By Peter Gobis, The Sun Chronicle

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Having the speed and strength to hurl himself down the runway, to launch himself into the air, to thrust himself across the finish line has been more than a God-given talent. It has been Brian Espinosa's way of life.

It has required him to be on three college campuses. It has required him to overcome the pain and anguish of a bulging disc in his back, not to mention the many tweaks of his ankle. It has required him to listen to an inner-calling, a belief that there are forces other than physical that can hallmark an individual's performance, in the workplace, in the athletic arena.

"A lot of it is just my mindset, I have a stronger focus," said the former Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School football and track standout, now an elite, nationally-ranked track athlete at Bridgewater State University.

And for the second successive track season, first indoors in Nebraska, then next weekend outdoors at Ohio Wesleyan University, Espinosa, a junior, has the moniker of being an All-American selection in his specialties, ranked among the top NCAA Division III student-athletes, a BSU record-owner.

Espinosa is No. 11 nationally among all Division III track-athletes in the 200 meter sprint, having a best time of 21.38 seconds; and ranked No. 14 nationally in the long jump, soaring 23-feet, 63/4 inches.

"Going into the New England Meet, I was thinking that I might not even make it," said Espinosa of qualifying for the national meet, to which only the top 20 ranked individuals in their respective events are invited to attend.

But at the New England Meet, one of only a handful of Division III track-athletes to qualify for the finals, Espinosa captured third place in the 200 (with his record-setting 21.38 clocking), took second place in the long jump (22-51/4) and was a member of Bridgewater State's record-setting, third-place 4x100 relay team.

"I leave it all out there on the track," said Espinosa of the many starting blocks that he has stepped into in his life, the many lanes in which he has run and jumped. "I'm running for a greater purpose - I have a strong relationship with God.

"I'm not running for medals or trophies. Running and jumping, competing like I do, if it were not for God, I don't know where that I'd be right now.

"Running track means something to me - he's (God) guided me, given me all his blessings."

This recent winter track season, Espinosa returned to some family roots in Nebraska for the NCAA Division III Meet as the No. 14 seed entering the finals of 200. He finished eighth (in 21.85, after shattering the Bridgewater indoor record at 21.77 in the preliminaries) to earn All-American accolades.

Shortly before that, he had broken the Bridgewater State record in the 200 (21.86), taking fourth place at the New England Intercollegiate Championship Meet, the lone non-Division I athlete in the field. And at the ECAC Meet at the Reggie Lewis Center, Espinosa shattered the Bears' long jump record at 23-feet in finishing first, in addition to taking third place in the 200.

Earlier this spring track season, Espinosa led Bridgewater State to the New England Alliance Championship, winning the 100 (10.88) and the 200 (at a then school record 21.62), while also running a leg for the second-place 4x100 relay team.

He also won the long jump title at the New England Division III Meet in Springfield on his final attempt.

Since arriving at Bridgewater State, Espinosa has been cited as the MASCAC Track Athlete of the Week a dozen times, six indoors and six outdoors.

During his days at D-R, he was a wide receiver and defensive back for the football team and similarly competed in the sprints and jumps, the MIAA state champion in the long jump outdoors during his junior year, the Division 3 champion indoors during his senior season.

But as fate would have it, the journey took many a winding turn - first enrolled at Worcester State, then at CCRI a year later. Then missing nearly four seasons, indoors and outdoors, of competing in track while he nursed himself back to good health.

During some offseason conditioning workouts between the winter and spring seasons at Worcester State, Espinosa hurt his back. "The pain was intense," he said of the disc issue, resolved by rest and rehabilitation. But, then he contacted a severe strain of mononucleosis, missed two months of classes and had to curtail his academic and athletic pursuits.

"Once that happened, I needed time to recover, from my back issue and the mono," said Espinosa. "I went to CCRI for a year to work on my grades, to experience and learn the college life a little better."

Never did he question his faith - his dad Jerry, formerly a deacon with the New Hope Church, and his mom Teris have often volunteered for missionary work in Haiti - but he needed a shoulder upon which to lean his frame. He found it in a non-denominational gathering in Providence, the Sanctuary.

"Last summer I was at a crossroads in life," said Espinosa. "It was during that time that God reached out to me through people and events in showing me how real he was in changing me forever. Any question or doubt that I had of his hand in my life faded away.

"Although I've had plenty of struggles and challenges this year, I have learned to rely on him for peace and guidance as I grow as a person. During the school year I got involved with a Christian group called Intervarsity where I was asked to lead a small bible study group for athletes.

"It is through that group that I have met many great people with its’ leader Erin Corry being a great influence in my life in keeping me grounded. It has been through this time that I have found a higher purpose in serving God and those around me.

"What helped too was that I had a support system, my dad, the way that he trained me, my mom, being in all the booster clubs and being at all my meets, my coach, Kevin Coyle, at Bridgewater," said Espinosa. "I'm more mature, stronger in my beliefs."

Being on Robert T. Roy Field at D-R for nearly every down as he was on the football field, running from one event to another as he did (and still does) during track meets, "doing all of that takes a lot out of you, it requires a lot of power," said Espinosa.

He missed out on qualifying for the NCAA Division III Meet last spring by the margin of one-quarter inch in the long jump. In between were any number of ankle sprains from all of the pounding and leaping, but Espinosa still has faith in his adidas spikes, his footwork, his form and his faith.

"My style hasn't changed much, especially in the long jump - that's where the strength and speed from running the 100 and 200 plays into it," said Espinosa. "I'm able to put all of my speed into my approach. In my penultimate step, I'm able to get my approach down.

"I've discovered that when you believe in God, you believe in yourself, you believe in your abilities.

"I'm not just relying on my natural ability, it's about having your priorities straight. Track is a platform for me - the blessings that God has given me."