Miles Smith rekindles talk of national title

~ The All-American again will run against the nation's best in the 400 meters.

When Southeast Missouri State moved up to Division I with the 1991-1992 school year, the days of the university's athletes challenging for national titles seemed to be a thing of the past.

But Miles Smith has other ideas.

Smith, Southeast's sensational junior sprinter, is getting ready to take another crack at a national championship this week.

While the odds are stacked against Smith, naysayers should dismiss him at their own risk.

That's because Smith has been proving plenty of people wrong ever since he set foot on the Southeast campus in 2003.

"Miles thinks he can do anything," Southeast track and field coach Joey Haines said with a laugh. "I wouldn't put anything past him."

Smith, a fifth-place finisher in the 400 meters at last year's NCAA outdoor national meet, placed third in the Mideast Regional on May 27 in Knoxville, Tenn., to earn an automatic national berth.

Smith's time of 45.57 seconds from the regional is ranked sixth nationally entering the NCAA outdoor championships in Sacramento, Calif. Smith will compete in tonight's first round of the 400, with the semifinals set for Friday night and the finals Saturday afternoon.

"I can't wait to run," Smith said. "I'm ready to go."

By now the story of how Smith went from being an unheralded high school recruit to a world-class performer has been told more than a few times.

But it's still worth reviewing.

"It's quite a story," Haines said.

Smith had a solid but unspectacular senior season at Riverview Gardens High School in suburban St. Louis. He finished fourth in the 400 at the Class 4 state meet, in a somewhat pedestrian 49.05 seconds, while running legs on the 800 relay team that placed first and the 1,600 relay team that was third.

The ultra-confident Smith -- he said he has had that trait for as long as he can remember -- knew all along that he was much better than his high school performances, but he said several injuries, along with his size -- a late growth spurt that took him to 6 feet, 3 inches -- combined to hold him back.

That's why Smith said he has not been surprised by what he has accomplished so far.

That includes placing sixth at last summer's USA track and field championships to earn a spot on his country's team for the world championships in Finland, where he earned a gold medal in the 1,600 relay. The U.S. relay blitzed the field, with Smith serving as the opening runner in the preliminary round.

"I always knew I had this in me," Smith said.

While Haines said it would have been hard for him to predict that Smith would be this good, he did believe Smith had potential far greater than what he ever showed in high school.

"I felt all along that Miles was really going to be good," Haines said. "We were fortunate to get him signed, because after the state meet in his senior year, he really had a good summer and the bigger schools would have been on him."

Smith had a strong indoor season as a Southeast freshman, then captured the 400 title at the Ohio Valley Conference outdoor championships to qualify for regionals.

Last year, Smith won the OVC indoor and outdoor 400, placed 11th at the indoor national meet and then really began to make his mark at the Mideast Regional. He won the title, which led to his fifth-place finish at the outdoor nationals and his sensational summer.

Smith has pretty much kept it up this year. He again dominated the OVC by sweeping the 400 titles, finished seventh at the indoor nationals and placed third at the Mideast Regional despite missing several weeks of the outdoor season while nursing a hamstring injury.

"Missing some time, especially when the weather was really turning good, held him back a little, but now he's really came on again," Haines said.

The 400 is one of the marquee events at the national meet, and Smith will have to navigate through a loaded field topped by LSU's Xavier Carter. He won the Mideast Regional with the nation's fastest time of 44.84 seconds, which also ranks among the world's best this year.

Carter won the 400 indoor national title this year, while Indiana's David Neville was the indoor runner-up. Neville, who has the nation's third-fastest time (45.23), also beat Smith at the Mideast Regional, although Smith beat Neville during a meet right before he was shut down to allow his hamstring to heal.

"It's a great field," Haines said. "Carter will be really good. He's the favorite."

Smith is not the favorite, but that doesn't automatically mean he can't emerge victorious.

"It shows you how good Miles is that we don't even talk about whether he'll make the finals or not, which makes you an All-American and would normally be a great accomplishment in itself," Haines said. "We talk about how high he'll finish.

"My goal for Miles is to be in the top three. We'll be disappointed if he's not in the top three. And if he is in the top three, that means he can win."

Added Haines: "Miles will be better than he was two weeks ago [at the regional]. Whether he can beat Carter, I don't know."

Smith, whose career-best time is a school-record 45.16 seconds accomplished last year at the NCAA meet, doesn't mind entering the meet as an underdog.

"If you're not the favorite, you don't have the pressure," he said. "Carter is a great runner. There are a lot of great runners, including me. It's probably going to take below 45 seconds to win. I think I have that in me."

While Smith said he is in California to win the championship, he realizes it will be difficult.

"My goal is to win," he said. "If I don't, I won't be disappointed. But I want to win. I'll give it my best."

Whether Smith's best will be good enough remains to be seen. If it is, Haines might be a bit surprised, but he certainly won't be shocked.

"Miles thinks he can beat anybody in the world," Haines said. "I don't put anything past him."