Hall of Fame Focus Story
The 1981 Rutgers men's track and field two-mile relay team of Brian Grimes, Stan Belin, Walter Kirkland, and James Westman cemented their names into history with a national indoor title in the event. At the 1980-81 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, the quartet clocked a time of 7:30.95 to become champions and First Team All-Americans. The Championships, hosted at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan, marked the 17th annual NCAA-sanctioned track meet.
Grimes (1977-81), Belin (1981), Kirkland (1976-1981), and Westman (1979-1984) were all awarded the Rutgers University Outstanding Athletic Achievement Awards following the 1981 national title, the second all-time event title for the program. All were also Metropolitan Champions, New Jersey College Champions and scorers in the IC4A Championships, making them members of the All-East Track and Field team.
Together, the four Scarlet Knights posted numerous Rutgers track and field relay records, as well as several individual records, that remain a top the charts. As a group, they contributed to an indoor 4x800 relay time of 7:24.8 that was ranked No. 2 in the USA, a distance medley time that was ranked No. 7 in the nation and a 4x800 relay outdoors time of 7:19.88 that was ranked No. 10 in the world.
To this day, Grimes, Belin, Kirkland, and Westman fill the pages of the Rutgers record books, including their contributions to at least one of the following records – the 4x880 yard relay, outdoor 4x800m relay, and indoor distance medley relay school records. Grimes is also the 1981 winner of the prestigious Donald Coursen Memorial Award.
Grimes, a 1977-1981 men's track and field letterwinner, was a two-time All-American for the Scarlet Knights. Individually, he placed third in the 600 yard run at the 1979-80 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Kirkland, along with Grimes and Westman, still hold Rutgers indoor record in the 4x880 yard relay with a time of 7:27.3 set at Princeton. Additionally, Kirkland is an outdoor record holder with the 4x800m relay team, along with Belin and Westman, that set a mark of 7:19.83 at the 1981 Penn Relays. Kirkland was also awarded the Colin MacManus Memorial Award for the most improved in 1978.
In addition to the two relay records, Westman, a Coursen Award winner, owns an individual program indoor record in the 1,000m with a time of 2:23.03 at the 1983 IC4A Championships. He also helped set the indoor distance medley relay record of 9:45.66 with the 1982 squad. In 1981, Track & Field News ranked Westman with the fifth fastest indoor 800m time in the U.S.
