NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Juma Sei (Portland, Ore.) is part of a group of Yale sprinters who have been re-writing the school record books in recent years. Indoors eight of Yale's top 11 200 times -- and five of the team's top 15 400 times -- have come since 2015. Sei's name is on both of those lists and a number of others. He has also been a leader off the track, dedicating his time to a number of social justice initiatives. Now, as he begins his senior season, he will take on an additional role. He is the Yale men's track and field captain for 2021-22, elected by his teammates.
 
Looking ahead, Sei sees a remarkable amount of potential in the team as a whole.

"I expect us to run fast, throw far and jump high. As crude as it sounds, that's what I'm looking forward to most," said Sei. "I don't stand alone feeling that next season will be historic for the program and I can't wait to facilitate that atmosphere. It's my job to work with our coaches to make Yale track and field a healthy and supportive environment where everyone can realize their best."

After two outdoor seasons and three indoor seasons, Sei has already established himself in the school record books. Outdoors his PR of 47.67 in the 400 ranks 13th all-time at Yale. He also has been a part of two of Yale's best relay teams outdoors -- the 4x100 relay team that ran a 40.82 in 2019 (fourth all-time at Yale) and the 4x400 relay team that ran a 3:12.38 in 2019 (12th all-time). Indoors Sei ranks among Yale's best in the 200 (21.69, sixth) and the 400 (48.17, seventh). 
 
Sei established a host of PRs in his first season at Yale, 2018-19. That included times of 7.02 in the 60 and 21.69 in the 200 indoors and a time of 47.67 in the 400 outdoors. He competed at the Ivy League Heps Championships both indoors and outdoors, highlighted by second-place finishes outdoors in the 400 (47.81) and the 4x100 (41.05).
 
Sei's 2019-20 season got off to a great start. He delivered individual first-place finishes in the 200 and the 400, along with a pair of first-place finishes with the 4x400 relay team, in the first two meets. He went on to help the 4x400 team to a third-place finish at the Ivy League Heps Indoor Championships -- also placing fourth individually in the 400 -- before the coronavirus pandemic eventually brought all competition to a halt.
 
Sei was able to train in New Haven this past year. A session that included 2020-21 team captain Ekrem Ayhan '21 wound up providing him with one of the most memorable moments of his Yale career.

"It feels odd to pick a pandemic memory, but I'll never forget our third or so training day this spring," Sei said. "It was our captain's first workout back from injury and an especially picturesque evening in the Cage -- the setting sun shines beautifully from the windows over the second bend. I've never been so mentally, emotionally and spiritually content running repeat 200s; it was one of those sessions that reminds you why you love to run." 

Sei has earned multiple team awards, including the Lee Calhoun Men's Sprinter of the Year and Outstanding Male First Year.
 
In addition to his exploits on the track, Sei has distinguished himself with his contributions to his community. He works with several campus and local organizations to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Sei is Secretary of the Yale Black Men's Union and liaisons between first-year class members and the BMU board. He is also a creative writing tutor for the Urban Improvement Corps, a mentoring and tutoring program for elementary, middle and high school students. In addition, he became a private math tutor for one of the seventh graders he met through the Urban Improvement Corps. He is also a peer liaison for Yale's Afro-American Cultural Center and will serve as a First-Year Counselor for his residential college, Ezra Stiles, this year.
 
Sei recently earned Yale's F. Wilder Bellamy Jr. Memorial Prize for Ezra Stiles. Selected by the Council of the Heads of Colleges, the prize is awarded to juniors who best exemplify the qualities for which F. Wilder Bellamy, Jr. is remembered, including personal integrity; loyalty to friends; and high-spiritedness in athletics, academics and social life.
 
A graduate of The Catlin Gabel School, Sei is majoring in American Studies. He is a Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholar, selected from a nationwide pool of applicants by the foundation established in memory of the pioneering Major League Baseball Hall of Famer.