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Logan • Of the school-record eight Utah State athletes who qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which start Wednesday in Eugene Ore., Dillon Maggard's story might be the most inspiring.

A sophomore from Kirkland, Wash., Maggard overcame a battle with alcohol to become one of the Aggies' top distance runners.

One year ago, Maggard was suspended from the team after finishing 41st in the Mountain West Conference Championships with a 1,500 meters time of 28:23.63 — eight minutes slower than his best effort of the season. He did not compete in the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships and missed his chance to qualify for the NCAA final.

"I hit rock bottom, but all of my coaches and teammates were there for me and supported me," Maggard told Wade Denniston of the Utah State sports information department. "They believed in me, which helped get me back on track."

Maggard's decision to stop drinking was obvious this year. He earned second-team All-American honors in the mile during the indoor season. He finished 12th in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships with a time of 4:10.13.

Outdoors, Maggard earned all-Mountain West Conference honors by placing second in the 5,000 meters in 14:08.07 and third in the 1,500 meters in 3:51.57.

At the NCAA West Preliminary Championships in Lawrence, Kan., Maggard qualified for the outdoor finals in the 1,500 meters. He won his heat and placed second overall with a personal-best time of 3:43.37, which ranks as the second-fastest in school history.

"It's something I trained my whole life for," Maggard said. "The last three years of my life have been spent running, so this is the pinnacle. Ever since high school … this has been a dream of mine. I never thought it would actually happen, so I'm excited."

Said Utah State assistant coach Artie Gulden, who works primarily with the distance runners, "Since he had his problems last fall and said, 'I want to straighten this out and fix everything,' he's been wonderful with his nutritional habits, his resting, his training, and he's been dedicated to the team. Everything a coach could ask, he's done. When he doesn't know something, he asks, instead of just avoiding things. The results are showing. He's an indoor All-American and has a shot of doing the same thing [outdoors]."

Maggard has been sober for seventh months.

What did he learn from his battle?

"The main thing is there are people that care and you're not the only one," Maggard said. "I was lucky to have my coaches and my teammates, family and friends, be there for me. In terms of advice, admitting you have a problem with substance abuse is the first step."

At the NCAA Championships, Maggard will compete in the semifinals of the 1,500 meters on Wednesday. The finals are scheduled Friday night.

— Steve Luhm