EUGENE – On Monday night Marc Scott had to stay the night in the hospital and on Wednesday evening he was crowned NCAA Champion in the 10K. 

Scott, a distance runner for University of Tulsa who is in Eugene competing in the NCAA Track and Field Championships that began on Wednesday, was on a run Monday when he suffered a “mini-seizure.” 

“It was during my 10 mile run on Monday; it happened at mile four,” said Scott. “We were nowhere near where we parked our car so I had to run six miles back afterwards. But I felt great.”

While he felt great today, his sleep schedule was inhibited the past few days. During Monday’s hospital stay he was woken up every few hours to ensure he was still in good health. Scott said he has had a few instances in the past when he had seizures but when the results of the CT Scan and echocardiography came back negative, he was ready to run.  

“I didn’t let it phase me. I just wanted to get on the start line and give it my best shot.”

Scott, who became the favorite for the 10K after Oregon’s elite senior and 17 time NCAA champion Edward Cheserek was ruled out with a back injury, patiently waited to strike throughout the duration of the race. The field of 24 runners remained tight throughout the race despite efforts from a host of competitors to speed up the pace. With a lap and a half left in the race, Scott struck. 

“I knew it would come down to the last lap and that’s what I’ve been working on for a long time,” he said.

The running events began Wednesday with the men of Oregon making a splash.

Though the team is not projected to finish in the top 10, the group had a stand out performance in the 4x100m relay. The team of Damarcus Simpson, Kyree King, Julius Shellmire and Marcus Chambers ran a clean race, finished second and set a school record in the process. They will compete in the finals on Friday. 

The day came to its peak when the crowd at Hayward witnessed history in the men’s 100m. Tennessee’s Christian Coleman stunned the crowd, and the rest of the field, when he sped his way to a collegiate record of 9.82 seconds. While the crowd was stunned, Coleman was not surprised by his success and has high hopes for Friday’s 100m final. 

“Sky’s the limit,” said Coleman. “For me personally, I have a lot of confidence in myself and wasn’t necessarily running for time. I was just coming out here trying to execute and when you do that, good things happen.”

The NCAA Championships will continue with the women’s competition getting underway Thursday.

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