Oklahoma State University Athletics
Chuck Sloan Prospers in Short Running Career
June 04, 2003 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
Last year Sloan brought home All-America and Big 12 honors in the 3,000m steeplechase. He recorded a time of 8:43.33 at the NCAA Championships, good enough for sixth place. He has his sights set on bigger goals this year, including some Big 12 and national championships and All-American honors.
Sloan recorded the Big 12's best time in the 3,000m during the regular indoor season, beating his closest opponent by almost 13 seconds. His 8:02.17 finish at the Cyclone Classic on Feb. 6 earned him a provisional spot in the NCAA Championships.
"I'm right on the bubble at the moment," he said. "They only take 16, and I'm sitting at No. 16 on the list to go to nationals."
Sloan hopes to trim down his time at the Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships on Friday and Saturday in Manhattan, Kan. He also has a shot at the mile championship as well.
When the outdoor season comes around, he would like to improve on his sixth-place national finish in the 3,000m steeplechase with a national championship. Sloan ended up at OSU despite attempts from various Montana schools trying to draw him there.
"I just thought, 'Well, I'm going to go there,'" Sloan said. "I didn't think too much about down the road or anything. But it was the best decision that I could have made out of any of the possible opportunities I had at that point. There was no way I could get the running experience or anything that I've gotten since I've been here."
Cowboy track coach Dick Weis agrees with Sloan that it was a good decision for him to come to OSU.
"He has done an outstanding job," Weis said. "I wish we could get three like him every year. He's a team leader."
Aside from his honors last season, Sloan also finished 14th at the USA Track & Field Championships and qualified for the 2000 Olympics trials.
That's a long way from where he got his start.
When he was going out for the basketball team during his sophomore year of high school, Sloan's grandfather gave him some wise advice that led him to where he stands today.
"My grandfather said, 'Go out for cross country because in that third quarter when everybody is huffing and puffing and you have a little bit of running under your belt, you can kick everybody's butt,'" Sloan said. "So I went out for cross country."
He made the basketball team, but it wasn't too long after that when Sloan hung up his basketball shoes and decided to pursue a career in cross country and track.
It started with a run-off to see how the athletes compared to each other. Although he had never competed in an event like this before, Sloan finished second behind the team's all-state runner. During the next season, Sloan matured and got used to running, so he had no problem setting the pace for the entire team, including the team leader from the year before.
Then the time came for Sloan's big decision. Even though basketball gave him his start for his running career, soccer was his sport. After his junior cross country season, he had to decide if he wanted to go out for track or continue play soccer, a sport he had played for several years.
"I had always played soccer," Sloan said. "I had been playing soccer forever, but my parents said I couldn't do both. I had to either run track or play soccer."
Track won out with a little convincing from the Billings High School track coach. The decision paid off as he went out and placed second in the mile at the state meet his first year of competing. Then next year, he won state in both cross country and track.
By starting off his career with honors, it's been hard for him to accept anything less throughout his collegiate career - especially finishing 210th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships last December and not competing much during the indoor season last year because of sickness.
"There are a lot of points that have been really disappointing," Sloan said about his career at OSU so far. "I thought for sure this year I should be All-American in cross country (top 25 runners). This year I knew I should have been up there with those guys, but it just didn't happen. It wasn't my day at all.
"I've missed going to indoor nationals by a couple of places, and it's disappointing. I know I can run. I'm constantly striving. When you're in a race, you want to win. That's pretty much it. I've been happy with my progress, but I would really like to be All-American in cross country and be able to compete in the indoor nationals like last year. Hopefully this year I'll make it."
