PISCATAWAY - On a cold March day in Detroit, the two-mile relay race was underway at the 1981 Track and Field Nationals at Cobo Arena. Walter Kirkland had received the baton two or three meters behind, making up the difference to pass to anchor Jim Westman about 10 meters ahead of the competition. Westman held the lead, crossed the line first and sealed Rutgers men's track and field's first ever national title in the event.
"When I saw he won, it was surreal. I didn't think we actually won," said Kirkland. "I was still a little exhausted from my third leg, but I did see him cross the finish line. Westman kept us in the lead and we won the event. Indoors is brutal because you are running four laps inside. It was pretty brutal to maintain that lead."
It was a lead that solidified Brian Grimes, Stanley Belin, Kirkland and Westman as national champions.
"It's almost like you don't believe you won. When you win a national championship for your university, it is a big deal. It is a big deal especially on the DI level. So when you actually realize you got the gold it was a pretty big honor."
Coming into nationals, Rutgers was positioned to finish the race in the top three. The quartet blasted top the top of that prediction as the quartet of Grimes (1:55.7,) Belin (1:54.0), Kirkland (1:51.2) and Westman (1:50.0) registered a time of 7:30.95 to finish as the fastest two-mile squad in the nation.
The moment was so surreal for the group that it really only hit them when they were called onto the podium.
"We were on the pedestal and they called Rutgers University. We were on the podium as the top team and that is when it kind of hit us that we actually won. It wasn't a dream. We were the best two-mile relay team in the country," Kirkland recalled.
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.
The group's dedication to training and focusing on becoming the best mixed with the group's balanced personalities proved to be a special bond in their success.
"I would say I am the most animated one now, but back in the day I was the more serious one. Jim was the one cracking jokes and a kumbaya kind of guy, easy going guy. Brian was in the middle. Belin was pretty serious, but I was the most serious. Now I am the most talkative and comical," said Kirkland.
Having the serious natured ones, as well as someone who could lighten the mood, was beneficial for the grueling training and top level academics.
"We competed at a world class national level when we were there. With all the academic requirements, the training and not having the best weather. Our training compared to Texas Christian and USC, they had better weather. That impacts your training regimen. We were training in five-degree weather," said Kirkland.
The Scarlet Knights pushed through it to come out on top, collecting a number of additional honors and setting numerous records along the way, some that still 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, 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. Grimes is also the 1981 winner of the prestigious Donald Coursen Memorial Award.
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.
The four have added the latest honor to their names as part of the 2019 Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame Class.
"It means the world to me. When you mention to my friends and family that you're being inducted into the hall of fame at Rutgers University, which is one of the older universities, a prestigious, quasi-Ivy league. It means a lot. You are voted in by your peers based on other inductees. It is a big deal," said Kirkland.
One thing that makes the national title and hall of fame induction all that sweeter is having done it as Scarlet Knights with the name "Rutgers" across their chests.
"It's a big deal the fact that I'm a Scarlet Knight. The fact that we're going into the hall of fame at Rutgers, New Brunswick. It is not a fly-by-night university. It is a significant, matriculating school with a lot of dimensions and it has a national presence," said Kirkland.
"To be put in the hall of fame for Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey, it means a lot to me. It is pretty significant in life."
As the group reunites for the induction, Kirkland they will remain in touch and will forever share this honor together. And as Kirkland noted himself, they will forever share the pride of being "RU for life."
