Skimming over the men’s cross country roster, most Mississippi State fans would no idea who Wade Martin is.
Bescause he’s not listed, yet.
Nevertheless, in his two races this season since transferring from Jacksonville State, Martin has helped the Bulldogs make impressive strides this season.
“I’ve basically moved from a 9,000 student school to a 16,000 student school, so it’s a lot different,” Martin said, on his move to Mississippi State. “A lot bigger. Less accessible than a smaller school, but it’s still great. I’m glad I came here.”
Any distraction caused from transferring to a school nearly twice as large hasn’t affected Martin on the track. The junior led the team in the 8K run at the Notre Dame Invitational last month with a time of 25:01. The team finished in a higher-than-expected 22nd place.
Just eight days later, Martin earned the first top 10 finish in his brief Maroon and White career with a 24:17.64 run at the Auburn Invitational. State finished in fourth place at the meet.
“This is one year I haven’t been injured,” Martin said, explaining his fast start. “I’ve been able to get the right training in and start improving in one season, instead of getting injured and having to wait until the next season.”
Judging from the scorecards, the Alabama native has seemingly freed himself from back injuries that hampered him in the past, a relief he credits to his training and MSU’s coaching staff.
“I did some intense running this summer. I got in about 600 miles this summer,” he said. “That’s a lot more than I had ever done before. It gave me a good base, and I’m working off that. I’m more mature, more experienced, and I know what to do. I’ve also correlated well with the coaches, and they know what they’re doing.”
Martin gives the Bulldogs another runner on their squad to complement junior Travis McKay, who already has an SEC Runner of the Week award under his belt this season.
“It’s me and him back and forth in the workouts,” Martin said.
Despite his efforts in helping build State into a solid SEC team, Martin’s aspirations in architecture and business were the main reasons for his transfer.
“Architecture is why I’m here,” he said. “I’d like to get a double-major in business management or real estate. Those are the main reasons I’m here. If I wanted to just run track, I could have gone to Auburn and ran, but I wasn’t going to run for them. When it comes down to it, I have to choose my major, although track is great.”
Along with his studies, Martin’s focus is squarely on the upcoming schedule.
“Right now, we’re just focused on beating some people at the SECs,” he said. “I’d like to set some records before I leave.”
If Bulldog cross country fans don’t recognize Wade Martin’s name now, they will before he graduates.