Growing up in Pasadena, Calif., Kiani Profit never thought she would rank as one of the best performers in Terrapin track and field team history.
But in the middle of her junior season, Profit has already solidified herself in the Terps’ record books.
“It’s amazing,” Profit said. “I always hoped for this kind of success. I never knew whether it would or wouldn’t come, but I hoped for it.”
Profit now has a place among the top 10 in the Terp record books in eight different events, and at this year’s NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship in March, she broke out onto the national scene. In the pentathlon, Profit sat in seventh place going into the 800-meter run, the competition’s final event. But a personal record in the 800 vaulted her into a second-place finish nationally, breaking her own pentathlon school record in the process.
“I looked up at the scoreboard and saw my name in second place, and it was just overwhelming,” Profit said. “I didn’t really realize it was happening until I got my award.”
Profit followed her showing at nationals with a dominating performance at the ACC Outdoor Championships two weekends ago. She competed in multiple events, setting personal records in many of them. Most notably, she shattered a 26-year-old school record in the heptathlon, placing second in that event as well.
But her success could have grander implications. She has become more than just a decorated athlete for the Terps; she has become an athlete that could potentially put the track and field program back in the national spotlight.
“Her second-place finish at nationals is one of the things our track and field program most needed,” coach Andrew Valmon said. “When you think about the University of Maryland, you think about basketball, football and lacrosse, so I think it’s important to see that the NCAA level is an attainable goal. And I think she set the bar for everyone on the team to follow.”
“That is a huge statement,” Profit said when she heard Valmon’s comments. “I definitely didn’t come here to try and do that. I just came here to run. The fact that coach thinks I can put Maryland back on the map and that he has that much faith in me is a huge compliment.”
It’s an irony of the sweetest kind for the Terps. At one point, Profit never thought she would find success in College Park — mainly because she never thought she would end up going to school at this university.
“I wanted to get away from California,” Profit said. “My coach came from Georgia Tech, so I wasn’t really even looking at Maryland. But my coach went from there to Maryland, and I followed him.”
Now that she has settled in as a Terp, however, Profit is beginning to realize all the success she had hoped for.
And with the amount of success she has enjoyed recently, she now understands how important her contributions are for the future of the program.
“If I keep having the success I’m having, going to nationals and being an All-American, I think people will realize that Maryland is back on top again, and maybe even help recruiting in the future,” Profit said. “When I was a recruit, one of the things I looked at was if anyone on the team was going to nationals. The fact that I’m going to nationals, even though I’m the only one right now, could make a potential recruit want to come to Maryland.”
Changing the national recognition of an entire program will not be easy, but Profit knows that this will be a good place for the Terps to start.
“Getting our track team to be nationally known is going to be hard task,” Profit said. “I don’t think I can get it there, but I think I can start it off. And once I start it off, the recruits or the freshmen here now can keep building up the status of our track team. I think that could help people to know that Maryland is a good track school. I don’t think I can do it alone, but I think I can definitely start it off.”
jvitale@umdbk.com
