by Brett Hoover — posted on 9/22/2011

No matter what happens on the track, every coach wants to see his athletes run hard through the finish line. Not only does that appear to be Oluwaseyi Durosoga's specialty, his persistence has paid enormous dividends.

"He really wanted a full scholarship to a Division I school," said Derrick Adkins, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist who founded the Armory College Prep program. But Durosoga knew that to impress the college coaches, he needed three equally-important components — good grades, a solid test score and a fast time.

While grades weren't going to be a problem — he carried the equivalent of a 3.4 or 3.5 grade-point average at Transit Tech — Durosoga felt that he would need to seek help to get the most of his standardized college entry tests. With some urging from Andre Hewitt, a teammate’s father and coach of the Metropolis Track Club, he enrolled at Armory Prep knowing that it could prove to be the difference in the pursuit of that scholarship.

"Olu took advantage of all we have to offer here," said Adkins. "He was diligent and really wanted to better himself academically."

Known as Wouzy to his friends, Durosoga also knew he'd have to drop some time off his best event, the 800, in order to get an offer and that would only come with hard work. "He has always been a hard worker," said Coach Hewitt. "If his high school coach told him to run five miles in the morning, he'd do it. No cheating."

But his commitment to track wasn't always that way. "I really didn't take track seriously until after my sophomore year," said Durosoga. "We had a track trip and the coach took my best friend, Raheem Pickett, but he didn't take me. That made me work that much harder. I guess you can blame my best friend."

Try as he might, he hadn't had a breakthrough race as a senior and he was running out of time. At the PSAL City Championships on Randall's Island, trailing Columbus' Strymar Livingston, Durosoga was feeling great after a lap, but couldn't find his kick as the leaders took off. He finished fifth in the City, still slower than his 1:58 personal best.

On the academic side, his final-stretch kick had worked on the SAT. "The Armory Prep program really helped me SAT-wise," said Durosoga. "When I started, Mr. Rich (Carlin) told me the SAT scores I needed to get, especially in my math and reading. He told me if I did that, it would really open some doors."

After working through Armory Prep’s SAT classes, he got the door-opening score he needed in math on his fourth and final try. Even with all the academic qualifications required, his high school track career had come to an end. For most, those D-I dreams would be dashed, but Durosoga isn't like most.

Knowing that Hewitt's Metropolis Track Club was going to be heading off to defend its national title — 65 athletes strong — at the AAU National Club Championships in Orlando, Fla., Durosoga joined to continue his chase of a new PR.

Metropolis requires commitment. That's how it has churned out top-caliber talent like Brittney Sheffey at Tennessee and Gordon McKenzie at Kentucky, while also producing award-winning sportspersons like NCAA honoree Louis Day of South Carolina and Ivy League lawyer Sonya Crosswell. So Durosoga tranied hard each day in preparation for his trip to Florida, his last chance to drop his time.

"Going into that 800 final, my goal was to run faster than 1:58, my PR," he recalled. "When we got to the bell lap, I made my move from the backstretch. I was in fourth, but I had my sights on the guy in third place. I forgot about the time, I just started thinking about those ESPN Rise medals (earned for top-three performances). I caught the guy from Puerto Rico with about 10 meters left. I had to dive and I just rolled through the finish line."

When the time came up, it was 1:55.55. "I told him, 'You PRed by three seconds, Wouzy,'" said Hewitt. "He said that he was running for one of the ESPN medals. He didn't even know he was running his way into a scholarship."

"When I got home I emailed [Howard University] Coach Pittman with my new PR," said Durosoga. But the initial offer of room and board wasn't going to be enough. It looked like he was going to run for a local Division III school in the fall.

"A week before orientation — it was a Thursday or Friday — [Coach Pittman] called me and offered me a full scholarship," said Wouzy. "I asked him, 'Everything? Books, room, tuition?' He said, 'Yeah, a full scholarship.' I told him yes, emphatically."

Now Durosoga is getting acclimated to his new school, "just trying to stay on top of my work and not let homework pile up."

His story is a lesson in not just persistence, but self-efficacy. Hard work wasn't going to be enough. Durosoga knew there were resources out there for him and he made the absolute most of them, thus becoming his own best advocate. "He's gonna run 1:50 and he's gonna get his degree," said Coach Hewitt. "His discipline and hard work are going to pay off."

Running hard through that finish line has its own rewards.