For once, Brevin Sims took his time.
Unlike when he’s competing, the Arts & Sciences senior – one of the most accomplished prep track athletes in Chattanooga history – took his time during the recruiting process before making a decision.
On Wednesday, his 18th birthday, Sims verbally committed to Syracuse University and later in the day signed scholarship papers to continue his career with the Atlantic Coast Conference program in upstate New York.
“The biggest thing was just how supportive the coaches were at Syracuse and how I felt so at home when I visited the campus. It has a lot of the same elements that Chattanooga has, and I really liked that,” said Sims, who chose the Orange over Indiana, Tennessee and Washington. “They never pressured me, and when I sat and talked to their coaches, their ideas lined up with my goals.
“The whole recruiting process was by far the most stressful thing I’ve experienced. You have to be really mature in making this decision because it affects the rest of your life. I looked at it as an investment because I know I’m going to a place with an amazing academic program as well as athletics.”
Arts & Sciences track star Brevin Sims has dreams of competing in the Olympics and becoming a professional athlete one day. / Staff photo by Robin RuddSims has won eight TSSAA state championships and owns state records in the 110-meter hurdles and the 60-meter indoor hurdles. He won both the 110-meter and the 300-meter hurdles events last spring and also qualified for the state’s 100- and 200-meter dashes.
He has not lost an individual event since his eighth-grade year, and his time of 13.68 in the 110 hurdles last season ranked as the sixth-fastest time in the nation. He was one of the six finalists for the Scrappy Moore overall athlete of the year award at last year’s Times Free Press Best of Preps banquet.
He represented the United States in a junior national event last summer in Cuba, winning the 110 hurdles and helping the 4×100 relay team finish second.
“I’m going to a program that focuses on the event I want to make my premier race,” Sims said, referring to the 110 hurdles. “Once I excelled on the national level, I saw the potential that I have in that event, but I still have a lot to prove – to myself and to everyone else. My long-term plans are to experience competing at the highest level in the world, the Olympics and become a professional athlete.
“I always knew that I had a lot of ability and whatever I put my best effort into I could be great. Anybody can have a dream, but what sets me apart is the will to go out and work to accomplish my goals. It’s a relief to have the recruiting over, and now I can just focus on running and doing my best in my last high school season.”
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.