When you hear of the city Gadsden, Ala., you may think that it is a country bumpkin town like Sparta, Miss., the set of the hit television show, “In the Heat of the Night.”

“No it’s not like “In the Heat of the Night” or a Nappy Roots video,” said N.C. Central University’s track and field superhero Jason Smoots about his hometown. Smoots is the epitome of what a college sprinter should be, fast.

Over the summer, the senior sprinter participated in several international track and field events, including the 2002 Norwich Union Challenge in Glasgow, Scotland.

He is currently in Madrid, Spain as a member of the USA team participating in the 2002 International Association of Athletics Foundation World Cup. The World Cup, he says is like a forerunner for the World Olympics.

“This is a big opportunity for me and almost like going to the Olympics,” he said.

Smoots is an alternate on the 100-meter relay team, but said that he feels he can be one of four that will actually run in the race.

He is the only collegiate athlete, but said that he still has a good chance of doing well.

This is the final meet of the year for the five-time NCAA Division II Champion and he is looking forward to coming back and taking a well-deserved break.

“I’ll come back, relax, and just be a regular student for a while,” he said. “I will still workout, but not compete.”

Smoots’ workout routine includes waking up at 5:30 every morning to lift weights, an important part of being a good sprinter.

Smoots, who weighs 190lbs and bench presses about 425lbs, said that keeping a strong upper body is just as important as strengthening his legs.

“Your upper body is what pulls you through when your legs die,” he said. “Your legs turnover depending on how hard and fast you pump your arms.”

The training that he goes through everyday has helped him immensely over the course of his collegiate career.

The last time Smoots lost a conference meet was as a freshman where he placed third at the 2000 NCAA Division II Indoor Track Championships in the 55m dash.

Since then no one has been able to beat him. He won the 55m dash as well as the 100m dash in the 2001 NCAA Division II National Championships.

He also won the 60m dash and the 4x100m relay at the 2002 NCAA Championships.

During that championship Smoots recorded his best time ever in the 100m dash with a time of 10.07 seconds.

That race was significant to him because his grandmother had just passed away.

“We were real close and she was like one of my best friends,” he said. “That was a long, rough day. I knew she would have wanted me to go ahead and compete. I had a commitment to keep to the team, so I just did what I had to do.”

Smoots wore a ribbon in memory of his grandmother during that race and keeps her in his memories during all his meets.

This past August at the Norwich Union Challenge, he took his winning record overseas for the first time to compete with USA Team as they ran against Great Britain and Russia.

To help prepare for this event, earlier in the summer, he went to Canada for a track clinic and also traveled to Texas and California to attend national track meets.

At the 2002 POWERade North America, Central America, and Caribbean Under-25 Track & Field Championships in Texas, he set a meet record in the finals of the 100-meter dash.

Despite Smoots’ busy schedule, he manages to keep his grades intact. He says his mother, who is a principal, and father, who retired from the navy, are very serious when it comes to good grades.

“They don’t play at all,” he said. He is a physical education major with a concentration in Sports Management. He will graduate this December and plans to attend graduate school to study Recreational Administration.

He said that one of his reasons for staying at NCCU is so that he can continue to train with coach Michael Lawson, whom he has built a very close bond with.