Oklahoma State University Athletics
Chuck Sloan and Cowboy Cross Country
June 21, 1999 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
Steve Prefontaine was, and always will be, an inspiration to the sport of cross country and to runners of all ages.
Oklahoma State runner Chuck Sloan never knew of any runners while growing up aside from the stories of Prefontaine, the Oregon distance star.
"Prefontaine was the most gutsy runner of all time," the Cowboy Junior said. "He ran to utter exhaustion with everything hanging out. He was the complete runner, always running the complete race."
When comparing his description of Prefontaine with his many accomplishments and goals, one may feel Sloan's commitment to the sport is patterned in a similar fashion as the great Prefontaine.
Sloan has experienced a great deal of success in his young running career.
His dedication to the sport began four years ago while he was a junior at Billings (Mont.) High School.
He originally did his running on the hardwood while playing high school basketball. He joined the cross country squad during his sophomore year.
"I joined the cross country team after my freshman year mainly just to get in shape for basketball." "I was not motivated to run cross country at first, I figured that I could go in and earn a letter real easy."
But he was not seeking a long-term running career during this phase of his life, early success, though, helped him grow to enjoy the sport.
"After I beat our No.1 guy on the team and cleaned his clock, I placed 15th at the state meet,"Sloan said. "I knew that I could be good at this."
As a high school senior, Sloan was recruited by several in-state schools, but chose Oklahoma State because he wanted to study out-of-state.
"I chose OSU because it was a long way from home," he said. "I wanted some change in my life."
Anxious and ready to go, he started his college running ready to conquer the world, Sloan started off strong with high hopes and motivation only to wake up to a new reality.
"When I got here, I thought that I could go in there and run with all of our best guys," he said. "I woke up and realized that I had to mature and grow stronger first."
Through the course of his freshman campaign under OSU coach Dick Weis, Sloan grew stronger and he learned a great deal about running at the college level.
"As long as we followed Coach'sYen system we would grow stronger, maturing with the program," Sloan said.
As his freshman track career began, he found himself running strong with the top Cowboy performers.
"When track started, I was keeping up with the older guys, except Jon (Wild) and Patty (Kiptum),"Sloan said. "Those guys blew me out of the water."
He set forth two individual goals for himself during his college career: three years of All-America status and a steeplechase national championship in track.
Following a freshman year that placed him in the 53rd spot at the cross country national championship (Top 25 earn All-American status) and missing All-American status by two spots in the steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor meet, these are realistic goals set forth to accomplish.
"I expect to be All-American, I think that I should be," Sloan said. "In track, I expect to be in the top five or so in the steeplechase and eventually, maybe a national championshipE."
Sloan displayed the background to accomplish these goals right from the start of his college running career.
"During Chuck's freshman year, he finished second on the USA Junior National Team Trials in the steeplechase with a time of 9:14,"Weis said. "He improved from 4:07 (indoor) to 4:03 (outdoor) in the mile and to 8:46 in the steeplechase, he should be All-American and we are hoping to get him down to 4:00 in the mile and 8:36 in the steeplechase this year."
Weis expressed nothing but positive praise for his athlete.
"Chuck is tough." "He is tough in races and tough in practice. A blue-collar type runner all the way-comes to work everyday."
Sloan, an economics major, hopes to find his role in life through Oklahoma State.
"I really like the teaching philosophy that I have experienced so far here at OSU," he said. "I don't know exactly what career area I want to end up in, I hope to find my niche here."
He does not know how long his running career will last following college, but he does know that he will always be a part of the sport.
"I might like to instruct kids about the sport,"Sloan said. "After all of the dedication and time put forth, running becomes a major part of your life. You began to love it, It is your life."
Following his Stillwater career, he plans to find his way back to the mountains and Montana.
"Stillwater is great, but it feels so good to go home where I can see the mountains." "I'll definitely find my way back home."
It is still a bit early for Sloan to plan that trip to the mountains, considering he has set a mountain of goals he plans to climb and accomplish in Stillwater first.
