Where Are They Now: Jacob Law
6/2/2020 1:54:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
Law ran four years of cross country at Mercer and competed in the 2020 US Olympic Trials in Atlanta
MACON, Ga. – We all know about the great accomplishments that Mercer student-athletes have achieved during their time as a Bear, but what are they up to after they graduate? Today, we take a look inside former Mercer cross country runner Jacob Law's life and his career after Mercer.
Law ran four years of cross country for the Bears and became one of the top runners in Mercer history. He currently holds the record for the fastest 5,000-meter and is second all-time among the Bears' fastest 10K times.
In November of 2019, Law qualified for the US Olympic Trials after finishing ninth at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon with a time of 2:18.42 and an average mile of 5:18. The Olympic Trials took place in Atlanta, Ga. in late February, and Law finished 75th overall. He clocked in 2:21.11 with a 5:26 average mile.
Why did you choose Mercer?
"In high school I looked at a lot of big public schools for track and cross country, but after visiting several of them, I noticed how large the class sizes were, how research focused the engineering faculty was and how many of their seasoned runners had been pushed to the breaking point for injuries. At Mercer, the size [of the University] felt right, and I was still getting a great engineering education. The athletics allowed me to push myself and compete for my school without worrying about excessive damage to my joints."
What is your fondest athletic memory at Mercer?
"Off the field: The many games of ultimate frisbee that we played. I always loved getting to play a good game of ultimate whenever the seasons were over.
On the field: My senior year (fall 2012), our cross country team was able to finally place in the top-five in the conference while I was able to finish 11th and earn All-Conference recognition and take the school record for the 8K. My would-be-wife, Kacie [Law], was also able to finish in the top-10 for the women and set the women's school record for the 5k."
Who had the biggest influence on you during your athletic career at Mercer and how?
"Ryan Bailey, the head coach at the time, undoubtedly had a big impact of me. He continually met with me individually and was there to provide both training and personal advice throughout my years at Mercer. But if I were to think deeper on the BIGGEST influence, it would have to be my teammate, high-school sweetheart and now wife, Kacie Law (Niemann). She has been there both before and after my Mercer days, and she was someone that I leaned on during the seasons of struggle at Mercer. She quickly became a dominant athlete and a compassionate leader for the women's cross country/track team, and I competed with her indirectly for the same effect on the men's team (spoiler alert: she was always better). My seasons at Mercer were not linear; I struggled hard to improve my junior year and senior years. While at Mercer, I had two seasons end in tears and fought injury and drama as a leader on the team. During those times, she always listened first and then supported my efforts as best she could."
What is the most valuable thing you gained or learned from your time at Mercer?
"Going into college, I heard it repeatedly said that I would have a difficult time balancing a demanding engineering major with a year round cross country and track schedule, as well as being involved in other activities. During my five years at Mercer, I was able to get both a bachelors and master's degree in mechanical engineering, was the team captain for cross country/track, school record holder in several events, volunteered at a local church weekly, and maintained a good set of close friends. Through this, I learned that it was valuable to hear out others concerns about doing too much in college, but that you can do much more than just be an athlete in college. [I learned] That I could do most of what I wanted, but that I needed to prioritize my time and not push off things until the last moment.
From this, I have been able to continue to train and run even faster than I did at Mercer while having a full time job, raising a baby and having lots of hobbies/interests."
What advice would you give to current members of the team you ran for?
"Hard work is never wasted, so do not over stress or hype your college running career when things feel like they aren't going your way. Running is not something that is always linear, you do not always get 30 seconds faster every year, but the breakthroughs will happen.
After high school, I felt like I would be guaranteed to improve every year because I was going to run more miles, work harder, eat better, sleep better etc. However, I found myself not able to get all-conference my sophomore year after doing so my freshman year. Then junior year was a no PR kind of year. It was frustrating and drove me nuts after working up to 90+ miles per week in the summer to train for fall cross country.
It took me being a high school cross country and track coach to realize how much I stressed over this, and I only made it worse by stressing. Now I am constantly telling my athletes to relax and keep working hard. The fast times will come, but they may not come when you want/expect them to."
Who was your favorite professor and why?
"Dr. Loren Sumner was my favorite professor at Mercer. I took a good number of courses with him, and he helped immensely on my senior design project, the wind turbine. Dr. Sumner always had an open office to discuss school and was willing to assist in any way if you were trying to learn. He also planted the seed for ironman triathlons and ultramarathons, which I have yet to do but plan to!"
Where do you live now?
"I live in Louisville, KY where both my family and my wife's family are from."
What is your occupation?
"I work as a sales engineer for Kentucky Trailer, where I get to help design, build, and sell custom made trailers and other equipment."
Follow the Bears
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