SoCal Track Club boasts ‘Rocket’ Easter Grant, 32, from Alabama

Easter Grant wears SoCal colors.

Easter Grant wears SoCal colors.

If Renee Shepherd is the “Jet,” Easter Grant is the “Rocket.” SoCal Track Club’s reach to the South is evident in an Army paper’s story on Easter, a 32-year-old Alabaman who won a bunch of medals at Winston-Salem nationals. “This is her second year competing in masters track,” says her base paper, the Redstone Rocket. “Last year she was a silver medalist in the 200 and 60 at the indoor meet held March 14-16 in the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, Massachusetts. She took silver in the 100, bronze in the 200 and silver in the 100 hurdles at the outdoor meet held July 17-20 at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem.” She’s a modest athlete as well: “I’m surprised I can still do all that,” she said. “I feel that was a good accomplishment for me at my age. And it made me feel like I was a college athlete again.” SoCal had three of the top four women in the W30 400 at nationals.

Here’s the story in case the link goes south:

The results show this former college track sprinter still has it.

Easter Grant, an applications designer at the Army Contracting Command, is a 2015 national masters indoor champion. She won the 400, 200 and 60 meters events at the USA Track and Field Masters Indoor Championships on March 20-22 at the JDL Fast Track in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

“I’m surprised I can still do all that,” she said modestly.

Grant, 32, won her events in the national 30-34 division. Her winning times were 7.88 seconds in the 60 meters, 26.42 in the 200 and 1:05.18 in the 400.

“I feel that was a good accomplishment for me at my age,” she said. “And it made me feel like I was a college athlete again.”

The Birmingham native ran on a track scholarship at the University of Alabama-Huntsville from 2001-05. In 2004, Grant became the first UAH runner to compete in the NCAA Division II track championship when she placed 20th nationally in the 200. The next year she was part of the UAH 4×100 relay team that placed ninth at the Division II meet.

Grant competed at Birmingham’s Parker High School from 1999 to 2001, surprisingly as a distance runner and hurdler. She did the 800, mile, two-mile and the 300 hurdles. She was a three-time sectional champion in the hurdles.

This is her second year competing in masters track. Last year she was a silver medalist in the 200 and 60 at the indoor meet held March 14-16 in the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, Massachusetts. She took silver in the 100, bronze in the 200 and silver in the 100 hurdles at the outdoor meet held July 17-20 at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem.

Next up is this year’s outdoor meet scheduled July 23-26 at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. “And hopefully (I’ll) be able to go there and be competitive,” Grant said.

She did about three meets heading into the indoor championships, including national meets and college competitions.

Asked if she was surprised at capturing the gold medals, she said, “I mean I knew I could do it. But with my personality, I tend not to make a big deal out of events. But it took some time for me to realize that I just won something on the national level.”

Grant graduated from UAH in 2005 with a bachelor’s in management information systems. She earned a master’s of business administration from the University of North Alabama in August 2010.

Her parents, Javorn Grant and Elaine Hobson, reside in Birmingham. One of her sisters, Jessica Hobson, 29, is a Soldier stationed in Georgia.

Besides running fast, Grant likes to work out in the gym, read and serve as a volunteer coach for the Randolph School track team. She has helped coach the Randolph sprinters for two years.

After her employment in another industry, Grant started working at Redstone in 2009 with the G-6 at Aviation and Missile Command. She has been with ACC for two years.

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April 20, 2015

14 Responses

  1. Peter L. Taylor - April 21, 2015

    I certainly enjoyed announcing Easter in Winston-Salem. Last year, in Boston, I wasn’t prepared for her, but this year I was ready. She expresses a lot of personality through her sprinting, and in the 60 she seemed particularly happy with her winning performance.

    It’s not always easy to find something to say about W30 or M30 sprinters, as many of them are, understandably, neophytes in our program. In Easter’s case, however, I was able to say that she was from “University of Alabama in Huntsville,” which is the correct name of that institution, or so it appears to be.

    Onward and upward, Easter.

  2. Marcus battle - April 21, 2015

    Hold on the JETs times at 40 and 45 are always better then
    All the other female sprinters,at 50 she ran 8.02 ok rocket jet.7.6 at 45

  3. Marcus battle - April 21, 2015

    Hey Brian Hankerson in NC was the SoCal Beast

  4. Marcus battle - April 21, 2015

    Let Pete Taylor name people,we need a name for Brandi and,don’t forget Deana Ok

  5. Peter L. Taylor - April 21, 2015

    Marcus, you mean Brandi Bernert out of Colorado State, correct? I’ve already christened Brandi “The Rocket,” and I will stay with that name. I’ve used it for perhaps the last two years, and I certainly employed it at Winston-Salem.

  6. Marcus battle - April 21, 2015

    Check me on this Pete,here’s the list,Irene,Phil,Brenda,Heiien Hays,Joy,Renne,Donna,Emma,Denna,AndBrandy

  7. Marcus battle - April 21, 2015

    That’s Hellen Hays she was Tina Hays I remember her,10 meters in front of Phil in 2001, before she pulled WoW

  8. Marcus battle - April 21, 2015

    And Denna ,Pete she’s a beast

  9. ebgrant - April 21, 2015

    Wow! I had no idea this would make it here.. Thanks! To be honest, I know I’m young on the Masters circuit, but it is such a pleasure to be able to do what I have loved to do since elementary school.. It’s just an honor to be able to run with others that still share the same desire as me.. I’m happy to be a part and I am just very humble..

  10. ebgrant - April 21, 2015

    Oh and Brandi is the ‘Rocket’ 🙂

  11. ebgrant - April 21, 2015

    Marcus,
    Instead of being concerned with the type of transportation a runner should be, how about be pleased another track meet is being acknowledge by their community. Now, like I said, I didn’t know this would appear here, but it is. I would like to think the nickname came because I’M in Huntsville, Al which is known as the “Rocket City”..So, in that aspect I can see how it came about. .

  12. ebgrant - April 21, 2015

    *masters track athlete

  13. Mark Cleary - April 23, 2015

    Easter, I can’t wait to see where the next couple of years takes you. I also can’t wait to see you , Latiffia, Brandi and our new girl Echo all on a relay together. Should be blazing fast!

  14. jslo - April 23, 2015

    Some other nicknames for Brandi…
    – Brandi “The Burner”
    – Brandi “The Bullet”
    – Rocky Mountain Rocket
    – Colorado Cannon
    – Ramrunner

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