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<H1 ALIGN=CENTER><font color="#3333FF">Feature</FONT> </H1>

<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#FF8000"><I>Coby Miller:
Born to Run
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<center>By Ryan Powell</center><p>
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<P>When Coby Miller had some free time from tending to the vegetable fields on the Louisville, Miss., farm that he grew up on, his family could usually find him running and playing in the open fields on the farm.
One of Miller's favorite games to play was a game he and his friends coined "Horses."
<P>"We would run to the top of the hill and pretend to be horses," Miller said. "Then we would run back down the hill, just to see how fast we could run."
<P>It's a safe bet that Miller would usually reach the bottom of the hill before any of his friends would.
But like most kids, Miller didn't think much about being the fastest one among his peers and it wasn't until the eighth grade that people, himself included, began to take notice of his speed.
<P>"My high school coach moved me up to the varsity track team as an eighth grader," Miller said. "That's when I realized that had some talent in track and field."
<P>After a high school career that peaked after winning the Mississippi State High School Championships in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dashes and earning All-American honors in both track and football, the speedster had a decision to make.
<P>After deciding to play football and baseball in college, Miller suffered a dislocated shoulder while at East Central C.C. and gave up football, so he could focus on a track career.
<P>After one season of track at Meridian Community College, Miller chose the Plains as his next destination.
<P>"Getting Coby Miller to come to Auburn was a huge step for our program," head coach Ralph Spry said. "When we got him here, we all knew we had a special athlete. We just had to mold him into a top-caliber athlete."
<P>A challenging first season at Auburn endured for Miller even though he earned All-SEC honors. He knew and his coach knew that he didn't perform up to his standards.
<P>"I had to realize who I was as a person on the inside," Miller said.  "The attitude you have is a little thing that can go a long way. I had to live by that and work by that, so I could bounce back and do my thing in 1999."
<P>Following a grueling fall workout schedule guided by Spry, Miller gained strength and confidence as he headed into the 1999 Indoor season.
<P>"We sat down and looked at his ability as an athlete and we searched for the right direction for Coby's future," Spry said. "The fall resulted in a since of direction physically, mentally and spiritually for Coby."
<P>Miller's goals were simple, but lofty heading into the 1999 indoor season. They were to win an individual national championship title.  This following a 1998 indoor season in which Miller did not qualify for the national championships and finished sixth at the SEC Championships in the 55-meter dash.
<P>With a work ethic that Miller learned from his days working in the sweltering heat on the farm, he knew he was capable of obtaining these goals.
<P>Miller's 1999 indoor season did indeed turn out to be something special. He shattered school records in both the 55-meter dash and 200-meter dash, won the SEC Championship in the 200-meter dash and his season reached a pinnacle as he captured Auburn's first-ever indoor individual national championship in the 200-meter dash.
<P>"It was such a great joy," Miller said. "To work so hard for something and see it come full-circle was a great feeling."
<P>"Coby is the complete athlete," Spry added. "He takes care of his body, gets his rest, makes the grades. He is doing the right things and is having a tremendous amount of success because of it."
With the 2000 indoor season approaching in January, Miller and Spry both said they know that this year's Auburn men's squad has a great opportunity to capture the attention of the track world.
<P>"I am more excited this year than I was last year," Miller said. "I know what to expect and we have a great group of runners returning as well as a great recruiting class coming in. We are definitely going to have an impact at the SEC's and NCAA's."
<P>The days of pretending to be a horse speeding down a hill are over for Miller, but the days of racing down a track against top competition and still ending up being the first across the finish line are plentiful.


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<P ALIGN=CENTER><I>&copy; 1999 Auburn Network, Inc.</I></P>

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	<H1 ALIGN=CENTER><font color="#3333FF">Feature</FONT> </H1>

	<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#FF8000"><I>Coby Miller:
	Born to Run
	</I></FONT></H3>
	<center>By Ryan Powell</center><p>
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	<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#FF8000"><I>By Matt Spruiell</I></FONT></H3>
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	<P>When Coby Miller had some free time from tending to the vegetable fields on the Louisville, Miss., farm that he grew up on, his family could usually find him running and playing in the open fields on the farm.
	One of Miller's favorite games to play was a game he and his friends coined "Horses."
	<P>"We would run to the top of the hill and pretend to be horses," Miller said. "Then we would run back down the hill, just to see how fast we could run."
	<P>It's a safe bet that Miller would usually reach the bottom of the hill before any of his friends would.
	But like most kids, Miller didn't think much about being the fastest one among his peers and it wasn't until the eighth grade that people, himself included, began to take notice of his speed.
	<P>"My high school coach moved me up to the varsity track team as an eighth grader," Miller said. "That's when I realized that had some talent in track and field."
	<P>After a high school career that peaked after winning the Mississippi State High School Championships in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dashes and earning All-American honors in both track and football, the speedster had a decision to make.
	<P>After deciding to play football and baseball in college, Miller suffered a dislocated shoulder while at East Central C.C. and gave up football, so he could focus on a track career.
	<P>After one season of track at Meridian Community College, Miller chose the Plains as his next destination.
	<P>"Getting Coby Miller to come to Auburn was a huge step for our program," head coach Ralph Spry said. "When we got him here, we all knew we had a special athlete. We just had to mold him into a top-caliber athlete."
	<P>A challenging first season at Auburn endured for Miller even though he earned All-SEC honors. He knew and his coach knew that he didn't perform up to his standards.
	<P>"I had to realize who I was as a person on the inside," Miller said. "The attitude you have is a little thing that can go a long way. I had to live by that and work by that, so I could bounce back and do my thing in 1999."
	<P>Following a grueling fall workout schedule guided by Spry, Miller gained strength and confidence as he headed into the 1999 Indoor season.
	<P>"We sat down and looked at his ability as an athlete and we searched for the right direction for Coby's future," Spry said. "The fall resulted in a since of direction physically, mentally and spiritually for Coby."
	<P>Miller's goals were simple, but lofty heading into the 1999 indoor season. They were to win an individual national championship title. This following a 1998 indoor season in which Miller did not qualify for the national championships and finished sixth at the SEC Championships in the 55-meter dash.
	<P>With a work ethic that Miller learned from his days working in the sweltering heat on the farm, he knew he was capable of obtaining these goals.
	<P>Miller's 1999 indoor season did indeed turn out to be something special. He shattered school records in both the 55-meter dash and 200-meter dash, won the SEC Championship in the 200-meter dash and his season reached a pinnacle as he captured Auburn's first-ever indoor individual national championship in the 200-meter dash.
	<P>"It was such a great joy," Miller said. "To work so hard for something and see it come full-circle was a great feeling."
	<P>"Coby is the complete athlete," Spry added. "He takes care of his body, gets his rest, makes the grades. He is doing the right things and is having a tremendous amount of success because of it."
	With the 2000 indoor season approaching in January, Miller and Spry both said they know that this year's Auburn men's squad has a great opportunity to capture the attention of the track world.
	<P>"I am more excited this year than I was last year," Miller said. "I know what to expect and we have a great group of runners returning as well as a great recruiting class coming in. We are definitely going to have an impact at the SEC's and NCAA's."
	<P>The days of pretending to be a horse speeding down a hill are over for Miller, but the days of racing down a track against top competition and still ending up being the first across the finish line are plentiful.


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	<P ALIGN=CENTER><I>© 1999 Auburn Network, Inc.</I></P>

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