Tansley Is a Winner Despite His Relaxed Attitude : Track: Titan senior is favored to win 3,000-meter steeplechase at Big West Conference meet, which begins today.

Mike Tansley’s commitment to track has been questioned by others more than once.

But that’s no surprise to Tansley. He sometimes questions it, too. When he was at Dana Hills High School, he would skip practice to go surfing. Now, as a senior at Cal State Fullerton, Tansley acknowledges that his training habits haven’t always been what they should be. He has thought about quitting the sport, and he might have if he wasn’t so good at it.

Tansley has considerable natural talent, and he will be favored to win the 3,000-meter steeplechase in the Big West Conference meet that begins today in Las Cruces, N.M. His top time of 8 minutes 56.28 seconds is the best in the conference, and Fullerton Coach John Elders believes Tansley can become the school’s first qualifier for the Division I NCAA Championships if he continues to improve. Tansley also will be a strong threat in the 5,000.

Not bad for someone who could just as easily be bumming on the beach waiting for the next big wave.

When Tansley talks about the things he likes to do, running isn’t high on the list. “I really love surfing,” he said. “It’s so much fun. I don’t do it that much anymore because of school and running, but I know I’ll get back to it sometime. And I love playing basketball and soccer and riding bikes.”

And running? “I guess it’s never been that interesting to me,” Tansley said. “And I went through a period of time when I really didn’t enjoy it. It’s not boredom or anything like that. More than anything, it’s because it’s so hard on my body. I really hurt physically when I’m done with a hard workout. The workouts can be very demanding for a distance runner.”

And the steeplechase is one of track’s most grueling events. In 3,000 meters, runners must negotiate 28 immovable hurdles, and seven water jumps that are preceded by solid barriers.

Tansley says his distance-running teammate, Steve Frisone, his parents and twin brother, Andrew, along with Elders, are mainly the ones who have helped keep him motivated. Andrew also ran for Fullerton before he was injured this season.

“My parents would always encourage me to keep going,” Tansley said. “They’ve supported me since my high school days, because they felt it was something I could be successful at. I got into it mainly to train for soccer when I was in high school, and I turned out to be pretty good at it.”

Frisone has gone from bitter rival to best friend. “Steve’s been an inspiration to me,” Tansley said. “If I had Steve’s attitude and work ethic, I probably could be better than I am.”

They raced against each other frequently in high school, Tansley running for Dana Hills and Frisone for Laguna Hills. “We must have raced 15 or 16 times when we were in high school, and he probably won half the time, and I won half the time,” Frisone said. “It was tough competition, and we barely would talk to one another at that time. Our senior year, we ran in the State cross-country meet against one another. He finished fifth, and I was sixth. I knew then what a talent he was.”

Tansley went to Long Beach College for one year after high school, then transferred to Fullerton. Tansley established himself as one of the Big West’s top runners as a sophomore, winning the steeplechase in the conference meet. Frisone also made his mark, winning the Big West 5,000 last year.

But Tansley’s chance to win the Big West steeplechase three consecutive times ended last year at UC Irvine, when his right knee slammed into a barrier on the fourth lap of the 7 1/2-lap race. Tansley fell to the infield, gasping in pain with a deep knee bruise. But he got up and finished, virtually crawling over the remaining barriers. He was last among 10 runners.

“I really felt I could have won it last year if I hadn’t been hurt,” Tansley said. “I was running in second, maybe five meters behind, but I was pacing myself, and I felt I was going to win. I really don’t know what happened. I may have gotten lazy or lost focus.”

Up until about a month ago, Tansley’s performance this season had not been up to expectations. Those questions about his desire and commitment were raised again after he performed below par in the prestigious Mt. San Antonio College Relays.

“Reality slapped me in the face after that meet,” Tansley said. “Steve had a great time . . . and I didn’t do well. I didn’t realize how out of shape I really was until then.”

Tansley told Frisone that he was concerned that he had “let the season pass him by.” But he decided there still was time to change that. He began working out with Frisone two mornings each week, running an extra four miles each day in addition to his regular afternoon workouts. His enthusiasm for training also moved up a notch. When he ran his best time of the season, winning the steeplechase at the California-Nevada championships two weeks ago at UCLA, it was clear to Elders that Tansley had made up ground in a short time.

“He’s still fairly rested now, and not as fatigued as some runners might be, so all this might work in his favor,” Elders said. “I think the Mt. SAC meet snapped him out of his slump. That was kind of a relapse, but I’m extremely proud of the way he’s improved and grown in his time here. His main goal has been to make it to the NCAA championships, and I think he’ll make it. He’s knocking on the door now.”

Elders thinks Tansley will need to run faster to make the NCAA steeplechase field. The automatic sea-level qualifying mark is 8:44, more than 12 seconds below Tansley’s best, but because of the high altitude at Las Cruces, the standard will be raised to 8:52.4 for runners competing in the Big West meet.

Tansley also could qualify as one of the season’s fastest 18 runners, if he doesn’t meet the automatic qualifying standard. He already has met the provisional standard.

“We’re not so concerned about his time this weekend as much as him winning,” Elders said of the Big West meet. “We’re planning to go to an event in Portland the following weekend, where the competition will be great and the weather conditions should be perfect. That will be the opportunity for him to get his best time.”

Regardless, Tansley says he’s been enjoying track a lot more lately. “It’s nice to win,” he said. “Winning is the thing I like most about running.”