Very few people realize that UW has a track team and those who do are mostly the football players who spend time on the track. One man, however, will probably change this.
Sophomore Demi Omole is the track team's best-kept secret, but is soon to be unleashed on the NCAA scene.
This sprinter is looking to establish himself as a formidable force in collegiate track, but ultimately has his goals set higher-and it appears he's going to achieve them-after all, he's only a sophomore.
Omole has already broken the Big Ten and UW 60-meter record, previously held by Michael Bennett, qualified for the NCAA Tournament and has been to the Junior World Championships in Italy, where he won a silver medal in the 100-meter race and set a world junior record in the 4x100-meter relay.
And that was just this year.
As a freshman last year, he won the Big Ten Conference outdoor title in the 100-meter dash, was on the conference champion 400-meter relay team and was named an All-American as a result of his fifth place finish in the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
He is currently the No. 1 sprinter in the country and No. 3 in the world. His goal of making the U.S. team this summer seems very much within his reach.
So why hasn't anyone heard of him?
Omole transferred from the University of Florida during the semester break of his freshman year and fit right in with head coach Ed Nuttycombe's team. He ran the outdoor season with significantly less training than his teammates, but his trials last year have been both a learning experience and a strong foundation for his mental and physical preparation thus far. Even after a stellar freshman year, this year looks to be even better.
\He's more sure of himself, he has more confidence,"" Nuttycombe said. ""He has confidence in his ability and he's blessed [physically]. This year he's become a practiced athlete. Last year he missed all the fall training, so he wasn't really a practiced athlete. He knows he's much stronger and fitter than last year.""
How did this outstanding career get started? He'll be honest.
""My freshman year of high school, I used to race people in the hallways. I actually quit track my freshman year because it was boring, but then I started up again sophomore year and then was pretty successful at it so I stuck with it.""
If you do the math, you realize that Omole has gone from track team quitter to world junior record holder and NCAA All-American in only six years. Not only is that maturation an amazing physical transformation, it is a big mental adjustment as well. But he takes it all in stride.
""There's a little bit more pressure on me to perform; people notice me a little more, but I think I thrive more when I have pressure on me so it's actually a benefit.""
As far as his records go, he's pushing himself to be better because he knows he can, in spite of all the praise he's getting now.
""I'm really excited about [the record] considering I didn't really run as hard as I wanted to. I could have run a lot faster, but any time you break a record you've got to be proud of your accomplishments. I slept pretty well that night,"" he said. ""It's given me a lot of confidence and I feel like I have to step up my training to hit that next level I want to hit, to make the U.S. team this summer.""
One would think that an athlete with this much promise has his focus on practice, competition and whatever schoolwork he needs to do to stay afloat. But Omole is surprisingly down to earth, laid back and, most of all, humble.
In his spare time he watches ""Fairly Oddparents"" and ""Jimmy Neutron"" but avoids Spongebob because ""he's annoying."" Omole is also an avid Jay-Z fan.
""Jay-Z is 13 hours of music on my MP3 player, every single one of his CDs.""
Omole listens to Jay-Z's ""The Blueprint II"" before every race, his favorite line being ""I'm a legend / You should take a picture with me / You should be happy to be in my presence / I should charge you a fee.""
""That's the song I listen to,"" he said. ""It kind of gets me pumped up.""
Omole is also one of the few people outside of Philadelphia to have any type of fondness for Eagle wide receiver Terrell Owens.
""I love T.O. I like his confidence; he's a really cocky player and I like that. He can be cocky because he's still the best. Until anyone stops him he can do whatever he wants.""
This is a parallel between the rapper and receiver, and one might say the same about Demi Omole, were he to have the same cocky attitude and swagger as Owens. While he appreciates Owens' attitude on the field, Omole does not adopt it as his own.
""We both have a lot of confidence in ourselves... but I'm not cocky [laughs]. We're both confident and good at what we do.""
And Omole has every reason to expect an exceptional season, perhaps even a national title. His understated confidence comes through even in conversation.
""I should really have a big year this year.\
