BUTLER TWP — Sight unseen, Sam Morrison decided to attend the University of Colorado in Boulder four years ago.

The 2009 Butler graduate knew what he was looking for.

And he found it.

Now a senior on the Buffaloes' cycling team, Morrison captured the individual national Division I championship in short track last month in North Carolina.

“I had come close before, placing among the top five two straight years,” Morrison said. “It felt good to finally grab it.”

While a senior in high school, Morrison knew he wanted to compete in cycling in college and pursue an engineering degree.

“That combination was going to be tough to find,” he said. “I started researching and Colorado was my best option.

“I applied to the school and got accepted. I never made a visit. My first look at the place was when we drove out there for my freshman year.

“But I made the right choice,” he added.

Morrison played soccer through middle school, but developed an interest in bicycling through his father, Kirk Morrison.

His father never competed, but rode for recreation quite a bit.

“Sam started coming along for rides when he was a little kid,” Mr. Morrison recalled. “He was always into it. It was the AGR bicycle team here in Butler that launched him into competitive racing.I can't take any credit for that.”

Morrison credits his parents and AGR cyclists Henry Dimmick, Rich Allen and Ken DeFurio for “help and guidance over the years.”

Morrison's first competitive cycling event occurred during his sophomore year in high school. It served as an eye-opener for him.

“It was a 14-mile local event that I did with a friend,” he said. “We ran out of water and were so thirsty ... We found a stream about two miles before the finish and went into it.

“We barely finished that race. I remember how tired we were. That showed me how tough this sport can be.”

Morrison has been excelling in it ever since.

He won the Month of Mud — a six-race local cycling series — junior championship that summer. In 2008, he won the Month of Mud open division title.

The short-track event at Division I nationals consisted of 85 riders competing in a 30-minute race. A lap could be completed in approximately two minutes.

“It's a mass start and it's pretty crazy,” Morrison said of the race. “It gets physical and messy.

“Fortunately, I won the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Conference race, so I received a first-row call-up for the national race. That helped a lot.”

Morrison estimates there are 30 to 40 collegiate cycling teams nationwide, Many receive funding through their respective schools.

The University of Colorado is totally student-supported.

“We do a lot of work ourselves in terms of fund-raising,” Morrison said.

Besides his collegiate racing, Morrison competes for the Red Ace Pro MTB team in Boulder. He estimates competing in 40 to 50 races each year.

“I'll ride with them through the spring and summer,” said Morrison, who is scheduled to graduate with his engineering degree in May. “I always race on the side, but I have to find a job that's going to pay my bills as well.”