Jacory Patterson (born February 2, 2000) is an American track and field athlete specializing in the sprints. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, he won a gold medal at the 2016 USATF Junior Olympics in the long jump before focusing on sprinting events. Patterson attended Dreher High School in Columbia, where he broke the state record in the 200 m and won a state title in the 400 m.
As a freshman at Virginia Tech in 2019, Patterson set the world under-20 record in the indoor 300 m with a time of 32.49 s. After winning six Atlantic Coast Conference championships at Virginia Tech from 2019 to 2021, he transferred to the University of Florida ahead of his senior year. In 2022, Patterson set the collegiate record in the indoor 300 m with a time of 31.99 s to make him the eighth-fastest man in the history of the event.
Early years
A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Patterson was born to Jamey Patterson and Charlene Bolton on February 2, 2000. He began track and field in the sixth grade because he always found himself to be the fastest kid on the playground. He attended Dreher High School, where he competed in track and field and basketball, though he dropped the latter after the tenth grade when he realized he had more potential on the track. Patterson won the long jump competition at the 2016 USATF Junior Olympics, as well as the South Carolina 4A state title in the 400 m as a senior in 2018. He broke the state record in the 200 m, as well as school records in the 100 m, 400 m, long jump and triple jump. Patterson narrowed down his college choices to Virginia Tech, LSU, Iowa, South Carolina and Clemson, ultimately committing to run track for the Virginia Tech Hokies in November 2017.
College career
Virginia Tech
Patterson competed for the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) from 2019 to 2021, winning six ACC championships.
2019 indoor season
Patterson thought that the long jump could be his strongest event, but Virginia Tech sprints, hurdles, and relays coach Tim Vaught convinced him to focus on the sprints ahead of his freshman year. In his collegiate debut at the Virginia Tech Invitational on January 11, Patterson broke the world under-20 record in the indoor 300 m with a time of 32.49 seconds. It was the second fastest time in indoor collegiate history. "I kind of looked at him after that run," said Vaught. "He knew that his jumping career was over." Patterson was named the Division I men's national athlete of the week by the U.S. Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for his performance. Two weeks later, he set a school record in the indoor 200 m after clocking 20.84 s at the Bob Pollock Invitational, shaving two-tenths of a second off the previous mark. Patterson broke another school record at the Virginia Tech Elite Meet on February 1, this time taking more than eight-tenths of a second off the indoor 400 m mark with a time of 46.14 s.
Patterson won the 400 m title at the ACC Indoor Championships with a time of 46.04 s, improving on his own school record and becoming the first Virginia Tech athlete to win an indoor conference title in the 400 m distance. He competed at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, but was not able to finish his race due to making contact with another runner.
2019 outdoor season
In his first outdoor meet, Patterson posted a school record time in the 400 m at the Florida Relays. His official time of 45.76 s took almost a full second off the previous mark of 46.73 s set by Hillard Sumner in 1996. In April, Patterson won the 200 m race at the Tennessee Relays before winning the 400 m race at the War Eagle Invitational.
At the ACC Outdoor Championships, Patterson won the 400 m title and placed second in the 200 m. He also finished second as a member of the 4 × 100 m relay team, recording a school record time of 39.46 s alongside teammates Michael Davenport, Joseph Tay and Cole Beck. Lastly, Patterson anchored the 4 × 400 m relay team that finished fourth. "He went out and did a great job," said coach Vaught of his performance. "I knew the key [to competing in four events] was going to be the recovery in between and telling him what to do and that type of stuff. I knew he was tough enough and strong enough to be able to handle those events." At the NCAA preliminaries, Patterson improved his school record in the 400 m by clocking a time of 45.46 s. He also reset the school record in the 4 × 100 m relay by timing 39.24 s with Davenport, Tay and Beck.