, ‘Okay, this is where I want to be.’”
Q: If you weren’t in track, what sport would you play?
A: “I’d be wrestling. I used to be a wrestler before I ran track. I was a good wrestler too. I wanted to go combat sports when I got older, and I was going to have wrestling as my fighting style. I wanted to go to UFC, but then I realized I kind of like my face, and I don’t like my face getting messed up too much. It got to a point when I hit high school where I was like, ‘What’s another sport I can do? Well, my pops ran track, let me do that.’ The amount of cuts, tongues bleeding, it was bad. Love the sport though, and I still watch it.”
Q: Apple juice or orange juice?
A: “Orange juice. Grow up. Apple juice is like when you’re 1-12. After that, you should be moving onto orange juice.”
Q: If you could have anything, what would your postgame meal be?
A: “This is going to sound very messed up. I’ll have a seafood boil with crab, shrimp, mussels, get some lobster in there. Then, I want jollof rice, and then after that, I might want some steak and fries. Medium, I like my steak medium with some good fries on the side. Then top that off with a water and orange juice. If I could have all of that, that’d be perfect.”
Q: Who on the team are you giving the aux to?
A: “Being so real, they give me the aux, but if we’re excluding me, I’m giving the aux to Billy Bailey [Jr.]. He got some stuff that’s nice. Him or Tyler Miller.”
Q: If you had the power to bring one celebrity to this campus, who would it be?
A: “I would bring Fanum from AMP. Me and him could laugh all day. Laugh and eat good.”
Q: How do you balance being a student and an athlete?
A: “I usually use my notes app a lot. I know that’s very weird or awkward, but I’ll use it every day. At the beginning of the week, I’ll set out all my homework with a little checklist and write a schedule just to see what I need to do. That’s how I stay organized.”
Q: Do you have any secret or hidden talents?
A: “I know how to ice skate very well. Like very well. Get me on the ice, and I can go. Not that many people know that about me. I’m definitely above average.”
Q: Who’s your top five favorite musical artist?
A: “In no order, Lil Poppa, SoFaygo, Partynextdoor, Summer Walker, and I have a three-way tie for fifth place between Lucki, Future and Morgan Wallen.”
Q: Who has the best style on the team?
A: “It’s a toss-up between Abraham Johnson and Billy Bailey.”
Q: Who’s the funniest person on the team?
A: “We got characters. I don’t know, we got a lot of characters. I think we’re the funniest team on campus. We could argue this too. EIU track and field is the funniest team on campus. I’ll go to war over that statement. Funniest person, I can’t even give you that. I’m just going to say the whole team.”
Q: Who would you say are your biggest supporters?
A: “I’d say my friends, my family and my teammates.”
Q: Knowing everything you know now, what would you tell 10-year-old you?
A: “Honestly, I’d tell 10-year-old me to focus, keep your head down, don’t pay attention too much to the women at this time. You’re young, your time will come, and take care of your grades in school, train and you’ll be okay. I would’ve told him to start track earlier.”
Zaria Flippin can be reached at 581-2812 or at zhflippin@eiu.edu.