Franklin alum Omajuwa Etiwe aims for another gold at NCAAs for Texas A&M

This is a special time of year for Texas A&M's Omajuwa Etiwe, and one that brings back great memories.

Two months ago, the Class of 2020 Franklin alum tasted ultimate college track glory when he stood on top of the podium with his teammates at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, celebrating a national championship in the 1,600-meter relay.

As another postseason arrives, one that begins May 25 in Fayetteville, Ark., with the West regionals preliminary rounds of the NCAA Championships, Etiwe is ready to take the track with his teammates and work on defending that title.

"I'm feeling good, definitely," Etiwe said. "We've been staying consistent the entire year and we know we have much more in the tank. I'm excited for regionals to push through our barrier we have going on now. I know the team we have we can do something really special."

That's a confidence bred through experience. Texas A&M opened this outdoor season, one week after its indoor title, with a time of 3 minutes, 1.51 seconds — two and a half seconds faster than they ran on the boards and still the third fastest time in the country outdoors this year — but hasn't run that fast since. This past weekend their 3:02.70 was fourth in the SEC Championships.

What Etiwe is sure of is that A&M will work through it.

More:'I want to leave it all out there:' Ned Azemia finding form again for UTEP track

"Everyone has to do what we know we can do, not worry about anyone else," he said. "We know we put in the work, we know we can run. It's a team effort. We do that we know good things happen."

He saw that come to fruition in March in Birmingham when he won his first NCAA national championship. There were three heats in the finals of that 1,600 relay which created some nervous moments as A&M had to scoreboard watch after running its race.

"Honestly it still hasn't kicked in," Etiwe said of the national championship. "Being able to be there was a blessing. We ran first so we were watching in anticipation, then when the last heat finished and we saw the time, it held up. It was a happy moment I was able to share with my teammates and my coach. I was very happy for it.

"It was great, emotions were flowing. Moments like that are the best. You go through the offseason training, you have all these workouts to get to the point where you can hope and dream of getting it. Finishing first is truly amazing. I was so happy."

More:Pebble Hills' Omer Ibrahim takes surprise silver in 6A 800 meters

This outdoor season has been up and down. In the open 400 Etiwe finally recorded the sub-46 time he has been chasing since high school when he ran 45.86 at Florida on April 16, but hasn't matched that since. He was 14th in the 400 at the SECs at 46.81, but he knows the 45s are in his range.

"Recently, I'm not going to lie, it hasn't been the best, but probably one of the best learning experiences I've had," he said. "All you can do is take it as it is and that's a step forward.

"Trust the training, trust everything coach tells me and don't overthink more than I need to. I know what I can do, I know I have the talent, I have to do what I know I can do. When I leave the track I have to know I left everything out there."

That's something Etiwe has done consistently on the biggest stages and he's looking to do it again as the championship season arrives.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.

NCAA Outdoor Championships Preliminary Rounds

When, where: May 25-28, Fayetteville, Ark.

Format: 48 athletes qualify for each event; two rounds trim field to 12 in the East and West Regionals. Those 24 qualify for the national championships in Eugene, Ore. June 8-11