North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: A Major Addition to Pack Track
2/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. – Benjamin Major began running track at the early age of 6, mainly, he believes, because his parents were playing some mind games with him.
They knew eventually he would want to play basketball, and sure enough when he got to middle school, he hit the hardwoods with an AAU traveling team and sort of left track behind. But, by the time he got to high school, he was burned out on hoops and ready to return to the track.
"I think that's what they really wanted all along," said Major, a freshman sprinter and hurdler for the NC State men's track team. "But I really did love racing and I missed it.
"That's when I knew I wanted to run track all the time."
Major, from Fayetteville's E.E. Smith High School, always knew he would likely be a college athlete one day. His father was a track All-American at UNC-Pembroke and his aunt also received an athletics scholarship there. Another aunt earned a scholarship to East Carolina.
And his uncle, Drea Major, was a defensive back who played football at NC State under Dick Sheridan and Mike O'Cain. Ben Major remembers staring at his uncle's 1994 Peach Bowl Championship ring when he was younger and always having an affinity for the Wolfpack.
So when NC State assistant track coach Terry Reese made first contact with Major, he knew he wanted to compete for the Wolfpack.
"I wasn't a big-time recruit, but NC State was there for me early and that's where I wanted to go," Major said. "The tradition of track and field here with Coach [Rollie] Geiger is great. I grew up loving NC State.
"So it was the perfect fit for me."
Major's performance in his first season has worked out pretty well for the Wolfpack as well. Heading into the ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships in Blacksburg, Va., this weekend, the freshman sprinter has shaved nearly half a second from his personal best in the 200-meter dash. Before arriving, his best time ever was 21.70 seconds.
After working out with Reese, a former All-American hurdler at NC State, Major established a new personal best with 21.21 seconds, which is the second fastest indoor time of the season in the ACC. He is looking forward to going against Florida State's Brandon Byram, who has the ACC's best time in the 200 this year at 20.92, when the sprints get underway Friday afternoon.
He's also looking forward to improving even more during the outdoor season, which is just around the corner.
"I've lost a half a second already from my outdoor PR, just by working with Coach Reese," Major said. "I go into every workout knowing that every day is making me better. It took a while to adjust to those workout, but I can now see how week-by-week-by-week how I have been getting stronger and learning something new every day.
"We haven't even gotten halfway through our training for this year. So I can't wait to keep working."
Major plans to compete in the 60-meter dash and the 4x100-meter relay.
But Major is also serious about his academic pursuits. He came to NC State as a North Carolina Teaching Fellow, in which he receives a scholarship for his education in exchange for a commitment to teach in the state for at least four of his first seven years after graduation.
"Growing up, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do," said Major, who was E.E. Smith's student government president as a senior. "I thought about engineering or medicine or something like that. But I was always helping other people with their studies, on a daily basis.
"I really enjoyed doing it and I believe it is something I can do for the rest of my life as a teacher. I know the money is not great, but if you have a passion for something, that's what you should do."
That's the lesson he learned long ago when he switched from track to basketball to track.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
