BY MIKE POTTER : The Herald-Sun
mpotter@heraldsun.com
May 21, 2003 : 10:58 pm ET

Jason Smoots says that when he first arrived at N.C. Central, he would have figured he’d be happy to win one race at a CIAA conference meet.

But the senior from Gadsden, Ala., who received his bachelor’s degree in recreation and sports management from NCCU in December, has won an awful lot more than that.

At one point in December 2001, he at least temporarily held the title of world’s fastest man for that year after running 60 meters indoors in 6.62 seconds. In September, he was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. team in the 400-meter relay at the 2002 IAAF World Cup meet in Madrid.

On Oct. 26, Mayor Bill Bell proclaimed "Jason Smoots Day" in Durham. A week later, Smoots was grand marshal of NCCU’s homecoming parade.

Today at 4 p.m. in the NCAA Division II track and field meet at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Smoots will run the last leg of his quest to become the greatest sprinter in NCAA Division II history.

He already has won five individual championships — three in indoor sprints and two in the outdoor 100 meters — and ran on the Eagles’ NCAA champion 400-meter relay team last year.

Smoots, who also will compete in the 200 along with his runs in the 100 and the relay, will attempt to become the first sprinter to "three-peat" as 100 champion since North Dakota’s Norm McGee completed that feat in 1989. It’s McGee that Smoots will attempt to surpass with one more individual title, as the Fighting Sioux star won five individual sprint titles — but was on no relay champions — during his illustrious career.

"We’ve just been working on the relay a lot lately," said Smoots, who will run the anchor leg after sophomore Detric Branch, freshman Brian Hope and sophomore Steven Enoch get him the baton. "And everybody’s been working on his individual events. It’s cruise time now. Nothing’s going to change over the last two or three weeks."

Smoots said U.S. national team coach George Williams of St. Augustine’s has assured him that he will be in the relay pool for the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Williams’ Falcons likely are the co-favorites to win the team title along with Abilene Christian.

If history holds up, Smoots will likely be an Olympic gold medalist in a year and a half.

For how, he wants to do well in his final amateur meet, enough to possibly give the Eagles a fourth-place finish in this weekend’s meet.

"Jason’s ready to go right now," NCCU coach Mike Lawson said. "His season started out a little mild, because he asked me not to run him too much. But he’s looking to beat the meet record [10.0 by Norfolk State’s Steve Riddick in 1972] and just get as many points as he can for North Carolina Central."

Lawson said Smoots has run as fast as a 10.07. Tim Montgomery’s world record is 9.78. Smoots is ranked as the fastest collegiate runner in the U.S., No. 11 overall in the country and No. 37 in the world.

Smoots said he hopes to make the finals in the 200 (his lifetime best is a 21.07) and see what he can do from there. And he’s hoping, of course, to help his younger teammates repeat as relay champions.

Then there are even bigger meets ahead. Smoots will run in the USA Track and Field meet June 22, and then possibly travel to the World Championships in Paris in August.

"It feels really good," Smoots, who wore "USA" sweats to an interview earlier this week, said about competing for his country. "I used to watch all those guys on TV, and when I first got on the same team with them it was unbelievable!"

Several of Smoots’ teammates also will be in Edwardsville this weekend. Enoch finished second in the long jump last season and sixth in the triple jump. Branch will compete in the 100 and 200 for the first time, while Hope will help with the relays.

Two members of the NCCU women’s team also are competing. Senior Kennisha Moten, a five-time All-American, is a specialist in the 400. Sophomore Chanda Powell from Durham’s Cresset Christian Academy, a three-time All-American, specializes in the hurdles and the long jump.