Maya Rollins: Barbados’s Rising Hurdling Phenomenon

Maya Alexis Rollins is an emerging star in international track and field, representing Barbados while competing collegiately for the University of Virginia. At 19 years old, she currently ranks #518 in the world in the women’s 100m hurdles and has already established herself as one of the most promising young hurdlers in the Americas. With a rich athletic heritage, exceptional academic pursuits, and a remarkable freshman collegiate season, Rollins embodies the perfect balance of athletic excellence and scholarly dedication.

Track and Field Accomplishments

Collegiate Excellence at Virginia

Rollins made an immediate impact in her freshman year at the University of Virginia during the 2024-25 season, establishing herself as one of the premier hurdlers in the ACC.

Indoor Season (2024-25):

• Set the Virginia freshman record in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.42 seconds at the ACC Indoor Championships
• Clocked 8.48 seconds at the Virginia Tech Invitational, ranking as the sixth-fastest time in program history
• Won bronze in the 60-meter hurdles at the East Coast Invitational
• Finished second at the Penn 10 Elite Invitational with the fastest qualifying time of 8.46
• Set a personal best in the 200-meter dash with 24.81 seconds at the Tiger Paw Invitational
• Made her collegiate debut at the Liberty Kickoff meet by advancing to the finals in the 60m hurdles

Outdoor Season (2025):

• Won silver medal in the 100m hurdles at the ACC Outdoor Championships with a time of 13.42, earning first-team All-ACC honors
• Set a personal best of 13.29 seconds (with +2.8 wind) at the Virginia Challenge, ranking as the third-fastest time in Virginia program history
• Finished second at the Duke Invitational with 13.45
• Won multiple 100m hurdles events including the Colonial Relays (13.73) and Virginia Opener (13.57)
• Named ACC Freshman of the Week on March 25
• Earned All-ACC Academic Team honors
• Named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic team
• Competed at the NCAA East Regional
• Contributed to Virginia women’s historic 2025 ACC Outdoor Championship victory, the program’s first team title since 1987

International Achievements

World U20 Championships (2024):

• Competed for Barbados at the World U20 Championships in Lima, Peru
• Advanced to the semifinals, setting a personal best of 13.71 seconds
• Finished 18th overall in a highly competitive international field

Junior Pan American Games (2025):

• Won silver medal in the 100m hurdles final in Asunción, Paraguay
• Competed against the best young athletes from across the Americas, finishing second to Cuba’s Jocelyn Echazabal

Barbados National Championships:

• U20 National Champion in the 100m hurdles
• Set the Barbados Junior National Record in the 100m hurdles
• Proudly represented Barbados on the international stage, following in her father’s Olympic footsteps

High School Success

Prior to joining Virginia, Rollins established herself as one of Michigan’s premier track and field athletes while attending Ann Arbor Pioneer High School.

• Two-time Michigan state champion in both the 60m hurdles and 100m hurdles
• AAU Junior Olympics All-American in the 100m hurdles
• Adidas Indoor Nationals All-American in the 60m hurdles
• New Balance Nationals Outdoor All-American all four years of high school
• Graduated with personal bests of 13.71 seconds in the 100m hurdles, 12.3 seconds in the 100m, and 24.7 seconds in the 200m

Current Personal Bests

• 100m hurdles: 13.42 seconds (August 2025)
• 60m hurdles: 8.48 seconds (January 2025)
• 60m: 7.98 seconds (January 2025)
• 200m: 24.81 seconds (February 2025)

Educational Background and Aspirations

Rollins is pursuing one of the most challenging academic paths at the University of Virginia: a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Her journey to this major is a testament to her determination and intellectual curiosity.

During high school at Ann Arbor Pioneer, Rollins initially struggled with physics despite her strong aptitude for mathematics. Her physics teacher, Mr. Armstrong, became a pivotal influence in her academic life. “He was like, ‘Maya, you are great at this. You’re going to be great at it.’ And he just wouldn’t let me quit. And I fell in love with [physics],” Rollins recalled.

Despite her newfound passion for physics, Rollins was initially hesitant to commit to such a demanding engineering degree. “And I know I have an interest in it, [yet] I didn’t want to fully commit, because that’s a whole lot,” she explained. But ultimately, she decided: “You know what? Full steam ahead, this is what I’m doing.”

Her commitment to academics is evident in her recognition as a member of both the All-ACC Academic Team and the USTFCCCA All-Academic team during her freshman year, proving that she excels both on the track and in the classroom.

Athletic Heritage and Family Influence

Maya Rollins comes from exceptional athletic lineage. Her father, Fabian Rollins, competed for Barbados at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the 400 meters and was also a collegiate athlete at Eastern Michigan University. “[It] was the coolest thing, getting to be able to look up to him,” Maya said. “And he still is my biggest hero and biggest inspiration.”

Fabian coached Maya from the time she started running at age five through the end of high school, instilling in her both technical expertise and a love for the sport. When it came time for college recruiting, Maya knew she wanted a coach with qualities similar to her father—”one who had a fun and positive personality but was also going to push her to achieve.”

Her father helped identify Virginia assistant coach LaRon Bennett, himself a three-time NCAA All-American in the 400m hurdles and a four-time U.S. Olympic Trials competitor. Rollins found not only coaching compatibility with Bennett but also a shared Christian faith that has become central to her approach to competition.

Personal Interests and Faith

Rollins’s Christian faith plays a significant role in both her athletic performance and daily life. Coach LaRon Bennett shared advice that profoundly impacted her approach to competition: “Don’t think about it too much. God already knows what is going to happen with this race. All you can do is prepare to show the world the gift that he has blessed you with.”

This perspective helps Rollins manage the stress and anxiety of high-level competition. She embraces the philosophy of preparation over worry, stating: “I think that is the best thing I’ve ever heard, and it completely wipes away all that stress and anxiety.”

Her faith also influences how she views competition. When discussing the intense atmosphere at the Junior Pan American Games, she noted: “I know I’m gonna do well here, because iron sharpens iron, as it says in the Bible, if I’m running against the best people in my age group, I’m gonna do well.”

Competitive Philosophy and Technical Excellence

As a hurdler, Rollins has developed a deep understanding of the technical precision required in her event. She describes hurdling as requiring both sprinter’s speed and exceptional control: “From the block start, to the eight steps that we take before that first hurdle, to how our knee lifts over it, to how our foot is flexed over the hurdle, [there are] all those tiny, tiny little details. It is a race to every single hurdle. It’s not just a race to the finish line, because if you are off a teeny bit, especially at some faster speeds, you can get tripped up very easily.”

Rollins also demonstrates remarkable mental toughness. At the Barbados National Championships, she discovered just before the preliminary round that the air-infused sole of her right spike had popped, potentially compromising the shoe’s stability. Rather than panic, she maintained composure: “I said, ‘You know what? Who cares? I still have my feet, and the shoes are shoes. It’s fine.’ So we got onto that line, and I said, ‘Okay, I’m just gonna run.'” She qualified for the finals with the damaged shoe, won the national title, and set the junior national record—all without a backup pair of spikes.

Career Aspirations and Future Goals

Looking ahead, Rollins has set ambitious goals for her continued development. For her sophomore season and beyond, she aims to break the 13-second barrier in the 100m hurdles and win an ACC championship in the outdoor season.

The transition to collegiate athletics at Virginia has provided Rollins with an environment where excellence is the standard. “Everyone [is] trying to push the human body past its limits, and then even further than that,” she observed. Training alongside Olympic Trials qualifiers and near-Olympians like teammate Sarah Akpan has shown her what’s possible: “All these people, they’re working for it, so I know I can work for it too. I know the system is already right here for me.”

With three more years of eligibility at Virginia and continued representation of Barbados in international competition, Rollins is positioning herself as a potential Olympic athlete, following directly in her father’s footsteps while carving out her own legacy.

Personal Background

Rollins was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to parents Maria Moreno-Rollins and Fabian Rollins. She has been actively involved in track and field since age five and represents a bridge between American collegiate athletics and Caribbean international competition.

Her unique position as a Barbadian athlete competing for a prestigious American university allows her to gain world-class training and competition experience while proudly representing her father’s homeland on the international stage. When competing for Barbados, she feels the weight of representing an entire nation: “There’s a whole bunch of people that don’t even know me. They know my last name because of my dad, but they don’t know me at all, and they’re rooting for me…so I have to go and do well.”

Impact and Legacy

As a sophomore at the University of Virginia and one of Barbados’s brightest young athletic stars, Maya Rollins represents the next generation of elite hurdlers. Her combination of technical skill, mental toughness, academic excellence, and deep faith makes her a role model both on and off the track. With a Barbados junior national record already to her name, All-ACC honors, and continued improvement in every season, Rollins is well on her way to achieving her dreams of Olympic competition and engineering excellence. She embodies the ideal of the student-athlete—equally committed to pushing the boundaries of human performance and expanding her intellectual horizons in one of the most demanding academic disciplines.

Go Maya!