This One Will Feel More Special

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Matthew Hauser has run fast times before. But the 20-year-old junior from Columbia, Missouri, will be shooting for a personal best when he lines up to run the mile on Saturday at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational at the newly renovated Indoor Track & Field Complex.

Hauser ran a personal-best 4 minutes, 11.52 seconds at the Tyson Invitational on February 11, 2023. He ran a 4:13.57 for a runner-up finish at the Texas Tech Corky Classic in Lubbock, Texas, on January 20 — just over 2 seconds off his personal best.

But Hauser knows that K-State's new track facility features a 200-meter, six-lane oval banked track features Mondo's Super X 720 surface, which provides the optimal blend of energy return, comfort, safety and durability. He runs upon the track nearly every day. He feels confident.

"Obviously, the track is brand new, and the surface is the most professional surface you can get and is used by tracks that host championship meets," Hauser said.

"Without a doubt, the track is going to be really fast."

Hauser has been preparing for this moment for many years. He began running the mile in elementary school because it was a requirement "so they knew you were in shape." Then he began running the mile in the seventh grade because he liked it better than other events. He was hooked.

"The mile has always been a fun event for me to race," Hauser said. "It's short enough where it's really engaging but it's long enough where you have to gut it out and take risks. There's a fun mental aspect to the mile.

"The other thing really intriguing is it's one of those iconic events in track and field. Everybody remembers everyone wondering who would be the first to break the four-minute mile. You wanted to be like those guys. It's a barrier and a lot of people strive to cross that barrier. I find myself in that boat also."

After enjoying a decorated career at Rock Bridge (Mo.) High School, Hauser opted to attend K-State due to its track & field program and its architectural engineering program.

After redshirting as a freshman in 2021-22, Hauser ran a 4:17.29 mile his first meet at the KU-KSU-WSU Triangular last year. He quickly trimmed his time. He also competed in the 1000 meters (a personal best 2:26.45 at the Steve Miller Invitational) and 3000 meters (a personal best 8:21.50 at the Tyson Invitational) over the course of the indoor season.

During the outdoor season, he mainly ran the 1,500 meters (a personal best 3:50.30 at the Ward Haylett Invitational) and 5000 meters (a personal best 14:26.04 at Mt. SAC Relays).

And now? He's majoring in the mile.

"In the past, I hadn't run the mile as much, but this year I'm really trying to focus on it," Hauser said. "I had big goals in the mile leading into this year, and I've been training more specifically for that event. This indoor season, I'll be competing in the mile basically every meet."

What does the training for such an undertaking entail?

"It's still pretty early, so we're still hitting things pretty hard," he said. "It's been two hard workouts a week and then on the other days it's just getting easy runs in, and mileage runs and then racing on the weekends. It's been pretty busy with all those things together, but this is the fun part of the season.

"This is the part you look forward to."

After the DeLoss Dodds Invitational, K-State will compete at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and then at the Steve Miller Invitational in Manhattan. The Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships are February 23-24 in Lubbock, Texas.

But first on Hauser's list? Getting that personal best on Saturday.

"That's definitely goal No. 1," he said. "I think I'm definitely ready for another drop. It should be a fast race. There should be no excuse for me not to PR."

He's anxious to do so in front of friends and family in Manhattan.

"This weekend is going to be a little bit more special because we actually get to compete in our town, which is pretty cool," Hauser said. "It's cool to be able to go to different cities and places across the United States and wear the Powercat, but it's a little more special to do it in Manhattan. It just feels a little more right."

These days, everything feels perfect.

It began when Hauser was young.

"Growing up, I played basketball and baseball and played those until high school, but I decided to give them up and focus on track," he said. "I knew I had might be able to do something with track at a Division I university. That was on my mind for a lot of years.

"Now I'm living out that dream."

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Matthew Hauser

Related Videos