Jabez Reeves cracked a wide smile, his eyes twinkling as he heard the question.
“Yeah, it’s getting real,” he said, eyes sparkling as he answered: Are you starting to get excited about competing at the Olympic Games at Paris next month?
“It feels like it’s coming fast.”
It’s been about a couple of months since Minnesota State sprinters Reeves and Denisha Cartwright qualified to compete in the Olympic Games, which begin this week, but there’s not been much time to realize the enormity of their accomplishments.
Reeves left for Paris on Sunday, while Cartwright will leave Wednesday. Each is looking forward to their first Olympic experience.
“My preparation has been great,” Cartwright said. “I feel great. I’m ready to compete.”
Reeves, who still has one indoor season of eligibility remaining at Minnesota State, had a great spring. He set a program record by running the 100-meter dash in 10.01 seconds in the prelims at the NCAA meet before placing eighth in the finals. During the indoor season, he was the national champion in the 200 dash, setting a team record of 21.09.
He joined with Minnesota State alum Emmanuel Matadi, Akeem Sirleaf and Joseph Fahnbulleh to form the Liberian 4×100 relay team, which finished second at the World Relays in May to qualify for the Olympics.
The foursome got together for the African Championships in Cameroon in late June and finished second. Reeves was switched to the first leg of the relay, where he’ll still be running on a curve but he’s adjusted his workouts to focus more on firing out of the blocks.
“The first leg is so important,” Reeves said. “I need to put us in position. It’s not the team that runs the fastest; it’s the team that can get the baton around the fastest.”
Reeves said there have been challenges for training as an individual while running in a team event. The four guys have communicated with each other every day through social media, but it’s up to each athlete to be motivated and accountable while working out alone.
“Everybody is putting in the work,” he said. “We know what has to be done.”
Reeves left Sunday as the relay team will gather a few days early to train together before competing in the first round on Aug. 8 and, hopefully, the finals on Aug. 9.
“He was running at such a high level at the end of the season,” said Chris Parno, Minnesota State’s assistant coach who focuses on sprinters and hurdlers. “He’ll just need a couple of days to dial in.”
Cartwright, who will compete for the Bahamas, has been busy since competing at the NCAA meet, where she won two national championships and had one second-place finish.
After taking a week off to rest, she participated in the Bahamian Olympic Trials and finished third, though she had already qualified for the Olympics through her time at the NCAA championships. She has become a bit more recognizable in her home country.
“A lot more people have been paying attention to what I’m doing,” she said. “It was great to see them cheering for me.”
Last week, Cartwright competed in a professional meet at Memphis, Tennessee, placing second in the 100 hurdles at 12.73 seconds and defeating the defending world champion.
This weekend, she’s in Florida competing in another professional meet. She’ll return to Mankato briefly this week before heading for Paris on Wednesday.
“I think she can definitely make the semis,” Parno said. “It will take a great effort to make the finals, but she has a shot. The hurdles is a crazy event, and she’s put herself in position.”
The first round of the 100 hurdles will be held Aug. 7, with the semifinals on Aug. 9 and finals on Aug. 10.
“I try not to have too high expectations,” Cartwright said. “My mindset is to be great and do what I need to do. I’ll be happy if I do my best.”
Cartwright, Minnesota State’s first women’s track and field athlete to qualify for the Olympics, has studied her hurdling form, and she thinks she can be better in the second half of the race. Her winning time of 12.37 at the NCAA meet was the eighth-fastest in the world in 2024, and she might need that again at Paris.
“I feel like I’m slowly working my way back up,” she said. “I still need to fix some things, but I’m putting my all into this.”
Follow Chad Courrier on X @ChadCourrier.