Reaching the college level is a transitional moment for any high school athlete. Most enter the locker room thinking they will soon become one of the best, only to realize there are thousands of people just like them. Dylan Sprecker is an exception.

He is a well-rounded student-athlete who shines on the track. He is a star distance runner on Pittsburg State’s track and cross-country teams. More than that, he is an ambassador for the Division II program and a team leader. He is also a national champion.

The former Southeast of Saline standout placed first last weekend in the mile race at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field National Championships in Virginia Beach, Va.

“There were mixed opinions on where I would finish,” said the Gorillas’ redshirt junior. “One reporter had me as a potential favorite to win it, others thought I might just be a back-end All-American.”

Sprecker stepped to the line for the mile final just one day after running a thrilling anchor leg on Pitt State’s winning distance medley relay. Both Sprecker and Indianapolis anchor Felix Rivet went to the ground after crossing the line, with Pitt State clocking 9:39.942 and Indianapolis 9:39.946.

Pittsburg State junior Dylan Sprecker runs in the third position in the finals of the mile at the NCAA Division II National Indoor Track and Field Championships.

“Yeah, I felt pretty beat up going in the (mile) final. My body was sore from, not only the races, but from the fall (at the finish line),” Sprecker said. “My core muscles had basically given out at the end of the DMR.

“So, I felt kind of trashed going into the mile, but I just kept telling myself, ‘You have to put yourself in it, you have to give yourself a chance to win it’.”

Starting in Lane 1, he got off slower than planned and immediately found himself eighth in the 10-runner field, and with 400 meters remaining he was positioned in fourth.

“We didn’t go out very hard, so I knew it was gonna be a tactical race, everyone just waiting on the big finish,” he said. “I was perfectly OK with it being tactical after having the two races the day before. It kind of gave me a chance to basically relax for 1000 to 1200 meters.”

He eventually pushed toward the front, finishing in 4:11.92, slower than the 4:06.94 that he clocked in the previous day’s preliminaries. Initial results had him taking second to Adams State’s Housem Hrabi (4:11.), but Hrabi was disqualified for illegal contact.

“Part of me doesn’t feel quite right that my first national championship is off a disqualification,” he said. “But then there’s the other part of me that’s upset because if he hadn’t pushed his way through, then I think I would have been a national champion straight up.”

With his mile finish, Sprecker collected his first individual DII championship and became a seven-time DII All-America selection. His points helped Pitt State become the first DII program to secure four consecutive national indoor titles since St. Augustine’s College did from 2006-2009. The championship is the school’s eighth in a row when combining the indoor and outdoor seasons.

Dylan Sprecker works his way toward on the front on his way to an NCAA Division II championship in the mile.

For an athlete who at Southeast of Saline was part of five team state championships and claimed eight state gold medals, including a sweep of the Class 3A 800, 1600 and 3200 races  as a senior, it was important for Sprecker to put himself into a college situation where he could experience both team success and individual development.

“I did not want anything less than that,” he said. “After talking with Coach Ben (Barrows) I knew he had everything I wanted in a coach. It took a little time to adjust,  but I just have 100 percent trust in Coach Ben and our coaching staff as a whole and just knowing the training we’re doing works. It’s proven. It’s just a matter of being ready when the time comes.”

Pitt State head track coach Kyle Rutledge spoke on how Sprecker fueled his squad to its championship with his strong effort the 1600 anchor leg in the DMR, the final race on day one of the two-day meet.

“After what Dylan Sprecker did in the mile and the DMR and the way he got that ball rolling,” Rutledge told Fourstates Sports Report. “We always talk about how one person can make that difference and get that thing going and what he did at the end of day one in the DMR, that kind of made that catapult for the next day.”