Darrell Tozier

Steve Virgen

In track and field, the 800 meters is definitely a challenging event.

Middle-distance runners must be mentally strong and know how to

maintain sufficient strength and speed as needed for two laps around

the track. Run too fast from the outset and there won’t be enough gas

in the tank toward the end.

UC Irvine senior Darrell Tozier has waged his wars against the

800. Sometimes he won and sometimes he lost. But when his season

ended, he realized those victories and failures as a part of life, a

race that continues.

“In the 800, there are moments in the race where you can

completely lose it,” Tozier said. “It’s not something your body wants

to do -- just run and run for a half mile. You have to get on

yourself because mentally you can break down. As long you are aware

of that, you can fight and fight through it.”

Throughout this past season, Tozier fought through various

obstacles. His quest started with high expectations and great

confidence. In 2001, he won the Big West Conference title in the 800.

He redshirted the following season, gaining more experience to

prepare himself for this year.

Along the way this spring, he encountered a wake-up call that came

in the form of a second-place finish at the Big West Challenge April

5. UC Santa Barbara’s Tetlo Emmen won the 800 at UCI in 1:52.59 and

Tozier followed in 1:53.14. UCI associate head coach Ben Cesar

thought Tozier went out too fast.

“We butted heads quite a bit in how to run the 800,” said Cesar,

who coaches sprints and the middle distances. “Darrell never loses on

[the UCI] track. It was a shock. He was trying to run from the front

and dominate the field. He had to run it from the back. I told him,

‘You have so much speed, toughness and strength at the end that guys

can’t match it.’ ”

Tozier and Cesar put a better race plan together for the following

week at the California/Nevada Championships. Tozier broke through to

win the 800 Cal/Nevada title in 1:50.12.

Then, on May 10, the Daily Pilot College Athlete of the Month

established himself as one of the premier runners in the NCAA West

Region. He finished sixth in the 800 with a personal-record time of

1:49.27 at the Occidental Invitational. The time put him at No. 4 on

UCI’s all-time list. And, having competed against the best in the

West, it also provided Tozier with more confidence that he could

reach the NCAA Championships.

One week later, he reclaimed his Big West championship by winning

the 800 at Cal State Northridge.

“After a year off, it was nice to come back and take it back,”

Tozier said. “Most of the other runners usually have a good

sportsmanlike attitude, but there were a few guys in the race who I

wasn’t particularly fond of, so it felt good to win the title.”

However, Tozier ran into trouble while preparing for the NCAA West

Regional Championships during the last weekend of May. He caught a

stomach illness and lost five pounds in less than a week. Yet he

still battled through the pain to win his preliminary heat in 1:49.72

May 30.

The next day, he could not shake the illness and finished sixth

with a time of 1:51.33. The top five qualified for the NCAA

Championships.

“At this point, I can make all kinds of excuses for myself, but

that’s not really what I’m about,” Tozier said. “I still had an

opportunity and I missed it. When it comes down to it, you can’t

point the finger anywhere but yourself.”

While Tozier did not end the season as he would have liked, he

said he still enjoyed the goals he did accomplish. This month, he

will graduate from UCI with a double major in English and history. He

earned various scholar-athlete awards throughout his two seasons and

he made the Dean’s List each of his eight quarters at UCI.

Tozier basically seized the opportunity in regard to academics. A

transfer from San Mateo College, Tozier said track and field was the

primary reason he was able to afford an education at UCI.

“I try not to make too big a deal about my successes or failures,”

said Tozier who plans to teach at a community college in the future.

“You have to realize your place in the cosmos. I mean, what am I

doing? I run in circles. Not everybody thinks that’s very important.

But I did. It mattered to me. But what are you going to do at this

point? [Not qualifying for the NCAA Championships is] something I’m

going to have a long time to think about. I will and I will just keep

going. What’s that old saying, sometimes you eat the bear and

sometimes the bear eats you.”