Mississippi State athletic history is being made, but it’s not taking place on any field, court or diamond.
One athlete is set to make a footprint on the record books and on the rugged terrain of cross country.
Last weekend, senior runner Robert Scribner led the MSU cross country team to a sixth-place overall finish at the NCAA South Regionals in Maryville, Tenn. In the process, he became the first-ever male Bulldog to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championship.
The championship will be held Monday in Terre Haute, Ind.
“On the men’s side we had a great day,” head track coach Al Schmidt said following the meet. “Robert Scribner ran a great race and qualified for nationals.”
Some would say great is not a sufficient word to describe the championship invitation, especially for an athlete clad in maroon and white.
The closest the Bulldog athletic program has been to a national championship lately is the 2007 College World Series, in which the Bulldogs lost two in a row to be eliminated from the championship tournament. Though MSU has appeared in the CWS eight times, it has never taken the step to win the title.
The men’s basketball program has had one Final Four appearance in 1996, only to be put out by Syracuse in that round.
The football program has been to multiple bowl games over the years, but never in a BCS Bowl, let alone the national championship.
In fact, MSU’s only national championship in the history of the athletic program came in the form of the 1994 men’s tennis doubles championship.
Scribner’s invitation to the championship meet provides a chance for history to be made.
But it was no cake walk for Scribner to get to where he already is.
Schmidt said about 300 schools participate in Division-I cross country and only 38 athletes earned bids to compete at the national level.
“Of all the three sports with chances we have to go to nationals, this is probably the hardest to qualify for,” Schmidt said. “It’s a very limited field compared to the number of schools that compete. For him to do this, he’s in very elite company. I’m proud of him and very happy for him and proud of the coaches that have worked with him.”
As big as the accomplishment is, however, Scribner said he believes he’s simply a link in the strong Mississippi State cross country chain.
“I don’t want to say that me making it is a big step, but it is representative of the progress the team has made,” Scribner said. “We finally have someone going to nationals, and it’s definitely going to help in the future, in recruiting and such.”
Scribner, a senior out of Tupelo, Miss., is in his third season as an active member of the Bulldog cross country squad. He was redshirted his freshman season. He has showed continued improvement over his career.
He finished 16th in the SEC Championship meet this season, as compared to 22nd last season.
Before this season, Scribner hadn’t even been named all-SEC in either cross country or track, nor had he been invited to the regional level of competition.
Schmidt said his improved success can be attributed to nothing but pure determination.
“To be a distance runner at the level he’s reached, you have to be very focused,” Schmidt said. “He has to run 90-100 miles a week most weeks out of the year. It takes quite a bit of determination. He’s not only doing it, but he’s doing it faster than anybody around here.”
Cross country is unique in that there really is no off-season. The practice for competing in the sport is the same, unchanging routine throughout the year, just in increased mileage. It doesn’t really matter if the team is in-season or not.
Scribner never used the word “practice,” however. He said it’s more like a sub-life with a never-attainable destination.
“Running is a sport where there’s never any time off,” Scribner said. “I’m training year-round, up to about 50 weeks a year. Thousands of miles a year since I’ve been here. It’s kind of a chronic goal, and it’s been my lifestyle for my past five years in college.”
It is that lifestyle that has undoubtedly paved Scribner’s path to the NCAA Championships.
Not only is Scribner a link in the MSU cross country chain, but he said he envisions that the chain will get longer over the next few years.
“I think that starting next year, more people from MSU will start reaching the national level,” he said. “My appearance will just open the door.”