Throughout the indoor track and field season, senior jumper Akeem Holmes and freshman jumper Teddy Lampkin have been training side by side every step of the way.

Jumps coach Pete Herber said it has been great to see Holmes and Lampkin click right from the beginning and push each other to make themselves better.

“It’s been really nice to have Akeem step up and take that leadership role with Teddy coming in from football and not being with us all fall,” Herber said. “It was good that Akeem just took him right in and knew that was going to be the guy that was his training partner.”

Holmes said that right away he knew Lampkin would be a good athlete to train with and that he felt like this was his time to step in and be a leader for the two.

“There was no friction at all and we just instantly clicked,” Holmes said. “I felt like I took him under my wing and just felt like I had to show him how to train and compete [at the college level]. I even see him as like a little brother, he’s just a cool guy.”

Lampkin will be competing at the “last chance meet” Iowa State is hosting this weekend in hopes of qualifying for the national championships in the long jump. He placed third in the long jump at the Big 12 Indoor Championships last weekend with a personal best of 24-04.50 feet and is about a foot away from qualifying for the national competition.

“I’m working on running off the board more and making sure that I’m slowing down in the air and making sure that I’m getting every inch that I can because I need it right now,” Lampkin said.

Herber said Lampkin is very capable of qualifying because of his talent as well as his training to this point with a little more work on technique leading up to the competition.

“We can clean a few things up and getting him feeling good, and hopefully he can come in and put something up,” Herber said.

Holmes, who suffered a minor groin and abdomen injury during the indoor season, will hold off from competition until outdoor season begins. He said that when outdoor season comes around, he and Lampkin will be looking to come out strong.

“I’m just going to strengthen myself and hammer it right out of the gate with good jumps and send a message around the whole nation,” Holmes said. “That goes for Teddy too.”