Chris Mason's speed was a factor, but so was his work ethic and determination as he received a prestigious award and got to sign with a Division I school and run for the cross country team.

SUNY Delhi's Mason was named the 2009 NJCAA David Rowlands Award winner, and the Auburn native became the first cross country runner to receive the honor. The award is given annually to a male NJCAA student-athlete who displays hard work, discipline, ethics and excellence in community college athletics.

After winning consecutive NJCAA championships with Delhi in Division III cross country and Division III outdoor track and field in the 10,000 meter and the 5,000 meter races, Mason became the only male athlete to repeat as an individual champion in Division III cross country.

That helped Mason's coach Justin Wood decide that he was an excellent choice for the award.

“My coach told me that he thought I had a chance at winning it, that I was a good candidate for it,” Mason said. “I didn't think much about it, but I did what he told me I needed to do and he put me in the running for it. I got it and it was exciting at first but then I came to the realization just how many people were possibly up for the award in Division I, II and III junior colleges and couldn't believe it. It's really wild when I think about it.”

Mason said that other than his speed, the hard work and the constant devotion to getting better at running is what his coach saw in him and what others must see in order to bestow the honor to him.

That same dedication and work ethic is what got him noticed by Middle Tennessee State University, the Division I school where Mason has signed a letter of intent to attend in the fall - a point in his life that he has been working towards since high school.

“I knew that I'd go Division I and could have after high school,” Mason said. “I was unsure where to go and wanted to work on my speed and get my grades up before I did that so I could get a good scholarship and be completely ready for it. It all worked out, I got a great scholarship that can potentially be a full scholarship depending on my performance and grades after the first year and I am really excited to get the opportunity.”

Mason said that the move to Tennessee will not be that much different than when he lived at SUNY Delhi, since he had no car at college and had to wait to get back to his home town.

“It will be tough because I will obviously not be able to visit home as much,” he said. “But it won't be too bad and it will be the experience I have been waiting for.”

Hoping to make the most of his experience, Mason is always setting further goals for himself and working hard to attain them.

“I am just running and trying to realize the dream,” Mason said. “I am going to keep working until I can't get any faster and see how far I can push it mentally, physically and spiritually.”