The Daily Eastern News staff chose redshirt-junior sprinter Norvel Mohammed as the male athlete of the year picking up a number of first place finishes and school records on the way.

Mohammed started off the year with a strong indoor season that earned him the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Co-Track Athlete of the year. He was named the OVC Track Athlete of the Week in February.

Two of his personal bests came at the Grand Valley State Big Meet. His time of 7.00 seconds in the 60-meter dash was a new personal record and his time of 21.23 seconds in the 200-meter gave him the fifth best time in school history.

Mohammed was proud to hear he was named the male athlete of the year by the News.

“These things mean a lot to me, shows that my hard work is starting to finally pay off on the track,” he said.

His time in the 400-meter dash at the Meyo Invite at the University of Notre Dame gave him the second best time in school history when he ran a 47.05.

Mohammed was First-Team All-OVC after he had three first finishes at the conference championships. His times of 21.64 seconds and 48.08 seconds gave him first in the 200 and 400-meter dashes.

He anchored the first-place finish of the 4×400-meter relay team with their time of 3:15.99 seconds. The 4×400-meter relay team is sixth in school history with their time of 3:14.12 seconds they set during the indoor season.

Winning conference or the NCAA championships is something that would mean a lot to Mohammed.

“It would mean the world to me,” he said. “Not many people have the chance to make it to the conference championships or the NCAA championships so winning either would be very special to me.”

Mohammed posted the best times on the team in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and the 400-meter dash. His 100-and 200-meter dash times were set at the EIU Big Blue meet earlier this month. His 400-meter time came at the Southern Illinois Bill Cornell meet. He ran the 100-meter dash in 10.54 seconds, which places him 10^th in school history.

Mohammed did not have any major setbacks this season and that is something that many athletes suffer from each year that run track.

“Knee and joint injuries are really common in this sport,” Mohammed said.  “So I’ve been lucky to stay healthy. A lot of ice baths and stretching help with that.”

He is second in school history in the 200-meter dash with his time of 20.60 seconds. Mohammed and his teammates have three top-10 scores in the 4×400-meter relay and own the top two times.

Their best time and school record is 39.79 seconds. His 4×400-meter relay team has the second best time in school history with a time of 3:08.84 seconds.

Mohammed said his teammates help him strive to succeed.

“What motivates me are my teammates,” he said. “We are always looking out for each other and helping each other out.”

As a native from Wisconsin, it is tough for Mohammed to see his family on a regular basis.

“It is hard not being able to see my family all the time,” he said. “I don’t have the kind of money to go see them all that often.”

Eastern men and women’s track and field teams have two more regular season meets before the conference championships.

Mark Shanahan can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]