The national championship fate of an entire college now rests in the hands of Bermudian runner Larry Marshall.

Marshall, 21, successfully defended his Open Individual Mile title at last week?s Central Inter-Collegian Athletics Association (CIAA) Indoor Championships in Virginia to help Division Two track and field team, St.Augustine Falcons, take another step toward their ultimate objective ? qualification in next month?s National Collegian Athletic Association (NCAA) National Championships in Boston.

After playing his part in spurring Falcons to victory in the Men?s Distance Medley Relay, the Devonshire resident collected a second successive Open Mile crown in a winning time of four minutes and 26 seconds ? two seconds off last year?s time in the same event ? to gain valuable points towards his team?s cause.

Falcons are currently placed 23rd among their division. But they will have to make up considerable ground ? in terms of net points ? in the final indoor track and field remaining in the season next weekend if they are to qualify for next month?s championships in Boston.

And a lot is now riding on Marshall?s shoulders.

?That?s what I came here for . . . to have the chance to do something really big,? Marshall told speaking from his school?s campus in Atlanta.

?I think we can make up the ground although a lot of the pressure is on me because I run the longer legs. But everybody on the team is going to have to put their best foot forward and I?m confident we can achieve our goal if we all work together as a unit.

?So at the moment I?m just focussed on lowering my times in the splits (individual events) and hopefully everyone else can work together so that we can qualify and then do well at the national championships.?

US track and field coach George Williams ? assistant coach of the 2004 US Olympic track and field team that competed in Athens last summer ? is the current coach at St.Augustine.

?In college athletics it?s all about teamwork and winning the team titles,? Marshall continued. ?So sometimes you have to make a personal sacrifice and just do whatever the coach asks of you. So now I have to run the mile split and distance medley relay and hopefully we can break into the top ten and qualify for the nationals.

?We only have one shot to do it and so right now we are training very hard and focussed on that. We are currently 23rd but we still need to move up to number 12 in the division. So we are hoping to drop at least another ten to 12 positions.?

Falcons currently train four times weekly under coach Williams.

?Weekends we work out by ourselves,? Marshall added. ?So sometimes I run six days per week while there are times when I run everyday of the week.

?Physically I?m feeling very strong at the moment ? especially having had to compete in two separate races back-to-back within the space of an hour and a half. I won both of them and so I?m feeling strong ? though I still have to work a bit more on my speed and a few mental barriers.?

Meanwhile, last year saw Marshall cap off a remarkable cross-country season, seizing line honours at the Central Inter-Collegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) meet, the University of North Carolina Pembroke Invitational, the Greater America Cross Country Festival Small College Division and also the Southeast Regional Division Two cross- country championships.

The St.Augustine senior also set a new course record at the Southeast Regional Championships, completing the 10K event in a time of 32 minutes and 18 seconds.