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The 2016-17 indoor track and field season is not even three weeks old, and Ashland University sophomore Myles Pringle has created quite the stir.
Pringle, who came on to the college scene as an outdoor NCAA Division II All-American in the 400-meter dash by placing third at nationals, further made a national name for himself over the last several days by doing the following:
- On Saturday (Dec. 10) at the Kent State Golden Flash Gala, setting two school records and automatically qualifying for 2017 D-II indoor nationals in both the 400 and the high jump, provisionally qualifying for nationals in the 4x400 relay…and turning in the second-best indoor 400 time (46.11 seconds) in Division II history.
- On Monday (Dec. 12), earning Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's track Athlete of the Week honors.
- And, finally, on Tuesday (Dec. 13), landing Division II men's National Athlete of the Week honors from the U.S. Track & Field And Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
"At first, I was like, 'Oh, it's nothing' Just a normal meet, getting PRs," Pringle said of Kent State. "The next couple days just started rolling around, I was like, 'That's actually a big deal.'"
Pringle's indoor 400 time trails only the 46.05 seconds turned in by both NYIT's Howard Burnett (set in 1990) and Saint Augustine's Josh Scott (tied in 2010) in the history of Division II track. In addition, 46.11 would lead NCAA Division I by 1.25 seconds in the early 2016-17 season.
"For me personally, my next PRs I want to get, I want to get 7-3 in the high jump," said Pringle, "and for the 400, I want to maintain that time throughout the races. If it comes down to it, try to see if I can get that faster time.
"We really want to get our 4x4 to nationals. All our 4x4 runners are really good."
As a freshman, Pringle ended his rookie campaign with the third-place nationals finish. He set school records in the outdoor 400 (46.04) and outdoor high jump (2.10 meters/6-feet-10.75), and earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors both indoors and outdoors.
"Last year, indoors, Kent State was my last indoor meet," Pringle said, noting an injury which put him out of action until outdoors and still bothered him then. "From last year to this upcoming season, I've progressed so much. I got stronger, and made sure I wasn't wearing on my body so much.
"For the second meet of the season, that was a surprise to me."
Now that the 2016 portion of the indoor schedule is over, Pringle and the No. 6-ranked Eagle men and women will go on Christmas break and return to get ready for the Ohio State Buckeye Classic on Jan. 6. Pringle has a personal trainer at home he will work with during the break.
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