Ole Miss distance runner Sean Tobin wins SEC championship in indoor mile

Ole Miss men’s and women’s track and field competed at the SEC indoor championships last weekend, and because we’re the premier late news blog on the web, we’re bringing this news to you a week late. Sean Tobin, an Irish international who’s made a name for himself pacing the Ole Miss distance running program this year, won the conference indoor mile title with a time of 4:07.14.

Tobin previously recorded a scorching 3:58.28 indoor mile this season, one of the fastest indoor miles by an American collegiate athlete in history. Indoor tracks tend to run slower, since they’re normally 200m in length, which makes for tighter turns and thus less straight forward movement than a 400m outdoor oval otherwise affords.

Tobin helped lead Ole Miss cross country to its first ever NCAA championship meet appearance in program history in 2015, a stunning turnaround from the cellars of the early 2000s and before, in which this very writer ran for the absolute worst team in the SEC.

Tobin outkicked Texas A&M’s Alex Riba down the stretch to seal the win, stalking along the Aggie’s right shoulder until the final 400m, when he decided to take things into his own hands and command the race’s final two laps. He has good footspeed, and that paid off down the home straight.

We heartily look forward to the regional and national indoor meets, to say nothing of the spring outdoor season.