Virginia Tech's Jackson on a roll heading into NCAA track championships

“Going into the season, my mentality is just like, ‘Don’t lose,’” he said recently at Rector Field House. “I hope I can win everything.”

Lately, he has been.

The fourth-year junior won the 800 meters at the ACC outdoor track and field championships on May 17 at Wake Forest, breaking Tech, facility and meet records with a time of 1:44.83.

He won the 800 at the NCAA East meet on May 30 in Florida with a time of 1:45.31.

“I like how running’s coming to me right now,” Jackson said. “I wouldn’t say it even feels like a sport. It feels like a craft, something that you work on for so long and you’re starting to master it.”

Jackson’s time at the NCAA East meet makes him the top seed in his event for the NCAA national outdoor championships, which will be held Wednesday through Saturday in Eugene, Oregon. This will be the first time he has competed at the NCAA national indoor or outdoor championships in a non-relay event.

“In my head, I’m the man to beat,” Jackson said. “But in other people’s heads I’ve only done one or two good performances, so they’re not really putting me in that talk. … (So) there’s really no pressure.”

This has been a breakthrough season for Jackson, who has had an injury-plagued career.

“I knew I had it in me. I just didn’t know when it would come,” he said.

Nonscholarship roots

Jackson was born in Philadelphia, then moved with his family to Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia because his mother used to serve in the U.S. Army. The Colonial Forge High School graduate has lived in Stafford County since he was in the fifth grade.

Jackson’s father, Ronald, who suffered from diabetes, died when Jackson was in the fourth grade.

“A lot of adversity growing up,” Jackson said. “I kind of look at what I’ve already been through in my life to help me … when the lows were low.

“It’s made me a little tougher in life.”

Jackson began running when he was in the first or second grade. An older sister joined a track club, so Jackson asked his mother to sign him up as well. He became enamored with the sport.

“I just always loved it, … competing against other people,” he said. “I didn’t win that much, but when I did, it was fun.”

As a high school senior in January 2021, Jackson emailed college coaches in hopes of landing a roster spot. Eric Johannigmeier, then Tech’s distance coach, was the only coach from a major conference to email him back.

Jackson boosted his resume by taking second in the 1,000 meters at the 2021 Class 6 state indoor championships and finishing second in the 800 at the Class 6 outdoor meet.

He joined the Hokies as a nonscholarship runner for the 2021-22 school year. He did not reap a partial track scholarship until this school year.

Injuries

Jackson ran the 800 leg of the distance medley relay at the 2022 ACC indoor championships as a freshman, helping Tech win the event and the men’s team championship.

But he missed most of that outdoor season after tearing the labrum in his right hip.

The 5-foot-11 Jackson redshirted the 2022-23 school year because of a stress fracture in his left tibia.

“Being injured and off the track for (almost) two years (but) being able to stay with it, I think it’s strengthened my heart and dedication to the sport,” he said.

He returned to action last year seeking to prove to himself that he could still run like he used to.

Jackson took third in the 800 at the 2024 ACC indoor championships and was part of a 10th-place distance medley relay team at the NCAA indoor meet.

But he missed most of the 2024 outdoor season with a stress fracture in his right fibula. He took off his protective boot to run in the 800 at the 2024 ACC outdoor championships but finished only 10th.

Jackson was healed in time to run the 800 in last summer’s U.S. Olympic trials. He finished eighth in a nine-man heat and did not advance to the semifinals.

“It was a good experience,” he said. “Coming into this year, I thought about how fit those guys were, how strong they were against me. It made me realize what level they’re at.”

‘Breakthrough’

This has been the first year of Jackson’s Tech career in which he has not been injured.

“That consistency’s really paid off for him,” Tech director of track and field and cross-country Ben Thomas said. “He’s pretty fast, but since we’ve been able to put together this consistent year of training, he’s also showing he’s got some pretty good endurance with the 800 pace, being able to sustain it really well.”

Jackson finished third in the 800 at the ACC indoor championships in March, helping Tech win the men’s team title. He was part of a seventh-place distance medley relay team at the NCAA indoor championships, earning first-team All-America honors along with the rest of the quartet.

Then came the best month of his career.

His winning time of 1:44.83 in the 800 at last month’s ACC outdoor championships is the seventh-best time in the nation this year. The top six men on that list are pros.

“That was a real breakthrough,” Thomas said of that race.

The Tech men, who were without standout runners Judson Lincoln IV and George Couttie because of injuries, finished fourth at the ACC outdoor meet. Lincoln and Couttie missed the NCAA East meet in late May as well and will be sidelined this week.

The NCAA East meet was important because the top 12 finishers in each event advance to the NCAA national championships. But after leading the entire race at the ACC meet, Jackson wanted to test himself at the NCAA East meet.

“I wanted to be able to practice a different running style to be able to prepare for nationals,” he said. “I was pretty confident I’d make it to nationals, so I knew I could try something else out a little bit and still have a chance. So I just wanted to sit in the front pack … and kind of kick at the end. That was the goal, to see how hard I could really kick past these other talented athletes.

“It’s definitely good to be in that kind of shape to where you can have two different styles of running under your belt.”

His kick earned him first place. But Jackson vows to run a smarter race this week.

Jackson won’t be the only Tech entrant in the 800 at the NCAAs. Nick Plant, a two-time ACC indoor champ in the 800, will be joining him.

“We’re always pushing each other in practice and races,” Jackson said.

This week will be the first of two meets that Jackson will run at Oregon. He will be back there next month for the U.S. outdoor championships.

Jackson will also race for the Hokies next year. He plans to graduate next year with a bachelor’s degree in sports media and analytics.

But first comes the NCAA national championships. He hopes to “put on a show” by “doing something spectacular.”

He certainly put on a good show in his past two meets.

“I like to go back and watch my own races, so I think it’s a pretty good show,” he said.