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The brightest and best track and field performers in the country converged on the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayettville, Ark., last weekend for the NCAA National Championships in Track and Field. With visions of All-American glory in their heads, a select few athletes showcased their exceptional talent on the national stage.
The University of Maine was represented among those competitors by sophomore Riley Masters. The Bangor native put together one of the best individual seasons in the history of UMaine track and field this year, breaking records and earning conference accolades on multiple occasions.
Although he has competed at distances ranging from 800 to 3,000 meters this season, Masters’ signature event has been the mile run. Masters originally broke into the exclusive sub-four minute club at Boston University’s Valentine’s Invitational with a 3:59.97 victory. His personal best time of 3:59.07 came less than two weeks ago at the Columbia Last Chance Meet. This time, a university record, was just shy of the NCAA automatic qualifying time of 3:59.00. However, Masters still provisionally qualified ninth out of 16 competitors in the event.
Masters described the atmosphere in the arena as “intimidating.”
“A couple of months ago I was looking up to these guys, you know, with them being the top runners in the nation, and then I had to go and compete against them,” Masters said.
“The big goal at first was just to make the finals, and then once I did that I figured, yeah, I could place. I just wanted to put myself in it and give myself a chance. I wanted to make sure I left it all on the track,” he said.
Masters earned a spot in the finals with a 4:03.10 on Friday night, second only to defending champion Lee Emanuel, a senior from the University of New Mexico.
“I knew he was the guy to beat, so it was a little weird being that close to him. Just a couple months ago I wouldn’t have expected that,” Masters said.
In the final race on Saturday night, Masters stayed in the middle of the pack before falling to last place with around 400 meters to go.
“I ended up falling off the pace quite a bit, [but] a couple of guys made some big moves early and I kind of rested a little bit,” he recalled. “At the end I closed hard and was able to pick off quite a few guys.”
The surge brought Masters a fifth place finish with 4:04.29, while Emanuel repeated as champion with a 3:59.26 finish.
Masters’ performance secured him All-American status, the first such honor for UMaine track since sprinter Arel Gordon finished seventh in the 60-meter dash at the 2007 championship.
“It’s an honor, and I’m happy I’m able to represent the university in such a positive way,” Masters said of the award. “My teammates have been very supportive and I really owe them a lot of the credit. They helped me get to where I am now.”
After being named the America East conference’s Most Outstanding Rookie near the end of his freshman season, expectations were high for Masters’ second indoor campaign. A strong start to the cross country season last fall was cut short by a knee injury, forcing him to miss more than half of the meets, including championships. Masters doesn’t think the missed time was all bad.
“I think [the time off] helped quite a bit especially because, you know, the way I ran last year, I just needed some time off to give my body a chance to take a break,” Masters said.
Now Masters will gear up for his second shot at outdoor track, building off the same kind of success that helped him claim the university record at 5,000 meters last season.
“Throughout my running career I’ve thought, you know, how can I get faster, I feel like I’m already going my fastest,” Masters said. “I’m just gonna go with it and keep assuming I’m gonna run faster. I really don’t know when I’m gonna slow down.”
Unlike the NCAA meet, this time he won’t be alone. The rest of the athletes are eager to prove themselves as well. Already in the indoor season, standout individuals have united to emerge as a legitimate threat to larger teams with much more depth in every event. With Masters leading the pack, the future looks bright for head coach Mark Lech and his UMaine Black Bears.
