Over the course of the last four-plus seasons, one cadet-athlete has personified the leadership and spirit of VMI track and field. Solid in the classroom, this runner has also improved consistently over the length of his story at the Institute, all the while showing a willingness to take on the mantle of leadership as he moved into his final seasons in Lexington. This cadet-athlete is 2009 track and field co-captain Donnie Cowart, who is now in his fifth and final season as a Keydet.

“Donnie's vast improvement during his time here at VMI is a direct result of his hard work and focus,” said VMI cross country coach Paul Spangler. “As a coach, I have never had to worry about Donnie's motivation, if anything, I have had to hold him back at times.”

Cowart began running recreationally in junior high. In fact, he showed interest in the activity when he was in eighth grade, and was quickly noticed by his first coach.

“My pastor, who was the assistant track coach at my high school, was talking to my mom one day, and she told him how much I liked running, and how quick I was for my age. He had his doubts, but told me to come out,” remarked Cowart.

Cowart did not come out for that team right away, however, as he had a brief dalliance with basketball. The current VMI senior was told he was too short, was cut from the hardwood squad, and went out for his first track team upon hearing the news. The indoor track team got a reluctant Cowart that 8th grade year, and he did not enjoy the experience. Thus began quite the back-and-forth saga.

Like most adolescents, he enjoyed the success he could have in athletics, but had trouble sticking with things he wasn't quite as strong in. After that initial indoor track season, Cowart went out for cross country, and developed a fondness for the distance-oriented sport. Why? Because he was good at it. As a freshman, he was the No. 1 runner on his team, and this quickly developed into a point of pride for the youngster. Despite this, when fall sports rolled around, he did not return to track. Rather, he added yet another pursuit to his efforts, that of baseball.

Like his previous basketball efforts, this was ill-fated, and Cowart quickly resigned himself to rejoining the track squad, where he would stay from that point forward. However, cross country remained his top fixation until his junior year of high school, when his leg speed began to increase. That brought aptitude across varying events, and, in turn, that brought along collegiate coaches.

However, only one pursued him heavily, VMI cross country coach Paul Spangler. “I was heavily recruited by coach Spangler, who saw my potential," said Cowart. "I don't think anybody else really took the time to do that, but his going the extra mile in my recruitment really meant a lot in terms of my choosing VMI.”

Like anyone who chooses to attend VMI, Cowart had his qualms, at least initially.

“At first, I had some doubts, but once I saw some of the other guys who had signed up, I thought it would be all right. I knew I would have good guys to run with, and have academic help when I needed it.”

Cowart's on-track journey has been one of consistent strides forward, and the first of those strides took place in his freshman year, when he ran a 4:17 mile to place third at the Big South Indoor Championships. "I was just on that day,” offered Cowart. “It was a huge jump forward.”

When he returned to school the next season, the strides continued, and so did the improving numbers. Cowart's sophomore season featured an all-conference cross country performance and a fourth-place effort in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the conference outdoor championships.

“Sophomore year was really when my breakthrough came, and I realized that I could be successful at this level,” stated Cowart. “I just had to put in the work and stay healthy.”

Cowart's junior year featured a 4:07 mile relay split, while he redshirted the 2007 outdoor season. Last year, his fourth at VMI, featured perhaps the most drastic improvement of all. Running at the prestigious Penn Relays, one of the top collegiate track events in the country, Cowart ran a 9:05.63 steeplechase to post an NCAA Regional Qualification time. The stunningly-quick time on one of the country's biggest stages was the third-fastest in VMI history, and cut some 16 seconds off of the senior's previous personal best.

“With the Penn Relays, I seemed to have my best performance that afternoon. In the steeplechase, pacing is everything,” said Cowart. “I had the right pacing and rhythm that day.”

Cowart's final season at the Institute has been perhaps his most interesting. He opened the season by being recognized as a co-captain of the VMI team, an honor which he took to heart.

“I was really shocked. In years past, sometimes fifth-year returners weren't named captains," said the co-captain of this year's squad. "I was excited, there's a lot of young talent with a lot of kids who were faster than me in high school. My redshirt year was taken with the intent to help the team during this past cross-country season, and I knew that a lot of the kids would look to me for advice, because of my experience.”

In fact, running with a young cross country team, Cowart helped lead the squad to its best conference finish in four years, a third-place effort at the Big South Championships. In the process, he posted his second career All-Conference performance, finishing seventh.

“Going into conference, I tried to keep everybody level-headed and where they needed to be,” stated the Rustburg, Va. native. “I thought it was my job to be a team leader because of my experience, to try to keep our younger runners within their limitations, and to make sure no one went out too fast. I just told myself I had to run like a veteran, because I thought the team depended on it, and it turned out I ran the smartest race I could have run.”

“During the summer Donnie would hit 100-105 miles a week, and his lifting program has focused on improving his muscular endurance, which the results of were seen with an season-opening 4:06.4 mile at Kent State,” said coach Spangler. “This indoor season, our goal for him is to qualify for the NCAA National Championships in either the mile or 800-meters.”

After cross country, Cowart was one of the few distance runners to participate in this year's season opener. He put up that career-best mile, clocking in at 4:06 and winning in dominating fashion. “I don't know what got me to that level,” said Cowart. “I think it was just timing that enabled me to improve my mile time that way. Before, there had always been something keeping me from putting that kind of time up, whether it was a tactical race in terms of pacing or what have you. That was just a great race, and a lot of the credit goes to my teammate, Matt Sagar, who paced me perfectly through the 1200-meter mark.”

Now, coming off of his sensational season-opening performance at Kent State's meet in December, and a personal best in the 800-meters this past weekend, Cowart stated, “This is going to be a really exciting season. I believe it will be the best since I've been here, because everybody's got a good work ethic and the mental acumen to succeed. We could see a lot of IC4A qualifiers, and we could put together a very good DMR team and talented teams in various other events, like the 800-meter and steeplechase from last year.”

“From a leadership standpoint, you could not ask for anything more from Donnie,” offered Coach Spangler. “He's always there, motivating other members of the team to work hard, not only during the season, but more importantly during the offseason. He is one of the best team captains I have had the pleasure to coach.”

If the track and field campaign is to live up to its potential, there is no doubt the leadership and talent of Donnie Cowart, an example of what VMI track and field stands for, will be one of the primary reasons why.

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Written by Brad Salois
Asst. Athletic Media Relations Director