Feb. 24, 2005
There were just too many people. And for almost too long, Ryan Hampton couldn't find any room.
Through most of the men's mile run at the Iowa State Classic, Hampton was looking for an opportunity to make a move. As the runners hit the final 125-meter stretch, Hampton was back in eighth place. It wasn't his choice. He had nowhere to go. He worked his way into fifth before the final 100 then made his move.
Missouri's senior, who himself had seemingly come out of nowhere, sprinted past the field to win the race with a season-best time of 4 minutes, 4.14 seconds.
"I had something" for the final stretch, "but I didn't know if I was going to be able to win," Hampton said. "Just kind of ended up that way.
"You've been waiting the whole race to make your move. You've been kind of holding back, and then to think you might be able to win, it's what runners look for, basically. Yeah, it's definitely an adrenaline rush."
Hampton's time ranks him fourth in the Big 12 for the indoor season and 29th in the NCAA. He expects to contend for the mile championship when the Missouri track and field teams head to the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships that begin tomorrow in Lincoln, Neb.
Hampton, a three-time all-Big 12 performer, knows all about making late moves. His career was nearly boxed in.
After four years at Liberty High School, Hampton was not a highly recruited athlete. Liberty had a weak track program before Hampton joined as a freshman. The farthest his team traveled for a meet was to Jefferson City for the Missouri State High School Activities Association Championships.
Hampton was a decent runner, hitting about 4:17 out of high school, but wasn't highly recruited. He also admits that he didn't really take other schools' offers seriously because he had his sights set on attending Missouri. He received a scholarship but was basically a walk-on, assistant coach Jared Wilmes said.
The switch to college turned into another hurdle. Hampton's "goal" as a freshman was just to keep up with the other runners. That proved to be more difficult than it looked.
"It was definitely a shock," Hampton said. "In high school, I knew people ran a lot faster than me, but I really didn't get to see it. When you come to college, people run good times all over the place."
Hampton started setting goals for himself. He worked hard on the track and in the classroom. Wilmes estimated that Hampton has achieved a 4.0 grade-point average the past seven semesters and has turned himself into a two-time academic all-American.
The success on the track didn't come so easily.
"My first two years here were really tough on me, running-wise," Hampton said. "I worked really hard, but I just didn't feel like I was getting any better. My third year here, I had a breakthrough, kind of. Ever since then, it keeps getting easier to run faster times."
In the cross country season, Hampton improved from a 91st-place finish in the 2001 regionals to an 18th-place finish in 2002. His personal-best indoor mile has dropped from 4:15.82 to a 4:03.30.
Hampton has been focused on this indoor season for a while. He suffered a minor knee injury in the 2003 cross country season after only two races and could not compete. The NCAA denied his request for another year of eligibility. Hampton took the ruling in stride and started training for the track season.
"I was training, and I was healthy. I just didn't get to race," Hampton said. "I've been going for a good two years since I've been hurt."
No matter how many minor setbacks Hampton has been through, he's survived them all.
"He isn't the guy who came in and was immediately the star," Wilmes said. "He's the guy people can point to and say, `Hey, the guy struggled in the beginning, but he kept persevering, he kept working hard, and he got there.' "
And now, he's the guy everyone else is trying to keep up with.
"Funny how that works," he said.