Big South Champ eyes elite status in '14.

• Position: Athletics

High Point University senior Jacob Smith is fresh off a win in the Big South Cross Country Championship last fall, and he's undefeated in his last five Big South races. But you won't see him in an HPU uniform this spring--Smith is taking a year away from racing, or "redshirting," in preparation for a fifth year of eligibility. He hopes to compete for a national championship in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2014.

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Smith became High Point's first individual Big South cross country champion last October when he sprinted past three runners from Liberty University in the final stretch of the 8,000-meter (approximately five miles) race held at Winthrop. He won four other Big South title races in 2012: the indoor 3,000 and 5,000-meter and the outdoor 3,000-meter steeplechase and 5,000-meter.

"Looking back on it, it's really amazing," says Smith of the conference victories. "I've raced all those guys before so I knew how I stacked up against them. I'm confident in my kick, so I know if I stay with them I'll have a good chance."

But it's on the track where Smith really excels.

For those who aren't familiar with the steeplechase, it's a 7-1/2 lap race (slightly less than two miles) in which the runners hurdle over a total of 28 regular barriers and seven water jumps. The barriers are 36 inches high. Smith owns the HPU record of 8:47.09 in that event, a mark he ran at the NCAA Preliminary last May. He qualified for the national championship, where he placed 19th.

His progress in the steeplechase--going from 9:34 his freshman year to 8:54 his sophomore year to 8:47 last spring--is what has Smith and head coach Mike Esposito excited about the fifth year and beyond. Distance runners focus on mileage and improve through consistent training. While Smith would undoubtedly be a top runner this spring...