April 21, 2005

SAN MARCOS - It was midday at Bobcat Stadium during the 2003 Outdoor Southland Conference Championships. The temperature on the track was approximately 90 degrees and every bit of it is being felt throughout the crowd.

The highly anticipated triple jump was taking place and competition was stiff for the Bobcats. Although Texas State's jump crew was expected to dominate in both long jump and triple jump, the `Cats were having a less than favorable meet. The previous day, sophomore Brian Veal came up short in the long jump and it looked as if the crew was going to be out of contention in the triple jump as well.

The team standings were close and the Bobcats needed to secure as many points from the triple jump as possible, but it just wasn't coming together. Veal had one jump remaining. He was in second place. On his final attempt Veal jumped a 53-3, breaking the school record and claiming a first-place finish. The Bobcats went on to win the 2003 SLC Championship.

This one instance does not show who Veal is as an athlete, but rather who he is as a whole.

Veal has been one of the driving forces of this Bobcat team since his arrival in 2001. As a Bobcat, Veal has become a four-time All-American, a school record holder, a team captain and a 10-time SLC champion.

"He epitomizes what coaches look for in an athlete," head coach Galina Bukharina said. "Time after time he has overcome whatever obstacles he has to in order to get the job done."

But coming up, Veal wasn't always a live and die track athlete. His junior year at Ball High School in Galveston the track coach talked him into coming out and participating with the team and after only two years of track, Veal realized that he had a talent that could send him places. By the end of his senior year Veal had been recruited by some of the largest universities in the country including Kansas State and Arkansas, but Veal found his home here at Texas State (then Southwest Texas State University) when then Coach Don Hood offered him a full scholarship.

"I believe that people get better in track the longer they have been in it," Veal said. "I feel as if I'm playing catch up and sometimes I wonder where I would be if I had started a few years earlier."

Driven by competition, Veal finds comfort in knowing his family members including his mother Shirl, grandmother Nettie Veal and Gene Henderson, who was like aunt to him, were always there for support.

"My family plays as big a role in my performance and my training," Veal explained. "They are there when I do bad and they are there when I do good. When they are there, I feel as if I have to perform to the best of my ability because them just being there gives me the will to do my best."

Veal was raised as an only child by his mother and grandmother. Veal's father figure was absent throughout his childhood and all the morals and values he has comes from them.

"Growing up, they were all I had," Veal said. "They made sure I got what I needed and made whatever sacrifice they needed to make to provide for me."

Veal was recently faced with a family crisis that could have thrown a lot of athletes off track, but not him. Early last semester, Veal's grandmother's house had caught on fire and the damage was so severe, the family didn't know if they would still be able to live there.

"All I could think of at first was that my grandma was going to be homeless," Veal said. "I felt like I needed to go home and be with my family and help straighten things out but my family knew I didn't need to miss school so the encouraged me to stay put and take care of my business here."

"Brian epitomizes what coaches look for in an athlete. Time after time he has overcome whatever obstacles he has to in order to get the job done." Galina Bukharina, Track & Field Coach

The incident was something that Veal took and turned it into a driving force to help his competitive mind frame.

"It's as if I feel the flames from that fire burning in me know," Veal preached. "I realized that nothing is guaranteed and things change so I feel it's my duty to use the talents that I have to get as far as I can because everything can be taken away from me at any time."

"He's the kind of guy that leads by example," said assistant coach Blaine Wiley. "He does what he says he is going to do and if he doesn't get it done the first time, you better believe he will the second."

"I just try to be consistent and not let my team down," Veal explained.

Veal recently placed second in the Section A finals of the triple jump at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays with a mark of 53-feet, 8.5 inches. The jump placed him second in the nation and good enough for him to be named SLC Athlete of the Week.

"I want to be number one in the nation," Veal said. "If I work hard at practice and stay focused during the meets, then I believe that can happen."

"His performance week in and week out goes to show the team how hard he works," Bukharina said. "The team needs to feed from that energy as the season progresses and the SLC Championships near."

With the championship approaching, the Bobcats are loading up to try and make an attempt to win three consecutive outdoor titles. In order to do so, the Bobcats will have to stretch their talents. Veal will be making an unexpected appearance in the 100 and 200 meter dashes along with long and triple jumps.

"I'm going to be the dark horse when it comes to these running events," Veal said. "People are not used to seeing me on the track, but I feel that I have enough talent to be a force in any event that I do."

"This was a decision that we made a long time ago," Wiley said. "This guy has always had the ability to do open running events but we never really needed to bring him out of the arsenal until now."

Once Veal hangs his spikes up at Texas State, don't think that you've seen the last of him. Veal plans to keep improving his marks and join the pro circuit.

"I'm just trying my best to catch the eye of a pro team or a sponsor so I can ultimately compete in the Olympic Games someday," Veal said. "It can happen ... it will happen ... God willing."

Veal will compete next at the Michael Johnson Invitation in Waco April 22-23 in preparation for the prestigious Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, later this month.