Mike Mosser Biography

Washington High School / (Class of 1968) Washington, PA

Specialty: Mid-Distance/ Distance

West Virginia University / (Class of 1972) Morgantown, WV

[College]

The nation's top miler in 1972, distance runner Morgan "Mike" Mosser easily ranks as one of West Virginia University's greatest athletes. Born Feb. 19, 1950, in Washington, Pennsylvania, Mosser was a multi-sport standout at East Washington and Washington High Schools in the late 1960s.

He decided to take up track during his senior year and his coach at Washington High, Dave Johnson, convinced WVU track coach Stan Romanoski to give Mosser a scholarship. Mosser turned down a baseball scholarship at Thiel College to give track a try at WVU. Winning more than 50 meets during his Mountaineer career, that proved to be a wise decision.

Mosser earned a spot on the cross-country team in the fall of 1969 and participated on the Mountaineers' NCAA national team. He held the No. 4 spot on the team and appeared to be just an average college runner – that was until the beginning of the indoor track season the following winter.

Running for the first time ever on an indoor track in his initial collegiate track meet, Mosser defeated WVU's top runner, Carl Hatfield, in the 1,000-yard run. And Hatfield was no slouch either. He had just come off an All-America season in cross country and then ranked as the top distance runner in WVU annals.

The confidence Mosser received from that meet was immeasurable. In just one year, he trimmed an amazing 30 seconds off his high school time and became one of the nation's premier milers as a sophomore. Placing sixth at the NCAA championships in that event with a time of 4:03.5, he bettered that mark by two places as a junior. He also finished third in the NCAA indoor meet at 1,000 yards with a time of 2:08.7.

As a senior in 1972, he won the 1,000-yard NCAA indoor title at Cobo Arena in Detroit, becoming WVU's first national champion in track. A former NCAA record holder in the 1,000 with a time of 2:06.9, he was a four-time All-American in track and a four-time NCAA qualifier in cross country.

He qualified for the 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 800 meters and barely missed the U.S. Olympic team. In fact, his qualifying time of 1:46.8 was just two seconds slower than U.S. team member Dave Wottle, who won the Olympic event at Munich with a time of 1:44.8.

Also, in 1972 Mosser was invited to participate in the nationally televised Martin Luther King Freedom Games "Dream Mile" that featured the return of Olympian Jim Ryun in his bid to challenge the world's No. 1-ranked miler Marty Liquori of Villanova. Liquori won the race, but Mosser led at the half-mile mark.

Mosser joined the ITA professional track tour in 1973, signing a contract that paid him an $800 signing bonus plus traveling expenses and prize money. Long before the days of corporate sponsorships and lucrative shoe contracts, Mosser also had to work for U.S. Steel while competing professionally on the weekends. A member of the ITA Tour until it disbanded in 1975, Mosser was ineligible to participate in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1976 because of his professional status.

Mosser was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame for Track & Field in 1993.

[Personal]

Morgan Mike Mosser completed a BS in Mining Engineering from West Virginia University (1968-1972) and a MBA from Waynesburg University (1997-99). He is the founder of "Friends of Track and Field Fund." He is married to Nancy Rowland from Washington. They currently live in Morgantown, West Virginia. They have two children Ryan and Kate.

Recently he became a member of Mosser Resource Consulting LLC.

West Virginia University Honors:

· West Virginia University’s first and only male track & field national champion

· WVU Men's Track All-Time IC4A Champion: 1,000 Yards - 2:09.0 (1971)

· WVU Men's Track All-Time Top 5 (Indoor): Ranked #1 Mile Run - 4:03.50 (1970)

· WVU Men's Track All-time Top 5 (Outdoor): Ranked #1 800 meters - 1:47.7 (1972)

· WVU Men's Track All-Time Record (Outdoor): Ranked #1 800 Meters - 1:47.7 (1972)

· WVU Men's Mountaineer Track Record: Mile - 4:03.40 (1971)

· Four-time All-American in track and a four-time NCAA qualifier in cross country

· Qualified for the 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 800 meters (1:46.8)

· First person to win the Ray McCoy Award by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association as the state's top male track and field athlete

Mosser’s NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship Appearances:

· On November 25th, 1968, at the 30th Annual National Collegiate Cross Country Championships (6 Miles) at Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, New York, Mosser placed 212th (34:28) out of 217 runners. West Virginia University finished with 547 points in the team standings and came in 23rd out of the 24 teams that earned berths to the NCAA meet. Carl Hatfield led the Mountaineers with a 10th place overall finish in 29:59, while earning First Team All-American.

· On November 24th, 1969, at the 31st Annual National Collegiate Cross Country Championships (6 Miles) at Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, New York, Mosser placed 143rd (32:25) out of 254 runners. West Virginia University had an incomplete team.

· On November 23rd, 1970, at the 32nd Annual National Collegiate Cross Country Championships (6 Miles) at the College of William and Mary at Kingsmill Plantation in Williamsburg, Virginia, Mosser placed 88th (29:45) out of 307 runners. West Virginia University had an incomplete team.

· On November 22nd, 1971, at the 33rd Annual National Collegiate Cross Country Championships (6 Miles) at the University of Tennessee at Fox Den in Knoxville, Tennessee, Mosser placed 208th (32:41) out of 285 runners. West Virginia University had an incomplete team.

Written by John Antonik and Mike McMillion (updated 3/18/18)