Tyler Grimes and Landon Higgins have been teammates at Mexico and will still be teammates after high school.

Grimes, Higgins Signings Photo Gallery

The senior pair each signed to run cross country and track and field for William Woods University in Fulton during a ceremony on Thursday at the Mexico Sports Complex. They even plan to be roommates. 

Grimes and Higgins are coming off a cross country season when the Bulldogs won their second straight North Central Missouri Conference title. Grimes earned all-conference honors and is excited to continue competing in events he has since eighth grade and also at a place that is so close to home. He plans to major in physical education and minor in coaching.

“I’m excited to go to the next level and compete at a higher level,” Grimes said. “I always knew I wanted to go to college. It is close to home, I like the coaches, and the program is doing really well right now and I want to be part of that.”

Higgins has been running for about two years but said the opportunity was there despite having less experience. He plans to major in exercise science.

“It makes me feel blessed,” Higgins said. “I can’t wait. I’ve always wanted to do it. God guided me in that direction, and I’m going to follow him.”

Lucas Breneman, Mexico cross country head coach and track and field assistant coach, said the pair signing for William Woods reminds him of his past. That is why he is certain they will be fine at the next level.

“Speaking from a personal standpoint, I also went to William Woods and ran and me and a teammate went together,” Breneman said. “It made the transition way easier going from being in high school to a different environment, with having somebody you know right off the gate really well.”

Grimes and Higgins are excited to meet new people but are glad to be bringing some of that “family” atmosphere with them to William Woods.

“My coaches are like family, so they got me to keep doing it,” Grimes said. 

“I just love how cross country is more of a family,” Higgins said. “I’ve played other sports in the past, but I never had a family like I did in cross country.”

Breneman said Grimes and Higgins are each runners with higher potential. Grimes is somebody who is two seconds off from breaking the 800-meter-run record, with a current personal-best time of 1:57.10 that he has run at state before, and can be better at the longer distances. Higgins has shown much drive and improvement after starting later, dropping five minutes off his 5K time when Breneman said it is more normal to see a minute improvement in two years.

“Tyler is a natural speed guy,” Breneman said. “He’s had a lot of success at the 800, and that is naturally where he is at. If he can stay healthy and really put in some miles, I think he’ll see himself get better at that longer distance.

“Landon has shown he’s going to put the work in. When he first came on to my team, if you told me he would be signing to run at the next level. I would say, ‘There ain’t no way.’ He said, ‘I’m going to do this,’ and he put his head down and went to work.”